It’s a new era for Westfield town politics; the push for bipartisanship has won.

Although the mayor’s office and Town Council have been all Republican for more than a decade, that changed on Nov. 7. On Election Day, Westfield voters chose a Democratic mayor and four Democratic council candidates, who will join the four current Republican Town Council members.
Michelle “Shelley” Brindle will be the next mayor of Westfield, having defeated incumbent Mayor Andrew “Andy” Skibitsky, who was running for his fourth term, 7,022 votes to 4,606.
Linda Habgood will serve as the new councilwoman for Ward 1, defeating incumbent Sam Della Fera; Michael Dardia will serve as councilman for Ward 2, defeating James Corcoran; David Contract will serve as councilman for Ward 3, defeating incumbent David Oliveira; and Dawn Mackey will serve as councilwoman for Ward 4, defeating incumbent Keith Loughlin.
For the Westfield Board of Education, Lynn Benner, Kent Diamond and incumbent Margaret “Peggy” Oster won three-year terms in the 2017 election.
Outside the Westfield town limits, Democrat Phil Murphy defeated Republican Kim Guadagno in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, replacing  Governor Chris Christie. In Westfield, Murphy bested Guadagno by nearly 1,000 votes.
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