This is the second in a series of spotlight interviews being conducted by the AHLOA public relations summer intern, Louis Cochet.
I recently sat down with our mayor Martin Pagliughi, to talk about his Avalon story and about what it’s like to serve as mayor of Avalon. His Avalon story starts a few towns north in Strathmere, where his family had a duplex where they would stay during the summer. After the 1962 storm wiped out the duplex, his family looked to rent, finding a few places in Avalon to stay for their summers. Martin started renting himself around 1972 until he bought a house and moved here full time with his wife in 1976. After finishing college, Mayor Pagliughi worked at ABB, a global electrical engineering firm. He achieved the position of national industry manager and focused his work within the instrumentation and environmental division, working with various water treatment plants on mechanical and electrical systems. He also worked with large municipalities’ water management systems as well as working with local officials in budgeting – both skills he uses as mayor of Avalon to address and maintain various utilities throughout the borough.
After spending some time on the zoning board, the mayor decided to run for a seat on the Borough Council, since this was something he always wanted to do. He took the same approach toward running for mayor, feeling his job at ABB had prepared him for the position. After being elected mayor in 1991, Mayor Pagliughi said he started out with a focus on organization, planning projects five or more years in advance, working within the bounds of the budget, and taking preventative measures, choosing to proactively upgrade systems before they reached the end of their shelf-life, saving time and money. This focus on organization dated back to his time on the zoning board when the Board came up with the first master plan of the Borough in 1979. These preventative measures were one thing he touched on when I asked about his proudest Avalon accomplishments , which the Mayor highlighted various storm water mitigation projects and anti-flooding measures, and how he always worked to stay ahead of problems by addressing and completing these types of projects before the equipment failed. He also mentioned both the renovated public safety offices and the library as proud accomplishments, noting that the library came about when local elected officials collaborated with members of the school board to get it built. The mayor’s day-to-day work involves meeting with the various Avalon departments and other individuals to discuss and address what needs to be done around town. He also works in planning all the fun activities throughout the year such as Festive Friday and the concert series at Surfside Park. His favorite part of the job though is attending the lifeguard races once a year, “especially when Avalon wins everything.”
Prior to being elected mayor, Mr. Pagliughi also served as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years starting around the turn of the millennium. He currently serves as the Cape May County director of Emergency Management and Communications, a position he was appointed to in 2012 after retiring from ABB. The most interesting part of this job was the creation of a unified dispatch system for Cape May County, a project started in 2014 that is continuously being improved. The goal of this initiative was to coordinate resources, improve public safety, and save money. He also touched upon how he helps prepare towns for hurricanes, mentioning that each town has its own coordinator that reports back to him. The coordinators meet with him quarterly to review prepared shelters, warning systems, and evacuation plans, and report on their meetings with shelter organizers. The towns also prepare by running drills of various scenarios, either on tabletops or by simulating the real thing. However, despite his other job, he said being mayor is a job he can’t ever put on hold, always needing to be prepared to make decisions, answer the phone, and do what it takes to get the job done.
Mayor Pagliughi emphasized the importance of collaboration in his day-to-day job, both as mayor and director of emergency management. He spoke about meeting with other mayors and directors to share ideas and work together to achieve common interest goals like obtaining more mitigation grants for the county to prevent damage before it occurs, or sharing evacuation strategies with other coastal towns. He also mentioned working with our representatives to help get Avalon on the list of federal beaches to help with beach replenishment and other coastal projects, such as the construction of more dunes north of 40th Street. Considering that his favorite memories of Avalon focus on the beaches and back bay, it is no surprise to see the amount of work he has put into protecting them for everyone’s enjoyment – property owners and visitors alike.
