Official results from the Camden County Board of Elections were finalized November 21.
By Matt Skoufalos | November 8, 2022
(UPDATED: November 9, 2022, 11:30 p.m.)
(FINAL UPDATE: November 22, 2022, 1:15 p.m.)
In the 2022 general election, Camden County voters returned Democratic incumbents to office in the U.S. Congressional midterm elections as well as in the Camden County Commissioners race.
Only a handful of communities in our coverage area—Audubon Park, Haddon Heights, Merchantville, Oaklyn, and Pennsauken—featured local government races, and of those, only Pennsauken’s was contested on the ballot.
There was varied action in a number of local school board races, where some featured a crowded field of candidates, and others didn’t even produce enough to fill the number of seats available.
Voters also decided in favor of creating an energy aggregation program in Cherry Hill, the only ballot question in the county this year.
Official results were certified by the Camden County Clerk November 21, 2022. (See this 2020 story for frequently asked questions about the electoral process.)
Voter Turnout
Of 392,218 registered voters in Camden County, nearly 38 percent (148,666 voters) participated in the 2022 general election, with 72,719 voting in person, 68,349 voting by mail, 4,613 casting provisional ballots, and 2,985 voting early.
U.S. Congressionial Race
Incumbent U.S. Representative Donald Norcross of Camden City (97,135 votes) retained his seat in the First Congressional District of New Jersey.
Norcross more than doubled up Republican Claire Gustafson of Collingswood (43,394 votes), and far outpaced independent Patricia Kline of Washington Township (2,330 votes), Libertarian Isaiah Fletcher of Cherry Hill (939 votes), and U.S. Army veteran Allen J. Cannon of Titusville (415 votes).
Camden County Commissioners Race
Democratic incumbents Edward McDonnell of Pennsauken (93,104 votes) and Virginia Ruiz-Betteridge of Runnemede (91,785 votes) are the predicted winners of two seats on the Camden County Boad of Commissioners. They defeated Republican challengers Joe Miller (47,752 votes) and Ian Gill (47,262 votes), both of Audubon.
Local Races
Contests in four, uncontested local government races featured candidates that faced no balloted opposition.
In Audubon Park, voters returned incumbent Republican mayor Lawrence Pennock (240 votes) and incumbent Democratic Council Members Thomas Goebel (222 votes) and Gloria A. Jones (214 votes) to office.
In Haddon Heights, Democratic incumbent Councilmen Tom Ottoson (2,534 votes) and Matthew Pagan (2,481 votes) retained their seats on the local government.
In Merchantville, incumbent Democratic Mayor Ted Brennan (949 votes), incumbent Democratic Councilman Anthony Perno (928 votes), and Council President Raymond Woods (926 votes) all retained their seats on the local government.
In Oaklyn, incumbent Democratic Councilman Vincenzo Angelucci (1,148 votes) and challenger Chad Jordan (1,117 votes) will serve their community on the local governing body.
In Pennsauken, incumbent Deputy Mayor Nicole Roberts (6,366 votes) defeated independent challenger Elizabeth LaVine (1,038 votes).
Board of Education Races
AUDUBON
Incumbent school board member Ammie Davis (2,066 votes) led all candidates in her re-election victory, followed by newcomer Stephen Wilson (1,969 votes), and incumbent board member Tara Sullivan-Butrica (1,857 votes). Challenger Mark Gatti (1,497 votes) was the odd one out.
Incumbent Loretta Cassidy (2,442 votes) retained her unexpired term, having faced no balloted opposition in the race. Read our candidate profiles here.
CHERRY HILL
Challenger Kimberly Gallagher (11,847 votes) defeated sitting Board of Education President Benjamin Ovadia (8,257 votes) to fill the unexpired term of Kim Friddell on the township school board.
Challenger Adam Greenbaum (10,935 votes) led all candidates in the race for three three-year terms on the Cherry Hill Board of Education, followed by Gina Winters (9,166 votes), who was appointed to replace Friddell in August 2022. Incumbent Joel Mayer (8,165 votes) won the final seat on the board.
Greenbaum, Winters, and Mayer beat out challengers Renee Cherfane (7,957 votes), Nicholas Gaudio, Jr. (6,566 votes), Jennifer Sharman (6,441 votes), Suni Reed (5,804 votes), and Cathy DiCampli (5,145 votes). Read our candidate profiles here.
COLLINGSWOOD
Meghan Mikulski (3,467 votes) led all vote-getters, followed by her “Together We’re Better” running mate, challenger Kelly Maia (3,327 votes), and challenger Kate Seltzer (2,771 votes). Challenger Kevin Carey (2,752 votes) saw an early lead for the third seat evaporate as the final returns were tabulated. Read our candidate profiles here.
HADDONFIELD
Newcomer Mike Nuckols (3,327 votes) fended off Mark Cartella (2,002 votes) for an unexpired term on the local school board.
Sitting Board of Education President Jaime Grookett (3,746 votes) and her fellow incumbents Linda Hochgertel (3,730 votes) and Gregory Esemplare (3,620 votes) faced no balloted opponents to their candidacies. Read our candidate profiles here.
HADDON HEIGHTS
Incumbent Board of Education members Lisa Long (2,113 votes)and Stacey Augustine (1,946 votes) retained two of three seats on the governing body. Monica Schrank (1,772 votes) beat out fellow challenger Raymond Clark (1,285 votes) for the final seat. Read our candidate profiles here.
HADDON TOWNSHIP
Incumbent Board of Education member Renee Billingsley (3,408 votes) paced the field, followed by her fellow incumbent Marie Dezii (3,101 votes), and challenger Kristyn Souder (2,909 votes). Challenger A.J. O’Malley (2,849 votes) and incumbent Chris Cook (2,693 votes) failed to make the cut. Read our candidate profiles here.
MERCHANTVILLE
Incumbent Board of Education member Amanda Aaron (744 votes) was the only candidate to appear on the ballot. No candidate campaigned for the final two seats, which went to write-in candidates Ruby De la Rosa (98 votes) and Anne Marchessault (88 votes).
OAKLYN
Incumbent school board members Todd Schaefer (969 votes) and William Stauts (931 votes) faced no balloted opposition for their candidacies. No one campaigned for a third, open seat, but David Wright was awarded it with 50 write-in votes.
PENNSAUKEN
With 83 percent of the vote counted, voters returned incumbent Board of Education Vice-President Jo Ann Young (5,077 votes) and President Nicholas Perry (5,065 votes) to office, where they will be joined by challenger Osvaldo Alves, III (4,903 votes). Perry, Young, and Alves, III were the only balloted candidates in the race.
Ballot Question
In Cherry Hill, voters overwhelmingly approved a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) energy program, 14,070 votes in favor versus 5,459 votes against. A CCA will enable the municipal government to purchase renewable electricity from third-party suppliers at discounted bulk rates. Also known as Government Energy Aggregation programs, such arrangements offer the possibility of financial savings and clean energy generation, with opportunities for individual residents to opt in or out of them.
