Photo Finish in District 16 General Assembly Race

The race for two General Assembly seats in the 16th Legislative District was as tight as it could get.

All four candidates in the race appeared to have tied with 25 percent of the vote during Tuesday night’s elections, according to unofficial results posted on the New Jersey State Division of Elections website.

Republican incumbents Jack Ciatarelli and Donna Simon were challenged by Democrats Andrew Zwicker and Maureen Vella.

Ciatarelli was unofficially the leading vote-getter with 16,488 votes, followed by Zwicker with 16,176, Simon with 16,147 and Vella with 15,917.

Results are pending the tabulation of provisional ballots.

The district covers parts of Somerset, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Mercer counties, including Princeton.

In Mercer County, Zwicker and Vella were the big winners with 39 and 38 percent of the votes, respectively. The Republicans each had over 10 percent.

They also won in Middlesex County, where Zwicker had over 3,117 votes and Vella had 2,977 votes. The Republicans each had between 1,600 and 1,700 votes, according to the county clerk.

In Hunterdon County, Ciatarelli and Simon were the winners, with each garnering over 32 percent of the vote. The Democrats each had over 17 percent of the vote.

They also won big in Somerset County, where they each amassed over 1,400 votes. The Democrats each had over 800 votes.

Things were a little more clear-cut in Princeton, as the Democratic incumbents were easily re-elected to their seat on Princeton Council, according to unofficial results posted on the county’s website.

Princeton Council Members Heather H. Howard and Lance Liverman defeated Republicans Kelly DiTosto and Lynn Lu Irving at the polls Tuesday night.

Howard was the top vote-getter with 3,207 votes. Liverman won 3,116 votes.

Lu Irving earned 1,211 votes, and DiTosto won 1,217 votes.

School Board Vice President Patrick Sullivan was one of three people elected to the board Tuesday night, but he didn’t garner the most votes.

That honor went to Elizabeth Kalber Baglio, who won 2,420 votes.

Sullivan won 2,306 votes, and Dafna Kendall won 2,032 votes.

Robert Dodge also ran for one of four open seats, garnering 1,780 votes.

Sullivan was the only board member up for re-election who chose to run.

County Executive Brian M. Hughes won re-election. The Democrat defeated Republican Lisa Richford for the four-year term by grabbing about 66 percent of the vote.

Democrats Samuel T. Frisby, Pasquale “Pat” Colavita, Jr., and Ann M. Cannon were re-elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders, defeating Republican challengers Anthony “Tony” Davis, Ira Marks and Jason Lee DeFrancesco.

Colavita earned over 22 percent of the vote, followed by Cannon with over 21 percent and Frisby with over 20 percent.

Democrat and incumbent County Clerk Paula Sollami-Covello was re-elected, defeating Republican Susan Bagley. Sollami-Covello with over 65 percent of the total vote.