LOCAL CANDIDATES

Meet Your Neighbors Running for Office

Mary Ellen Litton - City Council

Mary Ellen was raising in Drexel, PA and graduated from the Temple University Hospital School of nursing in 1969. From there she  worked several positions with St. Christopher's Hospital for Children until ultimately becoming the head nurse in the 1970's.  Her passion to help people with developmental disabilities and mental health issues led her to a position with Woodhaven Center. Prior to retirement Mary Ellen maintained several leadership position at Independence Blue Cross.
Mary Ellen's love for Cherry Hill began shortly after she moved to Barclay with her husband, John, in 1993. She is an active member of the Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Cherry Hill Republicans Organization for several years. Mary Ellen is running for Cherry Hill City Council because she wants to see this town return to the town it once was. The town where schools ranked in the top of the state, property taxes were manageable, petty crime was unheard of and open space was plentiful.

Nancy Feller o'dowd - mayor

 Nancy Feller O’Dowd has been involved with the Cherry Hill community for the past 35 years.  She was active in the PTAs at Russell Knight and Carusi, and was a member of the Parent Council at Cherry Hill West. Nancy was one of the founding members of the Parent Action Committee, a grassroots group of parents and other taxpayers formed to monitor budget and policy issues in the school district. 
   She served as an elected member of the Cherry Hill Board of Education from 2005-2008, working to evaluate expensive new programs that had been introduced into the district, and was successful in sponsoring a policy to require a cost benefit analysis of any new academic programs within 5 years.  Her goal was to ensure equity in all Cherry Hill school buildings, and provide an excellent and efficient education to students without political indoctrination.
Nancy has a B.S. in Nursing from Cornell University, and an M.S. in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a certified Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Psychiatric Nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and is licensed as an Advanced Practice Nurse in New Jersey. Nancy’s expertise is in the field of geriatric psychiatry. She has spoken on this topic at numerous national conferences including the American Society on Aging, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.  Through her consulting practice, GeroPsych Nursing Associates, Nancy provides comprehensive psychiatric evaluation and management services, counseling, and education in the field of geriatric psychiatry to extended care facilities in Camden and Burlington counties, and to family caregivers.
Nancy and her husband, Dr. Thomas O’Dowd have lived in Cherry Hill for 35 years.  Their three sons attended Cherry Hill Public Schools. Matt is now an advertising executive in NYC, Kevin is a federal BORSTAR agent for the Department of Homeland Security in El Paso, and Jamie is an Orthopedic Surgeon in Los Angeles.  ​
I invite you to join our campaign. Email me at VoteNancyO@gmail.com to get involved for a Better Cherry Hill.  

John papeika - general assembly

 A Philadelphia native, John Papeika, CP-FS, has lived in Cherry Hill with his wife for nine years. They moved to town in hopes of starting a family after hearing about Cherry Hill and its family friendly- reputation.
A graduate of Holy Family University in Philadelphia, John holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Marketing. John is also a Certified Professional in Food Safety and currently works in safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management at a local retail chain, where he has been employed for 21 years. John has served on the Cherry Hill Republican Committee for several years.
John is running for New Jersey's 6th Legislative District because he wants to help sculpt a better future for the district. The current political leadership has done little to help curb property taxes, promote small business and keep the district safe. It has been the same leadership for over 20 years...District 6 needs a political outsider that can foster change.

Steven Lever - City Council ​

I am Steven Lever, 26 year resident of the Woodcrest neighborhood, and I’m asking for your vote for myself and the Nancy O Team.  I have raised three sons, two of whom graduated from CHE, and the 3rd will soon.  My wife has lived here all her life.  I convinced her that Cherry Hill is where we should raise our family.  Since becoming a resident, I have witnessed the decline of the quality of life (schools, roads, traffic, services and events) that made me want to live here for the rest of my life.  Cherry Hill government is broken. Broken and corrupt.  
We hear about the Cherry Hill “Master Plan”.  Sounds like there is a plan of action that was / is designed to maintain what is good about Cherry Hill, and make it better through zoning and careful consideration of the impact to our schools, roads and services for the benefit of our residents.  So how can a project, any project, fit the “Master Plan” if it requires double-digit variances in order to become a part of our communities? It cannot. These situations illustrate the corruption that has become the norm. Our Master Plan appears to be for sale to the politically connected for their sole benefit.  
Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  Decades of single party rule is absolute power, and has corrupted absolutely. Why has there not been a single dissenting voice on council during this time?  Because they would be ostracized by the political machine to which they are beholden for their power and all the benefits that come with it. This is absolute corruption.  When the county bosses say jump, our Township government says, “how high”.  
I will be the voice on council that says, “Wait a minute, is this in the best interest of Cherry Hill, or is this for the benefit of the powerful and politically connected?”  
As a council member, and part of the Nancy O administration, I will ensure that our Township government is an advocate for our residents in dealings with the county and the state.  You can vote to restore community events like the Cherry Blossom Parade and fireworks, and putting residents in charge of the future of Cherry Hill. You can vote for a better and improving Cherry Hill.  Please vote for our team in Column 2 on November 5, 2019.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 
  • Rich Ambrosino
  • Andy Behrend
  • Jerry Bliss
  • Roseann Parsons
  • Scott Cohen
  • Julianne M Curry
  • Sharon Diamondstein
  • Douglas Kolton
  • Josis Kolton
  • Jeff Land
  • Josh Duvall
  • Naomi Lubkin
  • Nancy O'Dowd
  • John Papeika
  • Mindy Rosen
  • Caren Sokolow
  • John Swanson
  • Mary Ellen Litton
  • William Arcari
  • Daniel Morrow
  • Rick Short
  • Dennis Sheere