WEST CAPE MAY — Carol Sabo’s more-than-decade-long commitment to the Board of Commissioners began in 2013 when an unexpired position was available.
‘The idea of being in government was never foreign to me because it was part of what we do as social workers: advocate for the needs of the community. … I knew I could wrap my brain around it.’
–Former West Cape May Mayor Carol Sabo
Pam Kaithern, who was mayor at the time, reached out to Sabo due to her heavy involvement with the community since moving to West Cape May with her husband Mark Jacopec in 1987.
“We had never been this far south,” the 62-year-old said. “Neither of us had been to Cape May before, so we came down to visit in 1986 for a little getaway and said this would be a great place to live. We’ve been here 39 years.”
West Cape May quickly became home for Sabo, who attributed her love of living there to the borough’s unique personality.
“I tell people I grew up here because I really did,” Sabo said. “All the formative years I’ve lived here longer than anywhere I’d lived before. The history and diversity of this community drew me here.”
After accepting the position in 2013, Sabo continued working at the Cape May County Special Services School, where she’d been a social worker since 2001.
“The idea of being in government was never foreign to me because it was part of what we do as social workers: advocate for the needs of a community,” Sabo said. “So the idea of the work didn’t concern me, and I knew I could wrap my brain around it.”
After fulfilling the vacated seat’s term, Sabo was re-elected to the Board of Commissioners for her first full term. In 2017, Sabo’s peers on the Board of Commissioners chose her as mayor.
Sabo explained that commissioners balance the workload evenly and that stepping in as mayor wasn’t a large change to the dynamic.
“I never really stood by labels or titles — just do the job well, and we’ll take it from there,” Sabo said. “It was nice that some people really respected what went along with the responsibility of the position, which made me take it more seriously because you’re representing our town.”
Sabo’s eight-year-long term as mayor came to an end in 2025 when she chose not to seek another term while running for the New Jersey General Assembly for District One.
It was Sabo’s first experience running for the Legislature. She and fellow Democrat Carolyn Rush ran against Republican incumbents Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan, who were running for their third term as legislators.
“It was so much fun and so compelling,” Sabo said. “I thought about state office for a long time, and it seemed like a position I was well-suited for.”
She explained that she doesn’t feel dejected by her loss and instead is motivated to dive deeper for the next election.
Sabo spent the past year getting to know the different counties and municipalities in District One, and plans to create more long-lasting relationships as she campaigns over the next two years.
“Right now, we’re two months post-election, and it’s two years away,” Sabo said. “It goes by so fast, and my plan is to keep my foot on the pedal.”
Sabo retired from her full-time career in 2019 and has found herself, for the first time since moving to West Cape May, with a large amount of free time.
“There are so many great organizations I’d like to be involved with and so many areas of need,” she said. “I don’t want to say yes to everything because I want to make sure I give proper attention to whatever I do.”
Sabo’s dedication to children and families hasn’t dwindled since retiring from social work, and she plans to continue identifying related resources and areas of improvement in the borough.
“I can’t stop paying attention, and I don’t see myself withdrawing from public life,” Sabo said. “I feel like I have too much to offer, and there’s a need for a voice to be given to problems in the community.”
Sabo attributed much of West Cape May’s success to local nonprofits.
“Because there’s not a lot of investment from the state, we do rely on the nonprofits to fulfill needs that should be filled by the government,” she said. “We have really good nonprofit organizations, and without them, I don’t know what would happen.”
Sabo explained she’s looking forward to working more with those nonprofits and becoming more involved in new aspects of West Cape May that she hasn’t experienced yet.
“I can’t overstate how special this community is to me, because I don’t always see people in other areas that are connected to where they live,” Sabo said. “There’s something about this place. There’s soul and character that I really hope we don’t lose, and it’s so unique in the diversity of history.”
By JULIA DIGERONIMO/For the Star and Wave