'We Did It, Westfield': Brindle Ahead In Westfield Election Results For Mayor, Council

WESTFIELD, NJ — With all districts reporting, Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle led the votes against Republican mayoral challenger JoAnne Neylan, a former councilwoman, Wednesday morning. The votes don't become official until certified by the county clerk.

On Facebook on Tuesday night, Brindle posted, "We did it, Westfield — again!"

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As of 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, with 100 percent of districts reporting, these were the numbers:

• Mayor Shelley Brindle (Westfield Together slate, Democrat): 6,696
• Linda Habgood: 1,803
• Mike Dardia: 1,551
• David Contract: 1,688
• Dawn Mackey: 1,686

• JoAnn Neylan (Mayoral challenger, Republican): 5,460
• Amanda Como: 1,414
• Denise Garrett: 1,384
• Shawn Mullen: 1,202
• James Restivo: 1,337

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Westfield School Board Race

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

As of Wednesday morning, Mary Wickens led the pack with 5,558 votes, and Kristen Sonnek-Schmelz and Robert Benacchio were next with 4,451 and 4,144 respectively.

Following them were Kent Diamond, Robert Garrison, Emily Barker, and Ilya Eric Kolchinsky.

21st District Legislative Races

The 21st District legislative races for state Senate and for two Assembly seats were close in Union County as of Wednesday. Check this link for updates as more votes are tallied.

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

In terms of Union County numbers only, Republican Jon Bramnick was in the lead for state Senate as of Wednesday morning, ahead of Joe Signorello III. The totals were 27,731 to 25,530 countywide. Check back this week for updates.

Meanwhile, all four Assembly candidates were within 2,000 votes of each other. Republican candidates Nancy Munoz and Michele Matskioudis were leading Democratic challengers Elizabeth Graner and Anjali Mehrotra as of Wednesday morning. Check the link for updates.

Other Westfield 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.
• Neylan, a former assistant prosecutor in Brooklyn, served as 2nd Ward councilwoman from 2004 to 2019.
• Both women raised their children in Westfield.

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