WEST MILFORD Going in a different direction than the national majority, West Milford voted solidly Republican, leaving the local balance of power with the GOP, and supporting mostly losing candidates on the county and state level. Wednesday morning’s unofficial results showed Republicans Joe Smolinski with 4371 votes, and Sal Schimmenti with 4208; while Democratic challengers James Geist and James Rauth got 3117 and 3010, respectively. Smolinski is the only incumbent, having been appointed to the council after the resignation of Joe Elcavage. The election came after a messy campaign with accusations ranging from criminal activity to playing politics rather than governing. Yesterday, Schimmenti and Smolinski each expressed their gratitude to their supporters and the voters in general. They both also said they were glad to see the number and enthusiasm of the voters. Smolinski addressed the upcoming term saying, “Our plans and direction will be those that will benefit all our residents. There are many pressing township issues that we face, not only as councilmen, but also as residents. As we stated, during our campaign, these issues need to be addressed as a unified council and those are our intentions.” Although Robert Menendez won a seat on the Senate, West Milford voted 4486 - 2915 for his challenger Tom Kean Jr. Incumbent County Freeholder candidates James Gallgher, Tahesha Way and Sonia Rosado each won their bid for reelection, but within the township Arthur Soto, Keith LaForgia and Erik Lowe won by wide margins.