Wayne Levante, censured after some controversial social media posts, lost his re-election bid. Watch video
When Newton Mayor Wayne Levante was censured two months ago after a scandal over his sharing of Parkland school shooting conspiracy theories, he rejected calls for his resignation by saying the voters should decide.
Voters got the final say on Tuesday, when they denied Levante a second term on the Town Council.
Newton Mayor Wayne Levante exiting a Town Council meeting after being censured, March 5, 2018 Levante, who received widespread attention after sharing on Facebook debunked "crisis actor" conspiracy theories about Parkland, Florida mass shooting survivor David Hogg, finished fourth in a seven-candidate race for three council seats.
In contrast to the contentious, 2 1/2-hour Newton council meeting on March 5, during which the other four council members voted to censure the mayor and ask him to give up that title, the end came quietly.
Levante gathered with others at the Newton municipal building after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday and, upon learning the results, promptly departed to retrieve his campaigns signs, according to what he said on his public Facebook page.
He posted a congratulatory note to the winners -- Councilwoman Sandy Diglio, and newcomers Matt Dickson and Jason Schlaffer -- and, on Wednesday, announced that he will stay involved by joining a group of residents promoting transparency by videotaping public meetings.
Levante did not respond to a request for comment. His four-year council term ends June 30.
PHOTOS: Newton Town Council censures Mayor Wayne Levante, asks him to step aside
In Newton, the position of mayor is rotated among council members for one-year terms. Levante was named mayor in a 4-0 vote on July 1.
One of Wayne Levante's Facebook posts As mayor, he quickly gained notice beyond Newton, a town of about 8,000, upon spearheading a resolution last summer that called for establishing a single public school for all of Sussex County.
In January, he left his job as a public school math teacher in Newark, four months after starting. He later claimed he was pressured to resign after publicly challenging the way the state allocates school aid funding. A spokeswoman for the Newark school district did not respond to a request for comment.
Though Levante's other Facebook account is set to private, his posts on that page sharing discredited videos and other allegations about Hogg became public after James Santonastaso -- one of the mayor's Facebook 'friends' --uploaded screen shots to the page of the Newton Democrats.
Interviewed before the Feb. 26 council meeting, Levante said his posts were intended as a rebuke of the media, not Hogg.
Three days later, the council announced that a special meeting would be held to discuss Levante's conduct.
Newton Manager Thomas Russo said the council sought the meeting in response to Levante's posts about the Hogg and his subsequent public call for the firing of the NJ Advance Media reporter who broke the story.
While the 10-paragraph censure resolution listed additional objections, including the mayor's contentious relationship with the Newton school board, the fallout from his Parkland posts was the focus of nearly all of the 30 or so speakers at the standing room-only meeting.
Levante's defenders argued his posts did not merit stepping down as mayor, while critics countered they would continue to overshadow whatever he claimed to have accomplished.
In voting against the censure and request that he step aside as mayor, Levante was defiant.
"Hell, no," he said.
He utilized Facebook throughout his campaign, posting on Monday a video in which he appeared with his wife.
Levante did not lose by much on Tuesday. He received 396 votes, just 29 fewer than Diglio, who won the third and final seat.
Levante finished ahead of Councilman Kevin Elvidge, who had 390 votes, and two others.
Schlaffer and Dickson, who campaigned as a team and announced their candidacies two days after Levante was censured, received 495 votes and 490 votes, respectively.
Afterward, Levante -- again via a Facebook post -- managed the last word.
"Congrats to the winners. Still proud of what I helped accomplish. Thank you for your help and support," Levante said.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.