Off ballot

Uncontested Republican mayoral and Borough Council candidates were on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, but some Middlesex voters preferred celebrities, cartoon characters, past local politicos and in one case, a convicted criminal.

No surprise, borough voters showed plenty of snark with their write-in votes for those two local offices as well as Board of Education seats. The write-in results were released by the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Running on the ballot, GOP candidate Jack Mikolajcyzk won the mayoralty, while running mates Michael Conahan and Kevin Dotey took council seats.

Board of Education seats went to Amelia Sherr, Amanda Bayachek and Todd Nicolay as they won a six-candidate race for three, three-year terms.

Clearly though, some voters were saying they preferred other choices, particularly for the municipal government positions. The election saw 67 write-in votes cast for mayor, 90 for council, and 39 for school board.

Some voters were particularly blunt in their mayoral commentary “Anyone but Jack” received one vote as did the slight variations, “Anyone but Jack!” and “Anyone But Him.”

Mayor John Madden, who is not seeking re-election, still received one write-in vote as did Councilman Jeremiah Carnes. A host of former council members and candidates were among the write-in vote recipients. Getting write-in votes for mayor were: Matt Adams (2), Michele Tackach (1), Robert Schueler (1), and Sean Early (1).

Also receiving one mayoral write-in was former Mayor Ron DiMura, who was indicted in 2019.

Celebrities had a showing as well. Those receiving mayoral votes from the TMZ set were: Mickey Mouse (4), Keanu Reeves (1), Pee Wee Herman (1), Morgan Freeman (1).

Conahan and Dotey each got harsh critique from one write-in voter. One write-in was cast for Conahan with a derogatory comment. “Dotey is Awful” received one write-in as well.

The famous also got council support, with voters apparently hoping they’d find time from their busy schedules to run Middlesex government. Mickey Mouse, with four votes, was again the write-in leader for council. Others receiving council write-ins were: Donald Duck (1), Freddy Krueger (1), Jesus Christ (1), Samuel L. Jackson (1), Santa Claus (1), and Steve Harvey (1).

Numerous former Democratic council members and candidates received council write-in votes. They included: Adams (2), Monica Townsend (2), Tackach (1), Kim Keyes (1), Sean Kaplan (1), and Jerry Terrones (1).

Former school board member Kelly Giardina received one write-in vote for council. Joint Land Use Board member Mark Kranz received one vote. Others receiving votes included residents Kevin Redzinski (1), James Lawrie (1), Peter Gartner (1), and Middlesex GOP Chairman Steve Greco (1).

Among the school board write-ins, “Protect Trans Kids” received two votes. Also getting Board of Education write-ins were: Mickey Mouse (1), Gartner (1), Ralph Lauren (1), and Ralph Nader (1).

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