WEST CAPE MAY — Regardless of the outcome, this year’s election will bring significant changes to local government, as all three seats on the Board of Commissioners are up for a vote.
Mayor Carol Sabo is not seeking reelection, opting instead to run for state Assembly in the 1st District as a Democrat.
The two other incumbents, George Dick and Giacomo “Jack” Antonicello, are running on separate three-person slates, each arguing their team offers the best future for a changing borough.
Dick, the team Sabo is backing, is running with Susan Hoffman and Ellen McDevitt under the slogan “Keep WCM the Best Cape May.”
Antonicello is running under the slogan “Qualified, Capable, Ready to Serve” along with Hamilton Wilde and Dawn Vitagliano.
A seventh candidate is on the ballot by himself. Joseph Gilmartin is a local real estate agent. He did not respond to emails or calls requesting an interview for this story and does not appear to have a campaign website.
In separate interviews, the members of each slate described themselves as the people best able to preserve the unique character of West Cape May in the face of increasing development and other pressures.
“We believe that together, our team would have the most impact for West Cape May,” said Hoffman. She described the slate as like-minded and able to have a healthy conversation.
Two incumbents and a former school board member are among four candidates on the ballot for the Lower Township Board of Education this year.
“We think West Cape May is a really special place,” said Dick. “We want to keep it that way to preserve the small-town charm, and add balanced development and adhere to homeowners’ rights.”
Not surprisingly, both slates described West Cape May in idyllic terms, and promised to protect what makes the small community special.
“It’s a beautiful town. There’s a small school, and you know your neighbors,” Wilde said. “It’s getting busier. We need to think about what the community will look like in 10 or 20 years.”
She said the borough cannot simply oppose any change but has to plan for reasonable development.
Wilde, 29, said she is the only candidate on the ballot under 60, and that she represents a new generation for West Cape May. She described herself in campaign materials as a farmer.
Her family owns Willow Creek Winery and other agricultural properties, and her mother, Barbara Wilde, renovated a historic property that now operates as the Southern Mansion, a Cape May bed-and-breakfast. She also has a business as a wedding planner.
“People have this vision in their mind that all farms are supposed to be cornfields and they shouldn’t be making any money,” Wilde said.
Antonicello is a retired Jersey City firefighter who was among those who responded to Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. He said during his career he worked as a fire captain and with police as an arson investigator.
Cape May City Council has approved an $8.6 million contract to build a new police station on Lafayette Street.
West Cape May’s elections are formally nonpartisan, but in a recent interview, Antonicello alleged that partisan politics were playing an increasing role in the community.
He said he opposed allowing Cape May County Democrats to use borough hall for meetings, and indicated that partisanship kept him from being appointed mayor.
“I believe I should have at least been deputy mayor,” Antonicello said.
The community remains an outlier in Cape May County politics, with a few more registered Democrats than Republicans, and a habit of voting blue in statewide and national elections. For instance, it was one of the few communities in the county to support Kamala Harris over Donald J. Trump last year.
“I want this to be a very community-focused borough and not so divisive,” said Vitagliano. “It’s one of the reasons I’m running.”
The slate of Dick, Hoffman and McDevitt also emphasized the small-town character of West Cape May, with just over 1,000 year-round residents, many acres of farmland and woods and no beachfront of its own.
“For people who live here full time, the people who vote in this election, it’s a totally different place than most shore towns,” Dick said, describing the community as a rural area at the beach.
His team emphasized environmental concerns, with McDevitt raising water use as an issue. When she originally move to the community, she said, there was little interest in perfect green lawns for most homeowners. Now, she said, people use potential drinking water for lawns.
With classes back in session, students, teachers and staff in three Cape May County school districts are getting to know new superintendents.
Very few properties in the community still rely on well water. Most are connected through Cape May’s water utility, which uses a desalination plant to process brackish well water. Current plans call for the replacement of that plant to keep up with demand.
“It’s an ongoing issue,” McDevitt said.
The team also mentioned migrating birds and other species, such as the monarch butterflies now concentrated along the Jersey Cape. Those species don’t know whether a property has been preserved or not, or one lawn from another, Dick said.
Dick also mentioned the increased traffic each summer. Broadway is a secondary route to the beaches of Cape May, coming off one of two bridges leading to the communities south of the Cape May Canal.
“We basically have a highway running through the middle of our town,” Dick said. He and his running mates spoke about safety for bike riders and pedestrians, and the need to work with other communities on bike routes throughout the Cape Island area.
Hoffman mentioned historic homes in West Cape May and the pressure to build newer and bigger. That also puts a strain on the existing water and sewer infrastructure and other services, Dick said.
Wilde said she found it “very interesting” that the other ticket was talking about historic preservation. She said she would argue her slate are the preservationists, “and they cannot be further from it.”
There are real concerns with development, Wilde said. She said new homes are being built for the rental market.
Run the Crest will be held Friday and Saturday at Centennial Park in Wildwood Crest. Friday’s festival will feature merchandise and craft vendors, food trucks, live music and family-friendly activities.
“We’re not against rental property,” Vitagliano said, pointing out that a significant number of the homes in West Cape May are either rental properties or summer houses.
In West Cape May, the mayor is chosen by the three-member commission from among its members. If Antonicello felt snubbed in the vote for mayor, his running mates went further, suggesting that Sabo had an antagonistic relationship with Antonicello.
Dick, Hoffman and McDevitt instead said Sabo sought to elevate new voices and get potential future leaders involved in the community, which included appointments to the Shade Tree Commission and other boards.
“She’s been a force in the community,” McDevitt said of Sabo. “I think she will be missed.”
Dick emphasized his team’s volunteer work, saying he has worked with the Cape May Food Closet, Hoffman’s work with the Shade Tree Commission and McDevitt’s volunteering as a tour guide with Cape May MAC.
“Even if we weren’t running for election we’d still be serving the community,” McDevitt said.
She owns a bakery in town and said she has worked on major projects and consulted with the federal government.
“Just because I know how to make a mean cupcake, that’s not all I can do,” she said.
New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates both want school districts to consolidate as a cost-saving maneuver, but they differ on whether the state should force districts to merge with their neighbors.
Hoffman cited her work in marketing and public affairs, including for an Eastern Pennsylvania health system. She also is a member of the West Cape May Historic Preservation Commission.
Vitagliano recently retired from a career in clinical research with Johnson & Johnson. She also is a founding member of the West Cape May Taxpayers Association. She described herself as an advocate for fiscal responsibility and transparency in local government.
Contact Bill Barlow:
609-272-7290
bbarlow@pressofac.com
X @jerseynews_bill
Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Bill Barlow
Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today