Politics & Government

Republicans Sweep Wayne Council, Mayoral Races

Mayor Chris Vergano re-elected to a second term.

Wayne Republicans held onto every elected office they were up for Tuesday.

Mayor Chris Vergano defeated challenger Jane Hutchinson 9,131 votes to 6,130. It will be Vergano’s second four-year term as mayor. He became mayor in 2008 after he was appointed to replace former Mayor Scott Rumana was elected to the state Assembly.

“I am extremely grateful to the residents of Wayne for the very positive results tonight,” Vergano said.

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At the heart of the mayoral race was a sweeping redevelopment plan Vergano proposed. The plan calls for the rezoning of eight underdeveloped commercial properties for mixed-used buildings. The plan met considerable opposition from the Wayne Concerned Citizens, a grassroots watchdog group made mostly of Republicans, who lobbied against the plan being passed.

Vergano withdrew the plan amidst the backlash and until a ruling on the next round of affordable housing requirements is issued by the state Supreme Court.

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Councilpersons at large Joseph Schweighardt, Lonni Miller Ryan, and James Jimenez defeated their opponents soundly. Schweighardt received 9,012 votes, Miller Ryan 8,846, and Jimenez 8,386. Their opponents, none of who ever held elected office, Bethania Marranzini-Marmolejos, Victor Alfieri, and James Jorgensen received, 5,383, 5,536, and 5,671 votes, respectively. They, like Vergano, will serve four-year terms.

It will be Schweighardt’s fourth council term.

Ryan, a legislative aide to Assemblyman Scott Rumana, was elected in 2010 to serve the final three years of an unexpired term. She was appointed to fill the seat in 2010.

It will be Jimenez’s first full term. He was elected to serve the remainder of Lawrence Maron’s seat in 2011. He was appointed to the position earlier that year.

Wayne Democratic Party Chairman Ray Egatz could not be reached for comment.

Incumbent Republican Richard Jasterzbski will continue to represent the 1st Ward until December 2015, the remainder of an unexpired term. He was appointed in August. Longtime representative Alan Purcell resigned from the council in the summer, citing illness. Jasterzbski received 1,099 to Democrat Gary Marchese’s 795.

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.


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