Unofficial Results

Vote tally from the Democratic Primary on June 7, 2011

Leonia Mayor
John DeSimone    654
Mary Heveran       251

Leonia Council
Gil Hawkins     667
Doug Salmon   708

See this and other results at NorthJersey.com  Select a town on the interactive map.




Also read the election report "Bergen County voters decide primary races" at NorthJersey.com

"The race centered around the downtown business district, something DeSimone, as owner of Moore’s Hardware on Broad Avenue, is intimately familiar with, as well as taxes, traffic and making government more transparent."

And the Bergen Beat article Leonia Democrats unseat incumbent mayor

"Leonia Democrats sought change in Tuesday’s primary, backing Councilman John DeSimone over Mayor Mary Heveran for the borough’s top office."

The new Democratic Municipal Committee

For the record, the 12 new Democratic Municipal Committee (DMC) members were elected by overwhelming majorities, so clearly their neighbors were well aware of their commitment to Leonia. Following is a partial list of the various boards and commissions on which they served:

Leonia Council
Board of Education
Planning Board
Board of Adjustment
Capital Budget Committee
Leonia Library Board
Recreation Commission
Historic Preservation Commission
Shade Tree Commission
Ambulance Corps
Leonia Summerstage
St. John's Food Pantry

Last year's dramatic election results demonstrated a lack of support for the old way of doing business in the Leonia Democratic party, choosing candidates and board members from an in-grown gene pool. It was a clear mandate from Leonia Democrats to encourage wider participation in the governing process.

Yes indeed! The voters spoke, and new, fresh faces and voices were elected to the DMC, charged with the responsibility to select the candidates for Mayor and Council. And those candidates we are asking you to vote for on Tuesday June 7 are. . .

John DeSimone for Mayor
Gil Hawkins & Doug Salmon for Council

The DMC's Choice for Mayor

For the sake of accuracy, there was no "political plot" against Mary Heveran. The Committee respects her many years of service.  In fact, the Committee interviewed her first among the potential candidates during the candidate selection process.

The Committee is aware of the heavy responsibility it carries as the organization responsible under the election law for the selection of candidates.  The decision NOT to nominate an incumbent was not taken lightly. However, Mayor Heveran's claim that incumbents should be automatically renominated flies in the face of the Democratic process. When Mary made such a request for support at a meeting with Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblymen Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson, and Bergen County Chairman Lou Stelatto her request was not supported. On the contrary,  I was informed  by those present that they supported the absolute right of the DMC to select its own slate. If incumbents were automatically supported for reelection, there would be no need for a duly elected Committee.

The Committee concluded that Mayor Heveran had made a number of questionable leadership decisions; for example, destroying an excellent website and dispensing with its world-class, volunteer experts. She removed highly qualified people from boards and commissions without cause, only to replace them with political allies.  We believe that at least one highly respected commission chairman resigned over the issue of political appointments.

The Committee felt that last June's landslide vote for John DeSimone and DarrylWhitter for Council and for an entirely new Municipal Committee reflected a strong community desire for new leadership and a desire to move away from self-perpetuating political appointments. We believe that the vote reflected a sense of being ignored and unheard.

The Committee chose to nominate Councilman John DeSimone for Mayor because he has the kind of experience we feel is needed now. This was a unanimous choice.  John has a proven record as a successful businessman, demonstrating skills of great value in the present climate. Moreover, we value his reputation for integrity, his straight-forward character, his independent judgment and his tireless willingness not just to listen, but to hear and respect the concerns of Leonians.

Vote Column 1 Democrats - - Tuesday, June 7 - - 6:00 am to 8:00 pm

Bob Leap
Chair, Leonia DMC


see Campaign Blog at http://leoniademocrats.blogspot.com/