Two of the three members of the Margate City Commission are not seeking re-election in the May 9 non-partisan municipal election, which features two slates competing for the three seats.
With 85-year-old Mayor Michael Becker and Commissioner John Amodeo stepping down, the third incumbent, Maury Blumberg, is running on the “Experience & Vision for Margate’s Future” ticket with Cathy Horn, the school board president, and Michael Collins, a local businessman.
They face Calvin Tessler, Aaron Singer, and Tish Calvarese from the “Margate Deserves Better” slate.
“The current Commissioners in Margate have used their political office to enrich their family members and their developer friends at the expense of Margate homeowners. Margate deserves better from our elected officials,” said Tesler, a history professor who lost a bid for city commissioner four years ago by a relatively close margin of about 200 votes.
Singer is an accountant, and Calvarese is an IT executive.
Amodeo served three terms in the State Assembly before losing his 2nd district seat to Vince Mazzeo (D-Northfield) by 40 votes out of more than 50,000 cast in 2013.
He saw his political career revived when he ran for local office alongside Becker and now-former Councilwoman Brenda Taube in 2015. Before moving to Margate, Amodeo was a Linwood city councilman.
Blumberg defeated Taube by roughly 130 votes that year. He served as mayor from 2015 to 2019.
Singer says that municipal taxes in Margate have increased by 46% since Becker and Blumberg began serving in local government in 2007.
RELATED ARTICLES
-
September 10, 2019 -
May 14, 2019 -
November 7, 2018