Cape May Bids Farewell to Three Councilpersons

CAPE MAY — Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. and Councilwoman Terri Swain said goodbye to outgoing councilpersons David Kurkowski and Linda Steenrod at a June 15 City Council meeting.
Outgoing Deputy Mayor Niels Favre is recovering from knee surgery and said his goodbyes last month.
The mayor presented Kurkowski and Steenrod with a framed photo of the Washington Street Mall taken during the Christmas season at night replete with snow on the ground. He said those leaving office normally receive a plaques but he wanted to present something that represented their accomplishments over the years, one which showed their greatest amount of effort and toil.
The refurbishment of the mall was a major accomplishment of their terms in office.
Mahaney said the winter photo of the mall had “a feeling of small town U.S.A. with our traditional values,” similar to a Norman Rockwell painting.
“Without your help, it never would have turned out this beautiful,” he said.
Mahaney thanked them for their dedication, perseverance, and effort they put forth in the last four years to serve residents, business people and tourists of Cape May.
He said once a person serves in government, they have an appreciation of how much time, effort, research and how much grief an elected official takes.
“You learn to be a stronger, more disciplined, open-minded person as a result of that,” said Mahaney.
Kurkowski said being a councilman was not an easy job. He said the town was in good hands with councilpersons-elect Jack Wichterman, Deanna Fiore and Bill Murray.
Steenrod said called her term on council a learning experience and a privilege to represent the people.
Mahaney said Favre was recovering well from knee surgery. He said Favre asked the mayor to convey his deep appreciation for kind wishes of the public and a thank you for the opportunity to serve for the past eight years.