Edison mayor-backed candidates sweep primary race

The slate of four Edison Township Council candidates who ran under the banner of Mayor Sam Joshi's Team, created by the chairman of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, emerged victorious in Tuesday's primary.

And the top two vote-getters, Councilman Richard Brescher and Asaf Shmuel, were the only two candidates running on the Column B line who were endorsed by the Edison Democratic Organization. Brescher received 5,825 unofficial votes and Shmuel got 5,318, according to unofficial results provided by Middlesex County.

Councilmen Joseph Coyle and Ajay Patil, who also ran on Sam Joshi's Team, did not receive the local party endorsement but were supported by the Middlesex County Democratic Organization. Coyle received 4,957 unofficial votes and Patil got 4,530.

Lav Patil and Robert Kentos, who were endorsed by the Edison Democratic Organization but were not given the county line, ran together on Column D and received 3,833 and 3,583 unofficial votes, respectively.

Councilwoman Joyce Ship-Freeman, who did not receive the Edison Democratic Organization's endorsement earlier this year, filed Tuesday to run as an independent for reelection in November under The Right Choice banner.

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Edison has long been a heavily Democratic community, so Brescher, Shmuel, Coyle and Patil will be favored when they face Republican Township Council candidates Russell Azzarello, Paul Bravo, Meredith Mathews and Gerald Shine in November. Unofficial results show Azzarello received 1,014 votes, Mathews got 1002, Bravo got 989 and Shine received 984, in Tuesday’s primary.

After the Edison Democratic Organization endorsed Brescher, Shmuel, Patel and Kentos in the race, Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Kevin McCabe decided to override the local committee's vote and instead handpicked the county line, awarding it to Coyle, Patil, Brescher and Shmuel, Brescher said in the weeks leading up to the election.

McCabe has not provided comment despite repeated requests.  

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This isn't the first time McCabe has played a key role in an Edison Democratic campaign.

In 2021 when Edison Democratic Organization Chairman Mahesh Bhagia was running for mayor, he was removed from the party line by McCabe over Bhagia's alleged connection to an investigation into racist flyers sent during a 2017 Edison Board of Education election, coupled with his allies forming a slate to challenge other county political leaders.

Bhagia lost in the 2021 Democratic primary to then-Councilman Sam Joshi, who was elected mayor in the November general election.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.