Clerk admits error that cost election winner his seat

The acting Rockaway Township Municipal Clerk admitted to a mistake that led to the candidate who received the most votes in a Republican county committee race not being certified as the winner of the election, but rejected the idea that she was playing politics.

Since no candidate filed for the Ward 4, District 3 seat, Brian Wittig conducted a write-in campaign and received six votes – four more than he needed to secure the seat – and no votes were cast for any other candidate.

But the acting clerk, Adele Wadleigh, failed to process the write-in votes, and by the time she did, on June 24, she had missed Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi’s June 23 deadline to certify the primary election results. That means Wittig can’t have the seat he won.

There are political overtones to the county committee seat. Wittig is an ally of former Council President Tucker Kelley, who defeated incumbent Rachael Brookes in the June 10 Republican primary with 62% of the vote. Brookes, who is also the GOP municipal chair, had advocated for Wadleigh’s hiring.




https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/clerk-admits-error-that-cost-election-winner-his-seat/