Hankerson Seeks Woodbine Mayoral Post

WOODBINE — On Nov. 2, voters in this borough will select a mayor for four years and two council members for three-year terms.
Republican mayoral candidate Julia Hankerson and “Independents for Woodbine” Mayor William Pikolycky are featured today. The four council candidates will be featured Oct. 27.
Julia Hankerson stated she is running for mayor “because Woodbine needs to change. Our school needs to be supported. Our seniors need to be respected, and we need to build a community recreational program for youth.”
“We need to change the way we spend our money to assure that our youth are the priority. We need to demonstrate that all people are important. We need to do this together,” she continued.
“I would immediately form a steering committee composed of: seniors, religious leaders, educational leaders, business leaders, community leaders and government leaders.
“The goal of that committee will be to develop a five-year plan that identifies where we are now in key areas, where we need to be and how we can get there. This will help us to identify the type of grants we should be applying for and how to spend our money,” she continued.
“We will immediately address such areas as violence, business development, job development, community recreational programs and senior programs.
“We will do a complete audit of finances and personnel and this information will be made public. We will have a newsletter and a community bulletin board so that meetings, employment positions and all relevant information for the Borough of Woodbine will be posted,” Hankerson stated.
Born and raised here in the borough, Hankerson returned there about nine years ago.
Her mother was Rose Hankerson and her father was Elmer Hankerson. Her great-grandmother was Julia Horne, founder of Horne’s Temple Lighthouse Deliverance Ministries Church.
Her grandfather was Frank Hankerson, who sat on the first Trustee Board of the First Baptist Church of Woodbine.
“So, before I was born, I was actively vested in this community by my family,” Hankerson stated.
Hankerson is the owner of Woodbine Wellness Center, LLC. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
She is board chair of Volunteers in Medicine, a certified American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Counselor and is former president of Woodbine Chapter AARP 5292.
In addition she is a former president of the Greater Woodbine Chamber of Commerce, former basketball coach for Woodbine Recreation Girls 6, 7, 8th grades.
She is also a former licensed nursing home administrator of Veterans Home, and was a member of the Hamilton Township Planning Board.
She was also a project specialist to Commissioner NJ Dept Human Services, a budget analyst, for Commissioners of NJ Dept. Human Services and Strategic Planning Specialist, NJ Dept Human Services.
Hankerson is a graduate of Woodbine Elementary School, and Millville Senior High School.
She is a member of the Hall of Fame for Basketball Millville Thunderbolt Club.
Hankerson received her BA from Lincoln University, Lincoln, Pa., and her masters in social work from Rutgers University, Camden.
She is a PhD candidate at Walden University, Industrial Organizational Psychology.