Ocean City goes to the polls Tuesday (2024)

OCEAN CITY — Tuesday is decision day in Ocean City, when five members of the seven-person City Council will be decided in a nonpartisan election.

While ward races are usually low-key events, with unchallenged candidates the norm in previous years, this year has seen close interest in the seaside community and several candidates pouring significant funds into the campaigns.

There is also a single at-large seat up for a vote citywide, the one left vacant when Karen Bergman resigned from council in January. Council could have appointed someone to fill the seat until the election but decided instead to leave it up to the voters.

Sean Barnes, a political newcomer, is facing former Council member Michael DeVlieger, who resigned from council in 2021 and failed in a previous attempt to return to the governing body. The ward candidates are more or less lined up behind one or the other, but for 1st Ward incumbent Terry Crowley Jr., who is running unopposed and has seen support from both sides.

At the most recent council meeting, DeVlieger addressed his public comments made at a candidate event alleging Mayor Jay Gillian is indebted to developers and stating that three of the current council members are pawns to the mayor. During the public comment portion of the meeting, he said he was not trying to be mean but did not back down from his comments, either.

“I’m looking to be truthful and honest about the way I see things,” DeVlieger said. “I apologize if it sounded mean. What I am saying is, bang heads occasionally. You’ll come up with a better solution.”

Tuesday’s results could bring a significant shift in Ocean City politics and policy. Four of the candidates are widely seen as challenging Gillian’s administration, although as those candidates put it, they are independent and are not running as a ticket.

Leading to the election, Gillian took the unusual step of specifically endorsing five candidates in a letter to voters dated May 5.

In it, Gillian does not mention his title as mayor, and it is not on city letterhead. Describing himself as a fellow Ocean City resident and taxpayer, he backed Barnes, Crowley, Paul Stryker in the 2nd Ward, Amie Vaules in the 3rd Ward and Dave Wilson in the 4th Ward.

Stryker is up against former Councilman Keith Hartzell, who lost his seat on council when he unsuccessfully challenged Gillian for mayor in 2022.

That means Gillian did not endorse Council incumbent Jody Levchuk, seeking reelection in the 3rd Ward. In the 4th Ward, the incumbent Wilson is being challenged by former Board of Education member Cecelia Gallelli-Keyes.

It is the same slate endorsed in April by the recently formed Families of Ocean City United in Success, or FOCUS. Some of the candidates who were passed over for that endorsem*nt have alleged that FOCUS was formed specifically to support those candidates, with Levchuk and DeVlieger describing it as a political action committee.

Previous attempts to arrange an interview with FOCUS organizers have been unsuccessful. There was no response to an email sent to the organization.

In his letter, Gillian cited work on roads and infrastructure undertaken in the past 14 years, along with revitalization of the downtown and Boardwalk, improvements in flood controls, open space purchases and expanded community programs.

“We enjoy a quality of life that is the envy of the region,” Gillian said.

This year also is seeing significant campaign spending, at least for Ocean City races typically decided by a couple of hundred votes. Candidates are spending thousands of dollars in hopes of a competitive edge.

Hartzell raised more than $11,000 for his race, according to the most recent campaign finance report filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, while Stryker’s report shows more than $12,000 raised for the race in the same ward.

Supplemental reports, required for contributions over $200 made close to the election, show another $2,700 added to Stryker’s coffers by May 8, including a $1,726 in-kind contribution from Council President Pete Madden, covering the printing costs for a direct-mail advertisem*nt. Another supplemental report shows the Stryker campaign spent close to $2,000 on billboards and lawn signs May 5.

Gallelli-Keyes brought in more than $11,000 for her ward race as well, with a supplemental filing showing an additional $5,000 from MACPF Inc. That’s her family’s business, which owned the Tahiti Inn for decades before selling to new investors last year.

Winslow had initially indicated he would raise and spend less than the minimum amount to require a detailed campaign report, but on May 3 filed a new report showing he raised $6,738 for the race.

In the 3rd Ward, Vaules raised $7,423 as of the last report, while Levchuk’s report shows he spent more than $8,000 so far.

For the island-wide race, Barnes’ campaign report shows he raised $11,400, while DeVlieger and Crowley reported they would spend less than $5,800 on the election.

In the 4th Ward, the city recently announced the addition of a new polling place for two voting districts. In recent elections, the entire ward voted at the American Legion post at 4556 West Ave.

Voters in Fourth Ward districts 2 and 3 will now vote at the 29th Street firehouse at 2901 West Ave. The change allows more space for voting and election day operations, according to an announcement from the city.

In 2020, the last time Ocean City voted on the ward seats, there was only one contested race. Levchuk won his seat with a narrow lead over Anthony Wilson. In 2016, there was a similar lineup to this year, with a contest for one at-large seat sharing the ballot with the ward races. That year, the only ward seat to be contested was in the 4th Ward, where former Council member Bob Bar beat out two other candidates.