After receiving the highest number of votes in the last municipal election, and in response to urging from fellow citizens for them to continue their public service on Asbury Park’s City Council, Councilman John B. Moor and Councilwoman Amy Quinn (pictured above in a COASTER photo) said they will run again for council in the November election.
“The decision to announce was easy,” Moor said, “because of encouragement from friends, family and supporters to run again, and also from a surprising number of people who withheld support last election but have been positively impressed by the energy and perspective we brought to the council during our first 10 months.”
The November election will be the first election under the city’s new form of government. Under the new form residents will elect four council members and a mayor. This is the first time the mayor will be elected directly by the people. Moor, who was the top vote-getter in last year’s election, and Quinn, the second highest, are the first two candidates to announce.
Moor has lived in Asbury Park for 35 years with his wife Vera. Retired as deputy director of public maintenance after 31 years of service with the city, Moor has spent a lifetime volunteering his time to the community. He served for 12 years on the Asbury Park Board of Education, is currently a Commissioner of the Asbury Park Housing Authority, a Trustee of the Asbury Park Historical Society, and a member of the Asbury Park Fishing Club.
“I won’t say it hasn’t been a challenge,” Quinn said. “Our city’s greatest strength is a wonderful diversity of people, and for City Council that translates into a constant juggling of diverse issues: taxes and the budget, public safety and gang influence among our youth, continued development versus preserving our character, attracting investment that results in local jobs, creating the kind of prosperity that actually eliminates poverty, and there’s much more, and it’s all interconnected. But with common sense and hard work, I think that our first 10 months have shown that we are up to the challenge. We are really just getting started.”
Quinn has lived in Asbury Park for 13 years, and last year married her long-time partner Heather Jensen in a midnight ceremony on the boardwalk. Quinn is a public interest attorney with the Community Health Law Project, and has volunteered her time to many community projects over the years. She is Vice Chair of the Asbury Park Environmental Commission, takes part in the Reading Buddies program at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, and sits on the City’s recreation committee. She created the very successful ‘Get Carded‘ campaign after Superstorm Sandy, and is active in a variety of animal welfare causes.
Anyone wishing to volunteer for the campaign can contact AsburyTogether@gmail.com.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the campaign can send their show of support to: Asbury Together, P.O. Box 1027, Asbury Park, NJ 07712.
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