Mayor’s war chest grows to just shy of $100,000; Kelly has topped $45,000
OCEAN CITY — In the latest reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJELEC), due 11 days pre-election, the three mayoral candidates in Ocean City reported raising a total of $184,921, with Mayor Jay Gillian outpacing his opponents.
City Council Vice President Pete Madden and Second Ward Councilman Keith Hartzell are running against the four-term incumbent.
Madden’s contributions were listed at $57,962 and expenditures at $43,880. He filed his report May 1.
Giving $5,000 each to Madden were Thomas Heist, Anthony and Giuseppina Hipple, Timothy Tower and Vincent Viney. Madden donated $4,500, and four people gave $2,500 each — John J. Dougherty & Son Inc., Remington & Vernick Engineers, Connie Ryan and Timothy Ryan.
Marc Cerceo of Icona Resorts donated $2,000, as did Dairy Maid Confectionery Inc. Contributors who gave $1,000 each were Joseph Hand, Robert Hill, Scott Johnson, Tom & Nancy Londres, Tim Muller, the Realtors Political Action Committee, Shriver’s Salt Water Taffy & Fudge; Burton Wilkins and Emily Wilkins.
Hartzell’s contributions were listed at $27,535 with expenditures at $22,477. He contributed $20,435 to his own campaign. Helen Hamilton, Albert Kendro and William Merritt gave $1,000 each.
His report was filed May 3. The other donations to Hartzell were much smaller.
Gillian reported total contributions of $99,434, with the two biggest coming from the Committee to Elect Paul Stryker (a previous candidate for City Council), $10,835; and $10,000 from Keith Leonard. Gillian filed his report May 4.
He received $5,000 donations each from Brian Broadley, Scott Halliday, Margaret McDonald, TTFL Holding Corp. of Bellmawr and Patricia Whitcraft Hughes; $4,000 each from Albert G. Juliano Builders LLC and Patrick Halliday; and $3,000 each from BH OC Holdings LLC, Scott Georgetti and the Halliday Real Estate Group.
David R. Hughes donated $2,500 twice; Lawrence Paul gave $2,500; and giving $2,000 each were David Beyel, Cheryl Huber, Ocean City Builders/Developers LLC and Joseph Ranieri.
The mayoral election is May 12. Voters will choose from among Gillian, Hartzell and Madden and pick three at-large City Council candidates from a field of four — incumbents Sean Barnes and Tony Polcini and newcomers Jim Kelly and Jocelyn Palaganas.
Palaganas reported $1,000 in donations, $500 each from Scott Halliday and the Realtors Political Action Committee.
Barnes reported $3,500 in donations, $1,000 each from Ralph Clayton, Dave Liess and Elaine Morris-Goralski; and $500 from William Merritt.
Polcini had contributions of $15,561. His largest donors were Patrick & Cynthia O’Hara, $5,000; Edward & Barbara Arena, $2,000; Linda Iorio, $1,000; Pete Madden, $1,000; and Mark Benevento, $980.
Kelly has raised $46,326 with $15,00 coming from the candidate himself, including a $10,000 loan and contributions of $4,000 and $1,000.
William Merritt, who worked with Kelly on the Ocean City 2050 group, donated $5,500, as did Karen D. Mileti. Other sizable donors included CGI Communication, $4,238; Elizabeth Treffeisen, $3,060; John Parsons, $1,030; and Dave Liess, $1,000.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff