By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City’s municipal elections are usually devoid of any vitriol or drama because the incumbents routinely run without opposition. That will be the case again this year.
All but guaranteeing them an easy win, Mayor Leonard Desiderio and City Council members William Kehner Sr. and Frank Edwardi Jr. will face no opposition when Sea Isle voters go to the polls May 9 for the election.
They will run unchallenged because no other candidates submitted election petitions by Monday’s 4 p.m. filing deadline, City Clerk Shannon Romano said.
Desiderio, Kehner and Edwardi faced no opposition the last time they ran in 2019 and also had no challengers in the 2015 election. They defeated their opponents in the 2011 election, the last time they had any competition.
Sea Isle’s year-round population is about 2,100 residents. There are 1,837 registered voters. For residents who are not yet registered, April 18 is the deadline to register for the May 9 municipal election, Romano said.
The only way that Desiderio, Kehner or Edwardi could lose in this year’s election is the highly unlikely scenario of a write-in candidate securing more votes. Usually, write-in candidates draw only a few votes at best in Sea Isle.
The mayor and Council members serve four-year terms. The three other Council members, Mary Tighe, Jack Gibson and J.B. Feeley, won re-election in 2021.
In remarks Monday, Desiderio, Kehner and Edwardi expressed their gratitude to the voters and said they will continue working together as a team for the benefit of the residents and other property owners in the resort community.
The 66-year-old Desiderio, mayor since 1993, is running for the ninth time in Sea Isle. In 2021, he won re-election as a Cape May County Commissioner, the other elected office he holds.
“I am very humbled and I look forward to working with members of Council to continue working hard for all the citizens and property owners of Sea Isle City,” Desiderio said. “I will not rest on past accomplishments but will persist in making our community the very best place to live, own a home, vacation or visit.”
“Sea Isle City is a very special place to many of us and I plan on keeping it that way. Working together we will accomplish that. As I have said numerous times, we are one Sea Isle City and together we will be stronger than ever,” he added.
Desiderio also praised Sea Isle’s municipal employees for being a crucial part of the local government.
“I would like to also thank all of the employees of Sea Isle City for the excellent job that they do day in and day out for us. I am very proud of each and every one of them,” he said.
Kehner, 74, has a long history in Sea Isle politics. He served one term from 1977 to 1981 under the city’s old commission style of government. He was first elected to City Council in 2007 and is seeking his fifth term.
“It’s apparent to me that they are satisfied, to a degree, because you’re never perfect,” Kehner said of the way voters feel about the incumbents.
Kehner said he was surprised that no other candidates entered the race because he had heard rumors around town that the election might be contested.
Like Kehner, Edwardi was first elected to Council in 2007 and is seeking his fifth term. Edwardi, 55, also believes that the lack of opposition is a sign that voters are satisfied with their representatives in local government.
“I think they like what we’re doing and that we have a really good team,” Edwardi said. “I feel honored to serve another four years. Our town is only as good as our citizens.”
Both Kehner and Edwardi pointed to the city’s proposed 2023 municipal budget as an example of how Council and the mayor have collaborated for the benefit of residents and property owners. The budget, which is up for approval at Council’s March 28 meeting, does not include an increase in the local tax rate.
“I think the city is doing some pretty good things,” Edwardi said.
