Petitions ready for charter study candidates
Commission could seek change in Asbury government organization, method of electing local officials
Petitions are ready for candidates who wish to serve on a proposed charter study commission that will review whether Asbury Park should change the way it organizes the city government and elects its officials.
City clerk Steve Kay said the petitions can be picked up at his office in city hall. Candidates must be a resident of Asbury Park for at least one year prior to the November election on Nov. 6. One hundred signatures of registered Asbury Park voters are required for a prospective candidate to get on the ballot, Kay said.
Earlier this year, the city council authorized a question on the November ballot for voters to decide whether they want a five-member charter study commission. At the same time, voters will select five people to serve on the commission in case the question on establishing it passes.
The charter study commission has the power to recommend a change of government in Asbury Park, which would again be submitted for voter approval. The commission can also recommend no change.
Currently, Asbury Park elects all five members of the city council once every four years in May. The council selects one of its own as mayor, with the main responsibility to preside at the council meetings. The actual executive power to run the city’s day-to-day operations is with the city manager.
The city’s May election is considered non-partisan — all candidates run in one column with no affiliation to any party. The top five vote-getters win. Voters can choose up to five candidates.
Various proposals to change the form of government have been advocated over the years in Asbury Park. The most recent was an effort earlier this year by a group of council opponents to directly place a question on the ballot seeking a specific change of government, a process also authorized in state law by submitting a petition.
That group advocated dividing Asbury Park into six wards with a council person representing each, and also electing three at-large council members city-wide. In addition, the group proposed directly electing a mayor who would be the city’s chief executive and run the city. Also proposed was moving the election to November, when candidates would run as Democrats or Republicans, with staggered terms.
But the group’s petition was ruled invalid by the city attorney. While the city attorney was reviewing that petition after its filing, the city council authorized the ballot question for the charter study commission.
Kay said candidates for the charter study commission have until 60 days before the Nov. 6 election to submit their petitions. He’s asking candidates to voluntarily submit their petitions by Aug. 31 to ensure the signature verification process gets done in a timely fashion.
Click here for a previous Sun story on the ordinance authorizing the charter study election in November.
