Cites business experience, time living in Second Ward
Editor’s note: The Ocean City Sentinel is running profiles of the candidates for Ocean City Council in the May 14 election. Former councilman Keith Hartzell and Paul Stryker are seeking the Second Ward seat. Incumbent Second Ward Councilman Tom Rotondi is not seeking re-election.
OCEAN CITY — With time to devote to public service at this stage of his life, Paul Stryker believes his experience living and running a business in the Second Ward would make him a good representative on Ocean City Council if chosen in the May 14 election.
Stryker and his family have resided in the ward since the early 1990s and he operated Arlene’s restaurant on Asbury Avenue for about 17 years. His wife was the face of the business, working the front, while he managed the back.
“My experience in business and living in Second Ward will lend a hand to the needs of the people in the Second Ward and I will be accessible to people in the ward,” he said.
“My business sense running a privately owned, virtually family-run restaurant,” would be a benefit to council cognitively and financially, Stryker added. A graduate of Villanova University, he said he was in the corporate world for a little while and then in the restaurant business off and on for 30 years.
Stryker said he would be an effective ward councilman because he is concerned about the people and he has the time to devote to the office.
He noted he was asked years ago to consider running for Ocean City Council, but he was running a business and raising a family and needed to devote himself to that at the time. He said he revisited the idea of a run for council and decided that his time and his experiences will allow him to be successful at it.
Pressing issues
He said the most pressing issue facing the resort is spending. Stryker said he would speak up for taxpayers because everyone is concerned about spending.
He believes many taxpayers feel left out and that they don’t have a voice in what takes place in the resort.
“That’s what I have been telling people: ‘You do have a voice. You’re a taxpayer.’ Once I get into office I will be accessible to anybody who is a resident of Ocean City, who have a vested interest in what goes on here,” he said.
“I think the most pressing issue is to recognize and to stay on budget, not just go out and spend the taxpayer money frivolously.”
Made in error
Stryker said he didn’t know of any issue before Ocean City Council that was voted in error or in which he believes someone should have voted a different way. That will change once he is on council, he said.
Spending too much
“I think our taxes are among the lowest in New Jersey. No one likes to pay taxes, but government has to spend money to keep things going,” he said. “I see Ocean City government as pretty prudent doing that. I fall back on that I’m not on council and haven’t been a politician.
“At the present time, being a taxpayer, I’m very pleased with the services we have, the cleanliness of the city, the city manpower. I feel that in that way our taxpayer dollars are being spent prudently,” Stryker said. “It’s a safe town to live in. It’s a clean town to live in. It’s a responsive town to live. When the population swells in the summertime, I think the city takes good care of that.”
Spending too little
“I don’t think there is any issue where they’re not spending enough money,” he added, noting the city tackles such a variety of issues. He knows money has been spent doing feasibility studies, such as on building multi-level parking lots.
Being a lay person, it sounds like something they should do, he said, yet they did spend money to look into it and it didn’t seem like it was feasible.
“They came back and said it would lose money over time. That’s really prudent. They spent money to look into that, but it would have been horrible if they spent all that money on something like that and it lost money,” he said. “I think they as a whole look into a lot of things before they jump the gun and just do it.”
Why he’s the best choice
“I’m not a politician. I’m doing this because I’m concerned for the people. I have no aspirations of going on to higher office. I’m just here to devote my time and volunteer for the constituents of the Second Ward and the city as a whole,” Stryker said. “In particular the focus is on the ward, but I’ll be on council, which is responsible for the whole city.
“I think I’m the best person given my experience being in business and being financially prudent there, successfully raising a family,” Stryker said, noting he has two children who were born here and went through the Ocean City school system. That allowed him to be exposed to a lot of issues during his time in the resort.
“I’m that type of general person — not a politician-type person — who has the concerns of the general person. That really makes me the best choice.”
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
City Council Candidate Forum April 29
The Sentinel is sponsoring a Candidate Forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 29, at the Hughes Performing Arts Center auditorium at Ocean City High School. The public is invited to submit questions for consideration via email at oceancitysentinel@comcast.net. The forum is free to attend.