I'd like to congratulate Tony Parenti and Kathy Mitchell on their hard-earned victory. Fanwood will be well served by their dedication and experience. I am eager for any opportunity I may have to work with them in the future, as an actively involved resident, as they serve in their official capacity – keeping Fanwood a great place to live and raise a family. Also, a thank you to Kevin Boris for his observations and thoughts on the issues facing Fanwood. I look forward to working with him in whatever other roles he may undertake here in town as well as seeing him and his family at future …

To the Residents of Scotch Plains: Now that the election has passed and this candidate's life returns to some sense of normalcy, I would like to thank the many supporters of our ticket, in particular, our campaign managers Paulette Coronato and Marty Marks: their leadership abilities inspired our desire to learn and our willingness to serve. Being involved in many town organizations, ranging from Chair of the Environmental Commission to Chair of the Y Audit Committee, I expected to be well prepared in meeting and speaking with our town's residents. However, having knocked on almost 3,000 …

Last Tuesday's election featured a full ballot: eight candidates for the Scotch Plains Township Council, four candidates for the Fanwood Borough Council, six for freeholder, two for sheriff, two for county clerk and two for Congress. But not everyone was satisfied with the selection at hand. Voters cast ballots for Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots in the "Transformers" television and movie series, Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, former New Jersey Governor and former Scotch Plains resident Donald DiFrancesco and others. Below are the write-in votes cast in Scotch Plains and …

I would like to congratulate Councilman Kevin Glover on his reelection to the Scotch Plains Township Council. Additionally, I congratulate newcomer Michael "Mickey" Marcus to the council as well as my running mate during the campaign, William "Bo" Vastine. I am grateful to the residents of Scotch Plains for their support and kindness during the campaign. Although I came up just 9 votes short of being elected to the council, the experience was well worth it and I am not disappointed that I lost. Rather, I consider myself lucky to have had an opportunity to talk to so many wonderful people that…

Dear Residents of Scotch Plains, Now that the remaining provisional ballots have been counted, I would like to thank you for your support and for the support of those who walked with us door to door, helped plant lawn signs, or were there to offer encouragement during the toughest days of the campaign. I want to congratulate Councilman Kevin Glover and Mickey Marcus on their victory and express to them, Mayor Nancy Malool and Councilwoman Mary DePaola my desire to move beyond the campaign and into the job of working together to solve the issues facing Scotch Plains. I also want to extend my …

Editor: I wish to sincerely thank all of those who supported my efforts to win re-election to the Council. Running as an Independent candidate is a very difficult and time consuming undertaking with long odds. I am not aware of an Independent ever winning in Scotch Plains, much less running. Remarkably, this year there were eight candidates for three seats, inclusive of two incumbent Independents, Dominick Bratti and myself. Despite these long odds, the truly wonderful and dedicated support and help that came my way was not only very gratifying, but critical in mounting a serious campaign as …

The numbers are in. The victors are celebrating. And voters are left asking: OK, now what? Well, maybe not all voters. But the voters who run our weekly #NJPatchChat on Twitter every Thursday at 8 p.m. This week we'll be asking how you feel about the election results on the local, state and national level–and what those who'll be taking power need to do to earn the trust just extended to them. How should newly Republican House tackle America's problems? How will your newly elected local officials tackle a 2 percent property tax cap? Should New Jersey have returned (almost) all of its federal …

I would like to thank the residents of Scotch Plains for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Councilman for the last two years.  I am proud of all the individuals with whom I served and of what we were able to accomplish.  I congratulate Councilman Glover, and Messrs. Marcus and Vastine, and wish them the best of luck. To those of you who voted for me and Jeff Strauss, I thank you and applaud your willingness to support independent candidates regardless of political party affiliation.  I hope that you will join us in continuing to do so at all levels of government so that we may …

We would like to thank the voters of Scotch Plains for their support on Election Day. We look forward to working with the other members of the Council on the many important issues facing our town. We must move forward on shared services and look for ways to save the taxpayers of Scotch Plains money so that we can make Scotch Plains affordable for everyone. There is a lot to do, and we are ready to get started. Thank you again, Scotch Plains. Kevin Glover and Mickey Marcus

The fate of one open seat on the Scotch Plains Township Council election rests on 26 ballots being held at the Union County Board of Elections.  Eight candidates vied for three open seats on the Township Council this year. After Tuesday's election, Democratic incumbent Kevin Glover, Democrat Michael "Mickey" Marcus and Republican William "Bo" Vastine were declared the top three vote-getters. Vastine, however, edged running-mate Tony Patti by only eight votes, and defeated Democrat Neal LeStrange by 15 votes. Those tallies include regular and absentee ballots, but do not include provisional …

