The June 2026 Primary election in Perth Amboy has a lot to reflect on.
We projected that the power of the line would be diminished. Sen Andy Kim helped to democratize the NJ ballot design, having won the fight to be free of the line design that gave preference to the party endorsed candidate. Instead the Middlesex County Democratic Party put their slate label on all local candidates to form a makeshift line. The Perth Amboy Democratic Party (PADO) disappeared. How did that work?
Locally, if you want to run for office as a Dem, you are supposed to be invited to appear before the local committee and for them to vote on who to endorse. Stepping over local control was not an advantage, and the MCDO, by not empowering the committee people, had a slate that was weaker and did not all win. Incumbent Milady Tejeda (MCDO slate) was the top vote getter, followed by Ken Gonzalez from the United Democrats Slate and Ken Puccio from the MCDO slate.
Power of Slates Over
The top vote getters of the democratic primary in Perth Amboy were from different slates. Since the power of slates is weak, it frees candidates to now run on their own with as much chance of winning as when they were told they need to run together or be endorsed by the party.
Only Ken Gonzalez won from the United Democrats slate of Gonzalez, Iglesia and Nanton. Iglesia and Nanton did not received the same support as their running mate. Why be on a slate that doesn’t support each other? The MCDO slate member Hailey Cruz-Batista, the youngest ever councilmember, lost by 7 votes to her running mate Ken Puccio. The Young Dems should ask for a recount. It is sad to see the voice of the youth and progressives pushed out.
Vote by Mail Preferred Way to Vote
In Perth Amboy, vote by mail was by far the most popular way to vote, then day of in person, and then early in person voting period. The vote by mail was different between slates, by hundreds of votes. Which has resulted in accusations of cheating by local voters. Vote by mail helps to expand voting rights and is a very convenient and safe way to vote. Possible reforms to increase the public trust in vote by mail is for campaigns to be made to disclose vote by mail spending and for the county board of elections to disclose vote by mail harvesters, those gathering the ballots. Seniors are targets of vote by mail vote harvesters, and equal access should be granted to campaigns to access these populations. Local email lists held by cities should be available for candidates to reach voters.
The election results are set to be certified by June 12.
