OCEAN CITY — All four incumbents and six others – including two former councilmen – have taken out nominating papers for the May 14 City Council election.
The four ward seats and the remaining term of Karen Bergman’s at-large seat are up for grabs in the spring election.
Terry Crowley Jr., who was chosen as the new vice president of Ocean City Council this week, has already returned his nomination papers for his First Ward seat, as has Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow. Winslow was appointed to his seat last year when Bobby Barr resigned after being appointed to the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners.
The petitions for Crowley and Winslow have been certified.
Crowley’s name was the only one put forward for the vice president position at Thursday evening’s council meeting. Bergman had been serving as vice president before she resigned.
Crowley received support from Council President Pete Madden and council members Winslow, John Polcini, Tom Rotondi and himself. Councilman Jody Levchuk abstained from the vote but did not cite a reason.
Madden announced that City Council would not appoint an interim to fill Bergman’s position and would wait for the May 14 municipal election to allow voters to choose the at-large member to fill the unexpired term. Bergman was last re-elected in 2022 to a four-year term. She was initially elected to council in 2008, serving as the Second Ward representative, but after moving was elected to an at-large position in 2015.
Bergman has taken over as supervisor of the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center after the city assumed operations from Cape May County at the beginning of February.
At Thursday evening’s meeting, former First Ward councilman Michael DeVlieger thanked council for not appointing an interim council person and noted he planned to run for the seat. He has taken out papers to run for the at-large position.
DeVlieger was a long-serving councilman in the First Ward, but resigned in August 2021, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. Crowley was appointed to fill his remaining term in office and later was elected to his ward seat.
DeVlieger then ran for an at-large seat in the 2022 City Council election, but finished fifth in a six-way race for the three seats. Bergman, Polcini and Madden won the at-large seats.
Rotondi, who was still serving his first term in the Second Ward but ran for an at-large seat, finished fourth. (He retained his ward seat.)
Bergman earned the most votes, 2,328, followed by Polcini with 2,020, Madden with 1,991, Rotondi with 1,948, DeVlieger with 1,760 and Donna Moore with 1,548.
There is a regular council election every two years. In 2022, the at-large seats and the mayor’s position were up for election. Former city councilman Keith Hartzell did not run for re-election to his at-large seat in the 2022 election, choosing instead to challenge incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian.
Hartzell lost the mayoral race. He received 1,953 votes; Gillian won with 2,348.
Hartzell has also taken out nomination papers for the spring election, but did not specify whether he was seeking an at-large or ward seat.
Prospective ward candidates must get a minimum of 25 signatures of residents living within wards two, three and four, respectively, and 27 signatures in ward one (1 percent of registered voters in the last general election but not less than 25). For the at-large seat, candidates must get at least 100 signatures.
Levchuk, who represents the Third Ward, and Rotondi, who represents the Second Ward, have both taken out nominating papers. Rotondi said on Friday he is keeping his options open on whether to run for his ward seat or the at-large seat, but will decide soon. Levchuk said he would be seeking re-election to his ward seat.
Paul Stryker has taken out papers for the Second Ward and Amie Vaules for the Third Ward.
Sean Barnes also has taken out nominating papers as did Carol Keenan (for another candidate) but did not specify ward or at-large.
The deadline for nominating petitions to be filed for the May election is 4 p.m. Feb. 29.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff