NORTH WILDWOOD – For the first time in 12 years, the city will have a new mayor after the Nov. 4 general election.
As it is now, Salvatore “Sal” Zampirri Sr. is in the catbird’s seat – he’s asking Republicans to choose him in the June 10 primary election to be the nominee for the office in what could be an uncontested election.
That could change if an independent candidate files the necessary 107 voter signatures by 4 p.m. June 10, which is the deadline for direct nominations for the general election, or if, as seems unlikely, a write-in candidate can overtake him.
As late as May 6, Zampirri was being challenged for the Republican nomination by Edward Heuser, who owned his condo in North Wildwood for 10 years and became a permanent resident a year and a half ago. But Heuser recently said family matters would keep him out of state for roughly half the year, and withdrew from the race.
Current Mayor Patrick Rosenello decided not to run for reelection as mayor, saying the time commitment as mayor is more than he wants to make at this point. He is seeking instead a two-year term on the City Council.
Heuser’s withdrawal from the mayor’s race did not come in time for his name to be taken off the primary election ballot.
Zampirri has been the Ward 2 councilman since 2011 and council president since 2014.
He moved to North Wildwood in 1994, the same year he married and became the owner of Hot Spot 4 on the Wildwood boardwalk, a business the family has operated for 27 years. He is also a licensed real estate agent with Blue Ocean Realty, working in the industry for nearly 20 years.
He is a former Little League and arena football coach, is the vice president of the Wildwood Boardwalk Special Improvement District and is on numerous committees related to city government.
For more than 15 years, Zampirri said, he has participated in virtually every meeting with the mayor and every Zoom meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“Anything that was being done I have been working alongside the mayor,” he said. “What I do now second nature to me.”
He said he has seen essentially all city parks upgraded since joining the council. He said the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse grounds were immaculate, adding, “There is not an ounce of trash anywhere in this community. North Wildwood is beautiful.”
One of the issues brought up in the briefly competitive primary campaign was Marina Bay Towers, which Heuser described as an “eyesore.” Zampirri countered that the city does everything it can to make sure places such as Marina Bay Towners are up to code. However, there are limits on how far a municipality can go in regulating private property, he said.
As to the long-running issue of beach and dune maintenance, he said North Wildwood has done and will do everything necessary to get beach replenishment accomplished through the DEP and Army Corps of Engineers. The state and federal government in 2013 developed a plan for increasing dune height and building up a beach berm.
The plan was stalled for about 10 years, mainly due to an inability to get easements on private property. Zampirri said the $54 million plan is in danger due to neighboring communities not wanting to follow through with the project, which includes regular beach replenishment.
“For 50 years North Wildwood doesn’t have to worry about replenishing the beaches,” he said, referring to the DEP/Corps of Engineers plan.
Zampirri cited his long association with North Wildwood, saying said he even worked as a trash hauler the the city many years ago. He said he is familiar with every aspect and every corner of the city.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com, or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
