OCEAN CITY — It’s spring, and the political yard signs are in bloom.
A crowded field for the May 14 election could reshape the balance of power in the resort, with five of seven seats on City Council up for a vote.
It’s a nonpartisan election, and each of the candidates is running an independent campaign, but clear lines have emerged in the contested races.
None of the candidates is running on a ticket, but the alliances are plain. The council representatives in each of the four city wards are up for a vote, as is one of the two at-large seats on the seven-person council.
There, former Council member Mike Devlieger is up against Sean Barnes.
Barnes and three of the ward candidates are aligned, with the campaigns producing matching signs that have appeared on lawns throughout town.
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They include 4th Ward incumbent David Winslow, 2nd Ward candidate Paul Stryker and 3rd Ward Candidate Amie Vaules.
Candidates on the other side maintain they are running independently, although their unmatched signs do tend to line up on the same lawns as well. They include 3rd Ward incumbent Jody Levchuk, former Councilman Keith Hartzell running in the 2nd Ward and former Board of Education member Cecilia Gallelli-Keys in the 4th Ward.
With inflation driving up costs and state budget limits setting a ceiling on taxes and spending increases, this year’s budget is barely squeaking by, Ocean City’s finance director told City Council on Thursday. The governing body introduced a $113 million budget for 2024, which includes a tax rate increase.
Levchuk suggested the team lined up behind Barnes consists of the handpicked candidates for Mayor Jay Gillian, suggesting that development interests support that group. But the same kind of informal support remains in place on the other side. Campaign finance reports filed with the state show Levchuk’s mother, Jill Levchuk, is the biggest financial supporter of the Hartzell campaign so far, having contributed $2,600 of the $4,663 Hartzell raised as of the first report.
“I support Keith, but we’re not working together,” Jody Levchuk said.
In the 1st Ward on the north side of the city, Terry Crowley is the only candidate who is running unopposed and appears to be trying to remain scrupulously unaligned. Had he been offered matching lawn signs as well?
“I’ve been offered a lot of things,” he said recently. Crowley, too, touted his independence as a candidate, saying he listens to his constituents and makes his own decisions.
He did receive the backing of a new organization in town, along with Barnes, Vaules, Striker and Winslow. Families of Ocean City United in Success, or FOCUS, backed all four and Crowley in an announcement this month.
Crowley said he answered a questionnaire for the group but suggested they didn’t have much choice in his ward.
“They are supporting all of the administration’s candidates,” DeVlieger said in response to the group’s announcement. “They are pitching themselves as independent family values. They are far from independent. It is nothing but a distraction tool to cover for their candidates having no real track record of public service.”
Both DeVlieger and Levchuk described the group as a political action committee, with Levchuk calling it a “Super PAC.”
Ocean City Council could approve a $12,000 contract with ACT Engineering to help line up permits to widen the north end of the city’s Boardwalk.
“That’s not true,” Barnes said. “As far as I understand, they offered the interview for everybody. They don’t have any agenda in place.”
FOCUS’ mission
FOCUS announced its formation in March, describing a mission “to shape the future and preserve the traditions that define America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
It promised support for candidates who place Ocean City residents, students, seniors, homeowners and business owners first.
“We’re at a crossroads,” FOCUS President Todd Eachus said in a statement. “Sadly, we live in an age in which the empty and often overheated rhetoric of social media is confused with facts ... and in which the fringe politics of those on the margins is confused with sound policy. And this rhetoric threatens Ocean City’s reputation and our future.”
There was no response to several emails requesting an interview with Eachus or another representative of the organization. The group announced its endorsements April 15, saying all candidates had an opportunity to be interviewed or complete a questionnaire.
DeVlieger said he tried to meet with the group’s leadership but it never happened.
At least so far, it does not look like a big-spending race for Ocean City. Running a citywide campaign, Barnes has close to $10,000 as of the first finance report filed with the state, including a loan of more than $3,000 he gave his own campaign.
Familiar names among the contributors include current Council President Pete Madden, who gave $500 in March, Scott Halliday of Halliday Leonard General Contractors, who also gave $500, and Denise Jessel of Fox Real Estate, who also gave $500.
Ocean City proposes to take on $159.45 million in capital improvements over the next five years under a capital plan presented to City Council on Thursday.
The report also shows a $250 contribution from Nicholas Asselta, a former state legislator, and $1,000 from Robert Clayton of Marmora and another $1,000 from Elaine Goralski of Moorestown.
DeVlieger has filed a state form indicating he will not spend $5,800, the minimum required for a campaign finance report, or accept any contribution of $200 or more. So did Crowley and Winslow.
Stryker has raised $3,709, with $500 each from Denise Jessel, Gary Jessel and Halliday. He also received more than $1,000 from former Council member Karen Bergman, who now works for the city.
She resigned her council seat to take the job, and council decided not to fill it for the remainder of the term. Second Ward incumbent Tom Rotondi decided not to seek reelection this year.
Vaules brought in more than $5,000 as of her first report, also with support from Madden and Halliday.
Levchuk said he was not raising money for the race but said his father insisted on contributing. His campaign financing forms show $2,600 from Paul Levchuk, and Jody Levchuk gave his own campaign $5,000.
“If I need more I’ll give more,” he said.
The website for the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission did not show any finance reports filed on behalf of Gallelli-Keyes. In response to an emailed request for a copy of reports required to be filed, she emailed, “I will forward your email and request to my treasurer and I will request they forward any pertinent information over to you.” No campaign information was sent.
There will be five seats on the ballot in Ocean City this spring, with nine candidates filing petitions to run by the end-of-February deadline. One incumbent will not seek another term, while two former members of council want to return.
When Hartzell challenged incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian in 2022, he spent close to $49,000, while Gillian spent more than $100,000, much of it self-funded, on a successful campaign to retain his seat.
Campaign finance reports for that year show Gillian contributed $96,000 to his own campaign, while Hartzell gave his campaign $26,500.
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