By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer

VENTNOR – So far there is no one filling the vacant commission seat left by the resignation of Stephen Weintrob, but that can change in the next month or two.

According to City Clerk Janice Callaghan petitions are due 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6 to run in the Nov. 8 special election to fill the position. Weintrob resigned effective 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 less than a year before his term would expire.

In politics, timing is everything. Weintrob said he knew if he left the position prior to Sept. 1 it would force a special election in November for the term which expires May 15, 2012.

Callahan said no one has filed a petition yet and only one application has been picked up from the clerk’s office.

City Solicitor Timothy Maguire said Monday that the commission can select a candidate to fill the position between now and the November election, but they are not required to. In the meantime, Mayor Theresa Kelly, the commissioner of public works and recreation, and John Piatt, commissioner of public safety can ensure that Weintrob’s former responsibilities as commissioner of revenue and finance are fulfilled, in conjunction with City Administrator Sandra Biagi.

“The position does not have to be filled,” said Maguire Aug. 29. “If it is going to be filled, it gets filled by a selection of the two other commissioners and they would have to make that selection within 30 days of that vacancy.”

He said the commission can make that decision at the Thursday, Sept. 15 commission meeting.

Kelly said Monday her full attention has been on Hurricane Irene.

“I know there will be an election Nov. 8 and we’ll see who decides to run and then we’ll look at what we’ll do,” said Kelly. “I think it’s foolish if it’s just a few weeks. For myself, I’m not sure about filling the seat until Nov. 8. I’m hoping residents understand that we need someone we can work with, the three of us together as a team, from Nov.8 through May.”

Weintrob said he felt that leaving in time to force a special election was the best thing for the city, but he doesn’t know who will replace him.

“There’s a lot of speculation. I don’t know who’s going to run or who they are going to support,” Weintrob said Tuesday, Aug. 30. “I wanted the people of Ventnor to have an opportunity to scrutinize their running mate. Whoever is going to run in May will probably run under their support in November. I thought it would give people a test run of the quality of individual they’re putting out there.”

Asked why he decided to step down, Weintrob said it was culmination of factors beginning with the commissioners taking on new departments within the government on Jan. 20 of this year. Weintrob previously headed public works and recreation, Kelly, public safety and Piatt, revenue and finance.

He said during that time he paved the way for capital improvements and infrastructure work that is being completed now.

“Everything that is being done today I had a hand in doing,” said Weintrob. “Those things are being completed now and Kelly and Piatt are taking the credit for it; which is fine because they are getting it done for the citizens and the city, that’s the important thing.”

However, he noted that he has had opposition from his fellow commissioners beginning early on in their term which began in May 2008.

“Everything I was recommending was being turned down. There were a lot of things that needed to be done in the city that they weren’t even listening to,” said Weintrob. “In the early stages in our relationship there were storm clouds and it turned into the perfect storm.”

He said he couldn’t get things on the agenda.

“By denying me that right to require them to make a decision on something they effectively said no to everything I suggested,” he said.

Weintrob said the city’s announcement of last month’s false-positive e-coli bacteria test and the underfunding beach badge checkers by $5,000 recently were examples of events that brought the decision to a head.

He also accused the commissioners of nepotism in their appointments.

“You can see by the appointments they’ve made that the only thing it takes to be appointed to anything in Ventnor is your closeness to the mayor and John Piatt. It has nothing to do with their qualifications or have they opened it up to everybody. They say they have something on the website that asks people to submit their resume because there are always open seats, but they have not announced one appointment,” said Weintrob.

Weintrob plans to stay active as a citizen in town as he did for 46 years before his first bid at public office.

“I see myself being involved in the City of Ventnor and continually making myself and my ideas heard,” said Weintrob. “Now as a citizen, and I was always was a citizen and a voter and a taxpayer, I’m just as capable now of making suggestions as I was before and keeping my eye on what’s being done.”

To comment on this

story email Shaun.Smith

@shorenewstoday.com