Nancy Sungenis, a former Cumberland County Democratic Chair and a 65-year veteran of South Jersey politics died on January 10 after a long illness. She was 84.
Sungenis stepped down as county chair last year and was replaced by Kevin McCann.
She became active in the Bridgeton Democrats before she reached the voting age of 21, and became an officer of the local Democratic organization in 1965 while Louis Totoro was the municipal chairman. She helped run the 1969 campaign of her husband, Anthony “Husky” Sungenis, for Cumberland County Clerk and became secretary of the Cumberland County Democrats in 1970 while former State Sen. Robert Weber (D-Millville) was the county chairman.
In 1972, Sungenis organized Cumberland County for Hubert Humphrey’s presidential campaign. That year, she mulled a bid to run for Democratic National Committeewoman after another Cumberland woman, Thelma Parkinson Sharp, decided not to seek re-election.
She campaigned by her husband’s side when he ran for mayor of Bridgeton in 1974; Anthony Sungenis had been elected Democratic municipal chairman the previous year.
Sungenis ran for delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention as part of an uncommitted slate seeking to stop Jimmy Carter and nominate Humphrey or Gov. Jerry Brown, but she and her running mate, Dr. Joseph Riley (the father of Cumberland County Clerk Celeste Riley), lost to the two delegate candidates backing Carter, Charles Henry James and Gary Greenblatt.
She became the Democratic county vice chair and ran the Cumberland County campaign for Rep. William Hughes (D-Ocean City) when he won re-election to a second term in 1976.
In 1977, Sungenis became the Democratic State Committeewoman from Cumberland. Anthony Sungenis became the county chairman that year after Marvin Wodlinger stepped down.
Sungenis was elected to the Hopewell Township Committee in 1978, on a slate with incumbent Patrick McAllister. She defeated Republican William Ambros by roughly 50 votes.
She became the first woman mayor in 1980 and served for three years before Republicans won control of the council in 1983. Sungenis unexpectedly lost re-election in 1993 to a political newcomer, Bruce Hankins, by 252 votes; in a small town, that was a 16-point defeat.
In 1991, Sungenis was the Democratic candidate for State Assembly in the 3rd legislative district on a ticket with Salem County Freeholder Benjamin Timberman. She lost to incumbents Jack Collins (R-Elmer) and Gary Stuhltrager (R-East Greenwich) by more than 9,000 votes.
She chaired the Cumberland County Utilities Authority, served on the Board of Elections,
Sungenis became county chair in 2021 after Steven Errickson resigned. She was serving as a state committeewoman at the time of her death.
“Nancy Sungenis was a community leader, a champion for the people of Cumberland County, and, most importantly, a friend,” said former Senate President Steve Sweeney.
Predeceased by her husband, she is survived by her four children, granddaughters, and great-grandchildren.