ORANGE, NJ — In the election on Tuesday, May 12, Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren won reelection against his five opponents by a landslide. Additionally, Councilwoman Adrienne Wooten won reelection, and challengers Clifford Ross and Weldon Montague III won the remaining two open seats on the Orange City Council.
These results are unofficial and will remain so until verified by County Clerk Chris Durkin. This election was conducted entirely by mail-in ballot; any ballot with a postmark of May 12 or earlier will be counted.
In the mayoral election, Warren received 1,839 votes, or 57.01 percent. The runner-up, Councilwoman Donna Williams, received only approximately a third as many votes, with 597 votes, or 18.51 percent. Following them, Shawn Hunter received 346 votes, or 10.37 percent; Michael Jean Baptiste received 269 votes, or 8.34 percent; Rayfield Morton received 92 votes, or 2.85 percent; and Councilman Christopher Jackson received 67 votes, or 2.08 percent. There were 16 write-in votes.
In the city council election, in which 11 candidates were vying for just three open seats, Wooten, the sole incumbent running, garnered the most votes, with 1,330 votes, or 17.75 percent. Ross, who will fill the second open seat, received 1,215 votes, or 16.21 percent.
As for the third open seat, Montague has won it by a slim margin, beating former Councilman Edward Marable Jr. by 17 votes. Montague received 769 votes, or 10.26 percent, and Marable received 752 votes, or 10.03 percent.
The remaining results are as follows: Dwight Holmes received 695 votes, or 9.27 percent; Antoinett Hall received 653 votes, or 8.71 percent; Coram Rimes Jr. received 623 votes, or 8.31 percent; Quantavia Hilbert received 432 votes, or 5.76 percent; Lynval James received 408 votes, or 5.44 percent; Joseph Juliano received 340 votes, or 4.54 percent; and Kenneth Toussaint received 243 votes, or 3.24 percent. There were 35 write-in votes.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect more current numbers.