Jamison criticizes proposed cuts to activities; Nappen, Casaccio running
PETERSBURG — Real estate agent Elsie Jamison picked up an application Feb. 14 to run in the Republican Primary for Upper Township Committee.
“I think I have the passion, enthusiasm, mindset and motivation to find solutions to our problems. I want to be the familiar face you feel comfortable turning to for your concerns. I believe that anyone who knows me knows I have what it takes to make a difference,” she said.
The 33-year-old mother of five grew up in Upper Township. She and her three sisters — Agatha, Grace and Lucy Becker — all graduated from township schools and Ocean City High School.
Jamison earned her real estate license in 2018, working for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty and now Grace Realty.
She is married to Daniel Jamison, whose father Matt Jamison, the former principal at OCHS, is a member of the Upper Township Beach Patrol. The couple has three boys and two daughters, including twins.
Jamison said she served on the board for Upper Township Basketball for a year and applied to serve on the township Zoning Board and Cape May County Women’s Commission but has no experience in elected office.
She said she decided to run because “I don’t feel supported as a young family,” noting “they need a mom on there.”
“They are not a mom and clearly don’t care because they just canceled the Easter egg hunt,” Jamison said. “I would not have let that happen.”
In a Facebook post announcing her intention to run, she stated she has “a lot of feelings for my hometown — pride, love, safe, happy. But I am also feeling swindled and frustrated.”
Jamison said keeping taxes down is the top priority but the township also needs community activities.
“Why defund the fun in the meantime? These normal, traditional events should not be put on the shoulders of the constituents. There must be another way and I just can’t sit back and watch our kids become the lowest priority, because to me that’s what it feels like.”
Facing an uphill battle
Jamison noted she does not have the party’s backing.
“I am a proud Republican. I was not handpicked by the county GOP, and I have never had a relative as an Upper Township elected official. I want to work because of you and for you without an agenda behind me from bigger county politicians,” she wrote.
The deadline to file petitions for the primary is March 24, 71 days before the June 3 election. Jamison would face Deputy Mayor Victor Nappen and Committeeman Tyler Casaccio, both of whom said they had not filed petitions but fully intend to run for re-election.
Nappen’s three-year term expires at the end of 2025. The 39-year-old was elected in 2022 and oversaw municipal court and animal control. As deputy mayor, he now oversees public safety, emergency management, the Division of EMS, information technology and communications.
A science teacher at Millville High School who runs his own business, South Jersey Screen Repair, Nappen is raising his young family in the same neighborhood where he grew up. He and his wife, the former Danielle Greene, have three children along with their large extended families in the township.
Casaccio was appointed in January to fill the position vacated prematurely by former committeeman Mark Pancoast, who resigned in December.
The 33-year-old is a lifelong township resident who is in charge of maintenance for his family business, Clayton’s Self Storage and mobile home parks.
The 2009 Ocean City High School graduate and his wife, Darcy — also a lifelong township resident — have a 4-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son, who are the fifth generation of his family living locally.
He has been a member of the Upper Township Republican Committee for about five years and his father, Paul Casaccio, is chairman of the Zoning Board.
Casaccio’s term expires Dec. 31.
Editor’s note: Elsie Jamison is a contributing writer to the Sentinel’s monthly Local Lifestyles section.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
