Meet the Candidates: Three Vie for Two Stone Harbor Borough Council Seats

The race is on for a pair of Stone Harbor Borough Council seats, and it won’t be ceremonial. Unlike many past years, in which candidates ran unopposed, three applicants are vying for two positions in the June 6 election. There is a campaign. There are stakes involved. Each of the candidates must defeat at least one opponent to grab a seat.

Here is a Meet the Candidates look at challenger Tim Carney and incumbents Reese Moore and Robin Casper, all running for three-year terms.

Tim Carney

Carney says residents have asked him to manage development, protect the beaches and bays, and restore fiscal discipline to the borough.

“Avalon has a $13 million surplus and we have a $2 million deficit,” he says. “The annual tax increases are 4%. This is affecting the elderly and people on fixed income. They can’t afford this anymore. We have to get our spending in line with our tax revenue.

“All three of us running for office love Stone Harbor and want what’s absolutely best for it, we just may have different ideas of going about it.”

Carney has an extensive Stone Harbor resumé. He’s a member of the Stone Harbor Zoning Board and is active in Sons of the American Legion. He’s a first responder with the Stone Harbor Fire Company. He’s also a lead singer for The Seabillys classic and Southern rock group, which has played at local joints like Fred’s Tavern for several years.

Carney grew up in King of Prussia, Pa., where his father was a fire chief for 40 years and his mother volunteered for the Catholic church for 35 years. He earned a finance degree from Penn State and is a senior executive at a health care technology company.

“On my first day in office, I will focus on managing development, reducing our deficit, balancing our budget and protecting our beaches,” he says. “I want to bring common sense leadership back to council and get things done.”

Carney believes Stone Harbor can do better when it comes to how new construction affects parking, flood mitigation, and infrastructure. He says Stone Harbor should also have a greater say in what happens off its coast and he will fight for more representation and transparency.

Reese Moore

Moore, who grew up in Berwyn, Pa., has served on the Borough Council for the last five years. He came here in 2013 when his wife, Phyllis, began a job as guest-service manager for The Reeds at Shelter Haven.

Moore retired two years ago from Mannington Mills Inc., a global flooring manufacturer headquartered in Salem. He worked there for 34 years in various senior leadership positions.

Since moving to Stone Harbor, he has been deeply involved in the community. He was a trustee and officer of the Stone Harbor Property Owners Association and now serves as the liaison between SHPOA and Borough Council.

Moore is the First Vice Commander for Sons of the American Legion Post 331. It actively supports local organizations including The Wetlands Institute, Stone Harbor Museum, the Garden Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Women’s Civic Club.

He says conversations with constituents provide a clear road map of goals for the next term: “The three biggest challenges facing Stone Harbor are protection of the beach and bay, aging road infrastructure, and flood mitigation.”

Moore says he led the discussion and ultimate decision to stop the 93rd Street pump station project. The cost increased from $6 million to a projected cost in excess of $19 million. He also formed a Stormwater Flood and Mitigation task force to address Stone Harbor’s flooding problem.

“Based on the team’s recommendations, a pilot program is underway at the bay street ends from 93rd to 95th Street to test a long-term solution to address our current flooding problems,” he says. “The pilot program is designed to keep bay water from backwashing into our streets.”

Robin Casper

Casper spent much of her childhood in Stone Harbor and moved back in 2016 with her husband James Procyson. She steadily applied her passions into community involvement, first by joining the Go Green committee in 2019 as a citizen appointee.

One year later, she ran for office. “I wanted to be a voice for my hometown,” she says. “Rather than hear people say, ‘I wish for this or that,’ I wanted to be part of the action, to make a contribution.”

Casper won the Borough Council seat and brought her passions to the office. She chairs the Natural Resources Committee and represents the council on the Go Green, Shade Tree, Museum, and Bird Sanctuary committees.

“I am very much a supporter of more open space, less density, an emphasis on native landscapes, native gardening practices and no pesticides – it all goes into the water system,” she asserts. “I believe in kindness to wildlife and preserving history whenever possible.”

Casper watched massive changes unfold here over the last 50 years, requiring more advanced infrastructure.

“My childhood visual was so much different than what we have now,” she says. “All the homes were more cottages. Right where the dunes started, we used to make forts.”

As bigger homes have emerged, so has the need to enhance the Stone Harbor infrastructure, she says. This often requires coordination with Cape May County to operate projects simultaneously and thus save money.