West Orange Election Results: Town Council, School Board (UPDATED)

This article was updated at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6. See certified results here.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The dust is settling down from the 2024 general election in West Orange, and all districts have been reported in the races for town council and the board of education.

West Orange voters went to their polling places on Nov. 5 to cast ballots for several candidates, including the town council and the local school board. Polls closed at 8 p.m., with early voting and mail-in voting launching earlier this month.

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TOWN COUNCIL

There are three open seats on the West Orange Town Council. Six candidates appeared on the ballot: Jonathan Redwine, Joe Krakoviak, Joyce Rudin, Doug Adams, Michelle Casalino and Tammy Williams. A seventh candidate, Bill Rutherford, is running as a write-in selection.

With 100 percent of districts reported, Rudin, Casalino and Krakoviak are at the head of the pack. Here are the uncertified election results from the Essex County Clerk’s Office:

• Jonathan Redwine – 7,688 votes (16.89%)
• Joe Krakoviak – 7,839 votes (17.23%)
• Joyce Rudin – 10,146 votes (22.3%)
• Doug Adams – 5,023 votes (11.04%)
• Michelle Casalino – 7,848 votes (17.25%)
• Tammy Williams – 6,961 votes (15.3%)
• Bill Rutherford – N/A (write-in totals not currently available)

BOARD OF EDUCATION

There are four candidates competing for two full terms on the West Orange Board of Education. Terms last for three years. The candidates are: Jeffrey Lichtman, Brian Rock, Eric Stevenson, and Adam Kraemer.

With 100 percent of districts reported, Stevenson and Rock are leading the race. Here are the uncertified results, as per the Essex County Clerk’s Office (100 percent of districts reported):

• Jeffrey Lichtman – 7,062 votes (27.71%)
• Brian Rock – 7,655 votes (30.04%)
• Eric Stevenson – 7,762 votes (30.46%)
• Adam Kraemer – 3,005 votes (11.79%)

An unexpired term on the board of education was also up for election. Dia Nicole Bryant ran unopposed for the seat.

BALLOT UPDATE

Patch reached out to the Essex County Clerk's Office on Wednesday to see if write-in results were available for the West Orange Town Council race. We received the following reply from county clerk Christopher Durkin:

"The process of adjudicating write-ins has begun by the Board of Elections. The Board of Elections needs to determine write-in votes on vote by mail ballots, early voting ballots, Election Day ballots, and provisional ballots. Vote by mail ballots can be counted for six days after Election Day as long as they were postmarked Election Day or prior. There were more than 13,000 provisional ballots cast countywide. The validity of these ballots will be determined over the next 10 days."

Durkin also provided an update about why the vote count was held up in West Orange:

"The county clerk’s office needed to obtain a judge’s court order to retrieve the Election Day results from West Orange Ward 4 District 15, because the board worker from that election district did not return the results cartridge. The county clerk’s office has been authorized to retrieve the election results from that election district and will be updating West Orange election results by 4:30 p.m. [Wednesday]."

There will updates to the election results through Nov. 16, Durkin said.

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