PETERSBURG — There was an opening on the Upper Township Committee dais on Monday, Dec. 16, after Committeeman Mark Pancoast announced he was resigning effective Dec. 9.
Pancoast thanked the board for its work over the past year before going into a prepared statement.
“Over the past year,” he said, “I found my personal schedule increasingly conflicts with my ability to devote the necessary time to council. That’s not fair to the employees, it’s not fair to the residents, so tonight will be my last council meeting.”
Pancoast thanked Mayor Jay Newman and Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes “for maintaining a constant open line of communication.”
Newman said he was sorry to hear of Pancoast’s resigning but added that he understood.
“I couldn’t do this right now if I wasn’t retired,” he said.
Other officials on the dais expressed surprise that Pancoast was leaving on short notice. Business Administrator Gary DeMarzo talked about the connection he had with Pancoast being a former cop. Municipal Clerk Joanne Herron said Pancoast’s sudden resignation was undoubtedly “by design” so as to not allow people to prepare any words for him, but she thanked him for his service.
Pancoast, 46, is an Ocean City Police Department lieutenant. He was selected in November 2021 to fill the unexpired term of Committeeman Hobie Young. He was elected along with Newman and Hayes, who each were elected to full three-year terms. Hayes initially filled Young’s vacated seated but stepped down to run for a full term with Newman. Pancoast won reelection in 2022 for a full term, but resigns with his final year yet to begin in January 2025.
As a committeeman, Pancoast oversaw the Department of Public Works, the township’s largest labor pool. He and his wife have been residents of Upper Township since 2005.
Pancoast’s departure leaves an empty seat to fill in 2025. Newman and Hayes will be departing after their terms expire at the end of this year. Cousins Zachary and Samuel Palombo were elected to the the Committee after winning the primary in June. Zachary Palombo is the Cape May City School District superintendent and son of longtime former Mayor Richard Palombo. Samuel, the former mayor’s nephew, is a pharmaceutical sales representative.
Newman and Hayes sat for their final meeting on Dec. 16. Newman served four terms on the committee, from 2002 to 2014. He was elected to a fifth term in 2021 after Richard Palombo and Deputy Mayor Ed Barr decided not to seek another term.
Hayes was appointed in 2020 to fill Young’s term but decided to run for a full term as Newman’s deputy mayor.
The committee will vote to fill Pancoast’s seat after receiving up to three names of candidates, provided by the township Republican committee, to fill out the remaining year of his term. Whoever is named will have the option of running for election in November.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
