Former Springfield Mayor, Former Historic Preservation Commissioner Win GOP Post as Write-Ins

Write-in votes filled two political party posts during Tuesday's primary election.

Former Springfield Mayor Marc Marshall and Eric Diddell, a former member of the town's Historic Preservation Commission, each won positions as members of the Republican County Committee as write-in candidates during the Tuesday primary election. Ten write-in votes were cast during the Tuesday primary.

Marshall and Diddell both won due to an election law technicality. The seats they won as male members of the Republican County Committee were not filled on the ballot due to no candidates filing petitions to seek the office. Under state election law, a write-in candidate needed to achieve a minimum amount of votes equal to the amount needed to obtain a ballot spot in the primary. The amount is determined by five percent of the precinct to vote in the 2009 gubernatorial primary.

According to Town Clerk Claire Gray, the minimum amount of write-in votes needed for each election district was two. Marshall polled two votes in ward one, district one and Diddell received four votes in ward one, district seven.

"I do not believe there should be an opening in county committee," Marshall said of his victory.

Marshall said he decided to write-in his name after seeing the lack of a candidate on the ballot for the committeeman seat. Marshall served for a period as a county committeeman representing a Springfield election district. He served one term on the Springfield Township Committee and was the township's mayor in 1991.

Marshall moved into Westfield three months ago and said he was not surprised to hear that some in community political circles were unsure who he was.

"I am not sure they know who I am," he said. 

Marshall and his wife relocated to a condo in the Savannah due to a desire to downsize and be part of the downtown Westfield community. He said he has been looking to get involved in the municipality, noting he has been involved in county Republican circles for decades, including doing volunteer work on campaigns for Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield).

Marshall, who holds a masters in public administration, said he has no plans to run for governmental office in Westfield, but he did not completely close the door on the possibility.

"I never say never in the game of politics," he said.

Diddell, an engineer who served in the volunteer historic preservation post, is best known for being the owner of the Addams Family house on Elm Street. He was unavailable for comment, but his wife noted that her husband was doing his civic duty.

The duos wins as write-in candidates are unusual in local political circles, given the low profile of the county committee posts and few write-in campaigns waged. The 88 write-in votes cast in April's Board of Education election was a recent record for the practice.

In other write-in votes, in ward two, district five, Jee PCB received one write-in vote for Republican county committeewoman. In ward two, district four, Stephen Schoeman received one write-in vote for the Republican congressional nomination. In ward three, district six, former Republican Councilman Neil Sullivan received two write-in votes for the Republican nomination for Congress. Sullivan represented the third ward on the Town Council for several years until his 2001 defeat by Democrat Kevin Walsh.

Marshall and Diddell's write-in victories entitle the pair to serve on the main governing body for the Republican Party in Union County and Westfield. The duties of the minor post include having a vote at county and town party conventions to award official party backing to a variety of elective offices and assisting candidates in their districts. The pair will have the right to vote on giving official party support in the county to a candidate to challenge U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) in 2012.

In the event of a vacancy in the state legislature, county committee members will have the ability to appoint an interim successor during a special convention. This was last used in 2009 when Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit) was appointed to succeed her late husband, Assemblyman Eric Munoz. In the event of a vacancy in town office, county committee members recommend three names to the Town Council for appointment as an interim successor. This process was last used to appoint Mayor Andy Skibitsky to office in 2005 after Greg McDermott's resignation and appoint Darielle Walsh to succeed Skibitsky as a councilmember.

While Marshall and Diddell do not have a high name recognition to some in Republican circles, they are being welcomed to the posts by members of the party.

"I welcome them to the committee," Councilman Keith Loughlin said.