Atlantic County Freeholder Campaign

Lost in the national focus of whether Democrats will take the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to stymie President Donald Trump’s agenda are important local races that could significantly change the way Atlantic County is run.

Democrats are looking to build off gains they made last year and take control of the Board of Chosen Freeholders for the first time in decades.

In the 2017 election, Democrats picked up two seats when Caren Fitzpatrick and Ashley Bennett were elected over Republicans Tony DiPietro and John Carman, making a dent in the Republican majority on the nine-member board, which currently sits at 6-3 in favor of the Republicans.

A third Democratic candidate, Thelma Witherspoon, narrowly lost to Republican John Risley.

This year, Democrats are once again running a three-person, all-female ticket in hopes of taking control of the board. They are Egg Harbor Township businesswoman Celeste Fernandez, health care worker and Ventnor resident Maureen Leidy, and Mullica Township teacher and committeewoman Barbara Butterhof-Rheault.

“We’re always outvoted 6-3, so getting control would get the county executive to work with us and get more of our priorities through,” Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Mike Suleiman said. “But a Blue Wave isn’t just going to happen, Democrats have to get up and go vote on Election Day.”

Republicans, meanwhile, believe their record will be strong enough to earn re-election.

Over the campaign, the GOP incumbents have pointed to the construction of the first building of the National Aviation Research and Technology Park, the opening of the Stockton University campus in Atlantic City and the county’s strong bond rating as proof they are doing a good job for constituents in the area.

“We’ve worked hard to instill confidence in our leadership here with the people,” said Freeholder Director Frank Formica, who is running for re-election alongside Maureen Kern and James Bertino. “It’s important that we (keep control of the freeholder board) because we are a good working team that has gotten results.”

The campaign hasn’t come without controversy.

Two weeks ago, the Democratic candidates cited two accidents with machinery at Formica’s bakery in Pleasantville that led to two amputations of employees’ limbs as proof he didn’t take safety seriously and therefore shouldn’t be elected.

The accidents led to several serious OSHA violations and a fine against the company, but Formica was never personally sued or held liable.

Formica said the candidates were using dirty political tactics because they didn’t have a record to run on themselves.

“I was disappointed in the negative stuff. We ran a clean campaign, they didn’t,” Formica said. “We decided that we were going to stick with the issues.”

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/politics/democrats-hoping-to-swing-atlantic-county-freeholder-board/article_a146a06c-4856-5df8-b936-fecdac3a736f.html