Says he’s not going to take criticism without responding;
council candidate posts documents on Facebook, criticizes mayor
Editor’s note: This story has been updated after City Council candidate Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes posted documents and comments about Mayor Jay Gillian on her Facebook page.
OCEAN CITY — Mayor Jay Gillian isn’t going to take it anymore.
He was feisty during Thursday evening’s Ocean City Council meeting, speaking up multiple times about remarks made during public comment.
He defended himself and council over the budget, city government’s payroll, unspecified complaints of favoritism and the claim council is just a rubber stamp for him.
“I’m tired of me being challenged and not being able to say anything,” Gillian said at the end of the meeting during which council had approved the $113 million budget that includes a 3.7-cent increase on the tax rate.
“I sat here two years ago while I had my ass handed to me by a few people and I didn’t say anything. I’m not doing that any more,” he added, referencing ongoing criticism during the prior mayoral and council campaign seasons.
While comments he made earlier in the meeting were in response to citizen comment about the budget and from lame-duck Councilman Tom Rotondi (see related story), he saved his most intense response for former councilman Michael DeVlieger.
DeVlieger was elected three times to council before resigning partway through his third term. He ran unsuccessfully to get back on council in the 2022 election and is running in the May 14 election for the remaining term of an at-large position.
The former councilman stood up during the second public comment portion “to clarify” remarks made during the April 25 Candidate Forum hosted by the Ocean City Sentinel. Although the clarification ostensibly was to say it is better for council and the administration to butt heads sometimes, he also stood by his comments that the mayor was indebted to developers in town and calling three council members “pawns” of the administration.
“I said the mayor was indebted to that community,” DeVlieger said. “I stand by that. I called three council people pawns.”
Saying he wants to be truthful about the way he sees things, he criticized members he formerly served with, and some currently on council, saying they never voted against anything the administration put forward.
He admitted he voted with the administration 95 percent of the time, but that other 5 percent should mean rolling up their sleeves and asking tough questions, to maybe table things to bring them back later and better.
DeVlieger said it wasn’t a personal attack.
“I’m just trying to shake things up,” he said.
After he spoke, DeVlieger left the meeting.
Just as Council President Pete Madden was calling for a motion to adjourn, Gillian spoke up, getting more intense as he went on.
The mayor said by the time he and council members arrive in council chambers, they have all done their homework.
“This isn’t a room where you’re supposed to have fights and argue and call names,” he said. Gillian said newspapers “just have headlines” that don’t look good and don’t reflect “what really happened” and called commentary on social media “crap.”
Addressing council, he said they are all individuals and while they work together, they don’t always agree on everything.
“There are some tough things between us every now and then, but we get experts together and figure it out.… The best government works together to make good decisions for the taxpayers. And that’s what we do up here.”
Referencing DeVlieger, he said, “Every now and then, especially for someone who sat up here to come up and say you’re yes men to me. The thing that agitates me more than anything? Prove it.
“If I have such allegiances, tell me who it is. Show it. I’m getting tired of everybody accusing me of something that’s not true just because it’s an election,” Gillian said.
“I wish Michael was here because it gets old and tiring,” Gillian said, adding it was an insult to imply the members of council were yes-men or rubber stamps.
“You can’t say whatever the hell you want just because you want to get elected,” he continued.
Although he said he welcomes public comment, he said personal attacks made against officials most deeply hurt their families. Dispelling unspecified criticisms of favoritism, he said whenever most of his friends have to deal with the city, “it’s worse for them.” He said if people want to allege favoritism to go down to code enforcement and show where it is happening.
The mayor said he doesn’t have time to hold grudges and asked Rotondi and Councilman John “Tony P” Polcini to verify that no matter who calls him, he tries to help. They did.
“I worked too hard today. I’m a little edgy. I’m telling you. I’m not going to sit here and take it anymore,” he said. Banging the table with his finger, he added, “ If you have something against me, bring the proof up. Don’t just come up here and give me your opinions.”
After that, council adjourned.
Gallelli-Keyes goes after Gillian, Winslow
Sunday evening, Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes, a former Ocean City school board member who is running for the Fourth Ward council seat against incumbent Dave Winslow, posted documents on her Facebook page along with criticism of Gillian and Winslow.
She said the source of the documents was a story about DeVlieger’s response to Gillian that was reportedly posted then deleted from a local website.
The documents show the lenders for Gillian’s Ocean Reef Condominium are developers Eustace Mita and Scott Halliday.
There is a $1 million mortgage from The John F. Mita Trust for the family of Eustace Mita for the $975,000 property sale and a $69,148 loan from Ocean City Boardwalk Ventures, LLC, of which Halliday is a principal.
Mita, a developer of luxury properties, publicly rescued Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, spending $8 million to pay off loans on the boardwalk amusement park. Mita made a presentation before Ocean City Council to build a luxury hotel on land adjacent to the park, on city-owned property between Carey Stadium and the boardwalk, but council and the mayor himself opposed that.
On her Facebook page, Gallelli-Keyes asserted the documents show Gillian is beholden to developers, as is, by extension, Winslow, because he is supported by the mayor. As part of her campaign, Gallelli-Keyes has asserted that she is beholden to no special interests.
– STORY by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
