Atlantic County Commissioner Ernest D. Coursey.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
DOWNBEACH There's a new commissioner in town. Following redistricting last summer, the Downbeach towns of Ventnor, Margate and Longport voted for the first time for representation on the Atlantic County Board of County Commissioners in the newly configured District 1.
The three Downbeach towns were formerly in District 2, which includes the Mainland area communities of Northfield, Linwood and Somers Point, Absecon, and parts of Egg Harbor Township and Pleasantville. Commission Chairwoman Maureen Kern of Somers Point was the Downbeach representative before redistricting.
The switch to District 1 was made to ensure equal representation for minorities and was supported by the Democrats.
Atlantic County Commissioner Ernest Coursey of Atlantic City handily won the District 1 race against Republican challenger Vern Macon. The total unofficial vote count districtwide, including Election Day totals, early voting and vote-by-mail ballots, shows Coursey with 6,204 votes and Macon with 4,919 votes.
Voters also weighed in on the Atlantic County Commissioner-at-large race, which re-seated Republican Amy Gatto for another three years. Democrat Habib Rehman received 29,316 votes, while Gatto garnered 42,176 votes countywide.
The local vote breakdown for the District 1 commissioner race shows Macon 1,023 votes and Coursey 625 votes in Ventnor. In Margate, Macon received 1,043 votes and Coursey 617 votes. The vote count in Longport was not available.
The count will likely change as vote-by-mail ballots will be accepted by the Atlantic County Clerk until Friday. Any provisional ballots cast at the polls Tuesday won't be counted until next week, a representative of the County Clerk's office said.
Coursey, who currently works as Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr.'s chief of staff, was an Atlantic City councilman for nine years and has been District 1 Freeholder since 2013. Macon of West Atlantic City in Egg Harbor Township is a business owner.
There was only one local race in Downbeach this year for Longport Board of Education. Resident Clete Schwegman III was the lone candidate and received 307 votes. There were three write-in votes.
Copyright Mediawize, LLC 2022
