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Stanhope's first female mayor passed away — and then won re-election in Tuesday's primary
Voters in Stanhope gave Republican nominations to two incumbent council members in Tuesday's primary — including Diana Kuncken, a longtime public official in the Sussex County borough who died a week before the election.
Kuncken, 83, died on June 3. The longtime Stanhope resident was first elected to the council in 1997. In 2004, she became Stanhope's first female mayor, serving eight years. In 2012 she returned to the council, serving continuously until her death last week, according to her obituary.
Kuncken "passed away peacefully," according to the obituary from Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home, which did not list a cause of death.
Unofficial results from the June 10 primary show Kuncken gathered 201 votes in the Republican primary while fellow council member Scott Wachterhauser received 233 votes. The third candidate in the race for two nominations on the November ballot was Najib Iftikhar, who received 85 votes, according to the county clerk's Democrats sought council nominations.
According to County Clerk Jeff Parrott, the Republican party will select someone to fill Kuncken's unexpired term on the council. He said he expected the party will also select a candidate to replace her on the November ballot.
The only other contested municipal primary in the county was a Republican race in Ogdensburg, where four candidates vied for two nominations to the borough council.
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That race was led by Kristopher Gordon with 173 votes, followed by incumbent Brenda Cowdrick with 169. Councilwoman Caren Ruitenberg had 136 votes and Michael Nardini 160, according to preliminary results.
Parrott said there were write-ins which could decide candidates in some Democrat races. Those must be tallied and the county must verify that the winner wants to be on the November ballot.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex County councilwoman wins GOP primary - a week after her death
