Recall Committee Plans ‘Door to Door’ Campaign

WILDWOOD — Residents looking to sign their name on a petition to recall Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport will likely receive a knock on their door in the upcoming weeks.
The discontent has grown beyond talk and raised voices at public meetings, and a group of residents have formed a committee to recall the two officials of a three-member commission.
“The general economy is in a crisis and Wildwood is at a critical time in its history, facing hard economic times in its future, due to the poor fiscal responsibility of this administration,” according to a press release circulated by the recall committee. “We believe a man-agement change will be beneficial for the taxpayers of Wildwood.”
In December 2008, the petition was signed and certified by City Clerk Chris Wood and the recall organizers can start collecting signatures.
Anthony Totah Jr., Kathleen Mills, John Roat, Adele Hunter, Douglas Jones and Roseanne Tull are the six residents that make up the recall committee. Resident Al Brannen, who is assisting the committee, said that about 12 volunteers that would be going door-to-door gathering signatures.
Eventually, he said, the group will try to secure a location on Saturdays that residents can easily get to.
According to state law, each final petition must include valid signatures of 25 percent of the city’s registered voters. With 2,458 registered voters in the Nov. 6, 2007 election, the last election before the notices of intent were filed, that means the petition would need 615 signatures.
Brannen said recall committees has until May 19 to collect the needed signatures, the completed petition will be turned into Wood for review. The County Board of Elections and the City Clerk’s office would be responsible for verifying each signature.
Once that task is complete, a date can be set for the recall election. According to the notice of intentions for recall, the cost for each Commissioner’s special election would run an estimated $15,500.
Troiano said that he has acted for the betterment of the town during his tenure in government and described the recall committee as residents that are never content and opposed to everything.
Despite the recall effort, Davenport has said the he was going to continue to run the city the best he could. He added that he believes Commissioner Gary DeMarzo is behind the re-call push.
DeMarzo, who said that he believed that the recall was an opportunity for residents to vocalize their frustration, added that the frivolous spending, questionable decision-making and poor communication on the part of his fellow commissioners led to the recall.
Contact Suit at: (609) 886-8600 ext. 25 or lsuit@cmcherald.com