Amid all the hoopla of the Presidential election, it could be easy to miss the Atlantic City mayor’s race. In that race, incumbent Marty Small Sr. apparently defeated his Republican challenger, Thomas Forkin to fill a one-year unexpired term.
“I’m truly humbled and honored to have the support that the good people of Atlantic City have shown me,” Small said November 3 from his campaign headquarters on Atlantic Avenue.
Forkin did not concede the election when contacted after the first results were released, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“It’s been a very interesting and challenging election cycle,” he said. “We will see when the election is certified and the results of the provisional ballots come in.”
The possible victory comes after Small beat back a proposed change-of-government attempt in May.
“It means everything,” the mayor said, reflecting on his political wins while acknowledging the unusual difficulties he faced in 2020, which included overseeing a local response to a global pandemic and national civil unrest that spilled out into the streets of the resort in the spring.
Forkin said his campaign received a boost with a get-out-the-vote effort by political operative Craig Callaway, who was working on behalf of U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew against Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy.
“A lot of people just wanted someone to mix it up a bit, they wanted change,” Forkin said. “The good news is it’s only for one year; the bad news is it’s only for one year.”
Small was appointed interim mayor in October 2019, when former Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr., who pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud, resigned.
He said he would seek the full four-year mayoral term on the 2021 ballot. Forkin may do the same.
