September 30, 2021

Dr. Thelma Witherspoon has spent her life dedicated to three things: faith, family, and community. Originally from Atlantic City, Witherspoon now resides in Hamilton Township with her daughter and four grandsons, ranging in age from 8-119.

Witherspoon’s earliest roots are grounded in community. “In 1976, my parents started a church, and seeing them work with all types of people and show up for their community taught me to do the same,” shared Witherspoon. “I learned all of that from the church.”

Witherspoon served as Atlantic City Board of Education President and Vice President.

During the time period that Witherspoon served on the Board of Education, much was accomplished. The school district broke ground on two schools, New York Avenue and Sovereign Avenue. The Board of Education additionally enclosed the classrooms of the Uptown Complex and the Martin Luther King Jr. Complex, and completed the expansion of the Chelsea Heights addition.

“I started out as president of the Parent Action Council of the New Jersey Avenue School,” Witherspoon said. “I learned the process and after many years of volunteering and advocating on the behalf of parents, I knew if I wanted to affect change I  needed to become a school board member. So I ran for office. It was a rewarding and challenging experience.”

Witherspoon worked for the City of Atlantic City for 35 years. Twenty of those years were in the Department of Revenue and Finance, where she worked in the grants and budgeting unit of the Atlantic City Police Department. This was yet another experience that Witherspoon said taught her how to serve the public.

However, Witherspoon says what has shaped her the most is her faith. Her parents, Bishop Luke and Pastor Juanita Witherspoon, founded Westminster Evangelistic Church, now the Westminster Christian Worship Center, more than 45 years ago. In 2020, Witherspoon was ordained as Pastor.

Witherspoon earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biblical Theology from Jameson Bible School and the International Christian University, respectively, and her Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from the CICA International University.

You may also recognize Witherspoon from her long-standing radio show “In The Community with Dr. Thelma Witherspoon” at the local Gospel station WEHA-FM.

Witherspoon also served as Vice President of the NAACP Atlantic City Chapter and Atlantic County Committee Person-At-Large of Hamilton Township. She is also Commissioner of the Historic Preservation Commission in Hamilton Township and is a 2015 graduate of LEAD ACT (Lead Atlantic City Tomorrow) , a former leadership program sponsored by Stockton University.

In a recent run for Atlantic County Commissioner, Witherspoon defeated Andrew Parker by a narrow 286 votes in the November 2020 general election. However, those results were invalidated by Superior Court Judge Joseph Marczyk  after learning that County Clerk Ed McGettigan mailed the incorrect ballot to 544 voters in Hamilton Township.

Atlantic County Democrats sought to seat Witherspoon on an interim basis, since another Democrat, Ashley Bennett, was the last winner of the seat. However, that movement was denied. The seat will remain vacant until voters make their choice once again in the November 2nd special election for county commissioner in Distrist 3.

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Debates are set for one of the hottest state Senate races in New Jersey between Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, and former Republican Assemblyman Vince Polistina, as well as for the Atlantic City mayoral race, Assembly and county races.

The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University is sponsoring the series of events with The Press of Atlantic City and the Atlantic County League of Women Voters.

“Part of the mission of all of the debate sponsors is to engage voters to help them make informed choices in their local elections,” said John Froonjian, Hughes Center executive director. “Debates allow voters to observe the candidates as they respond to questions on the issues.”

The debates will be held in person on Stockton’s campuses in Galloway Township and Atlantic City, subject to state orders and COVID-19 safety regulations in place at the time.

All of the debates will be livestreamed on the Hughes Center and Press of Atlantic City websites.

The contest for state Senate to replace former Sen. Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, is expected to be one of the most expensive in state history, with one Democratic party boss pledging to raise $5 million on behalf of Mazzeo.

Polistina has said Republicans will raise enough money to effectively compete.

Brown stepped down last month to become Gov. Phil Murphy’s senior adviser on Atlantic City issues, and Atlantic County Republicans selected Polistina to replace him for the remainder of his term this year, but the Senate is adjourned until after the election, and Senate President Steve Sweeney has said he will not reconvene to swear in Polistina.

