By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH Media
MAYS LANDING – Democrat Dr. Thelma Witherspoon said she was not surprised Thursday by the Appellant Division for the Superior Court of New Jersey ruling denying her a temporary seat on the Atlantic County Commissioners but said it won't deter her from wining the District 3 seat in November – for a second time.
It been a long road for Witherspoon, the certified winner of last November's District 3 race, and Republican and current Egg Harbor Township Andrew Parker III, who successfully challenged the election because of a balloting distribution error by the Atlantic County Clerk's Office.
Atlantic County Judge Joseph Marczyk has previously order in a new election in connection with the error. Details of the protracted fight for Atlantic County's District 3 seat can be found here.
Currently, Witherspoon, a former Atlantic City school board president, and Parker are campaigning again for the seat with represents parts of Egg Harbor Township and Hamilton Township.
Thursday's ruling, though, dealt with Democratic Party wanting to name Witherspoon to District 3 seat while the fight over the 2020 District 3 election played out in court. The Republican-controlled Atlantic City Commissioners refused to seat Witherspoon, leaving the district without a representative for nearly a year.
"I'm not surprised by the ruling," Witherspoon told Front Runner New Jersey. "People voted for me and put their faith in me, so I had to fight. I never stopped campaigning (for the November election) but I have a responsibility to fight for the people who voted for me. It's one thing to think I had won, but I was the certified winner."
Democrat Ashley Bennett held the seat the previous four years, flipping it from Republican, and had endorsed Witherspoon for the spot before the election.
Marczyk declined a lawsuit by Witherspoon and the Atlantic County Democratic Committee that would have allowed her to hold the seat temporarily in February and the appeals court agreed.
"As the judge found, there was no 'winner' of the Nov. 3, 2020 election for the Commissioner position in the Third District," the appeals court wrote. "Therefore, we cannot identify 'the appropriate political party' to appoint an interim Commissioner under N.J.S.A. 40:41A-145.2. Accordingly, the judge properly ordered a special election to fill the vacant position for the remainder of the term."
Witherspoon said she has had successful campaign events since the judge's initial ruling ordering a new election. She pointed out it was her campaign that first found the error and brought it to the attention of the clerk's office before the November 2020 election.
Despite the challenges, Witherspoon said she feels confident about the election, particularly with most of the disenfranchised voters from the 2020 election came home Hamilton Township, which won handily nearly a year ago.
QUESTION: Was it wrong for the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners to keep the District 3 Seat open for nearly a year? Why or why not? Feel free to comment below.
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