Written Off, Mayor Vows Write-In

Mayor Albert T. McWilliams, a two-term Democrat, lost his last chance Thursday (Oct. 6, 2005) to appear on the November 8 ballot as a Republican.

“If my only option is to run as a write-in candidate, so be it. Let us all make history together,“ McWilliams said in a prepared statement.

The state Supreme Court denied a move by McWilliams, city and county Republican organizations and three voters to seek overturn of an Appellate Division decision that found the so-called “sore loser” law constitutional. Previously, Union County Superior Court Judge Walter R. Barisonek declared it unconstitutional, but the Union County Democratic Committee appealed it.

The law says a municipal candidate who loses a primary cannot switch parties to run in the general election.

Now the mayor’s only hope for re-election is a write-in campaign.

City Republicans also passed on the opportunity to fill the vacant mayoral slot on the ballot. The GOP had until 2 p.m. Thursday, but Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi said no name was offered and she immediately ordered printing of the Plainfield ballots, which had been held up by the legal appeals.

Ballots for 20 other Union County municipalities were already printed.

The Plainfield Republican Municipal Committee met Wednesday night, and Chairwoman Sandy Spector said members decided to stay “steadfastly behind Al McWilliams.”

Spector cited his experience, a point also emphasized in the mayor’s statement.

“For me to withdraw and allow an inexperienced, ineffective individual to become mayor of Plainfield by default is not going to happen,“ McWilliams said, referring to Democrat Sharon Robinson-Briggs, who won the June Democratic primary by 325 votes.

Independent candidate Bob Ferraro and Robinson-Briggs are now the only mayoral candidates that will appear on the ballot.

Ferraro previously served on the City Council. Robinson-Briggs was elected to the school board and was its president last year.

In the June primary, 7,878 registered Democrats were eligible to vote and 5,505 did so. According to official primary results, Robinson-Briggs received 2,713 votes and McWilliams received 2,388. Thomas T. Turner III received 59 votes.

The general election is open to all the city’s more than 19,000 registered voters and they are not bound by party affiliations. Democrats will have an edge because of the gubernatorial election and the re-election bid of Assemblyman Jerry Green, who is also the city’s Democratic Party chairman.

The city has barely more than 1,100 Republicans, but as of Sept. 23 had 8,755 unaffiliated voters, who could decide the election.

The challenge of a write-in campaign is that voters must print the exact name of their candidate. Any variations will be counted separately.

Tuesday (Oct. 11, 2005) is the last day to register in order to vote in the Nov. 8 general election.