Politics & Government

Democrats Put Forth Solo River Edge Candidate, None in Oradell

River Edge and Oradell council candidates filed their petitions to run in the June primary.

For the third straight year, Oradell's incumbent Republican council members will face an uncontested race as the Democratic party did not put forth any candidates for the June primary. In River Edge, only one Democrat filed to challenge two sitting councilmen.

All candidates filed their petitions prior to the 4 p.m. deadline Monday for the June 4 primary election.

River Edge Democrat Chairwoman Ellen Busteed is the lone candidate to face incumbent Councilmen Alphonse Bartelloni and Edward Mignone this fall. Busteed, who sits on the borough Planning Board and is a member of the Bergen County League of Women Voters, is a former marketing professional.

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Bartelloni and Mignone were elected to office in November 2010 after unseating Tom Smith and Wendy Walker. Bartelloni is an attorney and liaison to the Recreation Commission while Mignone, a professional engineer, is the liaison to the Police Department, Environmental Protection Committee and Green Team.

Sitting Oradell Republicans Garrie Murphy and Eric Shuler will both return to their respective seats on the Council this fall following an uncontested race. Both Councilmen were elected in November 2010 as they unseated Robert Pizzuto and Andrew Rudman. 

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Murphy is a sales manager for a Swiss semiconductor equipment manufacturer and current Finance chairman and OPTV liaison.

Shuler, a retired Major in the Army National Guard, is the liaison to the Special Events Committee and Board of Health.

Oradell resident and attorney Fernando Alonso previously won the GOP nomination for the District 38 senate race against Senator Bob Gordon. He defeated former county Freeholder John Driscoll of Paramus by a slim margin with the final results showing Alonso with 143 to Driscoll's 130, according to a report on northjersey.com.

Alonso is an immigration attorney and Senior Lecturer of Business and Director of the Puerta al Futuro Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University which enables Spanish speaking adults to learn English and earn a college degree through progressive all Spanish to all English coursework.

Independent candidates have until June 4 to file in order to run in the November election.

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