In a dramatic conclusion to a three-month legal battle that exposed flaws in a local primary election, the Roselle Democratic Committee selected Councilwoman Cynthia Johnson as its nominee for an at-large borough council seat Friday evening, effectively ending incumbent Denise Wilkerson’s bid for reelection.
The special committee meeting, ordered by a Superior Court judge just days prior, resulted in a 20-7 vote for Johnson.
The decision comes after Judge John Deitch, citing voter disenfranchisement, invalidated the June Democratic primary, which Wilkerson appeared to win by a razor-thin, three-vote margin.
“The uncertainty in the results justified setting them aside,” Deitch wrote in his Friday ruling, which concluded that poll worker errors had denied the right to vote to several residents.
The path to the vote was fraught with last-minute legal maneuvering and confusion.
Just hours after Deitch issued his order late Friday afternoon, Wilkerson sought an emergency stay to halt the process pending an appeal.
However, her attempts to contact the Appellate Division were unsuccessful as the court had closed for the weekend.
According to court documents filed by her attorney, Maximillan J. Ranzato, Wilkerson attempted to reach the appellate court by phone and email and even contacted the New Jersey State Police in an effort to get a message to an on-call judge. She received no response.
Ranzato is an associate at the West Orange law firm headed by Rajiv D. Parikh, who is counsel to the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
Deitch had denied her request for a stay, and with the Union County Clerk’s office preparing to print general election ballots on Monday, the Democratic Committee proceeded with its court-ordered meeting.
The dispute began in June when Wilkerson narrowly defeated Johnson, who represents the 3rd Ward.
Johnson petitioned for a recount, which was initially denied by Deitch but later granted by the Appellate Division. The recount trimmed Wilkerson’s lead to just two votes.
Last week, Deitch initially ordered an unprecedented new primary election. However, in a sharp reversal on Friday, he vacated that decision, stating he lacked the legal authority to call for a new vote.
Instead, he directed the local party to choose its nominee, a venue where Johnson, a longtime party figure, was favored.
The case highlighted the tension between strict procedural rules and the fundamental right to vote.
“The path forward must meet legal requirements while avoiding further disenfranchisement,” Union County Counsel Bruce Bergen noted, reflecting the complex nature of the judge’s dilemma.
With no Republican candidate on the ballot, Johnson is all but assured victory in the November general election unless a highly unlikely write-in campaign is mounted successfully.