Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis was victorious tonight, defeating Councilwoman Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski to win a third term as leader of the Hudson County peninsula city.

“The people of Bayonne have spoken loud and clear that they want to keep our city moving forward for another four years with Team Davis,” said the mayor. “I would like to thank my family, my running mates, our campaign team and most of all the residents of Bayonne for sending this strong message that we want continued progress for our community. I’m excited to get back to work tomorrow to keep delivering for the people of Bayonne.”

Tonight, Davis proved his staying power in Bayonne, beating not only the council president but that artful former sanctum arrayed against him.

But Ashe-Nadrowski was not yet ready to concede as of 9:05 p.m., as her allies said she would seek a recount. Sixty votes shy of the runoff, they noted, with 267 provisionals and an unknown number of absentee votes yet to be counted, necessitated another look.

“The election remains too close to call,” she said. “It’s important that we make sure everyone’s vote was and is counted. I had hoped for a higher turnout, but considering the negative campaign it doesn’t surprise me that some people stayed home or were too intimidated to actually cast their ballots. We’re looking forward to reviewing the remaining vote by mail and provisional ballots. Given the data we have
collected, we think round two will take place on June 14th.”

“She ran an issues-oriented campaign,” said veteran operative Joe DeMarco. “We did not talk about any of the dirty laundry. The theme of the campaign was ‘we need to fix Bayonne.'”

A former cop, Davis first came into office in 2014, with a win over incumbent Mayor Mark Smith.

He secured a second term in 2018 with a victory over then-former Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell.

Tonight, he secured a first ballot win over Ashe-Nadrowski.

The mayor faced serious questions on the eve of this election season, especially in the aftermath of a political fight he had with Assemblyman Nick Chiaravalloti.

Davis wanted the assemblyman – once a friend – out of office, and replaced with his own choice.

He hit the eject button on Chiravalloti.

That prompted the allies of the assemblyman – and others – to seek revenge.

They combined forces with Ashe-Nadrowski – also a former Davis ally.