Hammonton's Giralo to run for Atlantic County clerk

HAMMONTON — Republican Councilman Joe Giralo will seek his party’s nomination for Atlantic County clerk in 2021, saying he has “554 reasons to run” after a recent error involving ballots.

“Because of Ed McGettigan’s failure as a leader, we are going to need to have a costly second election for 3rd District freeholder,” Giralo said. Democratic Clerk Ed McGettigan’s office sent 554 incorrect ballots to Hamilton Township residents, affecting the race between Democrat Thelma Witherspoon and Republican Andrew Parker.

Witherspoon was ahead by 179 votes after polls closed election night, well within the number of erroneous ballots. Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez held an emergency hearing on the problem Monday, in which he said a special election would be needed unless one candidate wins by a large margin.

There are still about 800 provisional ballots to be counted in Hamilton Township, some of which will affect the District 3 race, as well as an unknown number of vote-by-mail ballots that will be counted Friday in the last large count of about 18,000 mail-in votes, election officials have said. So it is not yet certain a special election is needed, but so far it appears likely.

Giralo said he has the support of 5th District Freeholder James Bertino, who is running for re-election in 2021.

“I am very excited about our ticket next year. With Chairwoman Kern (Atlantic County Freeholder Board Chairperson Maureen Kern), Frank Balles and myself working to maintain control of the freeholder board, adding Joe’s race for county clerk is exactly what we need,” Bertino said in a news release. “Joe’s a proven fundraiser, and you won’t find a Republican who works harder than he does. Joe’s well known throughout the county, and support is coming in for him from down the shore as well as the mainland communities.”

Giralo served on the Hammonton Board of Education for 15 years and for the last five years has been on the Town Council.

On Wednesday, Atlantic County Republican Chairman Keith Davis called on McGettigan to resign immediately.

“I agree with the chairman,” Giralo said. “When I’m elected county clerk, I’ll see to it that the Clerk’s Office functions like the rest of Atlantic County government. With perfect audits, and expenses that are some of the lowest in the state. The county executive has set a great example, and I intend to follow it.”

Giralo lives in Hammonton with his wife, Gina, and their two college-age daughters. He is a program administrator at the Atlantic County Improvement Authority.