Major-party candidates in each of the races have agreed to participate. Debate rules and formats are still being finalized.

Those independent candidates who meet minimum state campaign finance contributions and expense thresholds will also be invited to participate.

Here is the list of dates, times, locations and candidates:

Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in Stockton’s Campus Center Theatre in Galloway, the Hughes Center and LWV will host debates between candidates for three seats on the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners. They are at-large commissioner candidates Democrat Celeste Fernandez and Republican Frank X. Balles, both of Egg Harbor Township; District 2 commissioner candidates, incumbent Republican Maureen Kern, of Somers Point, and Jelani Gandy, of Linwood; and District 5 candidates, incumbent Republican James Bertino, of Hammonton, and Democrat William Beyers, of Hamilton Township.

Oct. 6 at 6 p.m., candidates for state Senate and Assembly in Legislative District 2 will debate in the John F. Scarpa Academic Center on Stockton’s Atlantic City campus. Senate candidates former Assemblyman and Republican Vince Polistina, of Egg Harbor Township, and Democratic Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, of Northfield, will kick it off from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by Assembly candidates incumbent Democrat John Armato, D-Atlantic, and Democratic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick; and Republican candidates former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian and attorney Claire Swift, of Margate. Debate sponsors are the Hughes Center and The Press of Atlantic City.

Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., candidates for Atlantic City mayor will debate at the Scarpa Academic Center, sponsored by the Hughes Center and The Press. They will include at a minimum incumbent Democratic Mayor Marty Small Sr. and Republican candidate Tom Forkin. There are four independent candidates in the race, and their eligibility to participate is being considered.

Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., Atlantic County clerk candidates and special election candidates will debate in Meeting Room 5 in the Campus Center on Stockton’s Galloway campus. Starting off will be clerk candidates, Democrat and Egg Harbor City Mayor Lisa Jiampetti and Republican Hammonton Councilman Joe Giralo; followed by Atlantic County District 3 commissioner candidates, Republican Egg Harbor Township Committeeman Andrew Parker and Democrat Thelma Witherspoon, of Hamilton Township, in the special election to decide the winner of the 2020 race. It is sponsored by the Hughes Center and the LWV.

Republican state Senate candidate Vince Polistina will be at a financial disadvantage in the…

The League of Women Voters follows rules within its organization that determine the types of debates and formats in which they participate, which differ from those of The Press and Hughes Center.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post

609-272-7210

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Atlantic County Board of Elections increases early voting sites to 6 | Government & Politics | pressofatlanticcity.com

The Atlantic County Board of Elections agreed Friday night to set up six early voting sites for the November election, rather than the five required by state law, to give voters in the geographically large western part of the county an additional location.

The decision avoided the need to settle a disagreement over where the early voting site should be located in the 5th District — Hammonton or Buena Vista Township.

Democrats had wanted to put it in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in the Newtonville section of Buena Vista, and Republicans wanted to put it in the county is Family Center in downtown Hammonton.

Now an early voting site will be in each.

“The 5th is the largest district in Atlantic County, with over one-third of the (land) area,” said Democratic board member John Mooney. “It’s the largest district, not in voting population but area-wise.”

The Atlantic County Board of Elections agreed at a meeting Tuesday night on four of the five…

So Mooney agreed it was important to have a site there as well as at the more centrally located Buena Vista. It will be in the county’s Hammonton Family Success Center at 310 Bellevue Ave.

Atlantic County, with about 203,000 registered voters, must have at least five early voting sites but can be reimbursed by the state for the machines to equip up to seven sites, said Chair Lynn Caterson.

Caterson thanked Democratic commissioner Audrey Hart, whom she called “key in making that addition happen.”

At its last meeting, the board split over where the 5th District site should be, and it looked like the county clerk would have to decide the matter until the board came to an agreement to use both locations.

Early voting for the Nov. 2 general election will now be available Oct. 23 to 31 at the Atlantic City Free Public Library, in District 1; the county’s Shoreview Building on Shore Road in Northfield in District 2; the Atlantic County Library branch in Mays Landing in District 3; the library branch in Galloway Township in District 4; and at the Martin Luther King Center in Buena Vista Township and the Hammonton Family Success Center in Hammonton in District 5.

Do you want to participate in the state’s first foray into early, in-person voting by new ma…

Any Atlantic County voter can vote in any of the locations, as electronic poll books will be able to call up any registered voter’s information and special software will allow any local ballot to be voted on in special machines.

Clerks of the Board, Democrat Bill Sacchinelli and Republican Brenda Taube, said applications are on the board’s website for poll workers for both the early voting sites and the much more numerous Election Day sites.

“We’ve been receiving a lot of applications for both early and Election Day,” Taube said.

The board then adjourned to start a new meeting to continue the recount in the at-large county commissioner race between incumbent Republican John Risley and Democrat Celeste Fernandez.

The two were separated by just 0.03% of the votes cast, and Fernandez won the right to a full recount, which started Tuesday night and will continue next week.

Caterson said the Attorney General’s Office has advised her not to release any preliminary vote counts but to wait until the recount is complete before releasing preliminary vote counts but to wait until the recount is complete before releasing numbers.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-272-7210

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EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Voters last year waited days for the presidential election to be called for Joe Biden, with challenges to the result continuing until the inauguration

In Atlantic County’s 3rd District, voters will wait a year for a final decision on their representation on the Board of Commissioners.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Joseph Marczyk ruled that a special election to decide the 2020 race between Republican Andrew Parker of Egg Harbor Township and Democrat Thelma Witherspoon of Hamilton Township will take place Nov. 2, sharing the ballot with the general election.

After the decision, Parker said he would withdraw his name from the ballot for reelection to Egg Harbor Township Committee this year to focus on the county election.

Witherspoon was certified the winner of the 2020 race by a narrow margin, getting 15,034 votes to Parker’s 14,748 — a difference of 286 votes. But Marczyk decertified her win in January after Parker contested the results. The county clerk had sent ballots that did not include the race to 338 voters in the district, which includes enough votes to change the results. That set the stage for a lengthy legal fight over when a special election would take place.

In the meantime, the county government has met with eight members instead of nine, and the 3rd District, which includes most of Egg Harbor Township and a portion of Hamilton, has not been represented on the Board of Commissioners.

“The good news is, now we’re going to get representation for that district,” Parker said after the decision. Still, he said he would have preferred the election take place sooner.

Republicans had sought to hold the election in September. Democrats said that would be more expensive — costing an estimated $100,000 — and would see a lower voter turnout.

“The turnout would be about 10%, and the Republicans would have won,” said Michael Suleiman, the Atlantic County Democratic leader. While Parker argues the seat should be filled as soon as possible, Suleiman accused the GOP of voter suppression to improve their chances.

Parker has been critical of county Clerk Ed McGettigan and the mistake that prevented hundreds of residents from voting. But he said he was happy to have a decision.

“It’s been an unfortunate process,” he said. “We’ve all got to move on.”

The timing added another complication: Parker had already filed to run for reelection to his seat on the Township Committee. Under state law, he would not be able to serve in both positions, but he could have remained on the ballot for both the special election and the township seat.

“From my understanding, legally someone can be on the ballot twice. I just can’t imagine why I would want to do that,” Parker said.

He was set to meet with county GOP leader Keith Davis and the township Republican leader to decide what to do; whether to remain in both slots, or run just for County Commission or just for Township Committee.

By early afternoon Tuesday, Parker had made up his mind.

“In light of today’s decision, I intend to focus on keeping Atlantic County the best run in the state by running for County Commissioner this Nov. 2,” he said in an emailed statement. “Months ago, I suggested to my opponent that we flip a coin to bring these sad events to an end, and she refused. It’s a shame the residents of Egg Harbor and Hamilton townships will not have been represented on the County Commissioner Board for almost a year because of ongoing incompetence in the County Clerk’s office.”

