Republican ticket does not show, holds own campaign event in Seaville
MARMORA — Improving the business climate through upgrading the town centers, advocating for expansion of Exit 20 and beautifying entrances to the township was part of the vision of some candidates running for Upper Township Committee. Others didn’t bother to show.
Six of the nine candidates shared their goals for the future during a public forum Thursday, Sept. 30, hosted by the Upper Township Business Association.
Lenora Boninfante-Kodytek and Shawna Mulford, of Team Purple, and Christina “Cricket” Denton — running as Democrats — and Jack Griffin, Andy Shawl and Tony Inserra, calling themselves “independent Republicans,” all attended the event.
Three seats are up on the five-member, currently all-Republican Township Committee: two three-year terms and one one-year unexpired term. Griffin and Mulford are seeking the one-year term.
Longtime Mayor Rich Palombo and Deputy Mayor Ed Barr decided not to seek re-election, leaving their seats open. The other seat is held by Kim Hayes, who is seeking election to a full term after being appointed in 2020 to replace former Committeeman Hobie Young, who stepped down mid-term.
Joining Hayes on the Republican ticket are Jay Newman, a former committeeman and current chief of the Marmora Volunteer Fire Company, and Mark Pancoast, a sergeant with the Ocean City Police Department who is running for the year remaining on Young’s term.
Hayes, Newman and Pancoast chose not to attend the public forum, instead holding their own event at the Seaville Fire Hall. The following day, instead of posting a message about any issue pertinent to the township, the Hayes, Newman, Pancoast for Upper Township Committee Facebook page contained a false, negative account of the UTBA forum. (See editorial)
The six candidates gathered outside at Yesterday’s Bar in Marmora, where they mingled with guests before taking their seats in front of the audience.
Blanche Adams of the UTBA moderated, saying the format was established by the League of Women Voters. Each candidate got 2 minutes to introduce themselves then took turns answering questions. The candidate got 1 minute to answer and all others got 30 seconds to respond.
Some questions were created by the UTBA and others submitted by those attending the event, which Adams called “an informal mixer, not a formal debate,” noting they wanted it to be outside because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Starting in alphabetical order, Boninfante-Kodytek introduced herself first, saying she and Mulford have stressed the importance of transparency and a more inclusive township government that values active participation from the members of the community.
“So participating in events such as this one says a lot, by not participating tells us more,” she said.
Boninfante-Kodytek has lived in Cape May County for 39 years, 25 of which spent in Upper Township. She and her husband, Jeff, have two grown daughters.
Boninfante-Kodytek has a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public administration. She worked in the public sector for 21 years and the private sector for 20 years. She also has been active in giving back to the community, serving for 26 years on the Cape May County Special Services School Board, eight years as president during which she was responsible for a budget of more than $11 million.
“I believe my experience, including 14 years as communications director, will be an asset to Township Committee,” Boninfante-Kodytek said. “I understand how government works. I am familiar with the agencies, organizations and departments that can be instrumental in the success of the municipality as we move forward.”
Denton, a mother of two girls who holds two master’s degrees — one in counseling and one in divinity — said if she has learned anything from her education it’s how to listen to people.
Denton is pastor and head of outreach at Seaville United Methodist Church, where she leads a children’s drama ministry. She also is the Early Response Team Coordinator for the state of New Jersey and takes part in the New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“I was born and raised in Upper Township and it is very near and dear to my heart,” she said. “I want to make a difference. I want to see change and I was tired of just talking about it, so I wanted to do something about it. The fact that we have nine people running for Township Committee tells you something. It tells you that people want change.”
Griffin, co-owner of Dompierre LLC, an interior design firm on Roosevelt Boulevard in Marmora, has been a member of the UTBA, a member and past president of its board and “part of the community for more than 25 years.” He’s a former teacher at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood.
Griffin, who is a vocal advocate of beautifying the township’s entrances, called his business “a good example of how one of the entrances to the township can be improved with just a little landscaping.”
He called his slate “a team of guys that are very different but that comes together and gets things done,” noting the team’s qualifications from past experience on Township Committee (Inserra, 2012), the Planning Board (Griffin) and Zoning Board (Shawl).
“Qualifications and what you have done in the community matter, such as serving on the Planning Board, Zoning Board and on Township Committee, and should factor into your decision,” he said.
Inserra spoke very little, saying he has been a business owner for 50 years and was often the lone dissenting voice when he served on Township Committee. He said if the team were elected, it would be able to accomplish things.
Mulford is a mother of three, school psychologist and owner of a business that organizes community events. She called the event “a great opportunity to speak to everyone and have a fair forum.”
“Taking the time to talk to the residents, to face these questions, to not be afraid to face some of these questions, to not be afraid to face these residents, the stakeholders in our community, says a lot about everyone here,” Mulford said. “In this race, I looked at one of the mailers from the Republican ticket that said that ‘where the township gathers, we’ll be there.’ Not so much, obviously.”
“I’m a part of the Purple Team because I believe the red and the blue can come together and make Upper Township not just a better place to live but one of the best places in New Jersey to live,” Mulford said.
Shawl noted his deep roots in the community, saying his parents moved to Upper Township in 1973 and his mother still lives in the house they built. He and his wife live in Marmora and have a daughter who attends township schools.
Shawl is a state-licensed engineer and planner who worked for Atlantic City Electric at the defunct B.L. England Generating Station, as well as a business owner. He served on the township’s Economic Development Committee and Bike Path Advisory Board and is a volunteer and past president with Habitat for Humanity.
“I’m glad that you’re all here tonight to hear what we have to say,” Shawl said. “We have a strong team of very different people who can work together to solve issues facing the township.”
Editor’s note: Candidate Cricket Denton’s sister is married to the writer’s brother.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff