It’s increasingly looking like the Bloomfield Town Council is moving toward the selection of Ted Gamble as their new mayor when they meet tonight, eschewing the recommendation of the Democratic county committee to pick Jenny Mundell to replace Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D-Bloomfield).
Local Democrats submitted three names to the six-member council: Gamble, Mundell, and Nicole Williams, a member of the parking authority. Now it appears that Gamble has a majority of the votes to become the new mayor, although a shift of one could put the contest into a tie, shifting the legal authority to pick a new mayor back to the county committee.
Sources have told the New Jersey Globe that Mundell is prepared to run against Gamble in the June Democratic primary to fill the remaining thirteen months of Venezia’s term.
Venezia resigned earlier this month to take his seat in the legislature. He is the Bloomfield Democratic municipal chairman and endorsed Mundell after the county committee voted 41-16 to support her; Williams received two votes.
With those numbers, it’s possible that Mundell could emerge as the organization line candidate in June. Gamble could either run alone – he might need to recruit a sheriff candidate to secure a better ballot position – or run with U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim.
Bloomfield is a Democratic stronghold, so the primary is tantamount to victory. The winner of the November special election would take office immediately upon certification by the county clerk.