ALLENTOWN – Michael Drennan has won a second three-year term on the Allentown Borough Council.
Two three-year terms on the council were available in the 2021 general election, but Drennan, who ran as an independent candidate, was the only candidate whose name appeared on the ballot.
According to election results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Drennan received 308 votes to win re-election to a term that will run from January 2022 through December 2024.
The election was conducted with vote by mail ballots; with early in-person voting on nine days in October; and with in-person voting on Nov. 2.
According to the clerk’s office, due to New Jersey’s vote by mail law, the mail in ballot count will continue after Election Day. The law allows mail in ballots to be received by the Board of Election up to six days after the close of the polls, provided the ballot is postmarked on Election Day.
As of Nov. 3, early voting has been processed; election night mail in ballots have been partially processed; late mail in ballots were pending and provisional ballots were pending, according to the clerk’s office.
According to results posted online, 236 write-in votes were cast in the Allentown council election.
According to a post on Facebook, Nikki Darling launched a write-in campaign for a seat on the Borough Council.
As of Nov. 3, the results posted online by the county clerk do not list the names of individuals who received write-in votes or the number of write-in votes an individual received.
In a statement he provided to the Examiner, Drennan said, “I would like to start off with thanking my fellow residents for giving me the opportunity to serve on the Borough Council. It has been my privilege to represent them for the last three years …
“Over the last three years working with my fellow council members and the mayor, I think we have accomplished many great things for the town. We have upgraded some of the town’s infrastructure that had been neglected for quite sometime,” he said.
Drennan said there was no interruption of municipal services during the COVID pandemic, which he said “is a shout out to the dedication of the borough’s employees.”
He also highlighted the completion of Phase I of Ashby Park; the initiation of no passing zones on all of Main Street; the start-up of a 5K race; and “working with the county and surrounding communities on traffic and truck traffic issues, which is a work in progress. … I am proud we were able to do these accomplishments with no significant increases to the taxes of our residents.”
Drennan is a 30-year resident of Allentown.