Incumbents question endorsement process, those behind it
UPPER TOWNSHIP — The son and nephew of former mayor Rich Palombo are challenging the incumbent mayor and deputy mayor, saying they want to restore morale among Upper Township employees and stabilize the budget.
Zachary “Zach” Palombo, son of former Upper Township mayor Rich Palombo, and cousin Samuel “Sam” Palombo issued a news release Thursday saying they received the endorsement of the Upper Township members of the Republican County Committee on Wednesday evening during the local candidate endorsement process.
Zachary Palombo, Ed.S., is a career educator and shared superintendent of Cape May and West Cape May schools, and Samuel Palombo is a pharmaceutical sales territory manager. Both are the grandsons of longtime North Wildwood Mayor Aldo Palombo.
On Monday, Mayor Jay Newman and Deputy Mayor Kimberly Hayes announced their re-election bid, meaning there will be a lot of familiar names on the ballot. They filed their petitions with the township clerk that day.
According to the Palombos, the outcome of the endorsement vote was 18 for Zach, 17 for Sam, 11 for Newman and 10 for Hayes. They said they would be recommended to CapeGOP Chairman Michael Donohue for placement in the Republican column of the June 24 primary election ballot.
Newman and Hayes also are Republicans.
They responded with criticism of the GOP’s Larry Trulli and former mayor Curtis Corson. Newman and Hayes said they don’t respect the process that was used.
Hayes was unopposed in the June 2021 GOP primary as a Republican candidate, as was running mate Mark Pancoast, who was elected to fill a one-year term.
In the November 2022 general election, Newman, Hayes and Pancoast were elected. They beat a slate of Democrats and another of independents.
“I am incredibly honored to have the support of my hometown Republican Party,” Zach Palombo stated in the March 14 news release. “Sam and I got into this because we want to see Upper Township move forward as the stable and conservative community it was. We believe the way to move forward is by bringing people together and operating government in a transparent and accessible fashion. There is hard work ahead and we need a Township Committee that can pull together for the good of the entire community.”
“You could say that local government is in our blood,” Sam Palombo stated in the release. “And obviously we share that same blood. Zach and I spoke a couple of months ago and decided that if not us, who? If not now, when? We have to work to stabilize the local budget, restore morale among township employees and move Upper Township forward in a way that makes our citizens proud of their Township Committee.”
Corson, now an Upper Township committeeman, and fellow Committeeman Victor Nappen II said they are supporting the Palombos.
“I respect the opinion of the majority of our Republican County Committee members in endorsing Zach and Sam to be our official Republican candidates this year,” Nappen stated in the news release. “I’m excited to support this new generation of leadership in Upper Township. Zach and Sam are extremely energetic and hard-working and I’m sure they will make great partners on the governing body as we ensure that Upper Township is the best local community in Cape May County.”
“As a member of the Republican County Committee, I voted for Zach and Sam,” Corson said. “I have nothing personal against the incumbents. But the management style of the current majority on Township Committee has been combative and secretive and damaged the morale of many township employees. We can’t operate that way. Last night, the Republican County Committee members took the first step in electing Zach and Sam and taking us to a new and better day in Upper Township.”
“Another Larry Trulli special election,” Hayes and Newman wrote in an email to the Sentinel in response to the Palombos’ news release. “He talks like a Republican but counts ballots like a Democrat. His idea of a campaign is all dirty tricks and misinformation. He should be working for the Biden campaign.”
“For example, no secret ballots allowed,” they wrote. “All absentee ballots had to be given to him for his review prior to the vote. Absentee ballot voters had to sign a disclaimer that they were giving up their right to a secret ballot. Even Democrat ballot harvesters did not go that far.”
“We cannot respect the process or the people who enabled this phony behavior,” Hayes and Newman wrote.
The incumbents asserted that when Corson was asked why Trulli would split the party in Upper Township, “he said it was to get back at Jay and Kim because they did not support him for mayor. Curtis Corson is angry that he is not the mayor and thinks he is entitled to revenge and retribution at the expense of the citizens of Upper Township.
“The Republican Party in Upper Township needs to get its house in order,” they wrote. “We will remain looking to the Republican voters of Upper Township to do that. We will remain the adults in the room and continue to follow our guiding principle of putting forward decisions and policies that are in the best interests of the township without fear or pressure from any political operators.”
The Palombos said that once they are approved by the Cape May County Republican Party, they would submit their nominating petitions with the “Cape May County Regular Republican Organization” slogan and run in the June primary in the column with former President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew as well as County Commission Director Len Desiderio.
–By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff