Hammonton councilman will challenge McGettigan for Atlantic clerkship

Hammonton Councilman Joe Giralo will run for Atlantic County Clerk Ed McGettigan’s post next year, the Republican announced Wednesday.

“I’ve got 554 reasons to run for Atlantic County Clerk. Because of Ed McGettigan’s failure as a leader, we are going to need to have a costly second election for 3rd District Freeholder,” Giralo said. “The Clerk’s mistake costs taxpayer dollars, and he should be held accountable.”

Due to a mistake within McGettigan’s office, 554 voters in Hamilton Township who should have received ballots including Atlantic County’s Third District freeholder race between Democrat Thelma Witherspoon and Republican Andrew Parker got incorrect ballots.

Witherspoon leads Parker by just 179 votes in a race where there is a large but undetermined number of outstanding ballots. If the margin is thin enough, the election could end up in court, and the county may have to run the race for Freeholder Ashley Bennett’s seat again.

Bennett did not seek re-election after dropping her second-district House bid. The saga led Atlantic County Republican Chairman Keith Davis to call for McGettigan’s resignation.

“I agree with the Chairman, we have a County Clerk whose largest responsibility is helping to conduct elections in our county, he’s a miserable failure,” Giralo said. “When I’m elected County Clerk I’ll see to it that the Clerk’s office functions like the rest of Atlantic County Government. With perfect audits, and expenses that are some of the lowest in the state.”

Giralo’s held his seat on Hammonton’s council for five years. He sat on the town’s school board for 15 years before that.

His bid already has the endorsement of Fifth District Freeholder James Bertino.

“I am very excited about our ticket next year,” Bertino said. “With Chairwoman Kern, Frank Balles, and myself working to maintain control of the Freeholder Board, adding Joe’s race for County Clerk is exactly what we need. Joe’s a proven fundraiser, and you won’t find a Republican who works harder than he does.”