BAYONNE — Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith and his field of candidates are facing an uphill battle after ballot position selection puts them last in nearly every position.
Challenger Leonard Kantor, who is running against Smith for Mayor on May 11, will have the first ballot position, followed by Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone and then Smith.
The Smith council candidates in each ward seat will appear last on every ballot, and his at-large candidates are equally buried on the ballot. In one case, one of his candidates even appears to be bracketed with one of his ticket’s chief rivals.
Ballot positions are picked at random, so that all candidates have an equal opportunity to get prominent positions. Since this is a non-partisan election, candidates are selected individually rather than as a ticket.