The Medford First candidates easily won three seats in the recent council race.
Republican James “Randy” Pace beat independent George Youngkin with 2,756 votes. Youngkin received 1,358 votes.
Pace won a two-year term on council.
Republican Chris Buoni won one of two four-year terms with 3,399 votes. Fellow Republican Frank Czekay, who garnered 3,387 votes, won the other.
Both ran unopposed.
Pace said the success of the Medford First campaign can be attributed to a team effort.
He said they are three very different individuals driven by one common goal and supported by everyday citizens concerned about the direction of their town.
Pace also attributed the win to open communication.
“No one wants to hear that the baby is ugly,” he said. “Voters are adults and should be treated as such.
“Chris, Frank and I delivered a message that some may not have wanted to hear, or may have had bad news in it,” Pace added. “There is no way that anything changes unless we are honest and open about what is happening. I don’t consider that dirty.”
Right out of the gate Pace said his first priority is the budget.
“The township manager is working diligently to prepare detailed information to provide each councilmember a clear picture of what we are facing and possible solutions to closing the gap in next year’s budget,” he said.
“There were a few factors that I attribute to losing the election,” Youngkin said. “First, there is a distinct disadvantage to beginning a race after the primary.
“The time I was able to spend face to face with people was limited, and that is so important to let people know who you are and what you’re about,” he added. “Folks who got to know me knew I was only trying to help the town.”
Youngkin said the other issue were rumors being spread about who was financially supporting his campaign “that snowballed into outright lies.
“This troubles me on a couple of levels,” he added.
First, he said, campaign donations are public record, and can be found on the New Jersey Elect website.
“People can see for themselves,” Youngkin said. “When I did answer to the rumors, some people didn’t want to hear it.
“I think we have to ask ourselves, when candidates are willing to lie in order to discredit an opponent, what sort of leader will he be?” he continued. “Even more troubling is, it seems like this is becoming acceptable practice.”
Youngkin said he ran a clean campaign.
“I only accepted donations from private citizens, friends who believed in me, and I stayed away from personal attacks,” he said. “My desire to run was strictly based on helping Medford.”
Youngkin has another year on the zoning board and will continue as a scout leader.
“I will be attending council meetings, keeping my finger on the pulse of the township,” he said.
