OCEAN CITY – The three incumbent Ocean City Board of Education members handily won re-election Nov. 3 to new three-year terms in office.
By wide margins, voters re-elected Michael Allegretto, Jocelyn Palaganas and Corey Niemiec, who are finishing their three-year terms. They ran on the same ticket.
Allegretto had the highest unofficial total with 2,673 votes, according to capemaycountyvotes.com. Palaganas was next with 2,421 and Niemiec third with 2,134.
Kelly Anne Hudak, Catherine Panico and Steve Flogaus ran together on their own ticket entitled “Parents Paying Attention.” Hudak earned 1,607 votes, the most of the trio. Panico, who served for three years on the board but was voted out of office in the 2025 election, got 1,420 votes. Flogaus received 1,293 votes.
Matthew L. Mass, who ran by himself under the “Ordinary Average Guy” slogan, came in seventh with 1,087 votes.
“It always feels good to win,” Allegretto said. “I felt like over the past three years we’ve done a lot with the parents and the district. I think we got the support because of that work so it’s great to be re-elected for three more years.
“I think it is important for a board to be able to work together,” he added. “I mean you can disagree, but you can still work together because that’s the only way to get things done. You can always find common ground.
“I think that’s what we do and we try to pass things that are best for the district and the students,” Allegretto said.
Lisa Capra-Mansfield ran unopposed to fill the unexperienced term to which she was appointed earlier this year. She got 1,844 votes.
The two Sea Isle City representatives to the board ran unopposed. Sea Isle voters gave Sue F. Williamson 700 votes and Kerry E. Mullane 664 votes.
The school board election is non-partisan.
Ocean City High School has a sending-receiving relationship with Sea Isle City, Longport and Upper Township.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff