Asbury Park voters head to the polls Nov. 3 to pick their first new mayor in nearly 13 years, choosing between Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn and Planning Board member Dan Sciannameo in a nonpartisan race that will steer the city's next four years of waterfront redevelopment, housing policy and neighborhood investment. Outgoing Mayor John Moor, who has held the office since 2014, is not seeking another term, leaving an open seat for the first time in over a decade.
Both candidates are registered Democrats, and the election itself is officially nonpartisan, according to New Jersey Globe. Quinn, who has served as deputy mayor since 2015 and on the City Council since 2013, has built her campaign around affordable housing, the arts and neighborhood improvements, while Sciannameo, a Planning Board member since 2022, has centered his bid on property taxes, development accountability and the condition of historic boardwalk buildings, per the same outlet.
A City Transformed, and the Fights That Followed
Asbury Park has shifted over the past two decades from a town marked by vacant buildings and stalled redevelopment into one of the Jersey Shore's most popular destinations, according to New Jersey Globe. That transformation has come with new strain, including rising property taxes, affordable housing pressures, redevelopment agreements and questions about whether longtime residents can afford to stay, the outlet reports.
Quinn has acknowledged the downside of the city's growth. “Our rapid success with development has created brand-new problems,” she told Patch, pointing to flooding and parking shortages as consequences of the pace of construction. She has said she voted no on four of the city's master developer's major projects and favors negotiation and legal processes to manage waterfront redevelopment deals while limiting taxpayer exposure, the outlet's report notes.
Sciannameo's Case for a Course Correction
Sciannameo argues city officials have focused too heavily on waterfront development at the expense of other neighborhoods, a point New Jersey Globe highlighted in its coverage of his campaign launch. He has pointed to escalating property taxes, a lack of parking, flooding, development pressures and the condition of the city's West Side and Main Street as evidence the city needs a different approach, the report states.
He has proposed creating a West Side Arts District centered on Springwood Avenue, with affordable artist studios, galleries, artist housing, performance spaces, murals and cultural programming, the same report notes. Sciannameo has also called for an economic development commission aimed at drawing investment, year-round jobs and a stronger commercial tax base, and he has pushed for closer cooperation between city government and the Asbury Park Board of Education on managing property taxes.
On the Planning Board, Sciannameo recused himself from a vote on a 67-unit mixed-use development, which was ultimately approved 4-3, according to New Jersey Globe. He has questioned whether developer tax incentives sufficiently benefit the public and has criticized delays in restoring Convention Hall, the Paramount Theater and the Casino.
Convention Hall's $75 Million Question
That restoration sits at the center of one of the race's sharpest disputes. The City of Asbury Park confirmed the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion tax-credit award of up to $75 million to support a $130 million restoration of the Convention Hall complex, including the Grand Arcade and Paramount Theater. Convention Hall and the Paramount Theater have been closed since roughly 2021 over structural safety concerns, and the project aims to reopen the complex as a year-round performing arts center, the city says.
Construction began in April 2026 and is expected to take nearly three years, according to NJ.com. The award agreement gives the NJEDA power to reduce, rescind or recapture the credits if the developer fails to meet its obligations, the outlet reports, and under a 2010 developer agreement with the city, Madison Marquette is responsible for maintaining the Casino, Convention Hall and boardwalk buildings. Quinn supports moving forward with the restoration, while Sciannameo has voiced skepticism about the pace and terms of the plans.
Endorsements Pile Up for Quinn
Quinn enters the race's final stretch backed by Moor himself, along with Gov. Mikie Sherrill, state Sen. Vin Gopal and Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, all of whom represent Asbury Park in the 11th legislative district, per New Jersey Globe. Sherrill said Quinn helped write New Jersey's success story and praised her work on affordable housing, the arts and neighborhood improvements. Yvonne Clayton and Eileen Chapman have also endorsed Quinn's campaign.
Quinn has pointed to her record on the council, citing the FBI Crime Index in arguing that crime in Asbury Park has declined by two-thirds since 2013, and attributing 82 percent of last year's tax increase to the school budget colliding with the state's funding formula, Patch reported. Those figures reflect Quinn's own characterization of the data rather than independently verified totals. She was the top vote-getter in a six-candidate field during her 2024 reelection bid, pulling in nearly three times as many votes as her nearest challengers, according to New Jersey Globe; Moor won his last term in 2022 with 58 percent of the vote against two challengers.
What's on the Ballot, and Where to Vote
As TAPinto reported, Quinn and Sciannameo are making their final appeals to voters this weekend before Tuesday's election, with the winner set to guide decisions on waterfront redevelopment, neighborhoods, affordable housing, infrastructure, public safety, finances and historic preservation for the next four years. The City of Asbury Park says polling locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Early voting runs through Nov. 1 at the Neptune Township Senior Center at 1607 Corlies Avenue, the closest early-voting site to Asbury Park, the city says. Residents voting by mail can use the city's ballot drop box on Bangs Avenue, across from the post office and in front of the City Council Chambers. The Monmouth County Board of Elections has also extended the electioneering buffer around polling places and drop boxes from 100 feet to 200 feet for this election, according to the city's voter guidance.
