Incumbent Palisades Park mayor loses primary: What's next for embattled borough
Bergen County's first Asian American mayor and the Palisades Park incumbent lost the Democratic primary and his chance to run for reelection in November.
Mayor Christopher Chung made history three years ago when Gov. Phil Murphy swore him in as mayor of the borough, where more than half the population is of Korean descent.
Councilman Chong Paul Kim won the Democratic primary by 80 votes as of Wednesday in a light turnout that saw fewer than 1,000 of the 9,672 registered voters cast ballots for the Democratic or Republican mayoral candidates.
Among Palisades Park's population, 58% are of Asian descent and 28% are Hispanic or Latinos, according to 2020 census data. Of the 20,292 residents, 64% are foreign-born.
Chung once had aspirations to run for state Assembly, and after he lost the Democratic committee's support for a reelection bid in Palisades Park, he decided to run anyway with his own ticket of candidates.
Chung did not return messages for comment.
In 2018, the primary race was decided by eight votes with Chung besting incumbent James Rotundo at the time.
Kim said it was the hardest election of his career and that defeating an incumbent mayor is not an easy task under any circumstances.
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Last year, Chung dropped out of the Assembly race for the 37th District to focus on Palisades Park after a critical report by the state comptroller's office, which said borough officials had wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
He said his new job as a coordinator of contractual operations for the Bergen County Utilities Authority, with an annual salary of $75,000, had nothing to do with his decision.
Chung is still suing Kim and other borough officials for $25 million in a defamation lawsuit.
Challenges ahead for Palisades Park
In November, Kim will run for mayor with running mates incumbent Councilman Michael Vietri seeking and school board member Jason Kim looking to win a council seat, who won the primary against Chung's running mates.
Kim said it's time to unite a "fractured" party, but believes the outcome will lead to a stronger Democratic club.
"We all have the same goals and aspirations to make the town better," Kim said "Now that there is no conflict we can focus on improving the quality of life in town."
Palisades Park's Democratic club president and Borough Administrator David Lorenzo said it's time to unity the party.
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Tensions ran high before the primary with council meetings becoming political spectacles with screaming from council members and residents, and accusations of overspending and improper distribution of benefits.
"The overwhelming response of people in town is reflected in the vote," Lorenzo said on behalf of the Democratic club. "We now focus on moving forward to the general election, uniting the organization and making sure the best candidates win. Our focus will be on continuing stabilizing taxes, a new recreation building, and restructuring the police department."
The primary sets the stage for November, when half of all registered voters are Democrats compared to 12% registered Republicans.
Kim said focusing on November and beating the Republicans is next. "We have to show the Democrats that there will be reform and we will address any previous issues and show leadership," he said.
Kim will face Councilwoman Stephanie Jang, who won the Republican primary with 117 votes versus her opponent Glenn Pallotta with 33 votes.
Jang, who first served on the board of education, was elected last year to the council as the first Republican member in 23 years.
In 2020, the Bergen County superintendent of elections investigated fraud allegations against Jang involving mail-in ballots.
It's unclear the status of the investigation, but this year, Lorenzo filed criminal charges against Jang with the state, alleging voter fraud.
Lorenzo claims Jang committed fraud with mail-in ballots by "entering a closed public building (Palisades Park Senior building) and gathering and assisting individuals in filling out vote-by-mail ballots for herself as a candidate," complaint documents show.
The winner in November will have to deal with a history of controversy including in-house fighting and lawsuits within the police department, which hasn't had a chief since 2019, and fallout from last year's report by the state comptroller's office.
Kristie Cattafi is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: cattafi@northjersey.com
Twitter: @KristieCattafi
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Palisades Park NJ election: Mayor Christopher Chung loses primary
