From Bozo the Clown to the Village Clerk's Intern: Write-In Candidates Come Up Short in Election

It's not often that write-in candidates drum up enough pencil marks to claim a seat. Nonetheless, it didn't stop voters from nominating such political forces as Mickey Mouse, Bozo the Clown and a series of others for various government seats. From the pseudo-practical to the absurd, we take a look at the write-in candidates from the 2010 November elections in Ridgewood.

Village Council

Joseph Vallerini, the , received one write-in vote for village council. Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman had one, as did James Toolen, Joshua Blecher Cohen and Craig Huenke and two others.

Huenke, a Boy Scout leader who has coordinated the float for the 4th of July celebration at Willard school for the past several years, received a vote. The Ridgewood News ran a profile on him last November in which he called the village council "a political nightmare."

Josh Blecher Cohen, . The teen, who is enrolled in Bergen Academies, said in a previous Patch story that he wouldn't rule out future public service.

James Toolen, the former mayor of Waldwick, took a vote home in Ridgewood. Interestingly, the vote cast was in Ridgewood's tenth district, nowhere near the Waldwick border.

Congress

Scott Garrett may have cruised to victory, winning 54.7 percent of the votes in Ridgewood. But write-in candidates James Douglas "Dylan" Ratigan, Ed Fanning, Mark D. Quick, Allan Page, Tom Tancredo, Pat Schuber and Walter Lamerton all received at least one vote.

Ratigan, 53, who's publicly noted that he stood no chance in the 5th district, is an atheist who put a stop to the saying of the Lord's prayer at town meetings in his hometown of Newton.

Fanning, a Green Party candidate for Congress, led the write-ins with 111 votes. Tancredo, a former Congressman from Colorado, is known for his controversial views on immigration and ran for the governor's seat in the Rocky Mountain State. He grabbed one vote in Ridgewood on November 2 and also failed to win in Colorado.

Schuber was the Bergen County executive for 12 years before Dennis McNerney took office. Since "retirement," Schuber has been a professor at Farleigh Dickinson University and now chairs the NY/NJ Port Authority. He grabbed a single vote in Ridgewood.

Freeholders

The Republicans in style but some voters in Ridgewood had another candidate in mind. Paul Rennie, of 209 S. Maple Street, nabbed 21 votes, 20 of which were in District 4 (Ridge School).

Mickey Mouse and two others took home one vote apiece.

Sherriff

Joe Saudino  from incumbent Leo McGuire, but "Bozo the Clown" was hot on their heels with ... one vote.

County Executive

and longtime County Clerk Kathleen Donovan. Robert Muller and Michael J. Pallone each garnered a vote.

Could the single vote have been meant for Robert Mueller, the former head of the FBI? Could Michael J. Pallone be related to re-elected Congressman Frank Pallone?