Asbury ballot questions defeated; Kendle and Moor reelected
Voters reject wards, partisan elections and repealing regs on short-term rentals
Asbury Park voters have defeated the three municipal ballot questions by large margins, according to unofficial results from the website of Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon.
Incumbent Councilman Jesse Kendle received 70 percent of the vote to defeat challenger Felicia Simmons by a margin of 2270 to 951. Mayor John Moor ran unopposed and received 3040 votes. Both were elected to their second four year terms. Moor was first elected as a councilman in 2013 before city voters changed the form of government.
One ballot question asked voters to divide the city into three wards with a councilperson representing each. The remaining two council members, including the mayor, would be elected at-large. That question was defeated by a vote of 1427 to 1935. Those figures represent 58 percent of voters voting no.
Voters were also asked to switch the city’s elections from non-partisan to partisan. That question was defeated by a vote of 1255 to 2051. Those figures represent 62 percent of voters voting no.
Finally, voters were asked to repeal the city’s short-term rental ordinance. Under the regulations sought to be repealed, investor-owned housing is banned from short term rentals. (Resident homeowners and grandfathered-in second homeowner are allowed to do short-term rentals.) That questions was defeated by a vote of 1280 to 2021. Those figures represent 61 percent of voters voting no.
“We knew it was going to be a tough election and that we were going to have to work hard,” Moor said. “At times it felt like the perfect storm because we were fighting so many different opponents because of the ballot questions. But we have the trust of the community and I’m so thankful to the residents.”
“My team did an outstanding job of working in all the areas of Asbury Park under the conditions,” Kendle said. “I’m really proud of them because they took this on as warriors. There was no doubt in our minds that if we stuck to what we believe in and work for all of Asbury Park that people would see that. We didn’t lie to the people about what we want to do. I think the community knows what we have done over the past four years that I’ve been in office and that we are going to do the best we can for them in these coming years.”
The Board of Elections still needs to count 20 percent of the vote by mail (VBM) ballots received countywide through election day, according to the county clerk’s website. Asbury Park Democratic Chairman Joe Grillo said that 388 VBM ballots in Asbury Park had been received through election day. Provisional ballots also need to be counted, as do any VBM ballots postmarked by election day and received by the county through Thursday.
The next council elections will take place in November 2020 for the seats currently held by incumbents Amy Quinn, Yvonne Clayton and Eileen Chapman.
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