Former Mayor Officially Wins Reelection to County Seat

Election results finalized by the county Monday cement former Franklin Lakes Mayor Maura DeNicola’s reelection to the County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Since preliminary vote totals were tallied on election night, DeNicola was the frontrunner in the six-way contest, but the close results were not finalized until all absentee and provisional ballots were counted.

The county reported Monday that DeNicola, a Republican who was running for her second term on the board, got 98,184 votes. Incumbent John Felice and challenger James Tedesco, both Democrats, also won election to the board.

Republican incumbent John Mitchell, DeNicola’s running mate, lost his bid for reelection by 291 votes.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Bergen County as an independent and reasonable voice for policies and initiatives that have true, lasting value to county residents,” DeNicola said in a statement that thanked her reelection team and party supporters Monday.

“My victory is bittersweet since it appears that one of my running mates did not win re-election,” she said. 

“The results of this election demonstrate a need for the county Republican organization to do some soul searching and to conduct an assessment of how the organization runs countywide campaigns in the future, especially as we head into the all important county executive race next year.”

The freeholder election widened Democratic control of the board, five to two.