EDGEWATER - Democratic incumbent Councilwomen Mary Hogan and Neda Rose have won what has been a heated and emotional primary election, handily defeating their opponents, John Oates and Mark Klein.

As of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night, Hogan and Rose were the projected winners with totals of 598 and 574 respectively, with Oates and Klein garnering 528 and 487 votes respectively . Hogan and Rose had to overcome being placed outside of the party column, which was occupied by Oates and Klein, yet prevailed despite being relegated to Column 3 on the ballot.

Hogan, whose family has a long history of Democratic Party politics, and Rose, a founder of the Edgewater Arts Council, faced surprising opposition in their third bid for seats on the Borough Council. Rather than merely having to contend with Republican opposition in the general election, the opposition came early in the form of a Democratic primary challenge mounted by the Oates/Klein ticket, which had the support of the Democratic Municipal Committee and Mayor Bryan Christiansen.

Oates, a veteran of the Korean and Viet Nam wars, is a former three-time Council President who served on the Edgewater Council for 16 years. Klein, a relative unknown, was chastized by the Hogan/Rose campaign for never having voted in Edgewater before declaring as a candidate. The Oates/Klein campaign criticized Hogan and Rose for their support of the purchase of the Grand Cove Marina, alleging that it would result in tax increases.

In response to the challenge over their Council seats, the Hogan-Rose team brought a reciprocal challenge to the Democratic Municipal Committee, fielding candidates for each of the 6 Committee seats in an attempt to wrest control of the borough's 3 election districts and to thereby take over the official arm of the Democratic Party within Edgewater. As of 9:15 p.m Tuesday night, it appeared that they were successful in winning the 2nd Election District, with Ruth Paci and Chaim Garnecarz apparently defeating Bob Christiansen and Regina Oates. It was projected that the Christiansen-backed candidates, however, still held on to the four Committee seats in Districts 1 and 3.

SUMMARY RESULTS:

Council:
Mary Hogan (D): 598
Neda Rose (D): 574
John Oates (D): 528
Mark Klein (D): 487

Democratic Municipal Committee:

1st District:
Mike Kelly: 174
Penny Lawlor: 173
Grethel Rambone: 144
Bill Jones: 141

2nd District:
Ruth Paci: 192
Chaim Garncarz: 189
Regina Oates: 154
Bob Christiansen: 149

3rd District:
Harriet Nikolaides: 180
Paul Hoinash: 168
Peter DePaul: 159
Kim Nolle: 145

6/6/00