Republican candidate for mayor bows out and her replacement is...?

Republican mayoral candidate Cheryl Arana, who said in early July she had to drop out for family reasons, finally withdrew from the race Tuesday (Sept. 13, 2005).

The Plaintalker first reported that Arana had not formally withdrawn two weeks ago. (GOP mayoral candidate reluctant to withdraw?)

Her formal withdrawal triggers the process of filling the vacancy. The Union County Elections Division of the County Clerk's office will notify the county and local chairmen of the vacancy and the Plainfield GOP will have until Wednesday, Sept. 21 to fill it.

GOP Chairwoman Sandy Spector announced last week the party was holding screenings for the seat, but as of Wednesday, no name had been made public.

As of Aug. 1, there were 1,164 registered Republicans in the city, down from 1,553 when Mayor Albert T. McWilliams won his first term in 1997.

McWilliams lost the Democratic primary to Sharon Robinson-Briggs. Former Councilman Bob Ferraro is also running for mayor as an independent candidate.

--Bernice Paglia

KEYWORDS: elections