Editor’s note: There are four candidates seeking two seats on the Cape May County Board of Commissioners in the Nov. 8 election. Democrat Dr. Julia Hankerson is challenging Republican incumbent E. Marie Hayes and Republican Andrew Bulakowski.
Hayes is running for re-election. The other seat is held by Commission Director Gerald Thornton, who is retiring at the end of December and not seeking re-election.
A fourth candidate is independent William Laffey IV of Wildwood, who could not be reached for an interview. Following are profilfes of the other three candidates.
Democratic challenger Hankerson: County has issues that need to be resolved
CAPE MAY — Dr. Julia Hankerson believes her voice will bring diversity to the Cape May County Board of Commissioners and help resolve longstanding issues facing the county.
Hankerson, a Democrat and fourth-generation resident of Woodbine, is one of four candidates seeking two three-year terms on the commission in the Nov. 8 election.
A social worker for 35 years, she has owned and operated the Woodbine Wellness Center, been president of the Greater Woodbine Chamber of Commerce and was vice president of the board of directors of Cape Counseling (now Acenda).
“We have issues that need to be resolved,” she said.
With millions of dollars in construction contracts for projects in the county, she said all the money was sourced out to contractors from outside the area.
“Either we have contractors here in Cape May County that can do that or we should get involved with the chamber of commerces, the business associations, so we can get smaller contractors to begin to change their business practices so they can be eligible … We want to keep our money in this county with our own businesses.”
She cited a “major homelessness issue” that has not been addressed in a decade and is getting worse.
“Add that to having difficulty with affordable housing and that affects our employee situation in our county because young people can’t afford to move into the county. Then we have a deficiency of employees,” she said.
Hankerson said she does not believe local leaders were involved enough when the maternity ward closed at Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House.
“We should have county leaders who are involved and making provisions to make sure we maintain our services here,” she said. “We want to be able to provide services to people in our county and we need leaders who care about our people and who will make provisions to provide services in our county and resolve issues that we have in our county. I don’t see that happening.”
Hankerson said she has been an administrator for years and worked with Gov. Thomas Kean in the 1980s doing budgeting and strategic planning.
“I am a social worker for 35 years, so I just think we could do better,” she said.
Asked about the value of having her voice on the commission, Hankerson said it is essential.
“If we have all one party, there is only going to be one voice. We need diversity. We have all one party, all one race. We need diversity so we have some folks who have differing opinions, differing strategies. We need leaders who represent the people in our county. We don’t have one race, one party in our county. We have diversity,” she said.
She said she could “absolutely” work with the Republican-dominated commission. (All five members are Republican currently.)
“I think that everybody wants to make things better. I’m all about making things better. I have the background as a leader to initiate things, perhaps examine things more closely and bring new ideas to the board and get the public more involved so the public can hear new ideas from new people,” she said. “I’m not sure why Republicans haven’t been addressing these issues, but perhaps if they have someone who has a different voice and has new ideas and can develop initiatives and do some planning, they might jump on board and might want to resolve some issues.”
Hankerson said she has lived in Cape May County almost her entire life and comes from a long line of leaders.
“I have a full background of leadership,” she said. “I’m educated and a proven leader so I think I can only benefit the people here in Cape May County, and we need to resolve the issues we have here in Cape May County.”
She has a bachelor of arts degree from Lincoln University, a master’s of social work from Rutgers University and a doctorate from James and Jesse College of Theology. She has been a professor at Atlantic Cape Community College and Simmons University in Boston, Mass. Hankerson attended Millville High School, where she excelled in basketball and was the first Black female to be inducted into the Millville Thunderbolt Hall of Fame.
Republican incumbent Hayes: We have a lot of good projects going on
OCEAN CITY — E. Marie Hayes is running for re-election to the Cape May County Board of Commissioners because she wants to continue the progress that has been made.
“I think that I have done a great job during the time I have been a county commissioner. I am absolutely honored I am able to stand as your county commissioner,” she said. “We have a lot of good projects going on in the county and I want to see the success of the county go forward, and I believe I have been a part of that.”
Hayes was appointed to the board in 2013 to fill an unexpired term and then was elected and re-elected in 2013, 2016 and 2019. She is the only incumbent among the four candidates running for the two three-year terms up in the Nov. 8 election. Current Commission Director Gerald Thornton is retiring at the end of December.
Hayes, an Ocean City resident, began as an investigator with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office in the late 1970s, assigned mostly to child abuse and sexual investigations, rising through the ranks and retiring in 2009 as captain of detectives.
Asked about her accomplishments during her time on the Board of Commissioners (formerly freeholders), Hayes talked about the accolades the county park and zoo system has received.
