Marty Small easily wins re-election in Atlantic City

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. won re-election in a landslide with 62.5%, defeating Republican Naeem Khan, 4,748 to 2,851.

Democrats Patricia Bailey, Stephanie Marshall, and Mohammed Suhel Ahmed coasted to victory.

Small won despite his indictment on charges that he physically abused his teenage daughter.  His trial begins next week.

He was offered a plea deal that would require him to forfeit his office.

Democrats flipped a Township Committee seat in Republican-controlled Egg Harbor Township: Pete Castellano defeated incumbent Paul Rosenberg, an operations manager at the South Jersey Transportation Authority, by 761 votes, a 52%-48% margin.

In Galloway, Democrats have potentially flipped two of four council seats in a close election:  GOP incumbents R.J. Amato III (6,875) and Christine Jordan (6,820) appear to have been re-elected; Democrats Rosemary Goldberg (6,787) and Joyce Pratt (6,742)   Two other Democrats, Caitlin Stenson (6,716) and Kimberly Grieser (6,690), are in fifth and sixth place, respectively; Republican Councilmen Clifton Sudler, Jr. (6,681) and Muhammad Umar (6,432) trail.

Republican Carl Pitale (5,101) and Democrat Thelma Witherspoon (5,093) lead in their bids for re-election to the Hamilton  Township Committee.  Democrat Yvette Soto is 151 votes behind Witherspoon; Republican Jerry Nelson is 157 votes behind Soto.

Witherspoon had won an Atlantic County freeholder race in 2020 only to have her election invalidated after a county clerk of her own party mailed the wrong ballots to more voters than her margin of victory.

Democrat Tracy Thompson won an unexpired term on the Hamilton Township Committee; she leads Republican Mary Jo Coutts by 362 votes, 52%-48%.

Republicans won three council seats in Hammonton, with one incumbent, Jonathan Oliva, losing his re-election bid.

In Mullica, Republican Township Committeewoman Deanna DeMarco won re-election, but Democrat Mark Pino defeated another Republican incumbent, Kristin Hanselmann.  Republican George Moore won an unexpired term.

A race for the Northfield War 1 council seat went to Republicans, with Renee Carfagno beating Democrat Joan Brennan, 54%-46%.  Each party won one council seat in Somers Point.