Ballot drawing sets order for Wildwood Crest candidates

A municipal clerk conducted a random drawing on Aug. 28 to determine ballot positions for seven candidates in Wildwood Crest, assigning Joseph M. Schiff the top spot and placing Joseph Bond last, the clerk announced.

The drawing took place at 11:00 a.m.; the official cited the statute governing municipal ballot drawings in New Jersey (transcript: 'NJSA40 col45-12') and invited candidates to inspect the folded ballots before they were placed into the draw box. "If you'd like to come up and look, every single one of them are done in the same font," the clerk said during the proceedings.

Why it matters: Ballot position can affect voter choice in local elections, and the results are part of the official record. The clerk said the final order will be forwarded to the county clerk for notification and will be published in the Herald and the Press of Atlantic City.

The clerk read the candidates and their slogans aloud before the draw: Don Cabrera, Joe Franco and Tony Fosaro ("leadership for tomorrow's Wildwood Crest"); David Thompson ("honesty with integrity"); Robert Bethl ("this time it's personal"); Joseph M. Schiff ("continued progress with proven leadership"); David Bannon ("let's build a better crest together"); Joseph Bond ("what's best for the crest"); and Michael F. Marino ("veteran for safety, accountability, smart spending"). After confirming that all ballots had been folded the same way and were closed, the clerk announced the positions as follows: Position 1 — Joseph M. Schiff; Position 2 — Don Cabrera, Joe Franco, Tony Fusselaro; Position 3 — David Thompson; Position 4 — Michael Marino; Position 5 — Robert Bethl; Position 6 — Dave Bannon; Position 7 — Joseph Bond.

The clerk said the results would be sent to the county clerk and published in local papers as part of the official notice. The short proceeding concluded with brief acknowledgements.