In a statement released after Marczyk’s ruling, Witherspoon said she beat Parker once and will do so again, stating she is looking forward to representing the district at the county level.

“While I am disappointed that the votes Atlantic County residents cast last year will be thrown out, I respect the judge’s decision to schedule a new election,” she said. “I am happy to see us score a major victory in that the special election will be in the November general election. This not only saves taxpayer dollars but it will ensure that voter participation will be as high as possible.”

Lynn Caterson, who heads up the county Board of Elections, said combining the elections will mean less strain on staff.

“Selfishly, it’s better for all of the election officers,” she said.

With a hotly contested presidential race and pandemic-driven mail-in ballots, the 2020 election drew an exceptionally high turnout in Atlantic County and around the country. For 2021, the governor’s race between Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy and GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli will top the ticket. Suleiman believes that race will also drive high voter turnout.

This year also sees three county commission seats up for a vote, which means voters will decide on four seats on the nine-member board.

Republican Frank Balles will face a challenge from Democrat Celeste Fernandez for an at-large seat, while in the 2nd District, Democrat Jelani Gandy is running against Republican Maureen Kern, the current chairwoman of the board, and Republican James Bertino is running for reelection in the 5th District against Democratic challenger William Beyers.

Fernandez ran last year against incumbent Republican John Risley of Egg Harbor Township, another narrow race that ended up in the courts. In June, a court ordered a full recount of that race.

Contact Bill Barlow:

609-272-7290

bbarlow@pressofac.com

Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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Appellate court also orders hand recount of another ’20 commissioner race where margin was 381 votes

By David Wildstein, June 29 2021 9:58 am

A state appellate court has ordered a special election to fill an Atlantic County Commissioner seat that has been vacant since January after a significant ballot snafu left the results of the November 2020 general election in limbo.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Marczyk cancelled the results of the November general election after the county clerk, Ed McGettigan, failed to mail the correct ballots to 554 voters in an election that was decided by 286 votes.

In a separate matter, the appellate court also reversed Marczyk’s ruling denying an expanded hand recount to Celeste Fernandez, who had lost a 2020 race for county commissioner by just 381 votes out of more than 120,000 ballots cast against Republican John Risley.

Marczyk also blocked Thelma Witherspoon, the Democrat who defeated Egg Harbor Township Committeeman Andrew Parker in the District 3 county commissioner race, from taking office when the board reorganized in January.

The special election, originally set for April 20, was called off after Parker appealed the ruling.

With an appellate court affirmation of his ruling, Marczyk must now schedule a special election.

It’s not immediately clear if the election will be held concurrently with the November general election, or before that.    It’s a complicated matter since vote-by-mail ballots for November are set to be mailed in late September.

Parker is already on the ballot this year as a candidate for re-election to the township committee and Republicans have to decide if they’ll allow him to run for dual offices.  Candidates may run for two offices in the same election but may only serve in one.

Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez must also schedule a recount of the Risley vs. Fernandez race.  He had previously ruled that a sampling of ballots, rather than a full recount, was sufficient.

Fernandez is also on the ballot this year as a candidate for county commissioner against interim Republican incumbent Frank X. Balles.

If Fernandez were to win the recount, Democrats would need to pick a replacement candidate to run against Balles in the November 2021 general election. Spread the news.

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More than 420 people attended the 45th annual Atlantic County Democratic Convention at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway on March 8, where 60% of the 275 delegates who attended chose to back Brigantine’s Amy Kennedy to challenge Congressman Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd. The mental health advocate and former Northfield Community School teacher now gets the coveted “county line” in the June 2 primary in Atlantic County.

From left, Democratic freeholder candidate Thelma Witherspoon, Atlantic County Freeholder Caren Fitzpatrick, Pam Fields, Amy Kennedy, and Freeholder Candidate Celeste Fernandez, after the vote Sunday at the Atlantic County Democratic Convention. Kennedy won the support of delegates at the convention, which means she will get the coveted Atlantic County line in the June 2 primary election — so her name will appear under the official Democartic slogan and under that of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, who is running for re-election.

