DePamphilis, Haberkorn win City Council seats
SOMERS POINT — Dennis Tapp, a former city councilman and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351 for 37 years, has been elected as the city’s next mayor.
According to election day reporting, Tapp collected 1,545 votes to 915 for U.S. Air Force veteran and nurse Morgan Slaughter. Some votes, such as provisional ballots and mail-in ballots postmarked before election day but not received, remain outstanding but it’s unlikely to change the outcome.
Tapp will replace longtime mayor Jack Glasser, who decided not to seek another term. Glasser, who was a police office in Northfield, is serving his fourth consecutive term as mayor. He won an unexpired term on City Council in 2006. The next year he ran for mayor to replace Dan Reilly, who was stepping down. He won his second term as mayor in 2011 with 75 percent of the vote and his third term in 2015. He ran unopposed in 2019.
Tapp, 62, moved to Somers Point in 1985. He and his wife, Cheryl, have three children and five grandchildren. All three of their children were raised in Somers Point and graduated from Mainland Regional High School.
He was first elected to City Council in 2003 to an unexpired term but lost a narrow race to John DiMaria in 2005. He ran again and won in 2010, then was re-elected in 2013 and 2016. Tapp then chose not to seek another term in 2019.
In addition to his time on City Council, Tapp has been involved in the community, including many youth activities. He was a coach of street hockey, baseball and basketball while serving in leadership roles as president of the street hockey and basketball organizations. He is a current trustee of the Somers Point Historical Society.
According to his campaign, Tapp spearheaded efforts to build a second street hockey rink, a modern snack stand with a restroom at the girls softball field and rebuild the Gateway Theater. Tapp was named the Somers Point Recreation Volunteer of the Year in 1998.
Ward I
Incumbent Richard DePamphilis III won re-election to the Ward I seat on City Council, collecting 746 votes to 516 for challenger AnnMarie Gibbs.
DePamphilis, a longtime former mayor of Linwood, was appointed in February 2022 to fill the seat left vacant when former councilwoman Stacy Ferreri resigned the previous month, one year into her term.
The 74-year-old and his wife of 51 years, Sally, have four children and nine 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 HarborTownship.
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.
Ward II
Newcomer Charlie Haberkorn defeated incumbent Karen Bruno for the Ward II seat, garnering 596 votes to 530.
Haberkorn, 65, is co-chairman of the city’s Economic Development Advisory Commission and serves on the Somers Point Board of Education, as well as a member of Lawson’s Pride, a local group that support the U.S. Coast Guard.
He has been married for 42 years and has two children and five grandchildren.
The graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland has more than 40 years of experience in the food manufacturing industry, where he learned management and leadership skills. He now is owner of Somers Bay Consulting Services.
Haberkorn said he is skilled in budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning and continuous improvement, “all skills required to make decisions for the short-term and long-term success of Somers Point.”
School board races
Incumbent John Shields ran unopposed for his seat representing Somers Point on the Mainland Regional High School Board of Education.
Two incumbents and a newcomer won seats on the Somers Point school board. Police officer Nick Wagner collected 1,676 votes, physical therapist Kathleen Dolton 1,643 and newcomer Judson Moore 1,561.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff