By DONALD WITTKOWSKI and MADDY VITALE
Bob Barr, an Ocean City councilman, likes to tout his local roots of being born and raised in Cape May County.
Now, he will have the honor of representing the entire county in his new role as the newest member of the Cape May County Board of Commissioners.
Barr, 41, was appointed to the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night to fill the unexpired term of E. Marie Hayes. The vacancy opened up when Hayes resigned from the board to become the new county surrogate.
Barr has been serving as Ocean City’s Fourth Ward councilman since 2016, but resigned effective immediately to join the Board of Commissioners.
His appointment was formalized during a meeting of the Cape May County Republican Committee Wednesday night. Barr faced one challenger, Michael Palombo, of Upper Township, but easily won the support of the committee by a vote of 108 to 22.
Asked if it was difficult to resign from the Council position he held for seven years, he said, “It is always difficult to leave something you love. I love the Fourth Ward. I always will. Those are the folks who gave me my first opportunity at elected office. Now I will represent them and the entire county.”
He was joined at his swearing-in ceremony at the Cape May County Technical School by family and friends, including his girlfriend, Michelle Eggleston, his brother, Zack Barr, Congressman Jeff Van Drew and members of the Board of Commissioners.
Barr formally resigned from Ocean City’s Council in a letter Wednesday to Mayor Jay Gillian, Council President Pete Madden, City Business Administrator George Savastano and City Clerk Melissa Rasner.
“Serving the citizens of the City of Ocean City has been an honor of a lifetime, as has working with you and my other fellow colleagues. I look forward to continuing this work in my new role as a Commissioner for the County of Cape May,” he wrote in the letter.
Now it will be up to City Council to appoint a new member to fill Barr’s unexpired term on the governing body. His term in the Fourth Ward will end in 2024. The Fourth Ward encompasses the south side of 26th Street to 59th Street, including the Ocean Reef condominium complex.
Barr is a close friend and protege of Van Drew, whose political base is in Cape May County. He works for Van Drew as a legislative aide.
As a next step, Barr will run in the November election while seeking to fill the remaining two years of Hayes’ unexpired term.
“I learned there would be a vacancy and I immediately spoke to (Republican County Chairman) Mike Donohue. I made 330 phone calls to the county folks. It came together very quickly,” Barr said.
He added, “I cannot wait to get started and represent the people of the county.”
Born with cerebral palsy, Barr has been in a wheelchair his entire life. However, he has repeatedly said that no one should think differently or expect anything less of him because of his disability.
He began overcoming obstacles at a young age. In third grade, he became the first disabled student to attend regular classes in the Ocean City school district. He graduated from Ocean City High School in 1999 and went on to earn a communications degree at Stockton University in 2004.
