Former Bayonne Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski made history by being the first woman elected mayor in the Peninsula City’s history tonight in a statement win.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Ashe-Nadrowski, the council president between 2014 and 2022, was favored in today’s three-way dance that also featured Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker and city Business Administrator/Board of Education President Mary Jane Desmond.
The relatively sleepy race allowed the former councilwoman at-large to capitalize on a sizable campaign cash advantage, which meant consistent direct mail, TV commercials, and a formidable get out the vote (GOTV) operation.
Although Ashe-Nadrowski and Booker both filed to run for mayor with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) in November, the race was uneventful in the public domain, for the most part, until the April 20th mayoral debate.
There, the eventual winner brought the fight to Booker over his planning board on City Council votes that would allowing zoning for a data center on New Hook Road.
This issue dogged Booker in the final weeks of the race, despite repeatedly saying he would not approve of a data center coming to the Peninsula City and the council approving two resolutions saying as much last month, all as HCV first reported.
Ashe-Nadrowski’s campaign also focused on affordability and holding developers accountable, pledging not to take contributions from them.
For that reason, a $500 donation that was later returned led to a late scrap between her and Booker – the city’s first black councilman who would’ve been the first black mayor if elected.
In the end, the race was not particularly close, with Booker trailing by double digits and Desmond failing to break double digits, meaning a June runoff for mayor won’t be necessary, based on preliminary tallies from the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.
As of Wednesday morning, Ashe-Nadrowski had secured just over 62 percent of the vote with 96.08 percent of the votes tallied, leading Booker 6,980 to 3,384, the county clerk’s office is reporting. Desmond received 705 votes.
This was Ashe-Nadrowski’s second bid for mayor after failing to push then-incumbent Jimmy Davis to a runoff by less than 100 votes in 2022. Davis is now the Hudson County sheriff and his replacement, interim Mayor Robert Kubert, did not seek a full term.
Ashe-Nadrowski’s two City Council at-large running mates, Mark Bottino and Mariam Salama, are also poised to win on the first ballot, with 1st Ward council candidate Gene Perry unseating Councilman Neil Carroll.
In the 2nd, Board of Education Trustee Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez could be poised to win, but former 2nd Ward Councilman Sal Gullace and independent candidate Omar Elgarhi could still force a runoff.
Finally, in the 3rd Ward, Council President Gary La Pelusa looks like he’ll be defending his seat against retired Hudson County Sheriff’s Office Det. Tom Gillen, who was also part of Team Ashe-Nadrowski, in the runoff, making a clean sweep still possible.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Wednesday morning with tallies from the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.
