Atlantic City mayor wins primary under shadow of assault charges
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., who is under criminal indictment, has fended off a primary challenge to win the Democratic nomination for a second term, Decision Desk HQ projects.
Small defeated Bob McDevitt, a former longtime head of a casino workers union. He will face Republican Nadeem Ahmed Khan, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, in the general election.
Small first became mayor in 2019 after his predecessor, Frank Gillam (D), resigned from office after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud. He won a full term in 2021 but is facing his own criminal charges as he faces the voters for reelection.
Small and his wife, Atlantic City School District Superintendent La'Quetta Small, were charged last April on allegations that they physically and emotionally abused their teenage daughter. Prosecutors allege that on one occasion Small hit his daughter on the head with a broom multiple times and caused her to lose consciousness, among other incidents.
He was also later charged on a count of witness tampering after prosecutors said he told his daughter to change her story to law enforcement about the alleged abuse.
Small and his wife have denied the charges and pleaded not guilty.
Ahead of the primary, Small had said he didn't believe the charges would be an issue for voters, telling the Philadelphia-based NBC10 that 'the voters know who I am.'
Issues of public safety and the city's cleanliness took center stage in the race, with Small pointing to the city's reduction in crime. McDevitt argued that people still feel fear of being victims of crime.
Atlantic City has mostly elected Democrats as mayors for decades. The one recent exception was Republican Don Guardian's victory in 2013.
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