Atlantic City residents voted Tuesday to keep their current form of government, according to the city’s mayor.
Mayor Marty Small Sr.'s posted a screenshot on his Facebook page Tuesday evening showing results, and claiming victory too, saying the vote to change the government has been defeated.
The post shows 3,275 “No” votes for a public question asking if Atlantic City should switch from the current mayor and nine council members system to one with a municipal manager and five committee members.
The “Yes” votes were at 985.
Small wrote there are still nearly 2,000 votes to be counted by the end of the week.
"It is a great day here in the city of Atlantic City,” Small told NJ Advance Media Tuesday. "We have been dealing with this distraction for over a year, and it goes to show that Atlantic City is a very resilient community and when outsiders come in here and try to boss us around and tell us what to do, the city of Atlantic City is not having it. We spoke loud, and we spoke clear.”
Small said that in every district and ward in the city, the majority has voted no.
Atlantic City Residents For Good Government (ACRGG), the group that was driving for the change, got the issue to a vote by obtaining petitions from residents.
The ACRGG drive was backed by UNITE HERE Local 54 President Bob McDevitt, former state Senator Raymond Lesniak, and JEMB Realty Chairman and Resorts Casino owner Morris Bailey.
“After the first night of counting the ballots it is clear that the referendum to change the government structure in Atlantic City will be defeated by a wide margin even though counting continues,” McDevitt said in a statement.
“We congratulate the opposition to the question and thereby concede defeat. The citizens of Atlantic City have spoken and the Atlantic City Residents for Good Government respect their choice. There are many challenges ahead for Atlantic City as we begin to reopen business on the heels of the devastating pandemic. We wish the elected officials well in their struggles ahead and offer a heartfelt thanks to all our supporters who worked so tirelessly on behalf of our cause. The people have rejected change and we accept without qualification their decision," the statement said.
The process to getting to the election itself was at time contentious.
In 2019, city council members declared a ‘coup’ was underway in the city. And while ACRGG was able to garner enough votes to have the question placed for a referendum, but the Atlantic City Democratic Party sued the ACRGG, stating the petition was invalid and fraudulent, and sought an injunction.
Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez ruled in March that the petition and process was valid, and that the election could continue.
The referendum, initially scheduled to take place March 31, was conducted through mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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