By ERIC AVEDISSIAN/Sentinel staff
Tom Rotondi gets his paperwork to run for Ocean City Council from City Clerk Melissa Rasner last week.
OCEAN CITY – Tom Rotondi was a soldier, a police officer, and a salesman and if all goes right in the May 12 election, he could add city councilman to his resume.
Rotondi, 41, filed his petition with the city clerk March 5 to run as a candidate for the vacant Second Ward council seat.
He presented his paperwork to City Clerk Melissa Rasner and posed for photographs, his wife and children by his side.
“I love Ocean City. I’ve been here for over ten years. My kids were all born and they’re going to be raised here. I’ve always been civically minded,” Rotondi said. “I’ve always been interested in giving back. When this seat was open and it was vacant and Antwan McClellan, who we helped to elect to the state Assembly, I figured I could lend my expertise of negotiations and what I do in my private life.”
Ocean City’s Second Ward extends from the south side of Fourth Street to the north side of 12th Street.
McClellan vacated his council seat after being elected to the New Jersey Assembly with Lower Township Mayor Erik Simonsen last November.
McClellan left council in January, just days before he was inaugurated to represent the First Legislative District. Council chose not to appoint someone to fill his seat, leaving it open.
Rotondi is an Ocean City resident who bought his family’s first home two months before Hurricane Sandy struck the region. He was raised by and worked in a small business family while growing up in Lower Township.
From 1997 to 2000 he served in the U.S. Army. After returning from the service, Rotondi graduated as class president from the Cape May County Police Academy. He served with the Lower Township Police Department for two years and then with the State Department of Corrections.
“I wanted a different direction for my family so I decided to go into private consulting,” Rotondi said.
He worked for a small local insurance firm in Linwood, then got recruited for the Marsh and McLennan Agency’s Cape May office where he specializes in employee health and benefits consulting for non-profit, municipality and health care providers.
“What I want to do in life is help people,” Rotondi said.
He said his father came to the United States from Italy when he was 13.
“He always said how much he loved America,” Rotondi said. “I’m very patriotic. I followed my mom’s father’s trail where he went into the United States Army and then became a police officer.”
Rotondi pledged that if elected he would keep Ocean City a safe, family-friendly and thriving community.
He is a current member of the Ocean City zoning board, where he was unanimously appointed by city council in 2016. He is also a volunteer coach with Ocean City tee ball and a Master Mason with Cape Island Lodge No. 30. Additionally he sits on multiple boards and is an active volunteer with “Hand-to-Hand Mission to Haiti,” a non-profit organization that hand-delivers solar lights, food, education supplies and tuition for the children in Haiti.
He said he wants to listen to the Second Ward residents and hear their concerns.
“We all want lower taxes. We want to have a safe community. We want to make sure our schools are safe and that our Boardwalk is safe and that we’re doing the right thing to balance out the family aspect of our town,” Rotondi said. “Not only are we the greatest family resort, we’re the greatest family town.”
Rotondi said the city should also be doing the right thing with taxes, flood mitigation and securing grants and doing shared services agreement with the county and other municipalities.
He and his wife of eight years, Stephanie, have three children. Rotondi said he wants Ocean City to retain what makes it a unique place.
“My grandkids are going to surf on the same beaches as my kids. We’re never leaving Ocean City. I love it,” Rotondi said. “I want to see Ocean City protected. I want to see Ocean City stay Ocean City as we move into the future. I want to keep Ocean City the great family resort that it is.”
Another candidate, Gabe Staino, filed his papers to run for Second Ward council, then dropped out of the race this week.
Four four-year ward seats are up for grabs in the municipal election. Only the Third Ward is contested with Boardwalk businessman Jody Levchuk challenging incumbent Tony Wilson.