The Atlantic County Democratic candidate recruitment committee has recommended Celeste Fernandez and Jelani Gandy to the county convention as candidates for county commissioner.
Fernandez, who lost her 2020 bid by 381 votes, will take on Commissioner Frank X. Balles for an at-large commissioner seat. She is currently in a legal fight to get the 2020 election results recounted.
Gandy, the state director of United Rural Democrats and a former intern to Assemblymen Vince Mazzeo (D-Northfield) and John Armato (D-Buena), will take on Republican Commissioner Maureen Kern in the Republican-leaning District 2.
To run on the organization line in the June Democratic primary, Fernandez and Gandy must win the Atlantic County Democratic convention.
Democrats still don’t have a candidate for commissioner in District 2 where Republican Maureen Kern is expected to seek re-election.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Gandy was running in District 5.
