2 Wayne Ward Primary Council Races: Everything You Need To Know

WAYNE, NJ — Two Township Council primary races will be settled Tuesday following the Primary Election.

Newcomer Louis Avolio is facing off against longtime incumbent Al Sadowski in the Republican primary for the Ward 2 seat.

Sadowski is running for a fourth three-year term. Sadowski has served as council president and on the budget and open space committees. He is a fiscal conservative and has voted down a number of budgets that raise taxes.

"Property taxes are the number one concern of homeowners and small business owners throughout Wayne," Sadowski previously said.

Sadowski has sponsored legislation lowering the speed limit on Preakness Avenue to 25 miles per hour and got Passaic County to install a street light at the intersection of Valley Road and MacDonald Drive.

Avolio has never held elected office. He received the endorsement of the Wayne Regular Republican Organization. His name will appear on the county party's line on the ballot.

Avolio was born in Wayne and is a lifelong resident. He and his wife Marisa have three sons. He owns Lou's Landscaping & Design. He is now serving his second year on the township Planning Board.

There is a primary race for the Ward 5 Democratic spot on the ballot.

James Freeswick, a 60-year Wayne resident, and Fran Ritter are facing off for the Democratic seat in Ward 5.

Freeswick has never held elected office. He wants to put an end to one-party rule in Wayne. Republicans have had a stranglehold on the nine-member Town Council since 2016.

Freeswick has never held elected office. He unsuccessfully ran for Town Council in Ward 6 in 1999 and 2003, for mayor in 2005, and for at large council term in 2009. He successfully lobbied last year to get more ordinances and resolutions placed on the township website.

Ritter is president of the Brittany Chase Condominium Association. She was elected to the position in December.

"I ran on a platform of transparency, respect, meeting the needs to a community, and having a dialogue with everyone who lives here. I plan to take that show on the road for the ward. The ward needs that same type of tender loving care," Ritter previously said. "I try to practice the kind of government I would want to be governed by."

Ritter grew up in Bronx, New York. She has been a practicing attorney for 20 years and a financial services executive for 30 years.

Ritter has the endorsement of the Wayne Democratic Club and will appear on the Passaic County Democratic Organization line on the ballot.

The winner of the Freeswick-Ritter race will run against Lucy Rivera, a first-term Republican.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. For a street directory of voting wards and districts, click here. For a list of polling sites by ward and district, click here.

All election-related questions may be directed to the township clerk's office at 973-694-1800, ext. 3208.

Related:

• Al Sadowski Running For Re-Election To Wayne Council
• Resident Successfully Lobbies For Greater Transparency With Wayne Council

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com