COURT HOUSE – The South 9 Bar and Grille, on Route 9, in Court House, hosted the Middle Township Chamber of Commerce’s candidate’s night Oct. 22. While enjoying either a chicken or filet mignon dinner, attendees heard from candidates for state Senate, General Assembly and Middle Township Committee.
Presentations by four candidates for three spots on the township school board were planned, but none attended. In the race for governor and lieutenant governor, only the Green Party candidates were in attendance.
Senate
The race for Senate had a remote participant, with incumbent Sen. Michael Testa (R-1st) joining the event through a pre–recorded video. Vineland “born and raised,” Testa stressed his roots in the community, speaking of being sworn in as a newly elected senator in December 2019, “just 3 months before the world would change.”
Testa emphasized the team orientation of the First District lawmakers, referencing incumbent Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan (also R-1st), a theme they would adopt during their time at the podium. The “team” ran on its record and signified the need for “balance in state government,” where they, as Republicans, fight for an often–overlooked South Jersey, in a state run by Democrats from the north.
The three spoke of dividing their legislative committee assignments so the team could cover areas of concern to district residents. Testa is on committees with oversight of budget and appropriations, labor and manufacturing, and the judiciary. He is also a member of the Joint Committee on Public Schools.
Many see the general election as one in which voters will convey their evaluation of the Murphy administration’s handling of the pandemic. Testa spoke of the uneven nature of the state’s lockdown that allowed large box stores to resume business while keeping small business owners in limbo about when restrictions would be lifted. He is running on a platform of opposition to Gov. Phil Murphy’s handling of the pandemic and budget and tax plans.
Testa’s opponent, Democrat Yolanda E. Garcia Balicki, spent much of her time at the podium introducing herself to the Middle Township business community.
Balicki, a bilingual attorney, works primarily on immigration law.
Born in Woodbine, Balicki attended Vineland High School and Rutgers University. She then pursued her law degree at Rutgers-Camden. Balicki is the wife of former Cumberland County Democratic Chair Robert Balicki.
Balicki says her life-long background in the area helps her understand fundamental issues. She runs on a platform of local experience, fairness and hard work, emphasizing her concerns with education, law enforcement and union membership.
“I am pro union and pro law enforcement,” she said.
Balicki did not use her limited time at the podium to discuss specific legislative issues, as did Testa.
Assembly
In the Assembly race, McLellan and Simonsen are facing off against John P. Capizola, Jr. and Julia L. Hankerson. Capizola was on the evening’s agenda as a speaker but was not in attendance. Hankerson, of Woodbine, replaced Chris Wilson, the Democrat’s original candidate on the ticket.
Both McLellan and Simonsen picked up on Testa’s theme of working as a legislative team. Both stressed the team’s achievements during “one of the most difficult times in history,” referring to the pandemic that dominated their first term in office.
McLellan recounted his history of public service from school board member to Ocean City Councilman to Assemblyman. He spoke of overcoming hardship through hard work, especially after the disastrous impact of Hurricane Sandy. McLellan said the area’s tourism economy is a special area of concern for him. He spoke of the district’s tax payments to Trenton and the failure of Trenton to reciprocate with investment in the southern counties.
“In Cape May County, we send $550 million to the state each year,” McLellan said, continuing with how little the county received back in return. It is a fairness argument New Jersey has often made, in terms of tax dollars sent to Washington compared with how little is returned as investment in the state. That fairness, McLellan said, is something Trenton should understand but does not.
Simonsen stressed his background in education, spoke of being an ordained minister, and stressed his history as a councilman and mayor in Lower Township. He, as did McLellan and Testa, asked for more time to complete an agenda that was disrupted by the pandemic. He pointed to efforts to expand broadband access in South Jersey.
Both Simonsen and McLellan work in the county, providing balance to Testa’s Cumberland County. Simonsen is athletic director at Lower Cape May Regional High School, and McLellan works for the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office.
Hankerson, a psychotherapist from Woodbine, spoke of her life in the district. A graduate of Millville High School, Hankerson earned a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s in social work from Rutgers. She also said she has a doctorate in theology.
Hankerson has run unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Woodbine Borough Council.
Hankerson spoke about her experience as a social worker, helping many of the county’s most imperiled residents. She defended the fiscal programs of the Biden and Murphy administrations, which put “money in the hands of people” to shore up demand during the pandemic. She spoke of high taxes as an “issue that needs to be addressed,” but offered no specific program for doing so.
Township Committee
The race for Middle Township Committee pits incumbent Theron “Ike” Gandy against local businesswoman Quanette Vasser-McNeal.
Vasser-McNeal began by saying the race was not about her, but rather about the needs of Middle Township residents, arguing for having “different needs” represented on the all-Republican township governing body.
Born in West Cape May and a graduate of LCMR, Vasser-McNeal spoke of her background of “hard work and multitasking.” She stressed her commitment to the township where she has raised a “blended” family of biological and adoptive children in Whitesboro for 20 years.
Vasser-McNeal is a small business owner, with a local hair salon, real estate agent, and state-certified social worker who served as president of the Cape May County NAACP. Her biography states she is also vice president of the Middle Township Democratic Club. In her presentation, Vasser-McNeal stressed her long commitment to some of the country’s most in-need residents.
In the evening’s only truly emotional commentary, Vasser-McNeal challenged the efforts on affordable housing, calling the location of children in Rio Grande motels “disgraceful.” She is a member of the board of the county Habitat for Humanity.
Known as “Ike” Gandy, the incumbent township deputy mayor stressed the record of the Republican–controlled Township Committee, noting that, in seven years of Republican control, the local tax rate was raised only once. He spoke of the investment the Committee has made in “the best police department” in the county.
Gandy also referenced the success of the Township Committee in finally initiating a project to bring “clean, safe water” to the Del Haven.
Gandy presented himself as a champion of small business. He spoke of efforts to improve infrastructure in the 82–square mile township. Gandy also noted a steady increase in Middle Township’s ratable base that notched upward by almost $23 million, in 2020, despite the pandemic. The township was the county’s only municipality that showed strong population growth in the 2020 census.
Gandy appeared content to place the record of the township committee he is a part of on the line as a reason why voters should return him to his seat.
Governor
The event did not attract the major party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, but the nominees from the Green Garty, Madelyn Hoffman and Heather Warburton, attended. Hoffman is the party’s candidate for governor.
Warburton, the party’s candidate for lieutenant governor, presented what she termed “an eco-socialist” new deal agenda.
Hoffman said it was time to immediately end the use of fossil fuels, finding Murphy’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 “too long” to wait. She offered no plan for providing energy for homes and the economy when renewable sources are not yet producing anything near what would be needed to support an immediate withdrawal from fossil fuels.
Their agenda focused broadly on climate change, social and economic justice, defunding the police, and health care for all. Hoffman also criticized gentrification efforts that leave more of the state’s poor facing homelessness.
Warburton spoke of sea level rise as a “recipe for disaster.” She also noted the need for improved public transportation in South Jersey.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
