Four Candidates to Compete for Open Council Seat

This November, the race to replace a longtime Mahwah township councilman who retired in June will likely be between four residents.

Tuesday marked the deadline for potential candidates with an intent to run for the vacant council seat to file petitions with the township.

According to unofficial results from the township clerk’s office Tuesday afternoon, four residents turned in petitions – Planning Board member and previous council candidate Jonathan Marcus, former councilman and Bergen County Freeholder Rob Hermansen, Environmental Commission member Gregg Sgambati, and political newcomer Jonathan Wong.

No one else had taken out petitions to run, the office said.

The candidacies are pending, as the clerk’s office needs to verify the signatures on the turned-in petitions before the candidates can officially run for the office.

At this November’s election, candidates will be running to finish out the term vacated by Councilman John Spiech, who announced his surprise retirement in June. The winner of the November election will finish out the one year left in Spiech’s term, which is set to expire in December 2014.

The township council voted in July to keep Spiech's seat open until the election, rather than appointing an interim councilperson.

For the next two months, continue to check Patch for election coverage, including more in-depth bios of the council candidates.