SOMERS POINT — City Council will choose between two candidates to fill the at-large seat recently vacated by Joe McCarrie.
The one-term councilman had sold his home on Broadway in May and submitted his letter of resignation Aug. 12.
The at-large seat, a four-year term, expires at the end of the year and the election is scheduled for Nov. 5, but McCarrie has reportedly been suffering ill health and decided to resign two and a half months before the vote and four and a half months before the end of his term.
McCarrie did not respond to multiple attempts to reach him following his resignation. Likewise, Jack Shields, head of the Somers Point Republican Club, ignored attempts to reach him for comment on this story.
Longtime Councilman Sean McGuigan took time out from helping to plan the annual Good Old Days Festival to tell The Sentinel who is vying for the position.
The club chose three candidates and submitted their names to City Council, which is set to vote on the issue during its meeting Sept. 12. It starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
They are former councilman Kirk Gerety and Economic Development Advisory Commission Vice Chairman Rob Hopkins. The winner will take the seat immediately and serve only until Dec. 31 unless he runs and wins the election in November. Whoever it is would be the incumbent based on being appointed and serving for less than two months.
However, since McCarrie resigned after the deadline to submit petitions for the election, only Gerety and Democratic challenger Ann Marie Gibbs would be able to win the four-year term barring a successful write-in campaign.
Hopkins, 40, also is founder and organizer of the Somers Point Farmers Market, which is held Saturdays throughout summer on the grounds of Somers Mansion. He and his wife, Desiree, operate Local Farm Stand at the market, selling a cornucopia of fresh vegetables from a farm in Hammonton. They grew up in Waterford Township and have known each other since childhood.
Hopkins said he and the EDAC are currently working with Triad Associates to create the economic development portion for the Master Plan re-examination, “highlighting areas that we need to develop.”
“What we really would like to see is a hotel,” Hopkins said, stating it would help to revitalize Bay Avenue and the bayfront district.
He said the city has been approved for dredging Great Egg Harbor Bay, another facet that would boost business. The area around the city’s municipal dock is clogged with mud, causing boats as small as 17-footers to get stuck mid-tide, he said.
“Businesses that want to operate at the beach, rent paddleboards and kayaks, just can’t because at low tide you’re in muck,” he said.
In addition to his volunteer work, Hopkins, his wife and son Cash started the Wyatt Strong Foundation following their son’s death Halloween night 2017 of myocarditis.
The 4-year-old had been out trick or treating just a few hours before he died, according to his mother. Later that night she found him unresponsive; paramedics were unable to revive him just a few days before his fifth birthday.
They now work to keep their son’s memory alive through fundraising events held throughout the year. They also sell bracelets, stickers and clothing featuring the Wyatt Strong Foundation logo to raise money for the toy drive.
Hopkins said even though it would be only a short time, he would like to be appointed for the experience.
“Where there’s the opportunity to do something, I am going to do it, not just show up once or twice a month for four months,” he said, noting he would take over committee seats for McCarrie.
Knowing McCarrie was not going to seek re-election, the Republican Club had backed Gerety, 68, for the at-large position.
Gerety is president of the Somers Point Historical Society, was a trustee for the Atlantic County Historical Society and has done a lot of other volunteering.
He first served on City Council when he was appointed in 1995 to the at-large seat. Gerety then ran successfully to serve the one-year remainder of the term.
Gerety won re-election in 2000 and 2004 before resigning his seat at the end of 2005. He then won in 2014 to return to council.
Gerety is a retired cement mason who was a member of the Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 2. He was president and business manager from 2010 to 2014, serving in the union for 45 years.
Among Gerety’s accomplishments, he said previously that he is particularly proud of his effort to save the former City Hall, which is now a state-of-the-art library on Shore Road.
Other accomplishments include working to get a bicycle/pedestrian lane added to the plans for the Route 52 causeway into Ocean City.
“We talked about having a dedicated bike lane, talked about boat ramps and fishing piers — back when the government was spending money. I was glad to see they carried it over to the Garden State Parkway bridge,” Gerety said. “It has turned into a mini destination, which is good for economic development. That was a great accomplishment; I never envisioned that it would be that cool.”
Gerety said he has a “lifetime commitment to Somers Point,” noting he spends 99 percent of his time in the city.
“My dedication to the town is always going to be steadfast whether I am on council or not,” he said.
Hopkins was one of three candidates who submitted their names for consideration when City Council replaced Ken Adams in 2022.
The seat was open due to two recent resignations. Former Councilwoman Stacy Ferreri resigned in January, one year into her term. City Council then unanimously appointed Adams to take her place. However, Adams was forced to resign a week later because it was revealed that his felony conviction in 2004 for theft and misconduct while chief of the Northfield Police Department barred him from serving. Council ultimately went with Rich DePamphilis.
Pat Pierson, who was owner of Bayshores II, a breakfast place at Bay and Delaware avenues, was the third name submitted by the Republican Club but she chose to withdraw her name.
“I just wanted to leave it between two viable candidates and see who they choose,” she said.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff