Four candidates have filed for the May 12th non-partisan mayoral race, with Business Administrator/Board of Education President Mary Jane Desmond a late entrant into the fray, according to a list compiled by City Clerk Madelene Medina.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
The race is for an open seat, since interim Mayor Robert Kubert isn’t seeking a full term after he was appointed to succeed Mayor Jimmy Davis, who was elected as the Hudson County sheriff last November.
He defeated former Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski and Dr. Mitchell Brown in 2022, avoiding heading to a runoff with his former two-time running mate by about 100 votes.
Ashe-Nadrowski is running for mayor again under the banner “Team Sharon For A Better Bayonne,” with a chief opponent in Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker, simply calling his slate “Team Booker 2026.”
They are the only two candidates with a full five-person slate for the three ward and two at-large City Council seats up for grabs.
Desmond is embracing the slogan “Bayonne Stronger Together,” while developer Lance Lucarelli is also seeking the corner office on Avenue C under the “Make Bayonne Great Again,” of course reminiscent of President Donald Trump’s signature MAGA catchphrase.
While Lucarelli was actually the first candidate to file with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) back in September, he currently does not have the necessary 100 valid signatures, Medina noted.
She indicated that he has until Monday, March 2nd to correct the defected petitions or he will not appear on the spring ballot.
In the 1st Ward which encompasses downtown, Councilman Neil Carroll is running with Booker, while lifelong resident Gene Perry is running with Ashe-Nadrowski.
Paralegal Dawn Lavelle is running with Desmond, while Hudson Catholic High School basketball, baseball, and football coach Jim Pearl is running independently under the banner “Nobody Wins Unless Everyone Wins.”
In the 2nd Ward which consists of midtown, former Second Ward Councilman Sal Gullace is seeking to return to his seat as part of Team Booker, while Board of Education Trustee Melissa Godesky Rodriguez is running with Ashe-Nadrowski.
Planning Board Chair Karen Fiermonte is running with Desmond, while local business owner and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Omar Elgarhi – a political newcomer – is running as an independent with the slogan “Fix The Basics Respect The Residents.”
2nd Ward Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer, who is not seeking re-election, has been spotted at events with Elgarhi.
In the 3rd Ward which covers most of uptown, Councilman Gary La Pelusa, the council president, running with Booker, while retired Hudson County Sheriff’s Office detective Thomas Gillen, Jr. is running with Ashe-Nadrowski.
There are also two independent candidates: Former Planning Board Commissioner John Milan Sebik, whose slogan is “A Voice That Works For You,” and New Jersey City University (NJCU) Head Women’s Basketball Coach Patrick Devaney Sr, who has no slogan.
For the at-large races, Ashe-Nadrowski has tapped engineer Mariam Salama and former Bayonne firefighter Mark Bottino.
Booker’s running mates with are The Artists Avenue/Blessed to Bless CDC Director of Operations Melissa Enriquez-Rada and Planning Board commissioner candidate Ramon Veloz.
Finally, Desmond is fielding just one at-large running mate in Anthony Acosta, who secured the Republican nomination for state Assembly in the 31st District last year before losing handily in the general election.
