Recall Goes to Court; Judge Could Rule Friday

COURT HOUSE — Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten heard from both sides of the Wildwood recall election battle during a hearing Monday morning.
The recall effort to remove Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenportbegan last year, largely as a reaction to the city’s high property-tax rate, and on May 19 the recall committees submitted what they believed were more than enough signatures to warrant a recall election, but on June 3, City Clerk Christopher Wood, who also serves as the recall election official, found the petitions were void because they contained invalid signatures.
Also at issue, was the committee was initially told the recall committees they needed 615 signatures to move ahead with a recall, but Wood later learned that the number was actually 697.
The recall committees, represented by attorney Daniel Gallagher, challenged Wood’s findings, and now the matter is in the judge’s hands. The hearing will reconvene July 17 at 12:30 p.m. on whether or not those signatures and petitions were valid and Batten could make a decision regarding some of the disputed issues.