Nordstrom Will be Freeholder Once Again

Longtime Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom won another term Tuesday night, heading toward a finish line in a race she nearly couldn't enter.

With virtually all election results in the county tallied, Nordstom had a nearly 20,000-vote lead over challenger Trucia Quatrone of Montville.

But whether Nordstrom would be on the ballot at all had been in question for months.

Nordstrom, of Washington Township, had appeared to narrowly lose the GOP's primary for the freeholder race earlier this year to William "Hank" Lyon of Montville. A recount of the primary still left Nordstrom a few votes shy of a win.

But Nordstrom challenged the results in court, saying illegally cast votes and an improper last-minute campaign donation to the Lyon campaign tainted the race. A judge agreed and threw out the election, turning the matter over to the county party to decide. Nordstrom eventually secured a small victory in a vote among Morris County Republican Committee members.

Tuesday, she said she was relieved to be done with the campaign. She said she'd been worn down by the primary ordeal, but was grateful "to all those who supported me. Now I'm ready to go back to work."

Nordstrom has served on the freeholder board since 1999.

She is amember of the New Jersey Historic Sites Council and is the Morris County Soil Conservation District supervisor. She's also a previous member of the Washington Township committee, a former Washington mayor and vice mayor, a former member of the NJ State Planning Commission, and a former member of the NJ Clean Air Council 1998-2000.

Nordstrom said during the campaign controlling taxes through greater efficiency, restructuring government services and focusing economic development were key goals for a coming term.

Quatrone, a retired field engineer in the telecom industry, is Montville's Municipal Democratic Committee chairperson. Quatrone also said she would focus on taxes, and said she'd re-prioritize spending. For instance, she said during the campaign, she'd spend less on the county's jail, and more to ensure quality education for Morris County children.