Politics & Government

Party Tickets Set, Mayor 'Strongly Considering' Independent Run

"I think we can put a strong ticket out there. It'd be interesting for the town."

With the Democrats and Republicans having set their respective tickets, Mayor John Button is “strongly considering” running as an independent for township council this fall.

The 4 p.m. petition filing deadline came and went Monday afternoon with no surprises. The Dems filed for their , as did the Republicans.

After finding out he’d been (MRMC), Button initially weighed either challenging the official Republican ticket in the primary, or running as an independent in the fall.

Monday afternoon, the mayor said he did not file a petition and hadn’t yet made up his mind on an independent run, but was giving it very serious thought.

“I’m getting a lot of encouragement to please run,” he said, adding he’d been approached by citizens on both sides of the political aisle—and independents—“who don’t want to see party politics … become paramount in solving our town’s problems.”

Button said he’s given thought to who he could potentially run with on an independent ticket and has spoken with some of those individuals, but was reticent when asked who.

“I have no names to put forth at the moment … There are some people interested,” he said, adding, “I think we can put a strong ticket out there. It’d be interesting for the town.”

The last independent run at town council was in 2006, when former councilman Jeffrey Harding ran solo, according to township clerk Patty Hunt.

Asked for his thoughts on a possible independent challenge from Button, MRMC chair John Logue said he wouldn’t speculate on something that hadn’t happened yet.

Logue did push back on Button’s comments about the influence of party politics on township issues, saying he wasn’t sure he understood the mayor’s point.

Logue said many of the issues the MRMC has supported have been bi-partisan, including a —perhaps the most significant point of contention between the MRMC and the mayor, as well as councilmen Greg Gallo and Mike Testa, who .

Hinting at the issue’s importance in the coming election, open space is at the top of the Republican slate’s platform listed on their website.

The party chairman dismissed allegations and rumors about the party directing township council’s actions, saying, “In no way have I ever dictated to (council) what they should do. All we ask is to have some kind of input into advancing the agenda of the council and we have a vested interest in their success.”

Councilman Chris Chiacchio also came to the MRMC’s defense, writing in an email to Moorestown Patch, “No one from the MRMC has ever tried to influence me or persuade me to vote for or against anything. I vote for or against an item based upon one standard and one standard only, whether it's in the best interest of our town and all our residents, period.”

Chiacchio said in his email those who have spread rumors to the contrary are “the select few upset that Councilwoman (Stacey) Jordan and I voted against costly and unnecessary turf fields.”

But Button alluded to behind-the-scenes headbutting between he and members of the party over certain issues, which may have contributed to his exclusion from the ticket and his own presently mixed feelings about the party.

“Obviously we are not in complete alignment,” he said. “I have to ask myself, how much of my time do I spend arguing with party people and how much of my time do I spend handling the issues?”

The deadline to file a petition to run as an independent is June 5. Button wasn’t sure how long it would take him to decide, but said, “I’m not going to be dragging my feet.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here