Incumbents sweep to victory in Orange election

ORANGE, NJ — election has come and gone and, according to the unofficial results, the four incumbents up for re-election on Orange City Council won, although it was much closer than many had expected.

According to the unofficial results, as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, an hour after the polls closed, with 98.33 percent of the districts reporting, incumbent Tency A. Eason defeated challenger Sharief Williams, 212 votes or 61.1 percent to 103 votes or 29.68 percent, with 32 write-in votes or 9.22 percent, in Orange’s North Ward.

In Orange’s South Ward, incumbent Jamie Summers-Johnson narrowly defeated challenger Brandon K. Matthews, 330 votes or 50.08 percent to 327 votes or 49.62 percent, with two write-in votes or 0.3 percent of the total.

In Orange’s East Ward, incumbent and council President Kerry J. Coley defeated challenger Dawan A. Alford, 442 votes or 54.3 percent to 360 votes or 44.23 percent, with 12 write-in votes or 1.47 percent of the total.

In Oranges West Ward, incumbent Harold J. Johnson Jr. defeated challengers Michael O. Scott and Hassan Abdul-Rasheed, 207 votes or 54.33 percent to 104 votes or 27.3 percent and 69 votes or 18.11 percent, respectively, with one write-in vote or 0.26 percent of the total.

Prior to the election, the campaigns were a mixed bag, with some candidates participating in debates and others choosing to ignore many of them.

All results are unofficial until certified by the Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin.

  Harold Johnson, Jamie Summers-Johnson, Kerry Coley, Orange City Council, Tency Eason