JERSEY CITY -- The campaigning in this year's municipal contest is fading but the election is not over yet.

In four ward council races -- A, B, C and E -- the first-place finisher on Election Day did not receive over 50 percent of the vote, so voters will head to the polls again in 11 days in four runoff elections.

Mayor Steve Fulop's control of the nine-member council hangs in the balance. With his three at-large council allies winning outright on Election Day, along with Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson, Fulop heads into his second term with at least four allies (he now has six). The results of the runoffs could expand his council majority to at least seven.

Fulop critic Michael Yun, the Ward D councilman, also won handily on Election Day.

This year will be the first time the runoffs are held in December instead of June.

When Fulop pushed to move the municipal races from May to November two years ago, he also proposed eliminating runoff elections, an idea he resurrected after Election Day this year. Only voters, via a binding referendum, can eliminate runoffs.

Voter turnout for the second round of balloting is generally worse than even the anemic turnout for the first round. Four years ago, an average of 2,229 fewer voters cast ballots in each of the four competitive ward runoffs compared to the first round.

2017 RUNOFFS

In Ward A, Denise Ridley will face off against Joe Conte. Ridley, 34, who works in sales and marketing for a pharmaceutical firm, received 42 percent of the vote on Nov. 7, with Conte, 62, a school district employee, coming in second with 23 percent. The winner will succeed Councilman Frank Gajewski, who did not seek re-election.

In Ward B, Mira Prinz-Arey, 45, who works for local nonprofit Rising Tide Capital, lost out on an Election Day win by the slimmest of margins. She received 49.45 percent of the vote to second-place finisher Councilman Chris Gadsden's 38 percent. Gadsden, 43, is a Lincoln High School vice principal.

Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano, 74, finished in first place on Nov. 7 but snared only 43 percent of the vote, so he will face off against city worker John Hanussak on Dec. 5. Hanussak, 48, won 28 percent.

The final runoff will be in Ward E. Attorney Rebecca Symes, 36, came in first on Election Day with 42 percent of the vote, followed by James Solomon, 33, who teaches at two local colleges. Solomon received 32 percent on Nov. 7. The winner will replace Councilwoman Candice Osborne, who did not run for a second term.

The runoffs will be on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.