"Statute says 'shall' but city says 'shouldn't' after every opposing candidate withdraws from Ward 2 and Ward 3 council races."
A city that already spent $120,000 printing ballots for a June 9 runoff election now wants a judge to call the whole thing off. Bayonne filed suit this week seeking judicial cancellation of the Ward 2 and Ward 3 council runoffs after every opposing candidate withdrew, leaving one name on each ballot and no one to run against.
The problem is the statute. New Jersey law says a runoff "shall be held" when no candidate hits 50% plus one. It does not say what happens when the second candidate quits.
Bayonne's municipal election on May 12 produced first-round winners in most races. Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski took the mayor's office with roughly 62% of the vote, becoming the first woman elected mayor in Peninsula City history. Her at-large council running mates Mark Bottino and Mariam Salama won outright, as did 1st Ward candidate Gene Perry.
But in the 2nd and 3rd Wards, no candidate cleared the majority threshold. Ward 2 produced a four-way split: Board of Education trustee Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez led with 1,272 votes, about 42% of the total. Independent Omar Elgarhi took 790. Former councilman Sal Gullace, running on Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker's slate, pulled 776. Planning Board Chair Karen Fiermonte, allied with mayoral candidate Mary Jane Desmond, finished with 168.
Ward 3 was tighter. Retired Hudson County Sheriff's Office detective Tommy Gillen, running with Ashe-Nadrowski, led four-term Council President Gary La Pelusa 1,710 to 1,352. Pat Devaney took 349. John Milan Sebik took 196.
Both races triggered the runoff provision in NJSA 40:45-19, the statute that governs nonpartisan municipal elections. The law mandates a second round on the fourth Tuesday after the first — this year, June 9. The candidates advancing "shall be the two candidates for the office who received the greatest number of votes."
Then the withdrawals started.
La Pelusa announced at the May 13 council meeting that he would not compete. He told Hudson County View the next day that he wanted the incoming mayor to have "a council of new people, not someone from previous councils like myself." He cited health issues and a desire to spend more time with family. Devaney, who finished third in Ward 3, endorsed Gillen immediately. Sebik withdrew through a letter to the city clerk.
In Ward 2, the runner-up remained unresolved for days. Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado said provisional and vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by May 12 could arrive until May 19, so the final order would not be set until the following week. When the dust settled, Elgarhi led Gullace by two votes — 824 to 822. Both men then declined the runoff. Fiermonte had already finished far behind.
On May 20, City Clerk Madelene Medina conducted a ballot drawing in the council chambers. Royal Printing, the West New Jersey firm that holds the city's $120,000 election printing contract, prepared slips for each candidate. In Ward 2, only one slip went into the box: Godesky-Rodriguez. In Ward 3, only Gillen. The city posted the results the next day. No write-in votes are permitted in runoff elections.
The conflict puts City Clerk Madelene Medina in an unusual position: she has already conducted the official ballot drawing and posted public notices, and now her own government is asking a court to undo those acts.
The runoffs would have the legal effect of ratifying the election of the leading candidate in both wards. But ratification of what? The runoff would offer voters one candidate per ballot, with no write-ins permitted and no meaningful contest.
Elgarhi, in his concession statement to Hudson County View, framed his withdrawal around taxpayer cost and transition focus. "I do not want to force Bayonne into a runoff election that would cost taxpayers additional money or take focus away from the incoming administration during its transition and first 100 days," he said. His campaign slogan — "Fix the basics, respect the residents" — now sits awkwardly against a statute that demands a procedural exercise with no opposition.
The city appears to agree. According to the New Jersey Globe, Bayonne filed suit asking a judge to cancel the June 9 runoffs. The city's legal position, as reported by the New Jersey Globe, centers on the absence of a statutory mechanism for cancellation when candidates withdraw. The statute says "shall"; Bayonne argues the legislature never contemplated a scenario where all opposition quits.
Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado, whose office administers election infrastructure, has not publicly addressed the cancellation request. The Hudson County Board of Elections, chaired by Janet Larwa, also has not taken a position.
What the state likely counters is that "shall" means exactly what it says, and municipalities that adopt runoff elections in their form of government — a choice Bayonne made when it established its charter — cannot unmake that choice by lawsuit when the outcome becomes inconvenient.
The Municipal Clerks of New Jersey Desk Manual, the procedural guide for local election administrators, confirms that runoff elections are permitted only in municipalities that have adopted them in their form of government. The manual assigns the municipal clerk responsibility for preparing ballots and certifying results for nonpartisan elections. Bayonne is now effectively suing to undo official acts its own clerk has already performed.
