Politics & Government

County Freeholder Race Takes Shape

Dems tap Estrada, Hudak and Wright; Republican Sytko announces plan to move

County Democrats have announced their freeholder slate for the 2011 election, with one potential Republican candidate pulling the plug on his campaign and announced plans to move to another county.

The Union County Democratic Party announced Tuesday that Freeholder Angel Estrada of Elizabeth will seek a fifth term in office, along side Freeholder Christopher Hudak of Linden, who was in December and Union Township resident Vernell Wright, a former elementary school principal who is seeking her first elective office.

Wright replaces Freeholder Nancy Ward of Westfield on the Democratic ticket. Wardthat she was retiring after seven years in office. Hudak was appointed in December to succeed Rick Proctor on the board after Proctor stepped down to become mayor of Rahway. Estrada, a former freeholder chairman, was first elected in 1999 after county Democrats dropped support for former Freeholder Donald Goncalves.

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“We have an infusion of new faces, and fresh ideas balanced by veteran leadership that is reinvigorating county government, and leading us into a new era,” County Democratic Chairwoman Charlotte DeFilippo said in a statement.

In a statement, Estrada, Hudak and Wright said economic development, promoting shared services and fiscal stability top their agenda.

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County Republicans are slated to nominate a slate of freeholder candidates at a convention on April 7.

Former Garwood Councilman Anthony Sytko, who  sought a freeholder seat as a Republican in 2009, said Tuesday that he is planning to relocate to another county and would not be running this year. Sytko, who had been considering another run, expressed Republican talking points when saying why he was moving.

“I am leaving Union County because I can’t stand to live in a county where the county government does not understand the role of county government and how not to gouge its residents with ungodly tax hikes,” Sytko said. “The county is forcing me to move.”

Sytko, who did retired from the Garwood Council after one term in 2010, did not say which county he’d move to. He said he has been considering the move for several months

Summit Councilwoman Ellen Dickson, who  sought a seat in 2010, has said she plans to run again as a Republican.

Republicans have not won a countywide election in Union County since 1994 and Democrats have controlled all nine freeholder seats since 1998.

It is not known if Estrada, Hudak and Wright will face opposition in the June primary. In previous years, an insurgent group has a run a slate in opposition to the party backed candidates. During the 2010 primary, the insurgent candidate came close to defeating long time county Sheriff Ralph Froelich in the primary.

Wright’s selection came after Westfield Councilman Dave Haas had expressed interest in the seat. Haas has said he will not challenge Wright in a primary. Haas unsuccessfully sought support for the freeholder appointment that Hudak received in December.

If successfully Wright would be the second Union Township to serve on the board, joining Freeholder Chairwoman Deborah Scanlon. Elizabeth also has two residents on the board, Estrada and Freeholder Dan Sullivan. Ward’s successor had been thought to come from Rahway, which has had no members on the freeholder board since Proctor’s resignation.


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