Appointment, candidate change rearranges things for November election
OCEAN CITY — Former Ocean City Council president Bobby Barr has taken his place on the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners, filling a vacancy left when E. Marie Hayes was appointed as county surrogate.
That leaves a vacancy to be filled on Ocean City Council.
Barr resigned his council seat last week immediately after Cape May County Republicans gathered Aug. 2 for a special CapeGOP convention and chose him over Upper Township’s Michael Palombo to fill Hayes’ seat.
On July 6, Hayes, also of Ocean City, took the oath of office to become the Cape May County surrogate. She was nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy and confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate the week before to fill a vacancy created when Dean Marcolongo became a Superior Court judge.
That also will change the look of the November election among GOP candidates, with Barr seeking to be re-elected after a roughly three-month stint. Hayes also will be running for re-election after her short appointed term as surrogate. She will be facing Democrat Beverly McCall, who made it onto the ballot with a write-in campaign.
Barr will be teamed up with newcomer Melanie Collette of Middle Township and incumbent Will Morey. Sitting County Commissioner Jeffrey Pierson of Upper Township decided not to seek re-election.
Democrat Patricia O’Connor is seeking a three-year term on the County Commission.
There was no Democratic candidate listed for the two-year unexpired term against Barr.
Upper Township Deputy Mayor Kimberly Hayes had planned to run for the vacancy created by Pierson but opted to focus on her work in Upper Township, opening the door for Collette.
Cape May County skews heavily Republican in voter registration and there hasn’t been a Democrat elected to the County Commission — formerly the Board of Chosen Freeholders — since Jeff Van Drew, who is now the Republican U.S. Representative of the Second Congressional District after multiple terms in the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate.
As of May, there were 32,519 registered Republicans in Cape May County, 18,463 Democrats and another 24,287 unaffiliated voters.
In the secret ballot at the GOP convention, Barr received 108 voters to Palombo’s 22.
Barr has been a protege of Van Drew, who swore him into his new office as county commissioner and spoke of his 20-year friendship with the former councilman.
“It sounds cliché, but in this case it is not,” CapeGOP Chairman Mike Donohue said in a news release after the vote. “Bobby Barr is an inspiration to so many people. He is one of the hardest-working, smartest and good-hearted people I have had the pleasure to know.”
County Commission Director Len Desiderio said he was excited to have Barr join him on the board.
“We can’t wait to have Bobby Barr’s energy and enthusiasm on the Board of County Commissioners,” Desiderio said in the same release. “Bobby is someone who wants to hold public office for all the right reasons — to help people, to keep taxes low and look out for the interests of Cape May County families.”
Barr said he was “beyond grateful and humbled” to be selected. He also noted the diversity of the GOP ticket in the upcoming election. He is bound to a wheelchair because of a physical condition, Collette would be the first African-American on the commission if elected and Hayes the second woman to be county surrogate. Sheriff Bob Nolan also is running for re-election. There is no Democratic opponent listed for Nolan.
“I want to thank the governor and the State Senate for their confidence in me,” Hayes said when being sworn in. “I also want to thank Sen. Mike Testa and CapeGOP Chairman Mike Donohue for all their help in the appointments process.”
The surrogate position is for a five-year term in office.
“The Surrogate’s Office is a unique elective office,” Hayes said. “We help families with wills, adoptions and guardianships, among other things. There is a real opportunity to help people that I am truly looking forward to in this new role.”
Also running in the November election are sitting state Sen. Michael L. Testa Jr. and Assemblymen Antwan McClellan of Ocean City and Erik Simonsen of Lower Township, all Republicans. Democrat Charles R. Laspata is challenging Testa and Democrats Damita White-Morris and Eddie L. Bonner are seeking the two Assembly seats.
Nomination Thursday
At the Ocean City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, nominations for an appointment to the Fourth Ward seat is on the agenda.
If appointed, that person would have to run in the November election to hold that seat.
Fourth Ward election, petition submissions
Fourth Ward voters in Ocean City will vote Nov. 7 to fill Barr’s unexpired term, which runs through June 30, 2024.
Interested persons who wish to be on the ballot must submit their petitions to the City Clerk’s office by 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, pursuant to NJSA 40:45-8.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff