UPPER TOWNSHIP — Three new members will join the Upper Township Board of Education in January following their victory in the election Nov. 5.
Donald J. Polo, Andrew Shawl and Thomas Tyrrell, who ran as a ticket under the slogan “All About Kids,” garnered the most votes in the race that featured five candidates seeking three seats Nov. 5.
Tyrrell collected the most votes, 3,920, or 25.5 percent, followed by Shawl with 3,568, or 23.2 percent, and Polo with 3,535, or 23 percent.
Incumbent Brian Teeney, an officer with the Ocean City Police Department Traffic Safety Unit, was fourth with 2,147 votes, or 13.97 percent, and Earl “Bud” Smith received 2,093, or 13.62 percent.
The other two seats were vacant because longtime members Fran Newman and William Holmes decided not to seek another term.
Shawl is a state-licensed engineer and planner who worked for Atlantic City Electric at the defunct B.L. England Generating Station, as well as a business owner. He served on the township’s Economic Development Committee and Bike Path Advisory Board and is a volunteer and past president with Habitat for Humanity.
Tyrrell is a real estate agent with Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty in Ocean City. The 39-year-old is a product of township schools and graduate of Ocean City High School. He was on the track and field team, competing in pole vault, for OCHS, Rider University and TCNJ. He currently volunteers with the Red Raiders pole vaulters.
Polo, 47, who has been a math teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School for 22 years, earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mathematics from Rowan University. He is a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors in Ocean City.
Township Committee
Zachary Palombo and Samuel Palombo each easily won a seat on Upper Township Committee. The cousins were running as a ticket against a solo opponent, former committeeman Anthony Inserra.
Samuel Palombo received the most votes, with 5,435, or 45.19 percent, while Zachary Palombo collected 5,268, or 43.8 percent. Inserra was a distant third with 1,179 votes, or 9.8 percent.
The Palombos defeated Mayor Jay Newman and Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes in the primary and were running in their first general election.
Zach Palombo, superintendent of the Cape May City School District, is the son and Sam Palombo, a pharmaceutical sales representative, the nephew of former longtime mayor Rich Palombo. Their grandfather, Aldo Palombo, was mayor from 1994 to 2005 in North Wildwood, where he operated Palombo’s Pharmacy.
Zach Palombo is an educational administration professional and former classroom teacher who now serves as superintendent of Cape May City and West Cape May school districts.
The 43-year-old and his wife, Lori, are parents to three children: Lucia, Rocco and Livia.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from The College of New Jersey in 2003, with teacher certifications in elementary and secondary history and special education.
Palombo later earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from University of South Dakota in 2008 and an educational specialist degree in curriculum and instruction – focus on instructional technology in 2015. He currently is a doctoral student at the University of Idaho in educational leadership.
He also served 20 years on the North Wildwood Beach Patrol, retiring in 2017 as lieutenant.
Sam Palombo, 27, is a husband and father who grew up in the township, where he played soccer, basketball and baseball while attending local schools.
He joined the Upper Township Beach Patrol in 2012. The 2014 Ocean City High School graduate participated in travel and recreational clubs and sports such as soccer, French club and Class Council. He was a member of the French Immersion Program at Upper Township Primary School and remains fluent in the language to this day.
After graduating from OCHS, he attended the University of the Sciences seeking a degree in pharmacy. He then transferred to Stockton University, “knowing that my skill set and interests would be better suited in the field of business.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management.
with a minor in French. He took a job after graduation in outside sales for a national construction supply company.
Through his work, he attended many leadership conferences that provided specific training for both how to lead in the field of sales and in personal life.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff