Nov. 5 Election Will Result in a First for the Borough
CAPE MAY POINT – Four candidates – two incumbents, two challengers – are competing for the three seats on the borough’s Board of Commissioners in the Nov. 5 election. The winners will comprise the first all-female Board of Commissioners in the borough’s history.
After Mayor Bob Moffit decided not to see reelection after 12 years on the commission, the field of candidates became incumbents Anita VanHeeswyk, the deputy mayor, and Catherine Busch, and challengers Elise Geiger and Susan C. Yunghans.
Busch, who is commissioner of Public Works, was elected in 2020 and is finishing her first term. She has been a homeowner since 2000 and a full-time resident since 2014. If reelected she said she would probably continue overseeing Public Works, which she said is very interesting because there is always something new to learn.
A retired psychologist and director of clinical staff serving crime victims, Busch has enjoyed her civic involvement since her retirement. She has served as the chair of the Environmental Commission and served on the Planning and Zoning board, and is not yet ready to fully retire. Looking at serving on the first all-female Board of Commissioners in Cape May Point, Busch said she feels it would be of interest locally.
Geiger is originally from Ramsey in Bergen County and has been a Cape May Point property owner for more than two decades. She became a full-time resident four years ago. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 40 years, 26 years as an executive. Toward the end of her career she joined a manufacturing start-up and has experience in a broad array of skills that she feels will translate well to local government.
Geiger joined the borough Environmental Commission in February 2021 and was involved in a number of projects, including the removal of invasives at Lake Lily. She helped create the borough’s first five-year Urban Forestry Plan, became a member of the Tree Committee and in 2023 was appointed to the Planning Board. She joined the board of the Cape May Point Taxpayers Association in September 2021 and became president in 2022. She is also a member of the Civic Club.
Van Heeswyck was the first woman elected to the borough’s Board of Commissioners, although, she said, a woman was appointed to fill a commission spot previously. She has owned a home in the Point since 1965 and has lived there full time since the 1980s.
She served on the commission for the first time in 2008, serving as mayor for about nine months, and has been deputy mayor the entire rest of the time. She also has been the commissioner of Revenue and Finance her entire tenure. She chaired the Planning Board for 10 years and has been on the Environmental Commission and the Lake Lily Committee. Van Heeswyk worked in retrial management prior to becoming the chief financial officer for a family corporation.
Yunghans was been a homeowner in the Point since 1997 and has lived there full time since 2017. She has a master’s in business management from the Pennsylvania State University and earned a bachelor’s in social work and psychology from Eastern University. She retired after 30 years with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania chapter, as executive director. Her nonprofit management work experience included directing a statewide professional medical organization with an annual budget of $5 million, leading a staff of 40, coordinating statewide advocacy efforts for improving children’s health and safety, federal and state grant writing and collaborating with many other organizations and state and local governments.
Yunghans said she is interested in doing her part to preserve and protect what residents are fortunate to have. She said she commits to working cooperatively with the other commissioners, upholding the honesty and integrity of the office and giving her best effort to this position, if elected.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
