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Pryor Wins Neptune City Special Election, Monmouth GOP prevails over bus loads of Democratic canvassers

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Neptune City Councilman Richard Pryor, center, celebrates his reelection with Neptune City and Monmouth GOP leaders. Click photo for larger view

The streets of Neptune City were reminiscent of Newark, Jersey City or Chicago on election day Tuesday as out of town canvassers worked the town to get Democrats to come out and vote in a Special Election for a Council seat that was vacated as a result of a tie vote last November.

The State Democratic Party emailed Democrat activists statewide, imploring them to knock on doors and make phone calls in Neptune City, “because it is the home of Monmouth County Freeholder Director and Republican Leader Tom Arnone, who previously served as mayor.” U.S. Senator Cory Booker made a robocall for the Democrat candidate. An estimated 30 out of towners were bused in on Tuesday to to find Democratic votes to drag to the polls.

Joe Grillo, Chairman of the Asbury Park Democrats (and a former Democrat freeholder candidate) showed up at the Board of Elections after the deadline for a messenger to obtain a Vote-By-Mail ballot for another voter.  Turned away by the Board, Grillo went to Court to get a Judge to Order that ballot request be honored.

The Democrats left no stone unturned to win this election and deal a defeat to the Monmouth GOP and Arnone in particular.  Arnone is running for reelection this November. He is also the municipal vice chairman of the Neptune City GOP.

It didn’t work.  Republican Richard Pryor defeated Democrat Michael Skudera 510 votes to 475 votes with 2 write-in votes.

On election night last November, Pryor appeared to be reelected by one vote, 600-599. Skudera picked up three votes in a recount and Pryor picked up one. Resulting in Skudera’s “victory” by one vote, 602-601.  Skudera was sworn into office on January 1, but not before an 18 year old Borough woman, Michaela O’Brian, who voted for the first time contested the election when she learned that the provisional ballot that she had cast was disallowed by the Board of Elections.

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Posted: March 22nd, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Monmouth County News, Monmouth Democrats, Monmouth GOP, Neptune City, Tom Kean JR | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

4 Comments on “Pryor Wins Neptune City Special Election, Monmouth GOP prevails over bus loads of Democratic canvassers”

  1. Thanks, Art! said at 11:35 pm on March 22nd, 2016:

    good to know- was a really close and hard fought race. Congrats to the volunteers who brought it home. Shows how serious the Dems are about sweeping the Shore- not gonna be a cakewalk,any more.. I believe it’s spelled “Pryor,” though.

  2. Belmar Insurgent said at 10:33 am on March 23rd, 2016:

    What a blow to Matt Doherty, who recorded a robocall and lent personal support to Mr. Skudera. Doherty should focus on his own town, Belmar, which is completely falling apart. Also a blow to the puppets Houghtaling and Downey. Sad that incumbent Dem. Legislator Mr. Houghtaling can’t win a seat in his own backyard, with access to all the money in the world, and in a town where Dem/Rep voter registration is equal!

  3. Bob English said at 11:37 pm on March 23rd, 2016:

    It’s a stretch to say that two members of the Assembly who have only been in office for a couple of months are going to have a big influence on a local council race.

  4. Why not?? said at 11:19 pm on March 24th, 2016:

    With all the big dough wheeled in last year, from the bottomless pit of the great and powerful, north and south Dem pooh-bas, the busloads of out-of-town volunteers into this one little town, this week, it sure looks like serious practice rounds, for the infamous “knock- drag- compensate/ reward” runs, to the polls, for the big, “presidential circus” this November, to me!..