Sea Bright election results challenged
Residency of voters at issue in outcome of mayoral race
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer
Ashadow was cast over the Sea Bright reorganization meeting Jan. 5 as a new mayor was sworn in and her validity as the Election Day winner was challenged.

Maria D. Fernandes

Maria D. Fernandes was sworn in as mayor of Sea Bright Jan. 1 after a Dec. 4 mayoral election recount upheld the Sea Bright election night results that gave the longtime former Democratic councilwoman the mayor's seat, defeating Republican incumbent Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams by three votes.

Kalaka-Adams continued to challenge the outcome, however, by contesting the election results in state Superior Court in Freehold in a Dec. 13 filing.

Kalaka-Adams was in attendance at the meeting and, together with last year's council president, William J. Keeler, received a plaque in honor of her service to the borough.

For Kalaka-Adams, the meeting provided a forum to address her continuing concerns about the mayoral election.

"While I would have conceded the election if there had been no irregularities, I owe it to the voters who voted for me, to the legal voters who were unable to vote, to the integrity of the voting process and to the town of Sea Bright, to leave it to the court to determine whether the results should be overturned or a new election ordered," said Kalaka-Adams in her New Year's statement at the reorganization meeting.

Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams

She continued, "It is for the court to review each of the votes in issue, which includes both voters who attempted to vote but were not permitted or disallowed, and votes which were allowed that should not have been permitted."

Kalaka-Adams is being represented by election law attorney Timothy Howes of Raritan.

"In my view it's unfortunate that Ms. Kalaka-Adams is pursuing this contest. We don't think that she has valid grounds, and in particular I'm very troubled by the fact that she has decided to now essentially pursue an inquisition as to the residency status of voters in Sea Bright," Fernandes' attorney Paul Josephson said Jan. 8 of Kalaka-Adams' claim.

According to Sea Bright Republican Party Chairwoman Marianne McKenzie, two people tried to vote on Election Day but were not permitted to. McKenzie said one person was not permitted to vote because the polls had already closed, which Kalaka-Adams is claiming was a premature closure, and another was not permitted because that person's voter registration was not in the book and therefore the provisional ballot was not counted.

McKenzie said the second category of the challenge pertains to votes that were allowed that should not have been or that had been allowed improperly, and there are six votes in that category

"The people [in question] have an ownership interest in property in Sea Bright but their physical residence is elsewhere. The actual standard is where you really physically reside," said McKenzie Jan. 7.

According to Josephson, of Hill Wallack, Princeton, it is unconstitutional to single out specific voters and subject them to a heightened scrutiny such as being questioned in court as to their residency.

"It is always dangerous in this kind of a case to base your challenge on issues like whether somebody was a legal resident of the town, and only more so here in a place like Sea Bright that is a resort community, and my guess would be a good number of people in Sea Bright actually have two residences," said Josephson.

Despite Kalaka-Adams' message, Fernandes got down to business and made good on her promise to address Sea Bright's share of regional school taxes by forming a School Formula Advisory Committee at the borough's Jan. 5 reorganization meeting.

"This strong committee of dedicated residents will develop a long-term plan for securing state changes- a plan that may involve other municipalities in inequitable regionalized agreements such as ours," said Fernandes.

The committee, which Fernandes said was, to her, the most important new committee, is made up of a mix of eight professionals including current and former teachers and school board members, a political fundraiser, an attorney and an actuary, and will be chaired by new council President Dina Long.

"Sea Bright is the town with the least amount of students [at Shore Regional High School], with the lowest property values, and yet we pay the highest property tax per student, [which is] $75,000 per student to educate 24 students," Fernandes said previously.

The average cost to educate a child at Shore Regional High School was approximately $15,000 per student, according

to Fernandes.

"Resolving this imbalance requires us to stop simply complaining about it, but instead let's initiate a plan of action," said Fernandes at the meeting.

The new mayor said she is the first Portuguese-American female mayor in the state of New Jersey and the third in the entire United States to have the distinction.

Unlike Fernandes, Republican Council members Peggy Bills and Brian Kelly, who were both sworn in at the reorganization meeting, were visibly shaken during the meeting and abstained from voting at the meeting, Fernandes said Monday.

