Lawsuit against Beach Haven Borough dismissed by judge

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The case was presented at the Ocean County
Courthouse on Friday, Dec. 12.

A civil action lawsuit against the borough of Beach Haven regarding the Nov. 4 General Election for town council, filed by Beach Haven resident Tom Lynch, was dismissed by the Superior Court of New Jersey Civil Division Ocean County on Dec. 15 “for failure to produce sufficient evidence to support its claims,” according to court documents received by The SandPaper that same day. Lynch, who represented himself during the case, led by Presiding Judge Craig L. Wellerson at the Ocean County Courthouse in Toms River on Friday, Dec. 12, had filed a formal complaint against the town, which was represented by Borough Solicitor Richard Shackleton. Lynch challenged several of the absentee votes by requesting that “these votes be excluded from the Beach Haven Borough General Election for Town Council and a new recount be provided and then made official.”

“He was challenging the validity of a handful of voters’ residencies,” said Beach Haven Borough Clerk Sherry Mason, who was served with the paperwork on Dec. 8. “It really wasn’t a challenge of the count of write-ins, or anything like that. What he was doing was trying to pick out a handful of voters and claiming that they were not able to vote in Beach Haven because of their residency.”

Saying that the challenge is now done and over, Lynch, when reached by phone, preferred not to comment further on the matter.

Following the election, members of the Ocean County Board of Elections met Nov. 10 to certify the write-in and provisional votes cast in the county, including for the Beach Haven Borough Council. According to Marie Peterson, assistant supervisor of the board, incumbent Beach Haven Councilman James White received 166 of the 169 write-ins, as well as one provisional ballot, for a final tally of 167 votes, officially re-electing him for one of the two available council seats.

Don Kakstis, one of the four candidates who officially ran in the election, received the other available seat with 202 votes. Lynch, who came in third, received 164 votes, plus one provisional vote, for a final tally of 165 votes, Peterson said.

Prior to the election, the Concerned Citizens of Beach Haven, a committee of local residents that formed to seek White’s re-election, invested in letters and signs urging voters to write him in on the ballot due to his “strong leadership” during his current term, especially during Superstorm Sandy and the ongoing recovery process.

White, along with Councilman Edward Kohlmeir, had decided not to run for re-election, “to give someone else a chance,” he said. After learning of his potential write-in, he said he would be “humbled and proud to serve if it would come to pass.”

White is expected to be sworn in Jan. 2.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.