Mildred Sheppard, who was elected to the Ocean Gate Borough Council in 2020 at age 96 and served one three-year term, died on July 1, three days after celebrating her 100th birthday.
She spent decades in Kearny’s local politics before retiring to the Jersey Shore in 1976. She served as executive director of the North Hudson Girl Scout Council in the 1950s,
Sheppard was the Republican nominee for the first ward Kearny Town Council seat in 1974, at a time when Republicans controlled the Hudson County municipality. Incumbent Edmund Grimes defeated Sheppard by a 62%- 24% margin, with independent John Rowland finishing third.
But despite the Democratic Watergate wave that swept hundreds of down-ballot Republicans out of office that year, Kearny Republicans won two of the four ward council elections, retaining a 5-4 majority. Rep. Dominick Daniels (D-Jersey City) won Kearny with 72% in his bid for a ninth term in Congress, while Kearny Tax Collector John Pettigrew was re-elected with 52% of the vote.
Sheppard served thirty years on the Ocean Gate planning and zoning boards, was president of the Women’s Republican Club, and was a member of the Board of Health.
She sought a borough council seat in 1994, running on an off-the-line slate headed by GOP mayoral candidate Stanley Kendrick, a former school board member and fire chief. Christopher Kanakis (189) and Kathleen Walker (160) defeated Sheppard in the Republican primary. Councilman Dwayne Mease won the Republican primary for mayor by a 66%-34% margin.
Sheppard ran again for an Ocean Gate council seat in 1999, seeking a one-year unexpired created when Democrat Henry Konopka resigned for health reasons. Councilman James McGrath, who had been appointed to replace Konopka, defeated Sheppard by 69 votes, 55.5 to 44.5%.
After Councilman Alex Martinez dropped his re-election bid after the GOP primary, local Republicans put Shepard on their ticket with another incumbent, Mark Haug. They were unopposed in the general election.
Sheppard served on the council when Mayor Paul Kennedy was arrested in 2022 for stealing money from parking meters, selling government property on the internet, and pocketing the money. Kennedy admitted to stealing money from the public and his campaign fund. He pleaded guilty last year. Kennedy began serving a three-year prison term in January and must serve at least two years.
In 2023, as she approached her 99th birthday, Sheppard decided not to seek re-election to a second term. She was replaced by Richard Zieser, Sr.
Sheppard grew up in Camden and worked for RCA before moving to North Jersey. She later worked for New Jersey Bell and, after a merger, Verizon before retiring in 1986.
Predeceased by her husband and her daughter, Sheppard is survived by her two sons, four grandchildren, and a great-grandson.
Visitation is scheduled from noon to 2 PM today at the Mastapeter Memorial Home in Bayvrile, with funeral services to follow at 12:45 PM