Record 10/6: Ballots Confirm Senate Victory

As reported in today's Record, Judge Peter Doyne opened the previously uncounted ballots from the "Tenafly Five," giving Teaneck Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg the slim edge she needed to fill Byron Baer's vacated Senate seat and his spot on the November ballot. Bergen County Freeholder Valerie Huttle and Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes have announced their candidacies to fill Weinberg's ballot spot for her General Assembly seat in the 37th District, to be selected tonight by a Bergen County Democratic Committee vote. Read today's Record or see http://tinyurl.com/9nra9 for the item at the Record's http://www.Bergen.com web site (registration required).

Ballots confirm Senate victory Thursday, October 6, 2005 By SCOTT FALLON STAFF WRITER

The tangled legal battle over Byron Baer's vacated Senate seat came to an end Wednesday with the opening of five ballots that gave the office to Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg.

Bergen County Democratic Committee members will hold a special election tonight to choose her successor in the Assembly.

Freeholder Valerie Huttle and Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes were the only two to announce their candidacies by early Wednesday evening.

Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa dropped out of the race, saying he was spent after the three-week battle with Weinberg over Baer's seat.

"If it had been a normal election and the Assembly seat came open, I'm sure I would have gone after it," he said. "It has been an extended and difficult experience, and I don't think I want to go through that again."

Wildes entered the race Wednesday afternoon after hearing that Zisa had dropped out. Wildes was unavailable for comment because he was observing Rosh Hashana. But a spokesman said Wildes believes he can represent the district best.

"Michael is the one who really speaks for independents," said the spokesman, Adam Foreman. "He has stood up to the party bosses for years."

Huttle, who has been endorsed by Weinberg, said she was looking forward to a fair but intense 24-hour campaign, regardless of who her opponent was.

"Valerie Huttle has been an independent voice on the Freeholder Board since she was elected," said Rocco Mazza, Huttle's legislative aide.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, said he and his staff would oversee the election, much as they did for the Zisa-Weinberg contest, if all the parties agree to it.

Weinberg will face Republican Robert S. Lebovics, an Englewood surgeon, in the Nov. 8 election to fill the remaining two years of Baer's term.

The ballots were opened by Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne just hours after the state Supreme Court denied Zisa's bid to keep them sealed.

"If we've done nothing else, we have a new fresh voice that I think is going to be joining us in the Legislature," Weinberg said.

E-mail: fallon@northjersey.com Copyright © 2005 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

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