ATLANTIC CITY — Councilman Frank Gilliam came out ahead of fellow Councilman Marty Small again Monday after a court-ordered recount of machine and mail-in ballots in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary.
Small retained his 100-vote victory at the voting machines but lost the mail-in and provisional ballot race by 479 votes, giving Gilliam the victory.
Still, Small said he will formally challenge the June 6 election results, claiming Gilliam’s campaign paid people, many of them alcoholics or drug addicts, $30 each to be messengers for the mail-in ballots.
“The recount didn’t reveal any surprises,” Small said, adding his challenge is not about being angry that Gilliam won the election.
“I know how to take a loss,” said Small, saying it was about holding his opponent accountable.
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Small was acquitted of mishandling mail-in ballots in 2006 and 2009. He spent nearly $250,000 on his defense in those two cases, in which he was twice acquitted, he said. That is part of the reason he is fighting this election.
“I was indicted on much less than what (Gilliam’s campaign) did,” he said.
Gilliam, meanwhile, will prepare to run against current Republican mayor Don Guardian and independent candidate Joe Polillo in the general election this November.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “We need to come together as Democrats and make sure there is not another term with a Republican as mayor of Atlantic City.”
