SOMERS POINT — It’s a battle of military veterans in Somers Point’s Ward II race for City Council, with Councilman Howard Dill and Morgan Slaughter set to face off on Nov. 5.
Howard Dill
Dill, who won his only contested race for City Council in 2009, topping Democratic incumbent Bobby Donnell, has run unopposed in four elections since — 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021.
Dill served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1969-75, attaining the rank of drill sergeant/staff sergeant E-6.
Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, he moved to Somers Point at age 17 out of high school and later earned certification as a public works manager.
A retired director of the Ocean City Public Works Department who worked for Somers Point for 22 years, Dill and his wife of 52 years have three children and six grandchildren. His two sons are city police officers.
After his retirement, Dill worked for more than three years as the temporary business administrator for Edison Township in Middlesex County.
Dill, a member of the Planning Board since 2009, previously served on the Board of Education, with stints as president and vice president. He has been a volunteer firefighter, county solid waster adviser and member of the city’s Veterans Advisory Board.
He also served on the Good Old Days Festival Committee for more than 40 years and as a Little League coach for more than 20 years.
Dill, who puts his faith in “God and country,” said he continues running because of his love for the community and its citizens.
“After 15 years in office, I want to continue to improve and expand the city services with redevelopment and public safety,” he said, noting he developed leadership skills while serving on council and during his career in government.
Dill said the top issues the community is facing today and in the future are redevelopment, obtaining and retaining quality staff both in administration and public works/public safety, and evaluating public properties for both immediate and long-term needs.
To address these issues, Dill recommends remaining proactive on attracting quality projects that fit into the master plan and being competitive in both salary and working conditions while continuing to protect the tax base.
Dill said a council committee recently formed to conduct studies of the city’s needs and limiting the effect on debt service.
He said as a member of the city Steering Committee, he has assisted in obtaining $4.8 million in grants and developed a 15-year paving and drainage program averaging $1.2 million per year without increasing debt service.
Dill said he supported transformation of The Pit to include a new hockey court and expansion of the parking area while moving the tennis courts to Wayne and Defeo lanes.
He also worked to develop a 10-year plan to overhaul the city’s sewer infrastructure including upgrades to the pumping station.
Morgan Slaughter
The critical care nurse is a rated combat veteran of the U.S. Air Force who served multiple tours in the Middle East.
The 43-year-old mother of a teenager is a lifelong resident of the city, where her parents are longtime residents as well. Her stepfather, John DiMaria, served as mayor for four years and on City Council.
Slaughter attended Northwest Florida State College, where she earned an associate degree while actively serving in the U.S. Air Force. She served five tours overseas as an aerial gunner in a special operations squadron in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
After leaving the USAF, she earned a nursing degree from Atlantic Cape Community College. She spent two years in the emergency room at Cape Regional Medical Center and more than 10 years with AtlantiCare, where she was on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Slaughter currently serves as the nurse case manager of the intensive cardiac rehabilitation program.
In addition, she is a living kidney donor as of May 10, 2023.
Slaughter ran for mayor last year, losing to Dennis Tapp 1,545 votes to 915 in her first foray into politics.
She said she is running for City Council because she has “witnessed Somers Point turn from a close-knit community into a second-home/vacation/Ocean City spillover town.”
“I want to work toward improving our community for our community and for those who have chosen to make Somers Point their permanent home,” Slaughter said. “I want to see young families be able to choose our city as their hometown, stay and raise their families here, be part of a growing city that puts its residents first, but I feel as though under current leadership our city is headed in the opposite direction.”
She also supports growth in family-owned businesses rather than corporate big box stores, saying small businesses are being driven out of town by rising taxes, fees and costs.
Slaughter believes she has the skills, such as patience, organization, attention to detail and goal achievement, to serve the community.
“My military service has taught me to serve for the greater good of others, live within the meaning of service before self,” she said. “I want to be part of a council that can put all personal and political beliefs to the side and work hand in hand to make decisions for our city that benefit our entire community and keep us growing in the right direction.”
Slaughter said the top issue the city is facing is taxes and that she wants to look closely at the budget and boost shared services.
“Why do they keep going up? And how are we as a community benefitting from these tax increases?” she said. “Why are we offering tax abatements on new construction of multimillion-dollar properties all while the taxes of our residents continue to rise, yet our schools remain underfunded? Why has our city become a population that is such a high percentage second-home owners? Is this the direction the residents of our city feel we should be headed in?”
She said if things continue as they are, the city would be “a complete ghost town eight to nine months out of the year as no one will be able to afford to live here year round.”
Slaughter also thinks public safety is an area in need of improvements.
“Why do we have two fire stations that the city pays two operating budgets for, yet we can’t provide consistent in-town EMS/ambulance response? Our community needs a fresh outlook when it comes to public safety,” she said, noting abandoned or neglected properties are a breeding ground for safety hazards and environmental issues.
Other areas in which she would focus her attention if elected include traffic flow, how to make the city more walkable while keeping safety and full-time residents in mind and creating an environmentally friendly community.
“How do we grow as a community while still keeping that hometown feel that made so many of our residents choose to call Somers Point home in the first place?” she asked. “Put aside political affiliation — national politics have no room in local municipalities and how they are run. Let’s unify, let’s get rid of the vast political divide and move toward considering person, for a change, over party.”
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff