Update: Trenton City Clerk Brandon Garcia has rejected Kadja Manuel’s nominating petitions in the North Ward, leaving incumbent Councilwoman Jennifer Williams unopposed.
With the era of dysfunctionality and toxicity on the Trenton City Council over, the state’s capital city looks to have a quieter campaign this year when four ward councilmembers seek re-election in Trenton’s first mid-term elections.
Trenton moved its non-partisan municipal elections from May to November in 2022 – a move that substantially increased voter turnout – and will now have staggered elections: the mayor and three at-large council seats won four-year terms, and the ward contests were elected for two-year terms – and now, four-year terms going forward.
North Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Williams won her seat by just one vote in a December 2023 runoff against Algernon Ward, Jr. Trenton City Clerk Brandon Garcia has rejected Kadja Manuel’s nominating petitions, leaving her unopposed. Manuel, made it to a runoff in a race for at-large councilman in 2022 but finished last after losing in a landslide.
In the South Ward, Councilwoman Jenna Figueroa Kettenburg faces a rematch with her 2022 opponent, Damian Malave; she won a runoff by 40 votes, 53.3% to 46.7%. Evangaline Ugorji, who was eliminated after receiving 9.8% of the vote in the first round, is also running again.
The councilwoman from the West Ward, Teska Frisby, is being challenged by one of her 2022 rivals, Mary Horne. Frisby defeated Atalya Armstrong outright in the general election by a wide 55%-34% margin; Horne received 11% of the vote.
Joe Harrison, who has represented the East Ward on the city council for six years, is unopposed in his bid for a third term.
The two most toxic members of the city council, Robin Vaughn and Kathy McBride, gave up their seats to run for mayor two years ago; Reed Gusciora was re-elected by an overwhelming 71% of the vote. Vaughn, who made a series of homophobic and anti-Semitic statements during a turbulent four-year term, received 8% of the vote; McBride, who also hurled anti-Semitic comments and defended Vaughn, received 13% in a four-candidate contest.
Vaughn’s statements were so controversial that most of the state’s political leaders, including Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Senator Cory Booker, called on her to resign.
Many of the city council races wound up in court in the last election.
Engaging in a dog-whistle campaign, Malave tried to remove Figueroa Kettenburg from the ballot, arguing that she was not the real daughter of Edwin Figueroa, who died in 2018, and accused her of using his name to win votes in a ward where 67% of the electorate is Hispanic.
Figueroa Kettenburg provided multiple documents to Mercer County Assignment Judge Robert Lougy to show that she has used the name Figueroa professionally, even though she is registered to vote as Jenna L. Kettenburg. Lougy didn’t buy it.
“Edwin Figueroa is the only father I have ever known. I have always been told that he is my biological father, and, more importantly, even if he were to have technically been my stepfather, or just my mother’s partner of more than 35 years, the fact is that he is the only father I ever known,” Figueroa Kettenburg said in court filings “From my babyhood, through my elementary school, middle school, and high school years, he was the father who was always there, until I left home for college, and whenever I visited home throughout my early adulthood years until he sadly passed away when I was 38 years old.”
Ugorji remained on the ballot even though as many as two dead people signed her nominating petition.