MOUNTAIN LAKES – Madison Democrats celebrated the results of the June 5 primary at the Morris County Democratic Committee’s 2018 Mayor’s Ball held on Thursday, June 21, at the Zeris Inn in Mountain Lakes. The Mayor’s Ball honored the six Morris County Democratic elected mayors, including Madison’s own Mayor Bob Conley.
The primary election featured strongly contested races for both parties’ nomination for the US Senate and the US Congressional seat currently held by the retiring Rodney Frelinghuysen. Winning Democratic candidates up and down the ballot out-polled their Republican counterparts for office by large double digit margins in Madison. The winning Democratic nominee for the New Jersey 11th Congressional District, Mikie Sherrill, received more votes, 1,048, than the total cast for all the Republican candidates in Madison. The Democratic nominees for Madison Borough Council, Councilwoman Astri Baillie and former Board of Education member Debra Coen, out-polled the Republican nominees, by 1,132 and 1,127 to 673 and 672 votes, respectively.
“We are very pleased by the primary results,” stated Baillie. “We believe that it bodes well for the fall campaign. Over the coming months, Deb and I will be walking door-to-door, meeting and speaking with voters throughout Madison in our campaign for Council. We believe that Deb and I have the experience in governance and a plan for the future that will allow us to build on the many successes we have had in municipal government since I was first elected to the Council in 2012.”
“There was a lot of excitement at the ball”, added Coen. “Like us, Democrats across the county are very excited and we are looking forward to the November general election, where we will elect a US Senator, a new representative for the 11th US Congressional District, three county freeholders, a county clerk and in Madison, the two seats on the Borough Council that Astri and I are seeking.”
New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, was the keynote speaker at the ball. The governor noted that Morris County Democrats have the opportunity to help turn two New Jersey congressional districts with strong candidates, former US Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor Mikie Sherrill running in the 11th District, and former State Department official Tom Malinowski in the 7th District. “Having Trump ripping children from their parents is the last straw,” Murphy stated. “He may have relented on future separations but there are as many as 2000 children that may never see their parents again.” Murphy stated that it was “important that Democrats win one or possibly both houses of Congress in November so that we can stop this madness. And if we win the House back, New Jersey will have played an important role in the win.”
Murphy pointed to accomplishments that been made in New Jersey since his inauguration in January. “We have the most diverse cabinet in the state’s history and the first female majority in the governor’s cabinet.” He also pointed to important legislative wins since January, including equal pay for equal work legislation, funding of Planned Parenthood, and the passage of six new firearm laws, giving New Jersey what has been described as probably the most restrictive gun-control legislation in the nation. With respect to the budget, Murphy stated that he is looking for “solutions and not gimmicks. If we can have tax equity, the middle class will benefit. I am not concerned about the next election but the next generation.”
In her remarks, 11th US Congressional District candidate Mikie Sherrill noted that she has been stunned by the level of engagement by Democratic voters in the district and the momentum her candidacy has achieved. She stated that together we need to “achieve equality in affordable health care for all Americans and that we need to double down on investments in our infrastructure, the environment, clean water, and gun control.”