The runoff will cost at least a portion of the $120,000 printing contract, plus poll worker compensation at the state rate of $300 per worker and administrative overhead. The ballots are already printed. The workers are already scheduled. The 72-hour notice reporting period for campaign contributions began May 27, per NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission records.
Texas permits local governing bodies to cancel elections when races become unopposed, though the statute explicitly bars cancellation if any opposed at-large race exists on the same ballot. New Jersey has no equivalent provision.
The candidates who withdrew did so for stated reasons. La Pelusa cited health and family. Elgarhi cited taxpayer cost and transition focus. Gullace simply declined. The statute, written in 1981 and amended periodically, never contemplated that candidates might refuse to participate. It assumes a contest.
All winners, including the Ward 2 and Ward 3 council members, are scheduled to take office July 1 regardless of whether the runoffs proceed. Between now and then, the city is asking a court to read "shall" as "should not have to." The candidates have already stopped campaigning. The ballots show one name per ward. The only question is whether New Jersey election law has an escape hatch that the legislature never wrote.
Sources
Bayonne City Government. "City Clerk Draws Ballot Positions for Bayonne Council Runoff Elections in Wards 2 & 3." May 21, 2026.
Bayonne City Government. "VBM Requests for Municipal Run-off Election - June 9, 2026." May 14, 2026.
Bayonne City Government. City Council Minutes CR-9, February 11, 2026.
Hudson County View. "La Pelusa concedes Bayonne 3rd Ward council race, handing Gillen the victory." May 14, 2026.
Hudson County View. "Bayonne's 2nd Ward council race going to runoff, 2nd place finisher too close to call." May 13, 2026.
Hudson County View. "Elgarhi concedes to Godesky-Rodriguez in Bayonne 2nd Ward council race." May 19, 2026.
Hudson TV. "Ballot Positions Drawn For Bayonne's 2nd and 3rd Ward Council Runoff Election." May 23, 2026.
New Jersey Globe. "Bayonne asks judge to cancel June 9 runoff elections after candidates drop out." May 30, 2026.
New Jersey Department of State. NJ Revised Statutes 40:45-19.
New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Run-off Election Fact Sheet. 2026.
New Jersey Division of Elections. Poll Worker Compensation.
Municipal Clerks of New Jersey. Desk Manual Chapter 5: Elections. December 16, 2020.
Hudson County Superior Court. Civil Division.
Trellis.law. Case filings, Hudson County Superior Court, May 2026.
"Statute says 'shall' but city says 'shouldn't' after every opposing candidate withdraws from Ward 2 and Ward 3 council races."
BAYONNE, N.J. — A city that already spent $120,000 printing ballots for a June 9 runoff election now wants a judge to call the whole thing off. Bayonne filed suit this week seeking judicial cancellation of the Ward 2 and Ward 3 council runoffs after every opposing candidate withdrew, leaving one name on each ballot and no one to run against.
The problem is the statute. New Jersey law says a runoff "shall be held" when no candidate hits 50% plus one. It does not say what happens when the second candidate quits.
Bayonne's municipal election on May 12 produced first-round winners in most races. Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski took the mayor's office with roughly 62% of the vote, becoming the first woman elected mayor in city history. Her at-large council running mates Mark Bottino and Mariam Salama won outright, as did 1st Ward candidate Gene Perry.
But in the 2nd and 3rd Wards, no candidate cleared the majority threshold. Ward 2 produced a four-way split: Board of Education trustee Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez led with 1,272 votes, about 42% of the total. Independent Omar Elgarhi took 790. Former councilman Sal Gullace, running on Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker's slate, pulled 776. Planning Board Chair Karen Fiermonte, allied with mayoral candidate Mary Jane Desmond, finished with 168.
Ward 3 was tighter. Retired Hudson County Sheriff's Office detective Tommy Gillen, running with Ashe-Nadrowski, led four-term Council President Gary La Pelusa 1,710 to 1,352. Pat Devaney took 349. John Milan Sebik took 196.
Both races triggered the runoff provision in NJSA 40:45-19, the statute that governs nonpartisan municipal elections. The law mandates a second round on the fourth Tuesday after the first: this year, June 9. The candidates advancing "shall be the two candidates for the office who received the greatest number of votes."
Then the withdrawals started.
La Pelusa announced at the May 13 council meeting that he would not compete. He told Hudson County View the next day that he wanted the incoming mayor to have "a council of new people, not someone from previous councils like myself." He cited health issues and a desire to spend more time with family. Devaney, who finished third in Ward 3, endorsed Gillen immediately. Sebik withdrew through a letter to the city clerk.
