OCEAN CITY — Moms for Liberty-backed candidate Robin Shaffer has conceded defeat in the Ocean City Board of Education election, saying he wishes Corey Niemiec and the other winners well.
Shaffer, who was leading by four votes on Election Day, said he received an unofficial update from the Cape May County Board of Elections clerk informing him that he had lost.
“New information has come to light that with the results of mail-in ballots received after Election Day, I have lost my bid for re-election,” Shaffer stated in an email to the Sentinel. “I want to congratulate the three successful candidates — Michael Allegretto, Jocelyn Palanagas and Corey Niemiec — and wish them much success when they begin their tenure on the board in January.”
Shaffer joined the board in January 2023 with Catherine Panico and Elizabeth Nicoletti, who ran together largely based on their opposition to new state Board of Education Health and Physical Education standards. They were endorsed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
Shaffer was elected to a one-year unexpired term and was running for re-election to a full three-year term.
Niemiec, a real estate agent, joined Allegretto and Palaganas as new members of the board.
Updated unofficial numbers show Allegretto tallied the most votes with 2,081 and Palaganas was second with 1,781. Niemiec collected 1,492 and Shaffer 1,449. The board expects to post official results Nov. 23 after the Board of Canvassers meets to certify the election.
Niemiec spent 10 years working for a corporate branding company in signage, graphics and marketing and now works for Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from LaSalle University and a master’s degree from Holy Family University.
An Ocean City High School Class of 1989 graduate, Allegretto earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of New Jersey in 1993. He worked as director of Community Services for the city from 2015-20 and now serves as aide to the mayor. In addition, he is a real estate agent who was office manager for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors from 2009-15. He also works for Hager Real Estate.
Allegretto was a member of the Board of Education from 1999 to 2006, serving as president in 2004-05. He then was on City Council from 2006-15, serving as president from 2010-13.
Palaganas, who recently retired after 10 years as president of the Ocean City Parent Teacher Association, has been a regional inside sales manager for a point-of-sale computer company, Advanced Hospitality Systems in Voorhees, for almost 18 years. She also is a boardwalk business owner.
The Holy Spirit High School graduate grew up in southern New Jersey and moved to Ocean City 14 years ago. She earned a business degree from Rutgers University. She is the mother of an Ocean City High School graduate and a current student.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff