PETERSBURG — Mayor Curtis Corson handily defeated challenger Nathalie Neiss in the Republican primary for Township Committee, collecting 794 votes, or 80.5 percent, to 188, or 19 percent, effectively assuring himself another term in office.
“I’m happy I won. Obviously the voters spoke and it’s time to move forward,” Corson said.
He called the victory a referendum on the job he and Township Committee have been doing.
“Voters like what’s happening on cannabis, on the positive things we’re doing for recreation. We’re getting things accomplished and voters are happy,” he said, calling “a good, solid victory.”
No one has filed petitions to challenge Corson as a Democrat or independent, meaning it would take a write-in campaign to defeat the longtime member of Township Committee.
Corson, a farmer and business owner who was sworn in to his latest term in January 2024, has been a member of Township Committee for more than a quarter-century.
The 62-year-old served on Township Committee from 1996 to 2014 before losing re-election. He then was appointed in 2016 to fill an unexpired term and won re-election in 2017, 2020 and 2023.
During the campaign, the mayor listed finding a solution to major erosion in the Strathmere section of the township as one of the things he would like to accomplish if re-elected.
“We’re looking for a more permanent solution. I would like to see us start facilitating some kind of hard structure instead of pumping sand,” he said.
Corson also mentioned ongoing work to establish parking near the Upper Township Community Center, noting the township is negotiating with a neighbor to try to buy land for a lot.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff