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Asbury Park City Council candidate Doug McQueen has pulled out of the race for one of the three seats up for grabs in the Nov. 8 election.

McQueen cited the fact that his AP Future ticket running mates Tracy Rogers and Ketsia Beaubrun have been given notice of disqualification by the Municipal Clerk’s office as his reason for rescinding his bid.

“With the loss of Tracy and Ketsia from our AP Future ticket, we missed the chance to combine our voices and speak up about a variety of issues that are important to many in town,” McQueen said in a written statement. “Accordingly, it’s a better idea for me to drop out of the race and support the candidates who commit to implementing critical measures that are in line with City plans and policy.”

Beaubrun was sent a letter Tuesday afternoon informing her that her status as Tinton Falls registered voter disqualifies her from running for office, a city official said. She could not be reached for comment.

Rogers, who fought a disqualification based on having an insufficient amount of signatures on his petition bid, said he will move forward to appeal Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Dennis O’Brien’s Tuesday decision to uphold the Municipal Clerk’s findings.

“I’ve sat down with my advisors to make a decision,” Rogers said in a Wednesday morning telephone interview. “There will be other information coming about disenfranchisement in this community. The judge made a decision based on the process to remove someone from the statewide registry but in the legislation you can’t remove someone without going through the process therefore the fact that the names are still on the statewide registry means that they are still a registered voter.”

While the AP Future candidates did not file as a ticket, McQueen said Friday they would do so if Rogers Tuesday case before Judge O’Brien overturned the local findings.

The three sought to challenge the Asbury Together incumbents Amy Quinn, Yvonne Clayton and Eileen Chapman and the Citizens for Asbury ticket, comprised of Daniel Harris, Stephen Williams and Kevin Saunders Jr.

Below is McQueen’s statement in its entirety:

I got involved in the City Council race with the intention of improving the bike and pedestrian environment in Asbury Park. One main goal has been the transformation of a Main Street that is a physical and psychological barrier to many underrepresented demographics in the City, particularly those who don’t drive a car: the older, younger, disabled or less well-off. For them, the dangers of Main Street are an everyday reality.

That goal of Complete Streets is shared in every Master Plan, redevelopment plan and Asbury Park’s own Complete Streets policy. Yet the Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition has been repeatedly shocked and appalled at the City’s ongoing unwillingness to follow its own plans and policy. It made us wonder how many other plans and policies we ignore. Thus, why not run for City Council to change that?

Along the way I met a couple of bright ticket mates in Tracy Rogers and Ketsia Beaubrun, who share similar concerns that there are other issues and constituencies in Asbury Park that are not being addressed. They opened my eyes to a number of things that we are NOT doing, but should.

With the loss of Tracy and Ketsia from our AP Future ticket, we missed the chance to combine our voices and speak up about a variety of issues that are important to many in town. Accordingly, it’s a better idea for me to drop out of the race and support the candidates who commit to implementing critical measures that are in line with City plans and policy.

My AP Future ticket mates and I will be working to support whichever candidates are committed to following Asbury Park’s own plans and policies. That’s not being done right now, so something’s got to change. Likewise, the Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition plans to support those candidates who understand that good urban design saves lives.

Here’s to an interesting election season!

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