MAHWAH — Mayor Bill Laforet was recalled from office, candidates confirmed Tuesday night.

The defeat for Laforet is a stunning development for a mayor who twice won reelection, most recently in 2016.

Barring a surge of mail-in ballots in Laforet's favor, the mayor will become the first public official in Bergen County to be recalled in at least 25 years. On the same ballot, residents also voted for a new mayor: John Roth, a former councilman who challenged Laforet for mayor in 2016.

Roth will take over as mayor once the township clerk certifies the election results in the next few days.

“I'm very proud of the seven years of work as a mayor,” Laforet said Tuesday night. “I think the town is positioned in a way that it has a bright future for my successor, as a safe community with low taxes. I wish him well. ”

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Laforet's tenure as mayor was a complicated one. He remained popular among residents, winning elections in 2011, 2012 and 2016, but repeatedly clashed with members of the Township Council over spending and personnel decisions.

A turning point came last summer, when Laforet faced backlash after criticizing the council for adopting regulations that allegedly discriminated against Orthodox Jews in Rockland County, New York. The measures banned out-of-state residents from local parks, and a proposed ordinance would have effectively banned an eruv, a Jewish religious boundary built through the community.

The state Attorney General's Office filed a civil rights lawsuit accusing the township of discrimination, but several residents remained in favor of the laws, believing they would help stave off an incursion of Orthodox Jews into Mahwah.

In January, a group of residents filed recall papers accusing Laforet of siding against the township by making statements that undermined the its legal position and supporting groups that accused Mahwah of anti-Semitism.

Laforet defended his position despite the criticisms.

“I have no regrets for what I've done, in standing up for the rights of human beings," he said.

Three years ago, in 2015, residents also attempted to recall Laforet after he fired political foe Ed Sinclair from the township’s Public Works Department. The recall effort, however, fizzled out after the group failed to secure the necessary number of signatures by deadline.

The latest committee was far more successful, reaching 5,000 resident signatures when roughly 4,170 were needed to place the question on the November ballot.

Sinclair died of a heart attacked in August 2015, and his estate subsequently filed a $60 million suit against the township, charging that his firing caused "significant stress" and contributed to his death.

The township settled the state's lawsuit in September but remains on administrative probation for four years and must seek advance approval from the attorney general for any ordinances affecting its parks or utility pole use.