Democrat Kevin Glover was the only Scotch Plains incumbent to hold his seat in Tuesday's election. He will be joined in 2011 by Democrat Michael "Mickey" Marcus and Republican William "Bo" Vastine. Independent incumbents Dominick Bratti and Jeffrey Strauss were defeated, as were Republicans Tony Patti and Sal Trifiro and Democrat Neal LeStrange.  In Fanwood, both incumbents fended off the challengers. Democrat Katherine Mitchell and Republican Anthony Parenti held on to their seats, defeating Republican Jason Benedict and Democrat Kevin Boris.  Scroll down for the official tally, which does …

County Democrats continued their dominance of county government Tuesday night, sweeping the races for county freeholder, county clerk and sheriff.Plainfield Councilwoman Linda Carter was the top vote-getter in  the freeholder race, followed by Freeholders Dan Sullivan and Bette Jane Kowalski. They handily beat Republican challengers Brian Flanagan, Ellen Dickson and Elyse Bochicchio Medved by an average of 14,000 votes. Democratic Sheriff Ralph Froehlich captured a 12th term over Republican Peter Lijoi by 21,000 votes, while County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi earned a fourth term over Republican …

After months of commercials, rallies, glad-handing and mailers, the power has shifted into your hands. Election Day 2010 is now upon us with the polls opening at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. To provide you with all of the information you need to know when you cast your ballot, Patch has put together a comprehensive guide to Election 2010.Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a list of polling places is located here. For information on where your polling place is located you can contact the Scotch Plains Clerk's office at 908-322-6700, the Fanwood Clerk's office at 908-322-8236, the Union County …

Shared services lie at the core of the message the Democratic ticket for county freeholder pushing in this year's election. This includes saying the county can reduce costs for municipal governments by providing services that are too costly for the local entities.County Freeholder Chairman Dan Sullivan of Elizabeth is seeking his sixth full term in office on a ticket with Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski of Cranford, who is seeking her third full term and Plainfield Councilwoman Linda Carter, whoreplaced retiring Freeholder Rayland Van Blake on the ticket. The trio faces the Republican ticket …

Union County Republicans had trouble pulling a freeholder ticket together in the spring. At the March county Republican convention – the traditional anointing of a countywide ticket – only one of the three slots on the ticket was filled. As Tuesday's election approaches, Republicans – who filled out the ticket before the filing deadline in April – suddenly find themselves having a shot at winning their first freeholder race since 1995 and ending what has been an all-Democratic board since 1998.Former Rahway Councilwoman Elyse Bochicchio Medved was the original Republican, followed shortly …

John Thompson, you should be ashamed of yourself for concocting your malicious letters simply to create controversy! I took an oath of office to perform my duties faithfully, impartially and justly, words right from the New Jersey Constitution. On the virtual eve of an election, you have decided as a Democratic Committee Member to attack me and my character in an unfounded, false and defamatory manner and to expose yourself and the local party of which you are a member. Your response is a perfect published example why I decided to leave our local Scotch Plains Democratic Party and run as an …

I appreciate that our local press is providing good coverage on initial public reaction to the recently issued Shared Services Report for Scotch Plains and Fanwood.   Naturally, people like hearing that there is a potential savings of $1.5 million with a consolidation of the Scotch Plains and Fanwood Police Departments and Public Works Departments.   Some Fanwood residents are very concerned with the study consultant's announcement that the night patrol in Fanwood would be reduced to one patrol car. As a husband and father, I share that concern about adequate police readiness to respond to …

To My Fellow Residents: Please Do Not Be Misled Election Day is a very important day in America. It gives you, the voters, the very important task of picking the representatives of your government to represent you. I am asking you to make an informed decision. In the local Scotch Plains Township you will be selecting three candidates to four-year terms. In Scotch Plains, five members sit on the council. So this is a very important time, as this election will set the tone of your local government for the next four years. My running mates, Kevin Glover, Mickey Marcus and I have been working …

I am writing to ask for you and your family to support myself and my running mates, Neal LeStrange, Mickey Marcus for Scotch Plains Township Council on Tuesday, Nov. 2. As many of you know, I have been the lone vote of reason on the town council, and have been outspoken on the issues that have affected all of us the most: taxes, taxes, taxes and the lack of oversight of our Township's spending and fiscal management. In speaking with many of you, it is clear that enough is enough. You want your local Municipal government to be as responsible with your tax dollars as you have been with your …