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First-term Atlantic County Freeholder Ashley Bennett of Egg Harbor Township just nominated Dr. Thelma Witherspoon for her 3rd District Freeholder seat.

A candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, Bennett is not running again this year for the freeholder seat, which she snagged in an upset – or under game-changed circumstances – three years ago.

Bennett’s speech at the front of the room in support of Witherspoon here came as a surprise to at least one delegate who earlier told InsiderNJ he thought Bennett might abandon her congressional run to run again for freeholder.

But it didn’t happen.

Bennett’s decision to back Witherspoon for her hard-won freeholder seat showed her willingness to put everything on the 2nd District Congressional run.

Witherspoon accepted the nomination and pledged to Democrats here – to cheers – that she would keep the seat in the Democrats’ column.

“That’s going to be tough,” a source in the room grunted, acknowedging the district.

Witherspoon ran unsuccessfully for an at-large freeholder seat in 2017.

Bennett later announced her decision to suspend her campaign today and did not immediately back someone else in the CD2 contest.

“I’m the only one who has ever been elected,” Bennett told the delegates. “I’m no longer going to allow power, privelge or class” to dictate the outcome.

She seemed to be gearing up to run for congress anyway in the face of the conventional wisdom, then drew gasps when she suddenly announced she was out.

“I’m not bitter, but I am better,” said Bennett, a social worker by trade.

People promptly jumped out their seats to offer applause.

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Ashley Bennett has ruled out running for re-election to the Atlantic County Board of Freeholders and is all-in for her bid to become the Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd district.

Bennett entered the race for the Democratic congressional nomination after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) switched parties last month, but initially refused to rule out seeking re-election to a second term as freeholder.

That also means she’s eschewing a bid for any other office this year.

“I’m not running for surrogate,” Bennett said during a short interview with the New Jersey Globe, acknowledging reports that she was being recruited to run against Republican surrogate James Curcio.

Atlantic County Democrats have scheduled a convention to award organization lines on March 8.  The deadline to submit a letter of intent to be on the convention ballot is March 1.

Bennett says she will support former Atlantic City school board president Thelma Witherspoon to run for her District 3 freeholder seat.

“I’m excited for her,” Bennett said. “I will endorse and help as much as I can to get her over the finish line.”

Witherspoon ran for freeholder-at-large on the Democratic ticket with Bennett in 2017 and came within 892 votes of toppling GOP incumbent John Risley.

Bennett defeated John Carman by 537 votes three years ago after the GOP incumbent took heat for misogynistic remarks.

Democrats have still not selected a candidate for surrogate.

Bennett is also being recruited by Democrats to run for Atlantic County Surrogate, where incumbent James Curcio is seeking re-election.

Curcio ousted incumbent James Carney in 2010 by 1,123 votes and kept the job in a 2015 rematch with Carney by an 895-vote margin.

Six candidates are seeking the chance to take on Van Drew, but with two distinctly separate tiers.

At the top are Bennett, Brigid Callahan Harrison, and Amy Kennedy, a member of one of America’s most famous political families.

Brigid Callahan Harrison, a political science professor, has received endorsements from Democratic county chairmen in Cape May, Cumberland, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties.

Former public school teacher Amy Kennedy won the endorsement of the Callaway family-run Atlantic City Democratic organization on Monday evening.  That’s gives Kennedy a base of votes at the March 8 convention, but it likely came with an expensive price tag from an organization that’s isn’t bashful about asking for money.

West Cape May commissioner John Francis III, former congressional aide Will Cunningham and retired FBI agent Bob Turkavage are also in the race.

Cunningham, who worked for U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Rep. Elijah Cummings, ran against Van Drew in 2018 and finished third in the Democratic primary with 16% of the vote.

Turkavage is running as a Democrat after winning 7% in the 2018 Republican congressional primary.

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