Bayonne City Clerk Madelene Medina has announced she has reduced the number of signatures needed on petitions of nomination for the non-partisan May 12th municipal elections.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
According to Medina, those petitions are available now in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, located at 630 Avenue C.
Anyone interested in running can pick them up from Monday to Friday, except holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., and then again from 1 to 4 p.m.
Voters will head to the polls to select a mayor, two council members at-large, and one council member in each of the city’s three wards for four-year terms that begin on July 1st.
Candidates for municipal office must be registered voters and residents for at least one year and can only run for one office, Medina said. Ward council candidates must have been residents of the ward in which they live for at least one year.
Each candidate must submit a nominating petition that consists of separate petition certificates signed by a number of voters as per state law.
According to the revised requirements announced by Medina, mayor and council member at-large candidates must obtain at least 100 valid signatures.
1st Ward, 2nd Ward, and 3rd Ward council candidates need at least 25 valid signatures in their respective wards.
The previously announced signature requirements involved much higher numbers that were based on a percentage of votes cast in the November 2025 election, as HCV first previously reported, Medina explained.
Upon reflection, Medina decided to announce easier petitioning requirements that are the minimum number of signatures provided in state law.
Before the update, mayor and council at-large candidates had to obtain 870 valid signatures, 1st Ward council candidates need 300 signatures, 2nd Ward nominees will require 260 signatures, and 3rd Ward candidates must submit 315.
The filing date for the signature certificates and other required documents is Thursday, February 26th, at 4 p.m. Signatures will be verified by the clerk’s office, after which a ballot position drawing will be held.
The mayoral contest is for an open seat, since interim Mayor Robert Kubert won’t seek a full term after he was appointed to succeed former Mayor Jimmy Davis, who was elected Hudson Count sheriff in November.
This time around, former Bayonne Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski is facing off with Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker, who has 1st Ward Councilman Neil Carroll and former 2nd Ward Councilman Sal Gullace on his ticket.
Ashe-Nadrowski filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) in November before formally launching her campaign this month, where she unveiled Mariam Salama and Mark Bottino as two of her at-large running mates, both as HCV first reported.
Earlier this week, she also announced Gene Perry as her 1st Ward council candidate.
Furthermore, developer Lance Lucarelli filed to run for mayor in October, but has not taken any further official action since.
Meanwhile, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Jackie Weimmer first told HCV that she was not seeking re-election via a letter to the editor.
