Vote Counting In Moorestown Council Race To Continue Wednesday

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The three Democrats running for three open seats on Moorestown Council led their Republican opponents as of 11 p.m. Tuesday night, according to unofficial results posted on the Burlington County website.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Democrat Sue Mammarella was the leading vote-getter in the race with 5,900 votes. Her running mate Dave Zipin was second with 5,836 votes, and Jake Van Dyken had 5,678 votes.

Republican Vick Bobadilla had 4,473 votes, followed by his running mates Doug Maute (4,363) and Barbara Omert (4,316). Only mail-in ballots had been counted Tuesday night, but not all the mail-in ballots had been counted by 11 p.m. A total of 30,583 votes have been counted in this race thus far.

The Burlington County Board of Elections will resume its count Wednesday morning, according to Burlington County Spokesman David Levinsky. He said results would be updated on Wednesday morning, with the tentative plan for additional numbers to be released each evening after 5 p.m.

Lauren Romano was leading the Board of Education race, as six candidates pursued three open seats on that board. She had 5,545 votes. Mick Weeks was next with 5,146 votes, and Jack Fairchild was third with 4,127 votes. Sarah Rivera was fourth with 3,529 votes, followed by Julie Woodrow with 3,122 and Val Gallagher with 3,528.

The halt in counting also impacts the race in the Third Congressional District between incumbent Democrat Andy Kim and Republican David Richter. Read more here: Kim vs. Richter: NJ 3rd Congressional District Election Results

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Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie and Deputy Mayor Brian Donnelly are the only two council members not up for re-election, and they are both Democrats. A Democratic sweep in the elections would give Democrats all five council seats.

A Republican sweep would shift the balance of power back to the Republican Party three years after Democrats gained control of the council during the Blue Wave that struck Burlington County in 2018.

Transparency and the fiscal health of the township took center stage in the only forum between the two sides that took place in late September. Both were related to ways the township can help businesses succeed. Read more here: Moorestown Council Candidates Spar On Transparency, Fiscal Health

"Council should have more face-to-face interaction with the public and businesses," Omert said during that forum. "They should be more accessible to the public."

Maute said that if they were elected, the Republicans would hold listening sessions and office hours with residents.

"There will be a renewed focus on harnessing the power of social media and technology to transmit information to the public, an evaluation of the Township website to ensure information is easy to find, and the exploration of a resident feedback portal that allows citizens to track the status of their concerns," Maute said.

Van Dyken and Mammarella both said the township has improved on the transparency the township had previously, but there's room to grow. Mammarella said she would consider livestreaming committee meetings online and improving the township's website.

"During this time of social and economic crisis involving COVID-19, I believe it's more important than ever for residents to be able to rely upon an open and transparent government," Van Dyken said in his Patch profile, noting the importance of transparency both during and after the pandemic. "Whether it be emergency resources or just updates on the pandemic, the Moorestown community deserves to feel as safe and secure as possible, and Council leadership plays a central role in that."

"In partnership with groups like the Moorestown Business Association and bringing together the many successful business minds who call our community home, we need to figure out what the future of Moorestown looks like in terms of building a sustainable business model that encourages shopping local and explores new concepts that have worked in other communities around the country," Bobadilla said in his Patch profile.

The Democrats rated the township's fiscal health as "good," but said the township must be vigilant to keep it that way.

"We have not invested enough in infrastructure," Mammarella said. "Waiting for it to fail is not a plan. We also need to attract high quality businesses."

The Republicans have also attacked the current council's decision to borrow against the township's surplus to avoid raising taxes this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying the township "can't borrow against the surplus forever." Read more here: Moorestown Holds The Line On Taxes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

All the candidates said they are not in favor of defunding the police department. Zipin said the real issue is race relations.

"Minorities feel discriminated against," Zipin said. "There's not a lot of opportunities to change the dynamics of the work force. "The police department has my full-throated support. I am going to say very clearly that I do not support defunding the police."

Voting in New Jersey was primarily vote-by-mail, but residents came out to vote in-person on Election Day.

At the town hall in Moorestown, there were few voters in line for in-person voting at 11 a.m., but some were dropping off their ballots at the secure drop box next door at the library.

"As long as it's done the right way, it doesn't matter how you vote," resident Maria Pratsinakis said.

"It's a little less personal, but it was easy," said Tyler Gabriel, who voted with Heather Loprano. "I prefer to vote in person because I'm a little more certain my vote will count correctly. I don't trust the mail. Even if there is no fraud, things can still get lost."

A Moorestown resident who only wished to be identified as "Nick, age 24" voted weeks ago using the secure ballot drop box at the town hall. He voted for Democrats across the board, noting that when it came to president, he wrote in Bernie Sanders' name.

"If I was in a swing state, I would've voted for Biden, but I think his policies fall short of the progressive action this country needs," he said. "We need a Green New Deal and Medicare For All, and he's not very strong on that."

He said the Black Lives Matter movement is the most positive thing to come out of this year. He went to a protest in Asbury Park, and called it "empowering."

"It was the largest mass protest movement in history, and I think that put pressure on politicians. We need more of that and less of the partisan divide."

Links to Patch's profile for each of the council candidates can be found below:

• Sue Mammarella
• Jake Van Dyken
• Barbara Omert
• Doug Maute
• Vick Bobadilla
• Dave Zipin

For full coverage of the 2020 election in New Jersey, go here: New Jersey Elections 2020

Read more here: NJ Election 2020: President, Congress, Local Election Results