When Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna awoke early Tuesday morning and saw the Election Day skies were not cooperating, he didn’t panic.
“I wasn’t too worried about the weather,” Delle Donna said. “The rain didn’t bother me. I was nervous, but then again, I’m always nervous on Election Day. But I was also pretty confident as well.”
A few hours later, Delle Donna had every reason to be confident. His constituents re-elected him in resounding fashion.
Delle Donna and his Democratic ticket of council runningmates, incumbent Gerald Drasheff and newcomers Adela Martinez and Efrain Velez, were swept into office for a two-year term, easily distancing an independent ticket headed by Delle Donna’s most vocal critic, Thomas Rizzi, and three runningmates who were Democrats and Republicans.
When the final vote totals were counted, Delle Donna received 1,042 votes, compared to 589 for Rizzi, who suffered defeat at the hands of Delle Donna or a Delle Donna-supported candidate for the third straight year.
“I’m very pleased,” Delle Donna said. “It’s one thing to get elected, but it’s another to get re-elected. It proves to me that the people of Guttenberg are fairly happy. But to win by a 2-to-1 margin, it says that two-thirds of the people are very happy with what we’ve been doing and they’ve given us the opportunity to continue to move in that direction.”
Delle Donna’s runningmates all won by similarly resounding totals, maintaining the 5-0 majority support that he has enjoyed on the council since he was elected as mayor in 2001.
Drascheff (983 votes), Martinez (980) and Velez (977) easily outdistanced Rizzi ticket opponents Johanna Delgado (595 votes), Vasilios “Bill” Scoullos (574) and Louis Lopez (573).
Delle Donna and the victorious council members will be sworn into office Jan. 1.
Turnout low
Delle Donna said that he was out campaigning with his runningmates all day Tuesday and received much encouragement.
“We were speaking to voters and they were all giving us the thumbs-up,” Delle Donna said. “I think they realize that we’ve made tremendous strides in the last two years, with our recreation program, with our finance department. Our taxes are down. Things are good. When we came in, the town was in bad shape. It took a few years to get things under control, but they’re under control. It’s a great day.”
However, the turnout for the election was poor, with only 1,631 of Guttenberg’s 5,100 registered voters (32 percent) coming out to the polling booths.
Delle Donna believes that the county’s total of 5,100 registered voters is somewhat inflated.
“I think a total of 3,500 voters in town is much more realistic,” Delle Donna said. “The problem with the county number is that they don’t take into consideration that we have 65 percent of our residents living in non-owned residences, so there are people moving in and out all the time that don’t take the time to register to vote. Of course, I’d love to see more people avail themselves to their right to vote, but how can I be disappointed with the results? I’ll take two out of three every time.”
The turnout and the results disheartened Rizzi.
“I’m very disappointed,” Rizzi said. “I really thought we would get more votes. I thought we had a chance going into Election Day. We did a lot of work, talking with the residents and people were telling us that they were supporting us. But we had a terrible time getting those people out to vote.”
The other side
Rizzi tried to put the election in perspective.
“Dave feels that the reason why he won was because he’s doing a wonderful job,” Rizzi said. “But the bottom line is that we ran as an independent in a heavily Democratic area. A lot of people just go into the booth and vote the political party line. Plus, our position on the ballot hurt us. We were five positions away from our opponents. Dave also had an undeniable advantage when he was able to spend $45,000 of money he raised to campaign compared to the $6,000 we spent.”
The future
Martinez, a New Jersey City University professor who gained elected office for the first time, said that she was elated to earn a spot on the Town Council.
“I think it shows that I’ve gained the town’s trust, and I just hope the support continues,” Martinez said. “Now, the work really begins. It’s a very humbling experience. I plan not only to represent women and Hispanics, but all residents. I’m sure there’s a lot we can do. I know there are a lot of residents who don’t speak English, so it’s important to have a voice who can represent them. I’m also very aware of the needs of the seniors as well.”
Martinez said that being aligned with Delle Donna certainly helped her cause.
“I think the people truly believe Mayor Delle Donna,” Martinez said. “He’s never given false impressions in what he’s done. He’s clean and honorable and I’m proud to be a part of the team.”
Delle Donna knows that his work as mayor is far from over.
“I don’t hide the fact that there are a lot of tough challenges ahead,” Delle Donna said. “We don’t exactly live in the Garden of Eden. There are some problems and obstacles. Our parking problem is always something we have to deal with. Overcrowding is another. I believe we will continue to move forward and work hard together to provide the best services for the town.”
Delle Donna said that one of the first items on the agenda for his new administration will be to work with the Board of Education on a proposed expansion for Anna L. Klein School, one that will include a new gymnasium, a library and 12 additional classrooms.
“We’re moving forward,” Delle Donna said.