Drumm Ahead By 61 Votes In Woodbridge First Ward Primary

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Here are the results in the First Ward Woodbridge Council race, with Ken Gardner taking on Nancy Bader Drumm:

As of 10:30 p.m., with machine votes in only, Drumm received 399 votes and Gardner 338, according to Woodbridge town clerk John Mitch. This does not include mail-in ballots.

These are unofficial results, and because the vote count is so close, mail-in and provisional ballots could could affect the outcome. We will not know the outcome of this race for the next couple days, or even weeks as mail-in and provisional ballots are counted.

"Once we get the mail-in totals, we will move forward for our great Township," said Gardner Tuesday night after the votes were counted. "We did extremely well against the organization that produced the speaker of the state Assembly."

"I am so proud of the support I have received from my wife Janine, son Kenny, daughter Becca and my future son-in-law Casey," continued Gardner. "Their support made this effort possible. Many cousins, in-laws and people from all over town have handed out flyers, made phone calls, wrote checks and voted."

Gardner said he heard there "were some problems" with machine voting and provisional voting earlier on Tuesday.

Gardner tried to knock Nancy Bader Drumm from the Woodbridge First Ward Council seat she has held for the past eight years.

Drumm is an ally of Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, and Gardner used this race as an attempt to take on McCormac. Gardner criticized McCormac, and all the mayor's allies on the Town Council, for allowing what he says is too much development and building to happen in Woodbridge in the past decade.

This is a common complaint in Woodbridge, as in 2019 Republican Sue Boros ran against McCormac for mayor, saying at the time "the current administration is trying to convert Woodbridge into a city, and the traffic that's resulted has been unreal. Every door I've knocked on, people complain about the traffic and how long it takes them to drive half a mile down Main Street."

Drumm also sits on the Woodbridge Planning Board, so she has a say in approving or denying Woodbridge development plans.

"My councilwoman represents the mayor, not the people!" Gardner previously told Patch. "Since 2016 Councilwoman Drumm has publicly advocated the Mayor's plan to give apartment builders a 30-year tax break and supported approximately 1,100 apartments within a half mile of our downtown. When I served as Council President, I stopped the development of 3,000 multifamily units. I made it impossible for a developer to build apartments on our First Ward waterfront in Sewaren ... All of New Jersey government learned in the 80s that the 'rateables chase' doesn't work. In the long run, apartment development overcrowds our schools and overwhelms other municipal services. They become a large negative tax drain. The large apartments are ruining the character our our downtown. I will vote no and convince the Council to help me stop it."

Drumm repeatedly declined to respond to Gardner.

Things really heated up in May when Gardner released this conversation between himself and the mayor, which Gardner had secretly recorded.

Gardner is a volunteer Woodbridge firefighter who was elected to Woodbridge Town Council in the 90s. He tried to use his one term as Woodbridge Council president as a launching pad to run for mayor at the time, but failed.

Whoever wins Tuesday will face Republican John Vrtaric in November. Woodbridge is a predominantly Democratic town.

Return to Patch tonight for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

All the Woodbridge Council races in 2021:

• First Ward Council: Democrats Nancy Bader Drumm (incumbent) vs. Ken Gardner. Challenged by Republican John Vrtaric
• Second Ward Council: Democrat Howie Bauer (incumbent). Challenged by Republican Paul Lund, Jr.
• Third Ward Council: Democrat Cory S. Spillar (incumbent). Challenged by Republican John Masculin.
• Fourth Ward Council: Democrat Viru Patel (incumbent). No Republican challenger filed.
• Fifth Ward Council: Democrat Debbie Meehan (incumbent). Challenged by Republican Rocco Genova.

Ongoing coverage of this race: Ken Gardner: Why I'm Running For Woodbridge First Ward Council (May 25)

Woodbridge Mayor, Rival Spar In Secretly Recorded Convo (May 12)

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