Miller Ryan Ticket For Wayne Council Announced

WAYNE, NJ — Local Republicans overwhelmingly chose Council President Lonni Miller Ryan and her slate of council candidates in this year's primary election.

Miller Ryan is running against 10-year incumbent Chris Vergano and his slate of candidates, which includes Councilman Joseph Schweighardt and two newcomers, Jill Sasso and David Varano.

Mike Marrotta, chairman of the Wayne Regular Republican Organization, said the party chose Miller Ryan over Vergano by a 2-to-1 margin at a meeting recently.

"The vote was not close. It's clear that our members, who represent every neighborhood in our town, believe Wayne needs a change in direction and energy," Marrotta said in a statement. "The Wayne PBA recently held a vote of no confidence in the police chief. Our candidate selection was a clear vote of no confidence in our current mayor."

RELATED: Lonni Miller-Ryan Receives Republican Nomination For Mayor

Miller Ryan's runningmates for the at-large council seats up for grabs this year are Jim Marroco, Matt Rosenthal and Kevin Kearney. They will face off against Vergano and his slate of runningmates in the June 6 primary.

Kearney was a 25-year veteran of the Wayne Police Department. The recently retired sergeant and father of four served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was named to the Miller Ryan's ticket after Joanie Walsh withdrew her name from the race due to "unforeseen circumstances," Marrotta said.

Marrocco owned Marrocco Memorial Chapel, the Cremation Society of New Jersey and Faithful Companion Pet Cremation Service. He has served on the township Planning Board since 2011. The 20-year resident has been a Boy Scout master for 12 years. He has three grown children.

Rosenthal is an information technology executive and business strategist. He is president and CEO of Mindcore, an IT company he founded in 2005. He is a lifelong Wayne resident, 26-year volunteer firefighter with Company 3 and has served on the Board of Adjustment since last year. He and his wife have two daughters.

RELATED: Vergano Announces Council Runningmates

Councilman Joseph Schweighardt and residents Jill Sasso and David Varano are running with Vergano, who is seeking another four-year term as mayor.

Schweighardt has said he does not understand why Miller Ryan is running. He said she has offered "little in the way of alternative ideas," noting that "from my recollection, she has voted consistently with the mayor more than 95 percent of the time and has abstained on more issues than she opposed."

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Photo: Council President Lonni Miller Ryan — Courtesy of Lonni Miller Ryan