Mayor
Joseph Kuehner Jr. 1,109
Janet Reinard 491

City Council
Doug Dickinson 1,032
Ina Duran 893
Hazel Mueller 925
Elizabeth Surpless 471
Terri Cantz 559
Brian Beals 55
Joseph Manzoni 38
Mel Reid 37 

By CHRISTIAN MANAHAN
Staff Writer

EGG HARBOR CITY – In the words of City Councilwoman Elect Hazel Mueller, it’s a good time to be a Democrat.
Certainly, that holds true for Egg Harbor.

Preliminary results indicate a landslide victory for Democrats in both the mayoral and City Council races.

Incumbent Mayor Joseph Kuehner Jr. won by greater than a 2 to 1 margin by defeating Independent candidate Janet Reinhard, 1,109 to 491.

This will be his second consecutive term as the city’s highest ranking officer. Prior to becoming mayor, Kuehner served several years as a member of City Council.   

The 52-year-old Democrat said the key to victory was remaining positive throughout the process.

“It is good to know that people recognize when you are trying to do good things,” Kuehner said, when asked by a reporter on how it felt winning the election. “I feel good about our ticket because the fact we swept shows that people are paying attention, and know that we are really trying to do a good job for the city.”

Doug Dickinson, Ina Duran, and Mueller made it a clean sweep for the Democrat candidates, fending off a challenge by Independents Terri Cantz and Elizabeth Surpless and a write-in campaign by current Councilman Brian Beals and political newcomers Joe Manzoni and Mel Reid.

Similar to the mayor, Dickinson said winning the election leaves him with the impression that the public understands the initiatives of the administration and would like them to continue in doing what they can to move the city forward. 

“I think the people in town believe in what we are doing,” Dickinson said. “We are laying the groundwork; we want to be ready to go whenever [the economy] turns around.” 

Mueller, a newcomer to the political arena, was delighted to know that the public is willing to give her the opportunity to serve the city as a member of its governing body.

“I feel blessed,” Mueller said. “I am thrilled and very honored that people who don’t even know me are willing to give me a chance.

“I’ve always done what I could for the city, but I guess it will be official now,” she added.    

In last year’s election, Duran and Cantz were locked in a tight race to see who would win the unexpired one-year term on council. After tallying the absentee ballots, Duran ended up winning by a mere two votes.

This time around, however, the race wasn’t nearly as close.

“Definitely,” Duran said, when asked about the sharp contrast in election races. “When people think that their vote doesn’t count, every vote does count.”