Woodbridge Primary Election: Who's On The Ballot, How To Vote

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Will Ken Gardner be able to knock Nancy Bader Drumm from the First Ward Woodbridge Council seat that she's held for the past eight years?

That's the question Woodbridge will answer on Tuesday, June 8, Primary Day in New Jersey.

Gardner and Drumm, both Democrats, are running in a competitive primary for Woodbridge's First Ward. Whoever wins on June 8 will face Republican John Vrtaric in November. Woodbridge is a predominantly Democratic town.

Gardner is using this race essentially to take on Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac. Drumm is seen as a strong ally of McCormac's and she has voted in lockstep with McCormac's initiatives during her time on the Council.

Gardner's specific issues are the following: What he says is the overdevelopment of Woodbridge (a common complaint in town); that McCormac has too often and too easily given developers tax breaks or tax abatements (known as PILOTs) and also that McCormac maintains a vice-like grip on the town of Woodbridge, and opposing views are rarely heard.

"The public and I are disgusted with the overdevelopment as well as the destruction of the character of our downtown," said Gardner, in this profile on why he's running. "The public is frustrated that our Councilwoman (Drumm) is a representative of the Mayor instead of the people."

"I don't think Councilwoman has ever voted NO on even one of McCormac's issues in her entire eight years on the Council," said Gardner. "Same as the representative on the Planning Board. Democracy and checks and balance are gone in Woodbridge."

When asked by Patch, Drumm declined to respond to Gardner, but McCormac released the following statement:

"Kenny keeps saying the downtown projects have tax breaks, but they will pay over $140 million over the next 30 years to the Township, which helped us pay for a brand new Ross Street School and a practically new Woodbridge Middle School, which are already raising the property values in Woodbridge proper and Sewaren."

"Nancy Drumm is not a politician," continued McCormac. "She is a wonderful Councilwoman who helps people with their issues every single day and who truly cares about the quality of life in the town she was born in and where she has lived her entire life and raised her terrific children."

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.

Drumm is heavily involved with the Woodbridge Chamber of Commerce and is also director of the Woodbridge Community Center. She is on the Woodbridge Council and Planning Board.

Multiple Council seats are up for election this year in Woodbridge; in addition to Drumm, all the Council members who currently fill them seek re-election.

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.

The deadline to file to run in the Woodbridge school board is July 26, 2021.

How To Vote In The 2021 Primary Election:

In-person voting:

In-person voting is available to all registered voters. Voters may vote in person at their assigned polling place. To locate a polling location, click here.

Polling locations will use new voting machines. The Express Vote XL voting machine is designed to be easy to use by all voters, said Middlesex County. It utilizes touch screen voting, offers several languages, and is fully ADA accessible.

Those who receive a Vote by Mail ballot but do not return their ballot may still vote in person with a provisional ballot at their assigned polling place.

Vote by mail:

Those who wish to vote from home can use the Vote by Mail option. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must request one in writing by filling out a Mail-in Ballot Application. A personal signature is required. The County Clerk's office must receive Mail-in Ballot applications by mail no later than June 1 for the Primary Election.

Voters may apply for a mail-in ballot in person or by authorized messenger at the County Clerk's Office in New Brunswick up to 3 pm on June 7.

Voters can choose one of the following options to return their ballot:

• Mail the ballot through the United States Postal Service. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before 8 p.m. on Election Day, June 8.
• Drop the ballot in a designated Middlesex County Board of Elections drop box before 8 pm June 8.
• Take it directly to the Board of Elections’ Office, 11 Kennedy Boulevard, East Brunswick before 8 p.m. June 8.

Drop boxes are maintained by the Middlesex County Board of Elections, are secure, and monitored by video surveillance. Ballots are collected from drop boxes regularly. The deadline to apply for a Mail-In Ballot by mail is June 1. The deadline to apply for a Mail-In Ballot in person is June 7, by 3 pm To view a list of instructions and a how-to video, visit the County’s website here.

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