By DON STINE
The four-candidate Asbury Together City Council team (pictured above) , which included City Councilman John Moor at the top of the ticket running for mayor, easily swept the election this week for five seats in Asbury Park.
The election was the first time residents directly elected a city mayor.
Moor easily defeated his main opponent, the A-Team’s Remond Palmer, with 1,374 votes, or 54.53 percent with Palmer getting 696 votes, or 27.7 percent.
Also winning seats were each member of Moor’s ticket: Councilwoman Amy Quinn, the top vote-getter with 1,522 votes, or 17.77 percent, Jesse “Coach K” Kendle next with 1,467 votes, or 17.13 percent; Joe Woerner with 1,440 ballots, or 16.81 percent and Barbara Clayton with 1,426 votes, or 16.65 percent.
All are scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 1.
The tally include absentee ballots but not 161 provisional ballots which will not be counted until Nov. 10.
Moor, who was first elected to the council last year, said he and his team worked hard.
“Thanks to all the residents who voted for Asbury Together,” he said. “They were able to see the difference between the two tickets and made the right choice.”
Quinn echoed his sentiments.
“We are so happy to have a full council and we all know that John Moor should be mayor of this city. This is nothing without John and we want to serve with him,” said Quinn after the election results were announced in downtown Asbury Park on Tuesday night.
A-Team candidates received about half of the votes of their opponents.
Duanne Small was the top vote-getter on the A-Team with 726 votes, or 8.48 percent. Kenneth Saunders Jr. was next with 700 votes, or 8.17 percent, and then Roseta Johnson with 655 ballots, or 7.65 percent and Derrick Grant was the lowest vote-getter with 619 votes, or 7.23 percent.
There were nine write-in votes.
During the campaign the Asbury Together team challenged many of the absentee ballots delivered by A-Team supporters.
Unofficial results from both city and county officials show that Moor is over the more than 50 percent requirement and will be the next mayor. Even if he wins none of the 161 provisional ballots, he will still maintain his majority.
Each of the four Asbury Together candidates easily out-distanced their A-Team opponents by about a two-to-one margin.
The Monmouth County Board of Elections has already disqualified 353 vote-by-mail ballots in the Asbury Park election
Other mayoral candidates are incumbent Myra Campbell, who received 323 votes, or 14 percent, and Harold Suggs, who got 79 votes, or 3.42 percent. There were eight write-in votes.
