Belmar Mayor Kenneth Pringle will not seek re-election to a sixth term. Democrats say the leading candidate to replace him is Council President Matthew Doherty, the husband of Democratic strategist Maggie Moran. Doherty was narrowly re-elected last year, defeating Republican James Bean by just eighteen votes. Republicans want Councilman Richard Wright, a retired Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Drexel Burnham Lambert, to run for mayor.
Democrats still list Pringle as a leading candidate for State Senate in 2011, as they prepare for a campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Sean Kean (R-Wall).