SOMERS POINT — History professor Levi Fox and school teacher Kim O’Brien are going head to head in the Democratic Primary on June 2 for a chance to face longtime councilman Rick DePamphilis for the Ward I seat on Somers Point City Council in November.
“Most years no one wants to run and now we are lucky enough to have multiple candidates to talk about ideas early rather than in the fall,” Fox said.
Fox, 45, is a professor and small-business owner who has been involved in community service in the city, having served for years on the Somers Point Historical Preservation Commission, Economic Development Advisory Commission, Somers Point Historical Museum, Atlantic County Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board and the Patriots for the Somers Mansion.
He twice ran for City Council, most recently losing to Ward I Councilman Sean McGuigan last fall.
At the time, Fox was still dealing with the eviction of his and multiple other families from the Highbank Apartments after the property was sold to a developer planning luxury waterfront townhomes at the site overlooking Great Egg Harbor Bay.
His platform was making Somers Point genuinely affordable, following a struggle of many of those displaced to find suitable housing they could afford.
“The cost of living in shore towns has spiked in recent years,” he said, noting City Council does not have much power in affecting that but there are “some things they can do.”
His mission is to “create a brighter future for all of our residents through effective leadership and civic engagement,” according to his website, leviforcouncil.org.
Fox suggested several ways to ease the financial burden on local residents, such as requesting a locals discount at area grocery stores and a new tax on non-resident owners of second homes.
“If you own two homes, you can afford higher taxes,” the site states.
Other ideas include implementing a rent freeze and building community gardens by partnering with local non-profit agencies.
In 2020, Fox ran for the at-large seat, narrowly losing to Republican Joseph McCarrie, 2,739 to 2,693. Last year, McCarrie resigned from his seat early, allowing City Council to appoint replacement Kirk Gerety.
Fox and his wife, Sabrina, have been married five years and he is just finishing his fourth year as an associate professor of history in the Civic Engagement and Leadership Department at Immaculata University.
He is one of the founders of Patriots for Somers Mansion and has been operating Jersey Shore Tours for 10 years.
Fox has strong connections to Somers Point, having grown up on Delaware Avenue. His mother, Mary Fondi, was a kindergarten teacher in town and his stepfather, Gregg Clayton, served on City Council.
Fox is a regular at City Council meetings, often commenting on various subjects.
“I’m always there to keep an eye and have a dissenting voice when other citizens are being ignored,” he said.
Fox said he is pleased the party has a voice in Councilwoman Morgan Slaughter, who defeated incumbent Mike Owen last fall to become the lone Democrat on the seven-member board.
“The more support we can get for her means more balance,” he said.
O’Brien, 53, who is president of the Somers Point Democratic Club, also has experience running for office, having unsuccessfully challenged for a seat on the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners in 2023 and 2024.
She is a longtime educator and community service volunteer.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University Teachers College, O’Brien speaks English, Spanish and Russian. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Russia teaching English. She also facilitated teacher training workshops and planned cross-cultural activities to bridge the divide between the two countries.
After returning, she taught in the New York City School District for two years before joining the Absecon School District in 2000.
Since 2007, O’Brien has worked in the Somers Point School District teaching Spanish and ESL.
She now is co-president of the Somers Point Education Association after spending 15 years as the public relations chair, through which she ensured funding for special events such as the recent STEAM Night, spelling bees, multicultural nights and a lot of other activities for the school.
She was a Girl Scout leader for five years for both of her daughters’ troops and has been the school district’s pride chair for 11 years, overseeing $15,000 each year in school grants from the NJEA.
As Green Team Leader for the district, the Dawes Avenue and New York Avenue schools became certified as a Sustainable New Jersey School.
In her spare time, O’Brien is a member of the Somers Point Green Team and volunteers her time for many community events.
“I just have a love and connection to the community and want to see positive change on a bigger scale, help Somers Point be the best town we can be,” O’Brien said.
The wife and mother of two daughters said she has an established relationship with the city’s Republican Club. She and Mayor Dennis Tapp testified before a bipartisan committee about keeping the city in Legislative District 2.
“It was a win where we worked together and the committee commended us for it,” she said.
That relationship would be key if she were elected.
“They know they have someone they can work with, but when they put a convicted felon on City Council, I said they had poor judgment and should resign,” O’Brien said. “I will work with them but will call them out if something’s not right.”
She was referring to Ken Adams. In 2022, City Council unanimously appointed the former police officer to fill a vacancy. However, Adams was forced to resign less than 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.
O’Brien said she is “willing to do the work to get elected,” having set up social media and sought financial support to create fliers to hand out while canvassing the ward.
The incumbent, DePamphilis, is a longtime former mayor of Linwood who was appointed in February 2022 to fill the seat left vacant by Adams.
He confirmed last week that he was running.
“One last hurrah,” he texted.
He and his wife, Sally, have four children and numerous grandchildren.
DePamphilis earned a bachelor’s degree in historical studies and a teaching certificate from Stockton University. He now works for Thomas United Inc., a food service company in Egg Harbor Township.
DePamphilis was a police officer and beach patrol chief in Longport as well as a security shift manager at Caesars Atlantic City. He was mayor of Linwood for 18 years, during which time he served on the Planning Board and Board of School Estimate.
He also was a coach and president of several youth sports associations, including three seasons as coach of Somers Point Sharks pee wee football team.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
