Dougherty and council slate romp to primary victory in Morristown

Mary Dougherty, Teresa Towns and Mayor Tim Dougherty look over primary results, June 6, 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mary Dougherty, Teresa Towns and Mayor Tim Dougherty look over primary results, June 6, 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty and his council slate romped to victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, handily winning every voting district and signaling the end of challenger Michelle Duprée Harris’ 19-year career as an elected official.

“Seventy-eight percent of the votes feels pretty good,” said Dougherty, who will seek his third term in November. 

BEAMING--ONCE THE NUMBERS WERE TALLIED: Mayor Tim Dougherty, primary night 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
BEAMING–ONCE THE NUMBERS WERE TALLIED: Mayor Tim Dougherty, primary night 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

No Republicans ran in the primary; if Dougherty faces any opposition, it will come from write-ins.

Unofficially, Dougherty received 1,323 votes to Harris’ 375.

The Mayor’s at-large council slate — incumbents Toshiba Foster (1,160 votes) and Michael Elms (1,140), and newcomer David Silva (1,101), a minister who aims to become Morristown’s first Hispanic councilman–walloped Harris’ ticket of Jenna Gervasio (406), Esperanza Porras-Field (404) and Maria Scumaci (337).

Harris, a five-term councilwoman, gave up her chance to keep her at-large seat when she pursued the mayoralty.

“I consider myself still a winner,” she said Tuesday night, contending she faced a political machine that vastly outspent her and enjoyed every advantage, right down to the best placement on the ballot. 

Five-term Councilwoman Michelle Duprée Harris emerges from voting booth on primary day 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Five-term Councilwoman Michelle Duprée Harris emerges from voting booth on primary day 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Now, Harris said she looks forward to retiring from her career as a kindergarten teacher to write children’s books. She aims to build a house in North Carolina, “raise my grandkids, and have fun,” she said.

Dougherty, meanwhile, said Democrats have given his team a mandate to continue the course that has seen Morristown thrive over the last eight years.

“It’s all about quality of life, and we take that very seriously. We’ll continue to work on growing Morristown in a very smart way for the future of our community for many years to come,” he said, after anxiously watching ward-by-ward results trickle into his packed campaign headquarters on South Street.

Video: Primary landslide ‘feels pretty good,’ says Mayor

A COLORFUL PALETTE

Applauding the diversity in the room, Dougherty began a long list of thank yous with one to his wife, Mary, and concluded, after a victory celebration at the Laundromat bar, with a shout-out to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).  Booker kicked off the campaign in January and did a town-wide call to Morristown Democrats on Monday.

Councilman Michael Elms, candidate David Silva, and Mayor Tim Dougherty after their 2017 primary wins. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Councilman Michael Elms, candidate David Silva, and Mayor Tim Dougherty after their 2017 primary wins. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Mayor said he’s especially pleased that Silva won his first election. The pastor of the Centro Biblico church emigrated from Colombia 15 years ago. Now he wants to provide educational programs for Hispanics, who comprise about 30 percent of Morristown’s population.

Silva noted he always respected elected officials. “But now I have more respect, because I know the hard work that goes behind the scenes.”

Elms, a realtor, will be seeking his second term in the fall.  He said he never took Tuesday’s lopsided numbers for granted.

“It’s never a sure thing. A lot of people said, ‘You have this, don’t worry about it.’ But we were out working day in and day out, making sure we got the vote out no matter what,” Elms said.

Both council incumbents said they felt validated by voters.

“They like the way the town is moving forward, they like the progression,” said Foster, who  works in a corporate human relations department. She is running for her second full term.

Mary Dougherty with 2017 Morristown Democratic primary results. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mary Dougherty with 2017 Morristown Democratic primary results. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“I think we’ve done a lot over the last seven years. We’ve kept taxes steady. We’ve brought some great retail shops to the town of Morristown. We’ve stuck to our plan to continue to promote more affordable housing. We’ve kept the streets safe, so I think all in all, we’ve done a great job,” she said.

In a town where primaries sometimes get down-and-dirty, this campaign appeared clean and fairly low-key— except, perhaps, on primary day.

Dougherty said he “made 20 calls” to county election officials on Tuesday about possible improprieties in and around polling places.  The day began with a locked venue–the Thomas Jefferson School–where voting was delayed for about an hour.

The former councilman and zoning board chairman unseated Mayor Donald Cresitello by a nearly 2-1 margin in the 2009 Democratic primary.  Dougherty ran unopposed in the 2013 primary and cruised to his second term that fall. He works as chief engineer for the Prudential Center in Newark.

In this race, he emphasized seven straight years of flat taxes, a landmark property tax settlement with the parent company of Morristown Medical Center, and creation of affordable housing along with new housing developments.

Harris told Morristown Green of her mayoral bid in July 2015. Her team promised greater attentiveness to residents and slower-paced growth.

The Morristown High School graduate (’79) ran on Dougherty’s ticket twice and generally supported his initiatives. 

But at a candidates’ forum last month, Harris declared: “It’s my turn to run now.”

Apparently, that wasn’t enough.

MORE  2017 ELECTION COVERAGE

Mayor Tim Dougherty, right, with supporters outside his campaign HQ on primary night 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mayor Tim Dougherty, right, with supporters outside his campaign HQ on primary night 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

5 COMMENTS

  1. Ed, ask the mayor to do what he did on his street, just suspend any parking regulations that are in effect for the convenience of himself and his neighbors.

  2. I Would like to Congratulate Tim Dougherty and his team of candidates Toshiba Foster, Michael Elms, and David Silva on their impressive win. We fought the good fight, but in the end the people chose them and not my team. We have no regrets and wish Tim and his team our best wishes and offer our support in the general election.
    Also, I would like to thank Esperanza Porras-Field, Jenna M. Gervasio, Maria Scumaci, my advisors, volunteers, friends, and family members who stepped into this challenge with me. Look, life is short to not try to reach for your dreams. We could walk away with many reasons of why we lost this adventurous race but, in the mix we learned lessons of strength, understanding, honesty, trust, and the depths of politics. So, let’s ALL remember this ride and continue on to the next adventure.
    Michelle Dupree Harris

  3. Mr. Mayor…Congratulations on an obviously well run campaign. Now that it’s behind you, we (the greater Morristown Community) would ask that you and your team devote some time and attention to solving the parking issue around Morristown High School. I’m sure we can do better than the current 2hr parking situation and we have all summer to solve the issue.

    Thanks in advance

  4. Congratulations to Mayor Dougherty, and team David Silva, Toshiba Foster and Michael Elms. May you continue to lead Morristown as the great and growing city it is. Be sure of my support and prayers for your success and for blessings on your families. Fr. Dennis Crowley

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