Simmons running for state assembly; Barnes won’t seek reelection
November’s general election will be hotly contested in Gloucester County as voters elect three board commissioners.
Running as Democrats will be incumbent Jim Jefferson and newcomers Matthew Weng and Joann Gattinelli.
Weng, a councilman in Pitman, takes the place on the ballot of current Commissioner Lyman Barnes, who has decided not to run for reelection. Washington Township Mayor Gattinelli will replace Heather Simmons, who will seek a state assembly seat.
The Republican candidates for commissioner will be Erik Anderson, Brooke Rivello and Frank Fisher. Simmons will be joined by Democrat David Bailey in the vote for the two assembly seats. They will run against Republican incumbents Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Tom Tedesco.
Democrat John Burzichelli, a former assemblyman, will run for a state senate seat against Republican Senate President Edward Durr, who defeated former president Stephen Sweeney in 2021.
“Running a small business, we operate on tight margins, and I have taken that approach in government and will as a state lawmaker,” Simmons told the New Jersey Globe, an independent news site.
“I will fight to incorporate similar policies to freeze government spending and make New Jersey more affordable by imposing real fiscal accountability.”
County Commissioner Lyman Barnes, who is stepping down, was elected to the then Board of Freeholders in 2011 with Simmons and Adam Taliafero.
The New Jersey Primary Election will be Tuesday, June 6, and the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Voters will also choose local candidates for council and the school boards of towns in the county. The Sun newspapers will cover those elections, as well as state and county results. Candidate profiles will appear in the September and October editions of the newspaper group.
