Republicans field Morristown council slate; GOP also aims to unseat Dems in Morris Township and Morris Plains

For the first time in recent memory, Republicans will send a slate of candidates to challenge Democratic incumbents for three at-large Morristown council seats.

And the challengers plan to make the proposed expansion of Morristown Medical Center a campaign issue.

Monday’s primary election filing deadline also confirmed contested races for November in Morris Township and Morris Plains.

In Morristown, Andrew DeLaney, son of late Mayor Jay DeLaney, will be joined by fellow Republicans Celesta Kaitsa, who ran in 2017, and Aaron (A.J.) Oliver, a Bronze star recipient and former local Democratic chairman. Their slogan: An Independent Morristown Council.

They will try to unseat Council President Nathan Umbriac, seeking a second term; Councilman David Silva, a pastor going for a third term; and Councilwoman Toshiba Foster, aiming for her fourth four-year term.

“We look forward to a positive campaign,” said Umbriac, adding that the Democrats’ platform is coming soon. Foster, co-founder of nonprofit Our Youth Their Future, and Silva, a Colombian immigrant who became the town’s first Latino councilman, echoed Umbriac’s desire for a clean, fair election.

Topping their Morristown Moving Forward ticket is Mayor Tim Dougherty, who is after his fifth term.

No Republican filed to oppose Dougherty. Andrea Lekberg, a bakery shop owner and planning board member, has said she will seek the mayoralty as an Independent, with a campaign likely to focus on the town’s rapid development.

TRANSPARENCY, CRACKDOWNS

“We felt that a full ticket would make us stronger, and allow us to campaign more effectively,” said DeLaney, who announced his council candidacy last November.

GOP candidates for mayor and three at-large council seats ran in 2017, but they did not campaign as a team.

If elected, DeLaney said, his slate will demand transparency in ongoing talks with the hospital and its corporate parent, Atlantic Health. The ticket will ensure the proposed $1 billion expansion aligns with the town’s zoning master plan and places residents –particularly, hospital neighbors–ahead of “outside interests,” the candidate said.

The Republicans also will “crack down” on apartment stacking, strengthen community policing, keep parks safe, and tackle homelessness with “compassion and collaboration,” DeLaney said in a statement.

The council of six Democrats and one Independent spurred controversy last month by introducing an ordinance to criminalize sleeping in public. Two days later, the mayor asked for his measure to be withdrawn.

Dougherty and his slate will emphasize their experience, along with municipal benefits from blue chip companies such as Deloitte, Sanofi and Valley National Bank, which came to Morristown on their watch, the mayor said in January.

Kaitsa, owner of a small business, moved to Morristown from Ohio in 2016. She has served on the Junior League of Morristown and is a member of the National Honor Society, according to DeLaney.

Oliver, a Morristown native and 21-year Army veteran, recently returned from a deployment in Iraq, where he earned the Bronze Star for meritorious service. He is an ordained Episcopal priest, a realtor, and President-Elect of the Morristown Rotary Club.

Additionally, he serves on the Morris County Advisory Council on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans, and as an alternate commissioner on the Morristown Environmental Commission.

Two years ago, Oliver switched from blue to red, after getting ousted as chairman of the Morristown Democratic organization for not disclosing his anti-abortion views. Those views surfaced during his unsuccessful bid as a Democrat for Morris County Commissioner.

Asked if his past efforts to elect Democrats will help him defeat them now, Oliver responded: “I’ve seen the impact that local government has and how individuals can truly make a difference… We look forward to getting out there and continuing to advocate for the quality of life of all Morristown residents.”

MORRIS PLAINS

In an historic borough election last fall, Democrats became the council majority in Morris Plains for the first time in… well, maybe ever.

A pair of Republicans hopes to reverse that 4-2 tilt.

One of them, Dennis Wagner, has some experience in that regard. He served two terms before bowing out last year. Now, he is ready for a third crack at the council. Ann Bono, a teacher who works with special needs children, also intends to reclaim a seat for the GOP.

Democratic council members Nancy Verga and Michael Ivey aim to retain their seats, for at least another three years.

Verga chairs the finance committee, and created a group that redesigned the borough website and installed an online payment system. She seeks a third term.

Ivey was appointed in January to replace Councilwoman Joan Goddard, who stepped down for personal reasons.

An engineer, Ivey has worked for Picatinny Arsenal and private companies. He coaches Little League teams, chairs the council’s Public Health, Sanitation and Sewers Committee; and is council liaison to the Board of Health.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP

In the Township, Republican George Talarico hopes to deny Democrat Jeff Grayzel a fifth term.

Talarico, a lawyer and engineer, said two factors motivated him to run:

Cracking one-party rule (Democrats hold all seats on the governing body, reversing years of all-Republican control), and implementation of the Affordable Housing Act, “the largest unfunded mandate in New Jersey’s history.”

Grayzel, owner of a small medical development company, cites landing the Red Bulls soccer training camp and Restoration Hardware among his proudest council achievements.

If Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) wins this year’s gubernatorial race, Grayzel says he plans to seek her congressional seat.