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Politics & Government

GOP Officials: Write-in Campaign Did Not Contribute to Holden's Loss

Codey's position at the top of the ticket had more of an impact, Stevenson says.

Local Republican leaders do not feel that the addition of a write-in candidate in Tuesday’s election played any role in the defeat of incumbent Mayor Mary-Anna Holden.

Holden was challenged by Democrat Robert Conley, who has served on the council but did not file for re-election in order to enter the mayoral race. Conley garnered 2,067 votes to Holden’s 1,812, according to Borough Clerk Elizabeth Osborne, for a 255-vote margin of victory.

While both parties had two candidates on the ballot for the two council seats, Councilman Sam Cerciello waging a write-in campaign as an Independent. Cerciello fought unsuccessfully to hold the seat he was elected to for a special two-year term on the GOP ticket in 2009; he had originally intended to run for mayor as an Independent then switched his focus in an effort to retain his council seat..

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Cerciello received 270 write-in votes.

Jerry Stevenson, chair of the Madison Republican Committee, said, “We do not think it (the write-in campaign) was the key factor in Mr. Conley being elected mayor. We do not attribute Mayor Holden’s loss to the Cerciello write-in campaign.”

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He noted that, four years ago, when Cerciello ran for mayor, he received 600 votes. His vote total Tuesday was “50 percent less than what he got four years ago,” Stevenson said.

He continued, “The main reason she lost was the amount of extra votes that Senator Dick Codey generated.”

Mayor Holden agreed, saying, “It’s the top of the ticket that pulled the votes.”

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