GOP drops challenge in So. River election Council will be split in ’07 between Dems, Republicans BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer “I have said all along, this has been a great experience, and I cannot thank the people of South River enough for their support.” — Michael Trenga Some six weeks after the general election, the battle for a South River Borough Council seat has officially come to an end. Republican Michael Trenga on Monday conceded the seat to Democrat Anthony Razzano, the victor by a one-vote margin. Trenga said he will no longer challenge Razzano for the three-year term. As a result, Razzano will be sworn in along with newcomer John Trzeciak when the council reorganizes Jan. 1, and the council will be split evenly, with three Democrats and three Republicans. Trenga and Razzano were initially tied after the Nov. 7 election, but a recount gave Razzano the single-vote lead. The GOP then indicated it would challenge those results, but Trenga said he since came to the conclusion that dropping the challenge would be in the best interest of the borough. “We don’t want to be the party viewed upon as trying to disenfranchise voters,” Trenga said. Razzano said he was surprised by Trenga’s announcement at Monday’s Borough Council meeting that he would drop the challenge. “I wasn’t expecting that, of course,” Razzano said. “He certainly was a gentleman about the whole thing. I don’t know what discussion he had with his attorney, but my attorney said that we had a good chance to win the case. Mr. Trenga did what he thought was in the best interest of the town.” In a press release from the South River Republican Organization, Trenga said he is nonetheless disappointed to lose the election by a vote. “I have said all along, this has been a great experience, and I cannot thank the people of South River enough for their support,” Trenga said. In the same press release, Republican Councilman Raymond Eppinger said there were technical violations of election law when residents were given the wrong ballots after the borough’s District 10 machine malfunctioned. He noted that this was not the fault of voters. “If the court followed the letter of the law, those citizens’ votes would not be counted, on a technicality,” Eppinger said. “That is not what Mr. Trenga or the Republican Party wanted. Voters should not be disenfranchised through no fault of their own.” At the meeting, Trenga congratulated Razzano and Trzeciak, who was Trenga’s running mate and garnered the most votes in the election. Razzano is already serving, having been appointed to fill a council seat vacated by Linda Ejk in September. Trzeciak will replace longtime Democratic Councilman Richard Reichenbach, who was unsuccessful in the election. “We had a great time visiting 2,500 doors in the borough,” Trenga said. Trzeciak also addressed the council Monday, thanking Reichenbach for his years of service to the borough and calling for the political parties to move forward with the election now fully in the past. “Let’s put the past behind us and move on,” Trzeciak said, adding that he looks forward to serving the borough with Razzano for the next three years. Trzeciak’s presence will bring a change in the council’s political makeup after 12 years of a Democratic majority. Mayor Robert Szegeti, a Democrat, will be able to vote in certain situations to break any tied council votes. Razzano told the Sentinel the new council will move forward in a bipartisan fashion in the best interests of the borough. “I think that the six of us can work together and with the mayor quite well,” Razzano said.