Democrats Won't Concede In Close Caldwell Council Race

A close race for two Caldwell Council seats is not yet decided. 

With only a handful of votes deciding the race, Democrats Grace Kerrigan and Maureen McNish have yet to concede, and are waiting for all provisional and emergency ballots to be counted.

“We have not conceded and it is not official yet,” said McNish. “It’s definitely close. … We are looking at our options.”

Unofficial election results from the Essex County Clerk’s Office showed Republicans Thomas O’Donnell and Pasquale Capozzoli narrowly edging out Kerrigan and McNish by about 15 votes.  

O’Donnell and Capozzoli received 1,080 and 1,075 votes, respectively, while Kerrigan and McNish received 1,065 and 1,071, respectively, according to preliminary results. 

Caldwell Deputy Clerk Lisa O’Neill said Wednesday that all election data from Caldwell has been submitted to the Essex County Clerk’s Office, which actually showed the two Democrats winning the election. 

In Caldwell's preliminary results, Kerrigan and McNish received 1,019 and 1,021 votes, respectively, and O’Donnell and Capozzoli each received 1,002.

See Caldwell’s preliminary results that were submitted to the Essex County Clerk’s Office in the photo gallery above.  

It could take until at least Monday, Nov. 11, for the Caldwell Council race to be decided, according to a spokeswoman at the Essex County Clerk’s Office.

Counting of provisional and emergency ballots cast in the race will be counted starting Friday, and the results are expected to be released no earlier than Monday, said the spokeswoman.