November 12, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 15 Braunius, DeLuca receive voters’ approval Republican candidates prevailed in Midland Park as 43 percent of registered voters turned out at the polls last week. With 2,159 residents casting ballots, incumbent Councilman Mark Braunius and newcomer Lorraine DeLuca received 1,237 and 1,367 votes, respectively, to gain seats on the six-member council. There were also 10 votes cast for Joan Petrocelli of First Street and eight votes for Patricia Fantulin of Vreeland Avenue. Councilman Nick Papapietro did not seek reelection after six years on the governing body. Both candidates thanked the voters for coming out on Election Day and for plac- ing their confidence on them. “I pledge to do the best I can do to rep- resent each and every person in the bor- ough and to keep the community as our community,” Braunius said after the vote. For more than 30 years, I’ve called Midland Park my home and held various positions in this community. I’m looking forward to taking on this new opportunity and using my time, talent and experience for the betterment of the borough,” com- mented DeLuca. DeLuca has chaired the borough’s Memorial Day Committee for the past three years, served on the Midland Park Board of Recreation from 1998 to 2010 and currently sits on the Library Board. She serves as the Commissioner for Boy Scout and Cub Scout Troops 157 . She is the assistant to the director of religious education for the Church of the Nativity. Braunius served on the council from 1994 to 2005, and was appointed last November to fill the unexpired term of Councilman Mike Junta. A self-employed building contractor, he was also a member of the Midland Park Planning Board for the past 20 years. In the Fifth Congressional District race, Congressman Scott Garret polled 1,257 votes to Roy Cho’s 782. In the statewide and county races, Republicans received comfortable margins locally even as they lost the overall election. In the senate race, Jeff Bell received 2,298 votes to Cory Booker’s 1,762. Kathe Donovan garnered 1,140 votes for the County Executive post to James Tedesco’s 868 votes. For freeholder, Robert Avery and Bernadette Walsh received 1,106 and 1,190 votes, respectively, to David Ganz’s 718 votes and Joan Voss’s 731. Both public questioned received local support, with Question 1 receiving 964 yes votes to 674 no votes; and Question 2 getting 971 yes votes to 636 nos. Unlike most other towns in the county, there was no school board election on the ballot. Midland Park is one of the few towns that decided to keep the election on the school budget and board trustees on its April date.