By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer
MARGATE – On May 8 registered voters will head to the polls and make decisions that will undoubtedly affect the way the city of Margate functions for years to come.
The first issue at hand is making a choice for who will head the city for the next four years.
There will certainly be new faces across the dais since only one of the current city commissioners chose to run for re-election, John Swift. Sigmund Rimm has been there for 32 years, and his leaving along with one-term mayor Vaughan Reale means that change is imminent.
Voters will choose from among nine candidates to select the three who will hold the reigns of the city until May 2011.
The choices are well known, as barely a corner in Margate exists without some kind of political sign. In Column A the candidates are teammates John Swift, Maury Blumberg and Carl Smallwood. In Column B is the BAC team of Michael Becker, Scott Abbott and Dan Campbell. In Column C is Ed McMeekin, running solo. In Column D are Joanne Kulzer and running mate Burt Federman.
Also on the ballot is a school board referendum. Signs all over Margate read “Vote NO” and “Vote YES,” but what does that yes or no mean?
The referendum question as it appears on the ballot will read, “Should the Margate City Board of Education be changed from an appointed board of education (Type I District) to an elected board of education (Type II District) and have its annual budget and other spending submitted to the legal voters of the municipality?”
Voting yes to the referendum question means that the voter wants the Board of Education changed from what it is currently – a board appointed by the mayor – to an elected board. It would require residents seeking to be on the Board of Education to run for office every three years. Voting on the budget would require the newly elected commissioners to rescind the current Board of School Estimates and allow the voters to determine if a budget passes or fails. If the budget fails, it would go to the governing body to work with the Board of Education to find a solution.
Voting no to the question means that the voter wants the board to remain the way that it is, with three-year appointments made by the mayor and a budget approved or denied by the Board of School Estimates. If it is denied it would go to the governing body to work with the Board of Education to find a solution. TOP
