In Audubon, five candidates filed petitions by Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline, and in Haddon Township, newly sworn Commissioner Jim Mulroy will defend his appointment against a challenger in the May 9 vote.
By Matt Skoufalos | Monday, March 6, 2017
Incumbent commissioners in Collingswood and Haddonfield will face no opposition on the ballot during the May 9 local government elections.
In neighboring Audubon, however, Mayor John Ward will defend his office amid a field of five that includes Rob Jakubowski, Robert Lee, Ian Gill, and Debra Licorish. Ward said he, Jakubowski, and Lee will run as a slate. Incumbent commissioners Jen Dawson and John Martin will not seek reelection.
There will also be a contested ballot in Haddon Township, as newly sworn Commissioner Jim Mulroy will face an immediate challenge to his appointment from Ryan Linhart. Mulroy’s fellow commissioners, Randy Teague and Paul Dougherty, ran unopposed in 2015. (Click here for profiles of Linhart and Mulroy.)
Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley said he and fellow commissioners Joan Leonard and Rob Lewandowski took the news as an endorsement of their performance.
“We’re happy because we view it as a compliment,” Maley said. “We’re moving ahead on all fronts, as we were yesterday.”
It’s the second time in the last three elections that Maley and Leonard have run unopposed, the mayor said. Maley has spent the last 28 years as a Collingswood commissioner; Leonard has served for 20 of those, having first been elected alongside Maley in 1997. Lewandowski was appointed to his seat in November 2016 when Commissioner Mike Hall retired after 11 years with the government.
Haddonfield Mayor Jeff Kasko had a similar sentiment about running unopposed along with his fellow Commissioners John Moscatelli and Neal Rochford, who were first elected as a slate in 2013.
“While I always welcome healthy debate and competition for all elected offices, sometimes people are satisfied and don’t see a need to change course,” Kasko said Tuesday. “That appears to be the case in Haddonfield.
“I think we have a board of commissioners that is competent, works well together, and is getting things done,” he said. “I am really grateful for this vote of confidence, and hope we can continue working together and moving Haddonfield forward.”
All petitions were due to borough clerks by 4 p.m. Monday. (For a look at the election timeline, click here.)
Here’s a rough sketch of whom the spring municipal election ballots will include:
Audubon
Ian Gill
Rob Jakubowski
Robert Lee
Debra Licorish
John Ward
Collingswood
Joan Leonard
Rob Lewandowski
Jim Maley
Haddon Township
Ryan Linhart
Jim Mulroy
Haddonfield
Jeff Kasko
John Moscatelli
Neal Rochford
Don’t know where to vote? Here’s where you can find your polling place.
