STONE HARBOR – Tim Carney will move from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to the Stone Harbor Council after running a successful race as a newcomer in Tuesday’s election. Incumbent Robin Casper won reelection. Incumbent Reese Moore became the odd man out.
Moore lost to Carney and Casper in the Republican primary in June and then decided to run a write-in campaign, hoping to catch Casper, whose victory margin in the primary was slim.
But he was not able to overcome not being on the ballot, although his showing as a write-in candidate was better than many. If almost all of the write-in votes went to Moore, he was able to garner 22% of the vote, with Carney at 47% and Casper at 31%. The county clerk’s office has not yet certified the final vote.
Moore was one of three members of the council’s administration and finance committee, a group that spent a large part of the year at odds with Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour. The mayor was even censured at one point over remarks she made regarding the way in which borough Administrator Manny Parada was made permanent in that position.
It has been a difficult year for the borough council, with the dismissal of its previous administrator in February, the resignation of its clerk shortly after, and with legal actions taken by both against the borough.
The tension between some members of the six-person council and Davies-Dunhour has been visible for months and often has its focus over actions of the administration and finance committee. Casper was often the only member of council voting with the mayor when she urged more deliberation of council actions.
Residents frequently used the public comment portion of council meetings to nudge the council to work more amicably with the mayor. The tension was seen by many who spoke as hurting the council’s ability to formulate good public policy.
During his campaign Carney said he hoped to be a positive force for greater harmony on the governing body.
Moore’s losses, including in the primary when he was on the ballot, apparently make him the casualty of voters frustrated with the council’s performance. Carney, who ran as an outsider, was the overwhelming winner at the polls.
In 2024 the council will have many serious issues before it.
A push by the administration and finance committee to merge the borough’s planning and zoning boards has drawn strong opposition and claims of precipitous action by the council.
A $180,000 study of possible actions to benefit the borough’s beaches awaits consideration. The study went into limbo when the members of the administration and finance committee objected to it, and the consultant who wrote it has never again appeared before the council.
Tied up in the considerations of the study was a proposal by the borough’s property owners association to purchase GPS equipment and software licenses that would allow the borough to conduct periodic measurements of sand elevation across borough beaches and Stone Harbor Point, which ended up being shelved in a way that caused some hard feelings over comments made at council meetings.
A number of lawsuits have either been filed or are anticipated over zoning and land use issues. A suit was filed recently concerning, in part, restrictions on homes in a specially designated area known as the Courts. Others are expected, evidenced by a council action to designate a special counsel for zoning litigation.
A new budget cycle is about to begin; in the last two years there have been concerns about the level of borough debt. Two years ago the council received but never publicly discussed a report from the property owners association warning about the prospect for significant increases in taxes.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
