On Nov. 4, in addition to the governor, Assembly, county and school board races, Cape May County voters will cast their ballots in the contests for municipal office.
Nine of the county’s 16 towns have municipal offices on the ballot. Two of those nine races have contests; in the remainder, the candidates are unopposed.
Eight of the 16 towns in the county hold nonpartisan elections: Avalon, Cape May, Cape May Point, Ocean City, Sea Isle City, West Cape May, West Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Only two of them have elections next month, and both of them, in Wildwood Crest and West Cape May, are contested.
The other eight towns have partisan elections, but no Democrats filed to run in the seven that have open positions on the ballot in November. The eight are Middle, Dennis, Lower, Upper, Woodbine, Stone Harbor, North Wildwood and Wildwood, with Wildwood the only one without a race.
Contested Races
Wildwood Crest has nine candidates running for three seats. Two incumbents, Mayor Don Cabrera and Joseph Franco Jr., and newcomer Toni Fuscellaro are running together. The third incumbent, Joseph Schiff, is running independently, along with David Bannon, Robert Bethel, Joseph Bond, Michael Marino and David Thompson. Wildwood Crest has nonpartisan elections.
West Cape May has seven candidates running for three open seats, with Mayor Carol Sabo out of the race since she is running for state Assembly. Six of the seven candidates in the nonpartisan election have organized into slates of three candidates each, and Joseph Gilmartin is running independently of the others. One slate has incumbent George Dick along with newcomers Susan Hoffman and Ellen McDevitt. The second slate is composed of incumbent Giacomo “Jack” Antonicello and newcomers Dawn Vitagliano and Hamilton Wilde.
Uncontested Races
In Dennis Township two Republican incumbents are unopposed for reelection. Mayor Zeth Matalucci and Committeeman Matthew Cox are seeking new three-year terms.
Lower Township council member Joseph Wareham, a Republican, is running for a one-year unexpired term. Wareham was appointed in January to an open seat with a term that expires at the end of 2026. He seeks the Second Ward seat unopposed.
Middle Township committee member James Norris will be seeking reelection to another three-year term. Norris will be running unopposed for his third term on the committee.
Patrick Rosenello is stepping down as mayor of North Wildwood and current council President Salvatore Zampirri is unopposed as he seeks to replace Rosenello. Three open seats on the City Council have Rosenello, an at-large candidate, Councilwoman Margaret “Peggy” Bishop, First Ward, and incumbent Cheryl Crowe, Second Ward, running without opposition. All of the candidates in the partisan election are Republicans.
In Stone Harbor, the terms of Republican council incumbents Victor Foschini and Jennifer Gensemer end this year; neither is seeking reelection. Incumbent Kenneth Biddick, who was appointed to the vacant council seat of Tim Carney when Carney was elected mayor, will be running for one more year on Carney’s unexpired term. Frank Vaul and Robert Ross are seeking the Foschini and Gensemer seats. All of the candidates are unopposed.
Upper Township has two incumbent Republicans running unopposed for reelection to the Township Committee. They are Tyler C. Casaccio and Victor Nappen II.
In Woodbine two Republican incumbents are running unopposed for two open seats on the Borough Council. The two are Mary Helen Perez and Edwardo “Chino” Ortiz.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
