THIS STORY IS UPDATED – MICHAEL ALONSO AND JOHN CUPO FAILED TO GET ENOUGH QUALIFIED SIGNATURES ON THEIR NOMINATING PETITIONS AND ARE NO LONGER IN THE RUNNING FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL RESPECTIVELY.
When Bayonne voters go to the polls for the municipal election on May 10, they will certainly find a crowded field of candidates hoping to win the Office of Mayor and one of five Council seats. Four people are running for Mayor and 14 are running to win one of five Council seats, three Ward seats and two At Large seats.
When all of the petitions were filed by Tuesday’s deadline, the City Clerk found the following:
Running for Mayor are incumbent Jimmy Davis, who heads a full slate of running mates; Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski, the current Council President, who also heads up a complete slate of candidates; plus independent candidates Michael Alonso, a former Board of Education Trustee; and past Mayoral candidate from 2018, Dr. Mitchell Brown.
As for the Council seats, here’s where it gets really interesting, if only because of the number in the field running for 5 seats total. Here’s a listing of the 14 hopefuls:
Running At Large are incumbent Juan Perez on Mayor Davis’ ticket and Loyad Booker, also a Davis running mate, who is a retired police officer. Running on Ashe-Nadrowski’s ticket At Large are Board of Education Trustee Jodi Casais and PAL Executive Director KT Torello. There are also two independent At Large candidates, Board of Education Trustee Denis Wilbeck and Carissa Lintao, the CEO at Apptuitive.
In Ward 1, the candidates are incumbent Councilman Neil Carroll, who is on Davis’ ticket; Julie Sanchez Lynch, Ashe-Nadrowski’s running mate; and real estate professional and Housing Authority Commissioner John Cupo.
In Ward 2, the Council is guaranteed to have a new representative because Sal Gullace chose not to seek re-election. The candidates are Jacqueline Weimmer of Team Davis and Ashe-Nadrowski candidate George Vinc. A true head-to-head battle.
Finally, in Ward 3, incumbent Councilman Gary La Pelusa is running for re-election with Mayor Davis’ support; Board of Education President Maria Valado is running on Ashe-Nadrowski’s ticket; while Peter Franco, a frequent critic of Mayor Davis who lost a special Council election three years ago in Ward 1, is now running in Ward 3.
It should be a wild campaign the next two months.