Montclair 2024 Municipal Election: Voter Guide, Candidate List

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The fate of Montclair’s government will be in the hands of local voters this week when the town heads to the polls for its 2024 nonpartisan municipal election.

Montclair’s local election will take place on Tuesday, May 14. In total, seven seats will be up for grabs: mayor, two at-large council members, and a council member in each of the four wards.

Polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

See a sample ballot for Montclair here. See the election timeline, ward maps and other important information here. Read the Essex County clerk’s 2024 municipal guide to voting here. Learn more about voting in New Jersey here, and find your local polling place here.

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There will be some major turnover on the dais this year, with only one incumbent running for office again.

• See Related: Montclair Town Council Will See Big Turnover In 2024
• See Related: Montclair Sees Jump In Number Of Women Seeking Office

Want to get caught up before you head to the polls? Here’s what is at stake in Montclair.

MAYOR

There are two candidates competing to become Montclair’s next mayor: Renée Baskerville and Chrissy Thomas.

Earlier this year, the town’s current mayor – Sean Spiller – announced that he won't be running for a second term. Read More: Montclair Mayor 'Prepares To Pass Baton' (Election 2024)

Baskerville, a former council member who lost a close election to Spiller in 2020, is running on the Together Montclair slate. Thomas is running as an independent with the slogan: “Christina M. Thomas Change That Works.”

AT-LARGE COUNCIL

There are three candidates vying for two at-large seats on the Montclair Town Council:

• Robert Russo (incumbent) – Montclair Good Government Team
• Carmel Loughman – Montclair Good Government Team
• Susan Shin Andersen – Together Montclair

WARD COUNCILORS

There are 10 candidates who are running for a council seat in each ward of the township. They include:

First Ward

• Erik D'Amato – Clean Government Advocate (independent)
• Shivaun Gaines – Together Montclair

Second Ward

• Eileen Birmingham – Genuinely Cares (independent)
• Ilmar Vanderer – Montclair Good Government Team

Third Ward

• Roddy Moore – Montclair Good Government Team
• Wendy A. Tiburcio – A New Perspective Una Nueva Perspectiva (independent)
• Rahum Williams – Together Montclair

Fourth Ward

• Zina Floyd – As One We Win (independent)
• Patricia A. Hurt – Time For A Change (independent)
• Aminah Toler – Montclair Good Government Team

CANDIDATE FORUM

The League of Women Voters of the Montclair Area recently held a forum for town council candidates, which can be seen below or viewed online here.

MONTCLAIR’S LOCAL GOVERNMENT: WHO DOES WHAT?

According to the municipal website, the Township of Montclair operates under the Optional Municipal Charter Law (OMCL) popularly known as the Faulkner Act. The OMCL provides for several forms of government, and in 1980, the township voted to adopt the “council-manager” plan.

In the council-manager plan there is only one directly elected power center: the council. The manager, while chief executive and administrative officer of the municipality, is appointed by the council and can be suspended and removed by a majority vote of the council. The manager’s function is to carry out the will of the council.

Council members in the council-manager plan serve a four-year term. In Montclair, council members serve concurrent terms and all terms expire at the same time.

The mayor in the Council-Manager Plan is a member of the council, and gets a vote and voice in their proceedings. In Montclair, the mayor is elected by the voters and serves a four-year term.

The mayor’s duties include presiding over council meetings. Aside from the power to appoint the trustees of the public library, and the members of the board of education in council-manager communities which have appointed boards, the mayor in the council-manager plan has no executive powers, the town website states: they are “simply the primus inter pares, the first among equals on the council.”

• See Related: Montclair Op-Ed: Vote In Municipal Election On May 14 (Here's Why)

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