Ricigliano pulls off upset victory in mayoral primary
Councilwoman defeats Choi by fewer than 400 votes
BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer
Sparked by what she called a "grassroots movement" and the backing of the police and fire unions, two-term Edison Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano pulled off an upset victory over incumbent Mayor Jun Choi in the Democratic primary election last Tuesday.

Antonia Ricigliano

Ricigliano received 6,582 votes and Choi received 6,204.

"I'll be very honest with you, people in this town really came together on June 2," Ricigliano said. "We had support across the board. We reached out to every single district in Edison Township, and I really feel like that made a huge difference. I wanted this so badly, and I never let up throughout the whole campaign season."

Even when some local polls had her losing by about 14 points, she still never gave up hope.

"Allegedly, I was down by a bunch with less than a month to go, but still, I was confident," Ricigliano said. "I think in the end, his arrogance did him in. He really didn't treat the taxpayers right."

Among those who backed Ricigliano was Police Benevolent Association President Mike Schwarz.

Jun Choi

"I am absolutely elated," Schwarz said. "It was very tough working under Jun Choi. He was always into negative campaigning, and nobody liked that. It's really a great feeling to have the support of somebody who really cares."

Schwarz also mentioned that Choi always talked about how he wanted things done "professionally" but that he rarely followed his own edict.

Choi said he was proud of what he did over the past three and a half years as the mayor of the fifth largest municipality in the state, but that in the end, he felt that the negative campaigning of his opponent did him in.

"It's unfortunate that a slanderous campaign against me distorted my record," Choi said. "We're proud of stabilizing taxes and reforming the police department, and we definitely built a better future for Edison Township. Serving as mayor has been my greatest privilege. We still have seven months to move forward on many different projects."

Reached two days after her stunning victory, Ricigliano said she was still receiving numerous congratulatory phone calls and floral deliveries.

"It's amazing how many people supported me during the campaign and even now, when it's all been completed," Ricigliano said.

Even though she is a heavy favorite in November's general election, she says she is not overconfident and still knows that there is work to be done.

"I'm looking forward to a low-key summer, and I really do feel wonderful right now," Ricigliano said. "I knew I could do this. I thought it'd be close. He's the mayor, so right off the bat, name recognition dictates that people would certainly know him. I really did have a long hill to climb to get to this point."

Robert Yackel, president of the Edison Firefighters Association, said it was time for change within the town's hierarchy.

"It's great that he's gone. He couldn't tell the truth about anything during the campaign," Yackel said. "He attacked so many people, and he is not a friend to anybody. This was the most mean-spirited administration in the last 35 years. He was just a rotten individual."

When it comes to the truth, Ricigliano said that Choi tried to distort it to make her look bad.

"He said that I lied about a lot of things, but really, he had no proof of anything," Ricigliano said. "He was very disrespectful to a lot of people. I just want to do the right thing for people in Edison. I'm always going to be truthful about things."