“The city of Cape May is totally controlled by a small special interest group,” says candidate Ed Mahaney. “I’ve opened City Hall up as much as it can be opened,” incumbent Mayor Jerome Inderwies maintains. “I just feel the proper planning is not being done,” William Gaffney charged.

By BILL BARLOW
Staff Writer
CAPE MAY – Three former mayors, including the incumbent, face off this year for the seat in the May 13 election in Cape May.
There are also four candidates seeking a single seat on City Council, profiled in the May 8 Gazette.
The race comes as the city winds up a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Washington Street Mall -- a project that was derailed for a year by a referendum and survived a court challenge -- and plans to spend at least $10 million more on a new Convention Hall. 
The city has also completed a vision plan by consultants Rhodeside-Harwell, although it is not certain how many of those recommendations will be enacted, and is set to launch a new look at the master plan, which sets a wide vision for the town’s planning and zoning rules. Meanwhile, new state budget laws squeeze small municipalities with new spending caps and cuts in state aid.
Current Mayor Jerome Inderwies says he is running again because he wants to see through the work that is under way, and that he is the most qualified candidate to lead the town.
“I decided to run again because of the way I feel about this job, and because there are so many projects that have begun, that I began, and I want to continue with these projects and be around to see them through,” Inderwies said.
The two challengers, William Gaffney and Ed Mahaney, counter that what’s been done so far has not been done all that well, and suggest that it is past time for a change. Neither is exactly an outsider, with both having served on City Council and as mayor.
Gaffney says his reasons for running are that there has not been proper planning in city government, and that the public has been excluded from key decisions.
Mahaney also said he wanted to make certain residents and business people had a voice in city decisions.
“Presently, the city of Cape May is totally controlled by a small special interest group, which is selecting capital improvements,” Mahaney charged, saying the improvements benefit those interests and are to the detriment of the rest of the community. He declined to name anyone, but said the names are common knowledge, and suggested that it should be obvious who will benefit from the placement of the projects.
However, Inderwies maintains that he has worked toward a more open and responsive local government. Records are open to public inspection, all meetings are open, and residents have plenty of options to speak to their representatives, Inderwies said.
“I’ve opened City Hall up as much as it can be opened,” Inderwies said.
Inderwies lives on Philadelphia Avenue with his wife. He has three grown children, including his son, Fire Chief Jerry Inderwies Jr. Asked his age, he said he is “a young 73. Print that: a young 73.”
He served on City Council from 1972 until 1976, and was later hired by the city to work on community development, and was later named head of the public works department. He was reelected to council in 2000, and was both the last mayor named by City Council, and the first to be directly elected after a change in how Cape May chooses its mayor.
He won against Laura Calnan in 2002 and again in 2004, with a landslide in both elections.
Mahaney, 62, lives on Ohio Avenue and is single. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a masters in special education and a doctorate in special education administration from Temple University. He spent his career in education as a teacher and administrator in public and private schools. He also holds a real estate license, but said he does not expect to use it if elected. He works at the Woodbine Developmental Center.
Mahaney came to Cape May for summer work in 1966, he said, and bought his house in 1971.
He served on council from 1995 until 2003, including a stint as mayor when he was first elected.
He cited his work on getting the city’s desalinization plant built, and said that work could serve as a model for moving forward on a new Convention Hall. He also cited his work on preserving the Sewell Point Tract in east Cape May, which remains in negotiations between the state and the property owner. 
Gaffney, 75, has five children and seven grandchildren. He lives on Columbia Avenue.
Gaffney was elected in 1990, and was in office until 2006, when he finished fourth in a crowded race for three seats.
He served as mayor in the 1990s and again from 1999 until 2001. He won reelection after the last change in government, when the city went from a city manager form to a strong mayor form of government. He cites his work on the Joint Insurance Fund, which he said saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Gaffney said he is worried about the amount of debt, including this year’s tax increase, and a potential increase next year if the state does not allow Cape May to skip the required down payment on the $10.5 million bond for a new Convention Hall.
“I just feel the proper planning is not being done,” Gaffney said.
He said the Washington Street Mall Project that is now winding down should have been done a long time ago.
On Convention Hall, he said too many decisions are being made at the committee level, which council then goes along with, and he pointed to a no-bid professional service contract with the architect for the new building and decisions on the design of the new building, which have not been finalized.
He was also critical of the number of projects getting under way in a short time.
“Everything is happening at once, and I just don’t think that’s proper planning,” Gaffney said. 
Gaffney also promised to allow more public comment during council meetings, and to scrap rules for the public comment section, which include a five minute time limit and a rule preventing speakers from getting up more than once. He even suggested the rules could violate the state’s open public meetings act.
“If I’m elected, that whole situation will be removed,” he said. He added that the chairman can control a council meeting if someone speaks too long or is rambling, and that he could even go so far as to adjourn the meeting if a speaker does not stop talking.
Mahaney promises to go further in changing the way City Council does business. He said he would increase the number of council meetings to four a month, with two workshop meetings and two regular meetings.
“What that would do is it forces City Council members to be in City Hall at least once a week,” he said. He suggested a mayor should work at least 40 hours a week for the city, and at least 20 hours should be expected from council members.
Asked how that would work in his case, when running against two retired men, Mahaney said he plans to go on flex time at the developmental center, and that he has cut back on other activities and involvements.
Mahaney is also questioning plans for a new Convention Hall. The current hall was recently closed because of safety concerns, and the city could begin work on a new hall this year.
But Mahaney says it will take at least three years to complete a new building. In the meantime, he suggested using some kind of temporary facility, possibly a “bubble structure” or some other kind of temporary structure to house the numerous events scheduled for Convention Hall.
That will also give Cape May enough time to work on a plan for a new hall, he said, with much more detailed public input. He also suggested it should be moved off the beachfront because the most expensive building in the city should not be threatened by storms. The currents plans have been in the works for some time, but Mahaney called for a fresh start.
“The major issue in this campaign is the need to ensure that the residents and business people have total input into the projects and decisions regarding the future of Cape May,” Mahaney said.
He also suggested that the existing hall has not been properly maintained since he left office, a charge Inderwies denies.
According to city manager Luciano Corea, in the past three years, steel beams have twice been placed under the building to shore up the floor.
Inderwies said he has extensive knowledge about Cape May, and maintains that he is the best man for the job. In an interview this week, he focused on the number of projects completed, including the Washington Street Mall renovation and extensive street work, which he said grants helped fund. When each street was paved, he said, new utilities were installed at the same time. He also cited the city’s recycling program.
City Council has also taken steps to reduce density, he said, including approval of a floor area ratio ordinance. A recent vote by the Zoning Board against a proposed beachfront building where the Jetty Motel stands shows that the city is working to decrease density, he said.
Plans for Convention Hall are nearly complete, he said, although he suggested the façade on latest version is probably too modern for Cape May. However, he said he was satisfied with the design for the inside of the building.
He said he likes people, and that he likes solving problems.
“We made a lot of accomplishments. I just want to continue making them,” Inderwies said. “I want to live here and I want to live in a place residents can enjoy.”
In the council race, Jack Wichterman, Terri Swain, Harry Bellangy and Jeanne Powick will vie for a single seat up for election. The mayoral candidates each say they have not aligned with any council candidate.