She said the facility has been ranked No. 5 in the country by Trip Advisor and No. 13 in the world. Hayes is the director of transportation in the county and oversees the park and zoo, Fare Free Transportation, Board of Elections, Library, Surrogate and Tax Board.
“We have been able to maintain that while keeping a free park and zoo. We are embarking on a master plan that is going to address the other areas of the park throughout the county. We have a lot of big improvements coming there,” she said.
Hayes said one of her strengths is bringing a bunch of people together to work on projects and get them done.
“One of the things I am extremely proud of is approximately three years ago we embarked on saving the Franklin Street School, which was the last school built in the county that was a segregated school. We know, thank God, (segregation) was stopped during the 1950s,” she said. “However, that school has been sitting there in disrepair. So, what we did is brought a lot of good people to the table, we put our heads together. We applied for grants.
“The project is going to be funded by state and federal grants over 50 percent and it’s going to become the Cape May branch of the county library. It also will be a community center and a museum and that school is located right in the hub of Cape May where African-American history is being put forth. I’m extremely proud of that,” Hayes said.
If re-elected, she said one focus “is absolutely going to be to try to improve the transportation we have down here in the southern part of New Jersey. I want everybody to know Cape May County developed the first fare-free transportation in the whole state,” she said.
Hayes wants to work with the state and federal governments to enlarge and expand the system.
“One of the other things I certainly want to address is, what is going on with the disrespect of the police? That has to stop. That is my background. They’re my brothers and sisters out there. I would like to work much more on that to make sure we get to a point where police can do their jobs and be respected again,” she said.
Hayes earned an associate degree from Atlantic Cape Community College, where she later was an adjunct professor teaching criminal investigation. She has a bachelor’s degree in human services with a concentration in criminal justice from Thomas Edison State College and is a 1996 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.
She received the Woman of Wonder award in 2016 and the Boy Scouts of America Woman of Achievement Award in 2018. Among her other accolades, Hayes was named Commissioner of the Year in 2021 by the New Jersey Association of County Commissioners.
Republican challenger Bulakowksi: Maintain progress, momentum in county
OCEAN CITY — Andrew Bulakowski hasn’t held elected office but has helped other Republican candidates get elected. He is now seeking one of the two seats open on the Cape May County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 8.
“I have been working with the Republican Party for over 14 years, getting great people elected in the county. I love Cape May County,” he said. “Ever since I was a little boy, I always wanted to live here. The county is a special place.”
He said the timing was right when Commission Director Gerald Thornton decided to retire at the end of December rather than run for re-election after serving so many years in office.
“I think the county commissioners have done an outstanding job in making this a great place to live and I want to continue to keep that momentum moving forward,” Bulakowski said. “Obviously nowhere is ever perfect, but this is a special place near and dear to my heart and I am a blue-collar, working guy and I want to make sure that not only does this county stay safe, but the taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. There is no better way do that than to run for office and make sure that continues.”
Bulakowski is a senior representative on the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and has lived in Lower Township full time since 2001. He also served on the county Planning Board and Review Board, is vice chairman of the Lower Township Planning Board and Cape May County representative with the New Jersey Planning Board Officials’ Executive Board.
He also has volunteered on boards supporting the military, pediatric cancer research and Special Olympics.
Asked what he wants to accomplish, Bulakowski said that is continuing the work the commissioners have been doing.
“The commissioners, I think, have done a wonderful job in this county. It’s about working families, it’s about creating good-paying jobs. And the commissioners have done that in a grand scale of things with the opportunities they have created and it’s about moving that agenda forward,” he said.
“It’s responsible building, creating good-paying jobs so people can afford to live in Cape May County and it’s about keeping families and children safe, making sure they have all the essential services that they need.”
Asked why he would make a good member of the commission, Bulakowski said he has proved in the past “that serving the public is its own best reward.
“I mentioned about helping get great people elected in Cape May County. I have also done numerous projects for veterans, for children’s pediatric cancer, and I believe that the proof is in the pudding because of my public service, because of what I was able to accomplish in bringing people together and getting these projects done, not only in the county but for our military across the southern New Jersey area,” he said.
“We need to respect our veterans, we need to provide all of the essential services to them. And if I am fortunate enough to get elected, we serve all the people of Cape May County. And it’s about bringing people together, it’s about keeping this a great place to live, keeping the essential services that people need, making sure that they have great-paying jobs so they can enjoy the beauty and splendor of this county and I stand for loyalty, integrity and accountability,” he said.
“I think we have that in the commission and I would be a great addition to that.”
Bulakowski holds a 100-ton master captain’s license and has done coursework in labor law, construction psychology and estimating at Rutgers University and Gloucester Community College, respectively.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff