Republicans currently hold five of the nine seats on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders. But three seats - including two in which incumbents opted not to seek re-election - are up for grabs in November's election.

The race that could decide the panel's makeup pits incumbent Democrat Joe Kelly against Republican Joe McDevitt for an at-large seat. Candidates for at-large seats run countywide.

What makes the at-large seat seem to be most important is voting history.

Democratic Atlantic County Freeholder the Rev. Lawton Nelson isn't seeking re-election to a 1st Ward seat that represents Pleasantville and parts of Atlantic City and Egg Harbor Township. Democrats have held the seat since 1976.

Republican Atlantic County Freeholder Sue Schilling doesn't want to serve another term as the 4th District representative on the board. The 4th District represents Absecon, Brigantine, Galloway Township and Port Republic, and Republicans have held the seat for all but three years since 1976.

The history of the at-large seat held by Kelly also leans in favor of Republicans, who have held it for 23 of the last 31 years. Even Kelly admits to being shocked at his victory over then-incumbent Republican John Risley three years ago.

But Atlantic County has been trending Democratic for the past several years, and Kelly has the power of incumbency. Kelly says he's surprised how many more people know his name since the last time he ran.

McDevitt says that may give him the advantage, as he is a member of a Republican Party that has had "zero corruption in the past five years."

Despite so much potentially riding on the race, neither Kelly nor McDevitt say they feel extra pressure to win and are going about their campaigns with issues in mind.

The weather was nice Monday as Kelly sandwiched a dentist appointment between hours of putting up campaign signs throughout the county.

"I'm just trying to do the same thing I did last time - meeting people, knocking on doors," Kelly said. "I never stopped campaigning. I never took a break from it. People do recognized me a lot more."

Kelly, an HVAC technician at Tropicana Casino and Resort, said he considers himself an "independent thinker" whose votes on the freeholder board don't follow party lines.

"I try to do the right thing for everyone in the county," he said. "I represent all the people to the best of my ability."

For the past several weeks, Kelly said he's fielded questions by residents from one end of the county to the other about issues such as shared services, taxes, cable television and roads. The questions show that residents are definitely interested in the election, he said.

"When you go knocking on doors in neighborhoods and hear from the people and what they know about politics, it shows people in Atlantic County are really well-informed," Kelly said. "They're up on the issues."

Like Kelly, it was also a sign day for McDevitt, who teaches history in the Atlantic City school district.

Running for a countywide seat has McDevitt running all through the county.

"Lots of door to door," he said. "We're going to lots of unaffiliated voters, talking about pure issues, tax issues, road issues and spending increases. It's on everybody's mind."

McDevitt said part of his message as a Reagan conservative is that he doesn't want the county to spend more than is needed on any program. There's probably places in the budget that also could be cut, he said.

"We'll find something," he said.

McDevitt, who lives in Ventnor, said he's also pledging not to take a freeholder salary and will donate the money to charity. He also said he won't participate in the pension system as a freeholder.

"I want people to understand that Joe McDevitt is running not just to get a pension or to be paid," he said.

In the 1st District race, Democrat Charles Garrett, community relations manager with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, is running against Republican John Bettis, a former Pleasantville city administrator.

Galloway Township Councilman Rich Dase, a Republican, is running against Democrat Jill Foley, a businesswoman in the insurance industry, for the 4th District seat.

But while the fines and penalties for riding on public land could increase, many are asking if there will be any place left in the area for people to drive them legally - especially with the planned September 2008 closing of the New Jersey Off-Road Vehicle Park in Woodland Township, Burlington County, one of the few private businesses with an ATV track.

The bill, introduced in the state Assembly by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton, would mandate point-of-sale registration and tagging of all off-road vehicles, including quads and snowmobiles. Currently, buyers are responsible for getting vehicle registration, which, along with insurance, is required for riding on public land.

"(Accountability) would be put on the seller of the vehicle," said Jaclyn Rhoads, director for conservation with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, or PPA. "Basically, it will be like when you buy a car." She added that point-of-sale registration would make it easier to track vehicles involved in illegal activity, while the resulting fines for those who fail to comply would act as a deterrent.

"It will be a little bit more than just a slap in the wrist," said Rhoads.

Seventy mayors have signed on to work with the PPA on the issue of ATVs both statewide and in their municipalities. The most outspoken among them has been Chuck Chiarello, mayor of Buena Vista Township, who decried the "wholesale, haphazard selling" of off-road vehicles.

"Right now, there are more laws about jaywalking than there are about ATVs," said Chiarello. "The biggest thing we need right now is to get the new legislation passed. Without it, people will lose their lives. ... I'm not against people using ATVs, as long as they ride in designated areas and not on highways. Otherwise (riders) put their lives in jeopardy and other lives in jeopardy."

He referred to the number of accidents that have occurred on ATVs in the past year, including Abdilla's death, the July 30 death of Hammonton's Gabrielle Campione in an ATV-train collision and other deaths in Galloway Township and Fairfield Township.

"Not to take anything away from people who have suffered losses, but it's a very critical issue," he said.

Chiarello also stressed the importance of parental responsibility. Current law states that anyone under 18 must receive safety training before operating an ATV, while anyone under 16 can only ride smaller vehicles. Anyone under 14 can't ride an ATV at all.

"I see kids on some of these things, and I wouldn't even want to guess their age," he said. "The bill requires that right at the point of purchase, a parent or guardian has to meet certain requirements about the proper registration, license, training and insurance."

Under current law, he said, it's as if "you're buying a car and saying, 'Hey, I'll get driving lessons later,'" he said.

ATV retailers, though, have mixed reactions to the proposed legislation.

"My problem with that is that we have to get together as a nation," said Ken Williams, one of the owners of Fairway Cycle in Somers Point. "If we do something like that, it shouldn't be just in New Jersey."

Pointing to the widely varied laws affecting ATVs in different states, Williams added that he considers some states "pro-ATV," but New Jersey is not one of them.

He also said that if ATVs are sold with titles and not listed as non-registerable items, dealerships in urban enterprise zones such as Bridgeton might not be able to sell the vehicles at half the current sales tax rate as they do now - which would be a boost to dealerships outside the zones such as his own. It is still unclear, however, just what impact the bill would have on these transactions.

"At least, if ATVs are tagged and registered, (sales taxes) will be 7 percent across the board," he said. "That would alleviate (the disparity) and the state would get more money, too."

Williams was concerned most about whether he can continue to sell ATVs if the places where people can drive them legally keep dwindling.

"These kids have nowhere to ride," he said. "If you're registering them and tagging (ATVs), provide them with a place to ride. People would pay if there is a place to ride."

Chiarello said proponents of the bill are well aware of the lack of places to ride legally and that the fees from increased fines might go toward alleviating the problem. He pointed out that there could be space devoted to ATVs at a new speedway in Millville, for example.

"It's like skiing," he said. "There are some places where its proper and some where it's not. Some places are specifically for ATVs, just as if a skier would have to go to the mountains. There's more and more development than ever, and if we have open space, it can't be run amok over. ... We have to solve problem A before we solve problem B."

But Allen Campione, Gabrielle Campione's father, had a different opinion.

"That's backwards," he said. "You have to give before you take. ... Why don't they first pick a spot in South Jersey and give us a spot to ride? To not give kids a place to ride and then fine them no matter where they go? That's retarded."

Chiarello was insistent that the legislation, increased fines and all, must pass.

"The number of vehicles sold is far beyond the legal capacity to handle them," he said. "Even if there were more places to ride them."