The all-Democratic Bloomfield Town Council tonight bucked the local Democratic organization and selected Councilman Ted Gamble to serve as interim mayor by a 4-2 vote against Jenny Mundell, a four-term councilwoman.
Mundell immediately announced that she would challenge Gamble in the June Democratic primary to run in a special election for the remaining thirteen months of Michael Venezia’s term as mayor. Venezia resigned early this month to take a seat in the New Jersey State Assembly.
“Bloomfield has made tremendous progress in the last ten years, but we need experienced leadership with a comprehensive vision for our community’s future in order to keep moving forward,” Mundell said. “I’m running for Mayor because I love this community and want to see it continue to thrive, and I know that together we can keep delivering the progress that our residents deserve.”
In a vote last week, Mundell outpolled Gamble, 41-16, to win the recommendation of the Bloomfield Democratic county committee. Another candidate, Nicole Williams, received two votes. State law requires the party that previously won the seat to send three names to the governing body for consideration.
Gamble bashed Venezia and Mundell for seeking to “subvert the process of filling a vacancy of mayor by holding a straw poll.”
“There is no precedence for holding a straw poll to fill a vacancy in Bloomfield,” he said. “There is no place for these games in local politics as they get in the way of getting the work done.”
Venezia, who is also the Democratic municipal chairman, had endorsed Mundell. He slammed the council for not following the wishes of the party.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see members of the Council disregard the vote of the Bloomfield Democratic Committee and block Jenny Mundell from becoming our first woman mayor, but we will not allow this power grab to stand and will go directly to the people of our community by winning this primary election,” Venezia said. “Jenny is the exact kind of leader our community needs and deserves, and I’m 100% supportive of her campaign.”
With the support of Venezia, Mundell is likely to get the organization line in June.
Gamble pledged to “bring a fresh perspective and provide a transparent and collaborative alternative to my counterpart”
“I have a track record of collaborating with my council members as well as the county to get things done,” Gamble said in a social media post. “Listening to residents and addressing their issues is priority #1 and I will do that by walking this township to listen to your concerns and address issues specific to your neighborhood.”