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Hache, Voigt, Coghlan-Walsh Win Ridgewood Council Seats

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. – Ramon Hache was the top vote-getter Tuesday in Ridgewood’s race for three seats on the Village Council.

Jeff Voigt, left, Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, and Ramon Hache celebrate their victory in the race for council seats.

Jeff Voigt, left, Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, and Ramon Hache celebrate their victory in the race for council seats.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh
Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh.

Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh.

Photo Credit: Facebook
Jeff Voigt.

Jeff Voigt.

Photo Credit: Facebook
Ramon Hache.

Ramon Hache.

Photo Credit: Facebook
Evan Weitz.

Evan Weitz.

Photo Credit: Louis DiPaolo
Richard Brooks.

Richard Brooks.

Photo Credit: Louis DiPaolo
Janice Willett.

Janice Willett.

Photo Credit: Louis DiPaolo

Hache received 3,867 votes, followed by Jeff Voigt, with 3,839, and Bernadette Coghlan-Walsh, with 3,611.

Finishing out of the running were members of the "Ridgewood 2020" ticket: Janice Willett, 1,803; Evan Weitz, 1,736; and Richard Brooks, 1,656.

The heated contest for the three four-year seats brought out 34 percent of village voters.

“I’m just glad the campaign is over and we can get back to normal life,” Hache said. “I’m very happy to have won. I look forward to working with the other new council members and also with Michael Sedon and Susan Knudsen. I think we’ll get a lot of things done.

“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us,” he added, “but I’m confident we can work through the issues.”

The election season highlighted a number of concerns, including the size of the 325-car public parking garage on Hudson Street.

Other hot-button issues were the contentious nature of communication between local government and residents and the village’s affordable housing obligation.

Hache is managing director of international sales for a global asset management company. Voigt is a principal of Medical Device Consultants of Ridgewood.

Coghlan-Walsh, human resources manager of relocation and mobility services at The Linde Group, served as a Ridgewood councilwoman from 2010 to 2014.

A group of 15 county-registered challengers circulated among the polls during voting Tuesday to keep a tab on how many voters were turning out during the day. Among them were Councilman Sedon and Councilwoman Knudsen.

Sedon said the challengers had no leader. He called them “diffused.”

“It’s just a big group of people trying to get the vote out and make sure we have a high turnout election,” he told the Daily Voice.

The village elects all its council members at large on a nonpartisan basis, with the council choosing a mayor from its ranks every two years.

Terms for those elected start July 1.

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