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Politics & Government

Dem Knocks Off Incumbent in Morris Plains

George Coogan re-elected while Joseph Cecala Jr. loses seat to Democratic challenger Frank Mangravite in tight contest; other local results reported

George Coogan retained his Morris Plains Council seat in Tuesday's election, but fellow GOP incumbent Joseph Cecala Jr. lost his seat to Democratic challenger Frank Mangravite.

With ballots from all six borough districts in, the borough clerk’s office reported that the tight races for two council seats were claimed by Coogan, with 682 votes, and Mangravite, with 680 votes. Cecala Jr. finished just behind, with 652 votes.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve my community in a greater capacity,” said Mangarvite, who works as a government efficiency expert. He estimates that he has worked with more than 50 municipalities across New Jersey, and has attended hundreds of council meetings while doing his job.

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He admitted to some nerve-wracking moments as the final votes were tallied in the extremely close race, and said his victory was something of a surprise to him, as it's rare for an incumbent council member to lose a re-election bid in the borough.

“We had significant support from Republican voters if you look at the numbers,” he said. “We had an active campaign, and that’s what we went for. “

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During his campaign, Mangravite described himself as a fiscal conservative and touted a plan to reduce the sewer fees that the borough pays to Morris Township. He also discussed plans to re-establish an economic development committee and a business advisory committee he said existed under the previous administration of former Mayor Al Florin but was not continued under the current administration.

Coogan and Cecala Jr. said during their campaign they wanted to maintain and improve quality of life in the borough. They cited ideas for improvements to recycling procedures, continued beautification efforts for both downtown and borough parks, and preservation of open space. They also pledged to continue expansion of shared services with other municipalities.

In polling for the two District 26 Assembly seats, Republican incumbent and New Jersey Republican Party Chairman Jay Webber of Morris Plains received 771 votes from his home town, while fellow incumbent and Assembly Republican leader Alex DeCroce of Parsippany garnered 719 votes in the borough, outpolling Democratic challengers Elliot Isibor of Rockaway (350 votes in the borough), Joseph Raich of Parsippany (363 votes in the borough) and independent challenger Michael Spector of the Mount Tabor section of Parsippany (30 votes in the borough). Webber and DeCroce won the overall election as well.

In borough voting for the District 26 Senate race, Republican incumbent Joe Pennacchio of Montville bested Democratic Challenger Wasim Khan of Parsippany by a margin of 731 to 359. Joseph Scafa finished a close third with 334 votes. Again, those results echoed the overall election.

In the race for the single Morris County Freeholder seat on the 2011 ballot, Republican incumbent Margaret Nordstrom defeated Democratic challenger Truscha Quatrone in borough voting by a margin of 660 to 402. Nordstrom won the election countywide.

Regarding the single state question on the ballot, borough residents voted by a margin of 652 to 362 to allow the legislature to vote on a constitutional amendment allowing limited sports betting in New Jersey if and when a federal law prohibiting sports betting in all but four states is repealed or overturned. Voters throughout the state backed the question by a roughly 2-1 margin.

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