Who’s Who in Wildwood Recall Race

WILDWOOD — Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport will join four other candidates on the Dec. 8 recall ballot.
Troiano and Davenport did have the option to appear only under the recall question portion of the ballot, also opted to file petitions at candidates with City Clerk Christopher Wood by the Oct. 15 deadline.
The recall ballot will first ask voters if they want to recall Troiano and Davenport. If the voter decides they do, then they will select two names from the list of six candidates. The other candidate in the recall election are: Al Brannen, Edward Harshaw, John Roat and Ernesto Salvatico.
• Troiano, 58, is a lifelong city resident who works as a concrete and masonry contractor. He has served on the commission since 1999 and was named mayor in 2003.
• Davenport, 63, is also a lifelong resident and retired after serving as a captain with the city’s Fire Department. He was appointed to City Commission in 2006 to fill the seat of the late Commissioner Fred Wager and was elected in 2007.
• Brannen, 66, has been a city resident since 1963 and currently works part-time in food sales. Brannen is a former chairman of the city’s Planning Board, and he served as a member of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority for 10 years.
• Harshaw, 60, is another lifelong city resident and continues to work as a history teacher at the Cape May County Technical High School. Harshaw, who served on the city’s school board, ran unsuccessfully for a seat on City Commission in 2007.
• Roat, 64, moved to Wildwood three years ago after living in Wildwood Crest. Roat is re-tired but previously worked as a casino bartender and at Thompson Hardware in Wildwood Crest. He ran unsuccessful campaigns for a seat on the Wildwood Crest Borough Commis-sion in 1997 and 2001.
• Salvatico, 81, has lived in Wildwood for more than 20 years. He moved to the United States from Uruguay in 1964. Salvatico has run for a seat on the commission in previous elections, including the 2007 race, and previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Cape May County Board of Freeholders.
Troiano and Davenport are running as a team under the slogan, “Continued Good Government” while Brannen and Harshaw are running together under the slogan, “Had enough taxes yet?”
Drawing for ballot position will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 21 in City Hall.
The last day for residents to register to vote in the recall election is Nov. 17, and the last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Dec. 7. The election will be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 8.