Madden outpaces Gillian, Hartzell; Kelly far ahead in council race funding
OCEAN CITY — Pete Madden has received the most donations in the mayoral race in Ocean City, well above incumbent Jay Gillian and nearly double that of fellow challenger Keith Hartzell.
Spending in the four-way race for the three at-large seats on City Council was much lower, but with one newcomer, Jim Kelly, greatly outpacing the others.
In all, the three mayoral candidates reported a total of $113,007 in their first 2026 filings with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
Madden reported donations of $50,005.
Gillian has received $36,717 in his first filing with the NJ ELEC and Hartzell has $26,285.
Madden’s donors
Thomas Heist, Anthony C. & Giuseppina Hipple, Timothy Tower and Vincent Viney each has donated $5,000 to Madden’s campaign.
Madden was among a group that each donated $2,500; it includes John J. Dougherty & Son Inc., Remington & Vernick Engineers, Connie Ryan and Timothy Ryan.
Madden got $2,000 from Marc Cerceo and Dairy Maid Confectionery Co., and $1,000 each from Robert Hill, Scott Johnson, Tom & Nancy Londres, Tim Mullen, Burton Wilkins and Emily Wilkins. Brian Philip Liess gave $800; Ryan Ladd and Kevin Stauffer $540 each; $520 from Fritz Hastings; and $500 apiece from Thomas Juliano, Katie Kokol, Michael Lahiff, Miller Marco and Jon Robbins.
Christopher Warren gave $400; Bob Hallinan $300; and $250 each from Michel Moyer, Brian Murphy, Michael Romero and Burton Wilkins III. Michael Duncan donated $240; John Reid $225; and Erika Simpson and Y. Ruslan $220 each.
Hartzell’s donors
The bulk of Hartzell’s donations, $20,435, came from the candidate himself.
He received $1,000 donations from Bill Merritt, Helen Hamilton and Albert Kendro, $500 each from Richard T. Crawford and Brian Hartley, and $300 each from Robert Marceluk and Jeffrey Miller.
William Benson and Marie Crawford gave $200 each; Richard Barth, $150; and $100 each from Arthur Hicks, Monica Hodges, Stephen Lalli, Samuel Rosetti and James Tweed. Mary Barth and Eileen Legates POD donated $50 each.
Gillian’s donors
The biggest donations to Gillian’s campaign were $5,417 from the Committee to Elect Paul Stryker (a one-time candidate for City Council), and $5,000 from Keith Leonard. Donating $2,500 each were Albert G. Juliano Builders LLC, Brian Broadley, Scott Halliday and David Hughes. Patrick Halliday donated $2,000. Giving $1,500 each were BH OC Holdings LLC, Scott Georgetti and the Halliday Real Estate Group; and giving $1,000 apiece were David Beyel, Cheryl Huber, Ocean City Builders/Developers LLC and Joseph Ranieri.
Giving $500 each were Michael Cohan, Brett Denafo, William Elliott, Guzzo Masonry Inc., Denise Jessel, Gary Jessel, Normalee Linforth, Douglas Miller and Edward Salmon.
Frank Worrell gave Gillian $300; Stephen Gring and Samuel Lavner donated $250 each; and Gail Blevin and Val Mats gave $200 each. Other donors to the Gillian campaign were Ed and Joanna Hilinski, $100.
The mayor’s job pays $40,000 a year.
City Council
Jim Kelly, who is running for one of the three at-large seats in the May 12 election along with fellow newcomer Jocelyn Palaganas and incumbents Sean Barnes and Tony Polcini, reported the most donations — $23,629.
Kelly has been a frequent commenter at City Council meetings through his involvement with Ocean City 2050 and Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, organizations that have been fighting Eustace Mita’s proposal for an eight-story upscale hotel at the former Wonderland Pier amusement park site.
Palaganas reported the least — zero.
Kelly donated $5,000 to his own campaign; Karen D. Mileti contributed $5,500 to him; Elizabeth Treffeisen gave $2,060; John Parsons, $1,030; and Dave Liess $1,000. There were $2,077 in total donations of amounts under $200.
Other donors included Richard Barth, $566.60; Harold Atkinson, Snehal Avichael, Chip Hill, Alberto Kendro and Joseph McHale, $515 each; Glenn R. Giveans, $510.30; Annmarie Giveans, $500; Kathleen D. Palermo, $500; Elizabeth Crawford, $360.50; and Carol Marceluk, $300. Giving $257.50 each were Michael Flynn, Jeffrey Miller, Lisa Sarajian, and Terry Sharkey; and donating $206 each were Joseph Barbagalio (twice) and Deb Reilly.
Polcini reported a total of $10,600.
Patrick and Cynthia O’Hara donated $5,000 to Polcini’s campaign; Edward and Barbara Arena gave $2,000; and mayoral candidate Madden gave $1,000.
Donating $500 each were Atlantic Coast Dentistry for Children and Raab Family LLC; James and Annett Giaquinto and Anthony Urbano gave $300 each; and providing $250 apiece were Kelly Anderson, Christopher T. Ohara, Patrick Ohara Jr. and Stacey Tucker.
Barnes listed $3,500 in donations — $1,000 each from Ralph Clayton, Dave Liess and Elaine Morris-Goralski; and $500 from William Merritt.
The municipal election is May 12.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff