Never take a race for granted

James Murray, a 68-year-old retired engineer from Chester Township, chewed into the usually sedate scenery of Morris County politics Tuesday when he upset Freeholder John Inglesino, stunning the political establishment and two other Freeholders.

Murray says his “message” propelled him to victory -- but he spent less than $5,000 on his campaign, and there was no obvious reason why Inglesino would find himself in trouble with Republican primary voters that have re-elected him twice by considerable pluralities.

Some Republicans have even wondered if there was a hiccup in the electronic voting machines – something the county’s top election official denies.

Bramhall says that “if you look at the 39 municipalities in this race, it was a trend.”

Incumbents Douglas Cabana and Jack Schrier received 16,310 and 15,671 votes, respectively. Murray won 14,655 votes, defeating Inglesino by a 1,598 vote margin.

From the start, the incumbents treated Murray’s candidacy as a joke. In a field of nine Republican candidates seeking Freeholder seats last year, the former county engineer shuddered to a dead last finish.

When the grandfatherly Murray showed up again to run this year, the incumbents figured they were in a good position to easily defeat him. Cabana has served as a Freeholder for ten years. Schrier has served for nine and Inglesino for over six.

“We believed we were a tough wall to break through,” said Schrier.

They even reasoned they might be able to nudge him out of contention without running a race, as they challenged Murray’s sloppily presented petitions – which included the names of Democrats - only to hear a judge say give him a chance.

No matter, they figured.

But that ruling from the judge was all Murray needed, that and a flip of the coin placement at the top of the Republican column on the June 5th ballot.

Schrier says he and his fellow Freeholders asked Bramhall if they could be bracketed so voters would have the benefit of knowing they were a team of incumbents. Schrier says Bramhall agreed.

But on Election Day, Murray’s name first in the column of Republican Freeholder candidates, followed by Cabana, Schrier and Inglesino –- and no defining bracket.

Schrier says Bramhall had later told him she could not create a bracket on the ballot.

Bramhall told PoliticsNJ.com that she did bracket the incumbents – by putting “them together, group them.” She says she did that.

But in terms of drawing a line around the candidates or setting them apart, "We don't do that,” the veteran Clerk explained.

For his part, Murray landed a New Jersey Right to Life endorsement, sent out automated telephone messages, posted lawn signs and went door-to-door as the little engine that could candidate up against the powerful machine, in an anti-tax, conservative district where the county takes 17 cents on the dollar.

While Murray had no money for direct mail, cable television commercials, or newspaper ads, he did have a flier.

Schrier and others say the challenger’s name is so similar to popular Freeholder John Murphy, who last year beat Murray to win re-election, was also was a factor, given the ballot lineup -- that and the fact that Murray’s signs were green and white, the same colors Murphy used for his signs last year.

Chatham Township Deputy Mayor Bailey Brower attributed Inglesino’s loss to “low voter turnout and voter indifference.”

Brower called Inglesino “smart and capable” and said that if it’s true that people confused Murray with Murphy, then they are sleepwalking into the polls, and there is no amount of bracketing or bellyaching to change the results.