ORANGE, NJ — Orange City Clerk Joyce Lanier held a drawing on Tuesday, March 15, in Council Chambers to determine the ballot positions for candidates in the non-partisan municipal election scheduled for Tuesday, May 10.
According to Lanier, the ballot positions for mayor are: incumbent Mayor Dwayne Warren, 1A; former Zoning Board member Janice Morrell, 2A; and East Ward Councilman Kerry Coley, 3A. The listings for the three at large seats on the City Council are: Andrea Elliott, 4B; Sharief Williams, 5B; Rayfield Morton, 6B; Merlin Hackett, 7B; Joseph Juliano, 8B; Ashley Cartwright, 9B; Adrienne Wooten, 10B; April Gaunt-Butler, 11B; Elroy Corbitt, 12B; Donna K. Williams, 13B; Christopher Jackson, 14B; Vanessa Arroyave, 15B; and Jeffrey Wingfield, 16B.
Although Lanier had said March 7, that 15 prospective at large candidates hand turned in their paperwork, an employee in the clerk’s office said March 14 that two candidates were not certified.
“Former at large Councilman Coram Rimes and former West Ward Councilman Hassan Abdul Rasheed didn’t get certified. They didn’t have enough petitions,” said the employee.
“I turned in petitions and am running for re-election,” said Gaunt-Butler on Tuesday, March 8. “I truly enjoy serving the residents of Orange and hope they’ll return to me elected office to continue the work I’ve started.”
Corbitt also said he has plenty of unfinished business he wants to get done in a third consecutive four-year term in office. He also said he wants to be re-elected to help blaze new trails in economic development and revitalization in Orange.
“I qualified several weeks ago,” said Corbitt on Monday, March 7. “I’m running independently. My campaign slogan is: ‘Unfinished Business.’ I’m running for another term because I feel we have so many redevelopment projects in the pipeline which I want to see to completion. Once those projects get off the ground, I would like to see the city begin to move away from residential redevelopment projects and begin to focus more on bringing businesses back to Orange.”
Corbitt said bringing more businesses, particularly black-owned businesses, into the city is a good thing. Gaunt-Butler was part of Warren’s successful 2012 ticket, along with Corbitt, but although the mayor turned in his petitions on Monday, March 7, he has not indicated whether h will form a re-election slate with any other candidates.
Donna Williams is running for re-election to a third consecutive term on Coley’s slate, which also includes Arroyave and Jackson. Four years ago, Williams teamed up with Morrell for re-election, although the former Morrell member lost her mayoral bid to Warren.
This time around, Morrell heads up a slate that includes Morton, Elliott and Williams. “To me, Orange is my house; if I want somebody to lead in my house, it’s going to be somebody who cares about the house and everybody in it,” said Morton on Friday, March 4.
“The thing is, everytime you go outside of the house, you’re going to have problems, because the family is not first. I’m always one to push Orange people, but I even find, with Orange people, you’ve got to know those people and know their heart. Is this person trying to help the city or help themselves?”
Hackett said he is running a solo campaign for one of the three at large council seats.
“I’ve been in Orange for 48 years,” said Hackett on Monday, March 7. “It’s a town with great potential and it’s coming back. We’re taking Orange back and we’re going to move Orange forward. That’s why I’m running.”
Abdul-Rasheed, Wooton, Juliano, Wingfield, Cartwright and Rimes could not be reached for comment by press time this week.
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