Sea Isle Council candidates make it official

Incumbent Sea Isle City Council members J.B. Feeley and Mary Tighe, alongside new candidate Mike Jargowsky, officially filed their petitions to run Thursday morning. 

“It’s raining this morning, but it's a beautiful day for Sea Isle City,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said to a room full of supporters while introducing the candidates. “We are very, very proud to be here today to support this team as they go for re-election and election.” 

They currently are running unopposed in the nonpartisan election, but potential candidates have until Feb. 27 to submit their petitions.

To qualify, each candidate needs to collect 25 voter signatures and submit their petitions to City Hall. 

Family, friends and several local figures, including Council President Bill Kehner, Councilman Jack Gibson and former mayor Mike McHale, were there to support the candidates. 

Each candidate addressed the crowd to officially launch their campaigns as their supporters applauded.  

“We're really honored to be working together, and we want to continue good governance moving forward.” Tighe said.

    Mike Jargowsky, left, talks to supporters after officially launching his first political campaign.
  

During his speech, Jargowsky said he believes that his previous roles as Sea Isle police captain and the city’s emergency management coordinator have prepared him for this position, and serving on City Council makes sense to be his next step in life.  

Jargowsky is running to fill Jack Gibson’s position, following his decision not to run for re-election this year. Jargowsky has been endorsed by Gibson, along with both Tighe and Feeley.  

“We're going to miss Jack Gibson on council, but we're lucky to get a man of Mike Jargowsky’s caliber to hopefully take his place,” Feeley said. 

Jargowsky said he’s appreciative of the extensive support he’s received so far and is excited for the future.  

“I’m appreciative of all the people supporting me, it's really nice to hear the enthusiasm I’ve gotten from a lot of people,” Jargowsky said. “I’m really proud to be running, and I hope I have the honor of being elected to serve the people of Sea Isle.” 

    Mary Tighe and J.B. Feeley both are seeking re-election.
  

Supporters smiled and applauded as the petitions were turned in shortly after 9 a.m., marking the official launch of the three candidates’ campaigns.  

“Our banner is ‘committed to community, dedicated to progress,’ ” Feeley said. “That’s what we’ve done before, and that's what we will continue to do.” 

Sea Isle City residents should expect more information about the future of the election in their mail in the next few days, Feeley said.