Cargill Joins Brockway, Gotchel on West Deptford School Board

There’ll be a new face on the West Deptford Board of Education on May 9, as Kate Cargill rose above a half-dozen challengers Wednesday to claim the seat vacated by Denice DiCarlo, who didn’t seek re-election this year.

“I’m just really grateful to the residents,” Cargill said after the returns were in. “I take it really seriously, the trust that the public puts in elected officials.”

Cargill, who squeaked by Peter Guzzetti by just 29 votes, according to the unofficial results, joins incumbents Ginny Brockway and Dr. Brian Gotchel, who were returned to the board and received overwhelming support as the top two vote-getters in the election.

The race could’ve been even tighter, with 627 under votes–ballots where a voter only selected one or two, instead of three of the eight choices for school board. While Gotchel and Brockway won in all four voting districts in the township, Cargill lost in one and eked out another by just six votes in her narrow win over Guzzetti.

The winners figured on razor-thin margins, though.

Cargill said she knew she could count on people throughout the township to vote for her, but didn’t figure on a landslide win.

“I thought it was going to be really close, if I had a shot,” she said. “Every candidate was so well-qualified.”

Brockway said she was a bit nervous heading into election day.

“I thought there were very strong candidates,” she said.

Brockway heaped praise on those who came out to support her at the ballot box, and said she was thrilled about the budget’s passage and her re-election.

“I will continue to work hard for the students and taxpayers of West Deptford,” she said.

Cargill said she’ll work hard to be an independent voice on the board, and pledged to raise questions in public session as that voice. She said that as a member of the public attending meetings, she didn’t always feel like she could question what the board was doing.

“I want [the public] to feel they can come to me and ask me anything,” she said.

Gotchel was not immediately available for comment Wednesday night.