SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Mayor Debra Johnson said that she supports the deputy mayor if he chooses to seek her seat in November.
"I think Deputy Mayor Frank Gambatese should run," Johnson said Monday, just days after announcing she would not seek a second term in office.
Gambatese said shortly after the announcement that he would have to consider campaigning for her seat this year.
"I haven’t made up my mind yet. I have to look at things, and I have to sit down with my wife," Gambatese said. "I will give it a lot of thought."
Johnson announced last week that she would not seek another term as mayor in order to spend more time with her family.
She became the town’s first elected mayor in 1998 following a change in the form of government.
Democratic Municipal Committee Chairman Charles Carley could not say Tuesday if the party was yet prepared to rally around the deputy mayor.
"We will have to wait for the screenings," Carley said.
The party is planning on screening potential candidates for the mayor’s job and one council seat during March in order to have a slate picked prior to the April deadline.
According to Carley, residents who would like to be considered for either position will face the committee during those screenings, and a candidate for mayor and a candidate for the one council seat up for grabs this year will be selected.
"Any resident can put their hat into the ring," Carley said.
For her part, Johnson said that if others besides Gambatese would like the seat, the party has dealt with primaries before.
"We’ve had primary battles before. They are a part of life," Johnson said.
Gambatese won a four-year seat on the council in 1998 and has served as deputy mayor in each of the three years since taking office.
Prior to moving to the township, Gambatese served as mayor in West Paterson, Passaic County.
Carley dismissed the thought of having a primary, however.
"I don’t think you will see a primary," Carley said. "We have a lot of talent and the Democratic Party is healthy and strong."
Carley said that the party needs to take a moment to reflect on what Johnson’s announcement will mean to individuals who may want to run for office.
"Right now I think we have folks thinking about what to do. You have people weighing it," Carley said.
Carley feels that the party is well-poised to maintain its majority despite Johnson’s decision.
"The party is better geared in 2002. We do a better job on the ground, and I feel we have better candidates," Carley said.
South Brunswick Republican Committee Chairman Roger Craig said that the jury is still out on what Johnson’s decision will mean to this year’s election for mayor.
"I’m not sure what the effect will be," Craig said.
That party will be screening candidates in March for its slate, he said.
— Charles W. Kim