Dumont voters handed Democrats control of their borough council, with challengers Maryann Russini and Diana Englese both unseating sitting Republican council members in results reported Tuesday night. The wins break what had been a 4-2 Republican majority on the six-member council heading into the election.
Russini defeated Republican incumbent Kenneth Armellino, while Englese ousted Republican incumbent Louis Sciarrino, according to New Jersey Globe. Russini pulled in 4,068 votes, a count also reflected in live results posted by nj.com. Englese received 3,910 votes, per the same New Jersey Globe report.
Two Seats, One Flip
Russini's win carries extra weight for Dumont Democrats. She was first elected last year to fill an unexpired term on the council, and Tuesday's result gives her a full three-year term, the New Jersey Globe reports. Her victory alongside Englese's means Democrats now hold the majority on a council Republicans had controlled 4-2 heading into this cycle.
Englese is the wife of former Dumont councilman Damon Englese, who ran unsuccessfully last year for the state Assembly seat in the 39th Legislative District. He lost that Democratic primary to Andrew Labruno and Donna Abene, the news outlet notes, making Diana Englese's council win something of a comeback for the family name in local politics.
A Borough in Political Flux
Dumont's swing mirrors a broader shift across Bergen County. The borough voted for Donald Trump by three points in 2024, then backed Mikie Sherrill by 15 points in the 2025 governor's race, according to figures cited by the New Jersey Globe. That reversal tracks with the county as a whole, which went for Kamala Harris by just four points in 2024 before swinging to Sherrill by 10 points a year later, the outlet separately reported in its preview of 2026 Bergen County races.
Statewide, Sherrill's win was decisive. She took 1,896,610 votes to Republican Jack Ciattarelli's 1,417,705, according to NJ 101.5, and carried 301 municipalities compared with Ciattarelli's 261. That momentum appears to have carried into this year's municipal contests, with the New Jersey Globe noting in its county preview that Bergen Democrats looked well-positioned heading into 2026, even in the shrinking pool of races Republicans have managed to keep competitive.
Dumont's flip adds a concrete local example to that trend, turning a borough that voted for Trump just two years ago into one where Democrats now control the governing body.
