Opts for critic of administration instead of supporter
By DAVID NAHAN
Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Showing that the rift on Ocean City Council is alive and well, members refused to support Karen Bergman’s bid for the open vice president spot, choosing instead one of the least-tenured members who is a critic of the administration.
Councilman Michael DeVlieger bid farewell to Ocean City Council Thursday evening, Aug. 12, leaving open the vice president position he was re-elected to at the annual reorganization meeting in July.
At the reorganization in July, Bergman sought the vice president’s position with the support of fellow Councilman Pete Madden, but was not supported by the other five members of council, including DeVlieger, Keith Hartzell, Jody Levchuk, Tomaso Rotondi and President Bob Barr. Instead, the five-member majority picked DeVlieger. A few weeks later, DeVlieger announced he was resigning from council.
On Thursday night, when the floor was open for nominations to replace DeVlieger as VP, Madden nominated Bergman and she seconded. At the roll call, they were the only two to support her.
After that, Hartzell nominated Rotondi, who just finished his first year in office. Levchuk, who also just finished his first year in office, seconded the nomination.
All but Madden supported Rotondi.
Afterward, Madden noted that Bergman was now the second-most-tenured member of council behind Hartzell. In the future, he said, “It would be nice to see her in a position of leadership as a female and highly tenured person on council.”
“Karen, I definitely look up to you for a leadership perspective,” Levchuk said. “It was classy of you to vote for Tom. I’m glad you did that.”
The rift on council has become increasingly apparent since late fall and grew during the winter and spring.
Madden and Bergman have generally been supportive of Mayor Jay Gillian’s administration and have asserted some of the actions taken by council are overstepping its bounds by trying to micromanage the city.
Rotondi has been highly critical of the administration for being slow to adopt his proposal – supported by council – to put in place a pool of qualified engineering firms from which the city can choose to bid on projects. He has assailed to numerous contracts to one firm in particular, ACT Engineers, that has handled most of the city’s dredging projects over the past six years.
Most of the contracts approved with ACT Engineers have had the full support of council over the years, including Hartzell, Barr and DeVlieger.
There is a mayoral election next spring and the three at-large seats now occupied by Madden, Bergman and Hartzell also are up for election.
Vacant First Ward
Barr said people interested in being appointed to DeVlieger’s First Ward seat need to apply by Aug. 20. They must fill out a citizen leadership form, available on the city’s web site at ocnj.us and include a resume if they wish.
Council will review the applications, with the mayor, at the Aug. 26 and/or Sept. 9 meetings and then vote someone into the position.
It will be temporary: whoever is appointed will have to run in the Nov. 2 general election to fill out the rest of DeVlieger’s term, which ends in 2024.
At the council meeting, DeVlieger recommended appointing Terry Crowley, a member of the Planning board, to his spot.