No Surprises In Uncontested Wayne Mayor, Council Races

WAYNE, NJ — The polls are closed, and unofficial results for Wayne Township's uncontested mayor and council primaries are in.

For background, Mayor Christopher Vergano is seeking another term at the helm of Wayne Township, setting up a face off between himself and Democrat Arlene Sullivan.

Three council seats are also up for grabs in 2021, with six candidates in the running.

There are three available seats on the council, so no candidates will be eliminated after this primary contest, but the votes could still show us what to expect. Unofficial vote tallies from the Wayne Township clerk's office, as of 9:58 p.m., are as follows:

Mayor

• Christopher Vergano — 2,215
• Arlene Sullivan — 1,243

Council

• Jill Sasso, R — 2,116
• David Varano, R — 2,114
• Jason DeStefano, R — 2,112
• Linda Nardone-Jeffrey, D — 1,219
• Catherine Pariser, D — 1,255
• James Freeswick, D — 797

Vergano has led the township through the coronavirus, at one point hosting daily news updates, but got himself in a bit of hot water with Gov. Phil Murphy over his handling of high school graduations amid the pandemic.

Sullivan ran for a council seat in Ward 1 most recently, and is the Democratic candidate for mayor in 2021.

She believes the current administration has failed to properly handle an ongoing affordable housing issue.

"The manner in which this current administration has handled the ongoing housing issue has been recognized as an unmitigated disaster. In addition, the manner in which the handling of town business development and retention, has also been recognized as an unmitigated disaster. The same few people have been running this town for the last 20 years. It is time for a change," Sullivan said in a Patch Q&A.

Read more: Election Profile: Arlene Sullivan For Wayne Mayor

The Tuesday election will determine a party nomination, and the results are unofficial until certified by the county clerk.

Patch will update this story as results come in.

Return to Patch tonight for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.