Brindle Slate Re-Election Victory: Final Westfield And Union County Results Posted

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle and her slate of four Town Council members have officially won re-election now that the final vote counts were certified by the Union County clerk on Monday afternoon.

Here are the official numbers in that election, as well as in the Westfield school board race and the 21st District legislative election:

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• Mayor Michelle W. Brindle (Westfield Together slate, Democrat): 7,285
• Linda Habgood: 1,987
• Mike Dardia: 1,703
• David Contract: 1,797
• Dawn Mackey: 1,828

• JoAnn Neylan (Mayoral challenger, Republican): 5,770
• Amanda Como: 1,495
• Denise Garrett: 1,480
• Shawn Mullen: 1,253
• James Restivo: 1,408

• Write-ins for Mayor: 10

Westfield Board of Education

Seven candidates competed for three spots on the Westfield Board of Education.

Mary Wickens led the pack with 6,030 votes, and Kristen Sonnek-Schmelz and Robert Benacchio were next with 4,834 and 4,408 respectively.

Following them were Kent Diamond, 4,197; Robert Garrison, 3,816; Emily Barker, 3,417; and Ilya Eric Kolchinsky, 2,356; and write-in, 113.

21st District Legislative Races: Countywide And Districtwide Numbers

The 21st District legislative races, both for state Senate and for two state Assembly seats, were close within Union County. They were not as close within the entire district.

The 21st District includes Westfield, Summit, Cranford, Garwood, and several other towns in Union, Somerset, and Morris counties.

Within Union County, incumbent Republican Assemblyman Jon Bramnick led the votes for state Senate, drawing 28,884. His challenger, Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello III, amassed a close 27,279 in the county.

As far as the entire district, the official numbers as of Monday were: Bramnick, 44,254; Signorello, 38,237.

In the Assembly race, four women — two Republicans and two Democrats — faced off for two seats.

Republicans Nancy Munoz (the incumbent) and Michele Matsikoudis received 28,508 and 27,759 votes respectively in Union County. Democrats Elizabeth Graner and Anjali Mehrotra were close behind with 27,195 and 26,694 votes respectively within the county.

For the entire district, the numbers were: Munoz, 43,708; Matsikoudis, 42,557; Graner, 38,207, and Mehrotra, 37,449.

For governor, within just Union County, 83,913 voters picked incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy, and 51,279 chose challenger Jack Ciattarelli. The other candidates on the ballot for governor claimed fewer than 500 votes each countywide.

Other Local Election Information

• Westfield has a unique form of government in which the governing body consists of a mayor and eight-member Town Council. Fewer than 5 percent of New Jersey towns run under this "special charter" form of government.
• Brindle, a former HBO executive, was elected to her first term as mayor in 2017. She raised her children in Westfield.
• On Facebook on the night of the election, Brindle posted, "We did it, Westfield — again!"

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