3 days ago
See who won the primary election for three Bergen County Commissioners seats
The incumbent Democratic candidates for Bergen County's Board of Commissioners claimed the nominations on June 10 to run for reelection in November against three Republican challengers.
Bergen County's incumbent Democratic commissioners Tom Sullivan, Mary Amoroso and Germaine Ortiz won the primary election against three challengers — Chris Chung, John Vitale and Dolores Witko — who were backed by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who lost his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Assemblywoman Mikie Sherrill.
Sullivan, Amoroso and Ortiz, who were backed by the county Democratic committee, garnered 34,432 votes, 39,448 votes and 32,961 votes, respectively, according to unofficial vote totals as of Wednesday morning.
Former Palisades Park Mayor Chris Chung, former Bergen County Democratic Organization state Assembly candidate John Vitale and former Closter Councilwoman Dolores Witko received 27,407 votes, 23,958 votes and 21,887 votes, respectively.
They will face Republican candidates Jeffrey 'Jay' Costa Jr., Linda Barba and Andrea Slowikowski, who ran with support from the county GOP organization, won their party's nomination against Armen Azarnia and John Dinice, according to unofficial vote totals.
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During the campaign, Amoroso, the vice chairwoman of the commissioners, said that she and her running mates are dedicated to building a strong future for everyone, citing increased funding for special education programs and the planned opening of a new career and technical school later this year.
She was first elected to public office in 2015 to the Mahwah Township Council and is running for a third term as a commissioner.
Ortiz, the chairwoman of the Board of Commissioners, was first elected in 2016. A financial analyst for more than two decades, she said she was focused on improving residents' quality of life while maintaining fiscal discipline and expanding on shared services agreements across the county.
Sullivan was first elected to the county board in 2015. In 2021, he was nominated by Murphy and confirmed by the Senate to the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority.
Vitale, Chung and Witko were hoping to take advantage of the elimination of the party line on ballots. With the new ballot, the candidates believed they might reach voters who in the past may have voted down the line, which would group candidates who won the backing of county political parties. The practice led to keeping the same people in office and the county hadn't seen a competitive Democratic primary for the Board of Commissioners in years.
On Tuesday, however, even with the new ballots, both Democratic and Republican candidates who had support from their parties secured the nominations to run in November's general election.
'While I'm disappointed with the outcome of the primary, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported our campaign and believed in our vision for Bergen County,' Chung said.
This article originally appeared on See Bergen County Commissioners primary election results for 2025