Josephson said he had a case management phone conference with Judge Robert Coogan and Howes Jan. 7 and that a hearing on Kalaka- Adams' claim has tentatively been scheduled for Jan. 30. He added that the judge has given the parties involved until Jan. 25 to make any sort of procedural or legal motions.

According to McKenzie, there are three decisions the court can make when it comes to an election contest.

"When you have an election contest, the court can either say it's staying the same, there can be a new election, or they can say I found enough [evidence] to change the outcome," said McKenzie.

She said for the sake of the voters, a new election might be better than if the outcome is just a reversal of the original election results.

Josephson said he and Fernandes would continue to defend the voters who have been challenged by Kalaka-Adams and said they are reluctantly prepared to challenge voters who were supporters of Kalaka-Adams, also on residency grounds.

"In effect, Ms. Kalaka-Adams is claiming that if you have a house somewhere else, you can't vote in Sea Bright, but she is only selectively going after the votes of the people that she thinks voted for Mayor Fernandes," said Josephson.

Another avenue Josephson said he is prepared to explore is the residency status of Kalaka-Adams herself. One of the other issues that we intend to explore for sure [is] … Ms. Kalaka- Adams' own residency and registration. It is our understanding she has two residences in Sea Bright and she may not be registered at her primary residence," said Josephson.

Kalaka-Adams ended her speech at the reorganization meeting by stepping down as mayor, although officially her term had ended Dec. 31, according to Assistant Borough Clerk Suzanne Branagan.

"With a three-vote margin between the candidates, there is certainly no clear mandate for either one of us, and the ultimate successful candidate must keep that in mind," Kalaka-Adams said.

Along with the formation of the new School Formula Advisory Committee at the reorganization meeting, Fernandes also took a new approach to the other committee appointments, condensing some of the titles and bringing other issues such as smart growth to the forefront.

"I thought that this year we needed to focus on smart growth," said Fernandes

Jan. 3.

Kelly will get to chair that committee, as well as flood mitigation and beautification.

"I think that Brian [Kelly] is the perfect person for that [smart growth]; he has a master's [degree] in environmental science," said Fernandes.

Fernandes recommended that the Smart Growth Committee schedule public workshops in February to get public participation and input to decide the proper location for borough facilities.

In addition to the School Formula Advisory Committee, Long will again chair the Education and Grants Committee with the addition of finance.

Another change Fernandes made was to condense the police, fire and emergency management committees into one broad Public Safety Committee, which Keeler will chair, along with insurance and municipal court.

"Within the past three years, they sort of split up public safety, so I figured let's [condense] the title a little bit," said Fernandes.

The Public Safety Committee does not include first aid, which Fernandes said does not come under the council's domain.

Another committee that was condensed under one title is the Construction Department, which is chaired by newly appointed Councilwoman Susana Markson, along with public relations and public works.

The Construction Department includes building maintenance and code enforcement, which previously were separate committees of the council.

"When you have code enforcement, I feel like the other inspectors are left out, whereas we want to include everyone," said Fernandes.

She added of her new committees and appointments, "I had all good intentions in mind and it was received as well with good intentions."

Rounding out the committee appointments, personnel, administration and recreation are being chaired by Bills, and Councilman Thomas Scriven will continue to chair the Beach, Environment and Cultural

Arts Committee.

Fernandes emphasized her excitement about the formation of the School Formula Advisory Committee.

"If we could just sit down with our legislators, explain to them what our situation is and perhaps even offer them a viable solution, that is the route I would like to pursue. I'd prefer to try to mediate and negotiate as opposed to suing," said Fernandes of the route the committee would take to resolve the borough's school funding formula problem.

Fernandes also spoke about the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Project (DIIP), which is aimed at curtailing flooding in the downtown area.

"The plan calls for major construction in this area, including, but not limited to, installing new, quiet submersible pumps, repaving all these streets and widening Beach Street," said Fernandes.

The council at the Jan. 5 meeting agreed to begin meetings at 7:30 p.m. in 2008, instead of at 7 p.m., in response to residents' concerns that they were unable to make the meetings at the earlier time.

The next Sea Bright council meeting is scheduled to take place Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Borough Hall, located at 1167 Ocean Ave.