In Ward 2, the runner-up remained unresolved for days. Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado said provisional and vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by May 12 could arrive until May 19, so the final order would not be set until the following week. When the dust settled, Elgarhi led Gullace by two votes, 824 to 822. Both men then declined the runoff. Fiermonte had already finished far behind.
On May 20, City Clerk Madelene Medina conducted a ballot drawing in the council chambers. Royal Printing, the firm that holds the city's $120,000 election printing contract, prepared slips for each candidate. In Ward 2, only one slip went into the box: Godesky-Rodriguez. In Ward 3, only Gillen. The city posted the results the next day. No write-in votes are permitted in runoff elections.
The conflict puts City Clerk Madelene Medina in an unusual position: she has already conducted the official ballot drawing and posted public notices, and now her own government is asking a court to undo those acts.
The runoffs would have the legal effect of ratifying the election of the leading candidate in both wards. But ratification of what? The runoff would offer voters one candidate per ballot, with no write-ins permitted and no meaningful contest.
Elgarhi, in his concession statement to Hudson County View, framed his withdrawal around taxpayer cost and transition focus. "I do not want to force Bayonne into a runoff election that would cost taxpayers additional money or take focus away from the incoming administration during its transition and first 100 days," he said. His campaign slogan—"Fix the basics, respect the residents"—now sits awkwardly against a statute that demands a procedural exercise with no opposition.
The city appears to agree. According to the New Jersey Globe, Bayonne filed suit asking a judge to cancel the June 9 runoffs. The city's legal position, as reported by the New Jersey Globe, centers on the absence of a statutory mechanism for cancellation when candidates withdraw. The statute says "shall"; Bayonne argues the legislature never contemplated a scenario where all opposition quits.
Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado, whose office administers election infrastructure, has not publicly addressed the cancellation request. The Hudson County Board of Elections, chaired by Janet Larwa, also has not taken a position.
What the state will likely counter is that "shall" means exactly what it says. Municipalities that adopt runoff elections in their form of government, a choice Bayonne made when it established its charter, cannot unmake that choice by lawsuit when the outcome becomes inconvenient.
The Municipal Clerks of New Jersey Desk Manual, the procedural guide for local election administrators, confirms that runoff elections are permitted only in municipalities that have adopted them in their form of government. The manual assigns the municipal clerk responsibility for preparing ballots and certifying results for nonpartisan elections. Bayonne is now effectively suing to undo official acts its own clerk has already performed.
The runoff will cost at least a portion of the $120,000 printing contract, plus poll worker compensation at the state rate of $300 per worker and administrative overhead. The ballots are already printed. The workers are already scheduled. The 72-hour notice reporting period for campaign contributions began May 27, per NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission records.
The candidates who withdrew did so for stated reasons. La Pelusa cited health and family. Elgarhi cited taxpayer cost and transition focus. Gullace simply declined. The statute, written in 1981 and amended periodically, never contemplated that candidates might refuse to participate. It assumes a contest.
All winners, including the Ward 2 and Ward 3 council members, are scheduled to take office July 1, regardless of whether the runoffs proceed. Between now and then, the city is asking a court to read "shall" as "should not have to." The candidates have already stopped campaigning. The ballots show one name per ward. The only question is whether New Jersey election law has an escape hatch that the legislature never wrote.
Sources
Bayonne City Government. "City Clerk Draws Ballot Positions for Bayonne Council Runoff Elections in Wards 2 & 3." May 21, 2026.
Bayonne City Government. "VBM Requests for Municipal Run-off Election - June 9, 2026." May 14, 2026.
Bayonne City Government. City Council Minutes CR-9, February 11, 2026.
Hudson County View. "La Pelusa concedes Bayonne 3rd Ward council race, handing Gillen the victory." May 14, 2026.
Hudson County View. "Bayonne's 2nd Ward council race going to runoff, 2nd place finisher too close to call." May 13, 2026.
Hudson County View. "Elgarhi concedes to Godesky-Rodriguez in Bayonne 2nd Ward council race." May 19, 2026.
Hudson TV. "Ballot Positions Drawn For Bayonne's 2nd and 3rd Ward Council Runoff Election." May 23, 2026.
New Jersey Globe. "Bayonne asks judge to cancel June 9 runoff elections after candidates drop out." May 30, 2026.
New Jersey Department of State. NJ Revised Statutes 40:45-19.
New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Run-off Election Fact Sheet. 2026.
New Jersey Division of Elections. Poll Worker Compensation.
Municipal Clerks of New Jersey. Desk Manual Chapter 5: Elections. December 16, 2020.
Hudson County Superior Court. Civil Division.
Trellis.law. Case filings, Hudson County Superior Court, May 2026.
Texas Secretary of State. "Cancellation of Election for Local Political Subdivisions."