There was a jubilant scene at Plainfield Democratic Headquarters last night as Plainfield Mayor and Democratic City Committee Chairman Adrian Mapp reported the results to the crowd.

Unofficial results show Mapp-endorsed Julienne Cherry defeating Cindelle Harris-Blackmon 756 to 454 in a landslide in the 1st and 4th Ward At-Large races. In the 2nd Ward, incumbent Sean McKenna trails Darcella Sessomes 546 to 528 – but as this total includes early voting and vote by mail, only provisional ballots and those dropped off or mailed on election day remain to be counted. McKenna is unlikely to make up those 18 votes.

It’s not the necessarily the mayor’s endorsement that gives candidates an advantage, especially in a race where Mayor Mapp, who narrowly won re-election despite a 10:1 financial advantage, shied away from showing his face on mailed campaign material. But candidates on the “party line” do have a giant – yet difficult to quantify – advantage due to ballot placement. They share a line with a host of unopposed Democrats in higher offices.

That being said, Plainfield City Council candidates regularly win “off the line”, and this was a huge victory for Mapp and his allies.

“Based on what we have seen so far, it appears we have won almost all of the committee seats,” said Mayor Mapp to open his speech, referring to the 68 Plainfield Democratic City Committee spots that were also up for grabs yesterday. The mayor estimates that the Democrats for Progress in Plainfield (Column C) opposition, who only contested 44 of those 68 seats, may have won around 10. Mapp is guaranteed to remain the chairman of the City Committee who decides which candidates to place on the aforementioned party line.

After thanking God and all of those who supported her campaign, Dr Darcella Sessomes turned her attention to the detractors. “Haters don’t hate you for what you have. Your haters hate you because they couldn’t kill you.” She said one of her campaign’s goals was to stomp on the competition.

Julienne Cherry had a more positive message as she thanked her team, and brought her son and husband onto the stage. “I walked every single day since February. I only took two days off,” she declared. “And [my son and husband] watched me while I was in pain. They gave me those Tylenols.”

“We cannot afford to turn back the hands of time. We have come too far over the past several years,” said Mapp after the candidates spoke, “and we have done that as a result of a council that has cooperated with the administration.”

Election results will not be certified until June 19, after which the Plainfield Democratic City Committee will have its first meeting. The two Democratic Plainfield City Council nominees will face off against potential Republican and Independent challengers in November, where they are almost certain to be victorious.