Congratulations to all the winning candidates: Mayor Jay Gillian on his re-election, and Jim Kelly, Sean Barnes, and Tony Polcini on their election to City Council.
While we may not have gotten every result we had hoped for, this election revealed something very powerful: Residents made it clear they want to be part of shaping what comes next for Ocean City. People are paying attention. Neighbors got involved. New voices stepped forward. It is now the duty of our elected leadership to welcome and listen to community voices on the critical issues before us.
What began as a $1.5 million loan for a failed amusement park venture in Sea Isle City over a decade and a half ago has spiraled into a tangled legal drama involving Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, developer Eustace Mita, bankruptcy court, and the fate of Wonderland Pier. After Gillian defaulted on the loan — a debt backed by his parents’ home — financial troubles mounted, eventually threatening both his family and the iconic boardwalk property.
Ocean City is the place I chose, drawn here, like so many of us, by something rare: a town where generations gather on the same Boardwalk, where the same break still draws surfers like me out before sunrise, and where the rhythm of summer carries the memory of every summer that came before.
That inheritance is real. The question on the ballot May 12 is what we do with it.
OCEAN CITY — The political action committee Our Ocean City has been weighing in on the upcoming mayoral and City Council elections, but aside from its very public positions, there is not much disclosed about the organization.
It has been visible with ads in the Ocean City Sentinel, backing incumbent Sean Barnes and newcomer Jim Kelly for City Council and supporting Second Ward Councilman Keith Hartzell in his bid to defeat four-term incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian.
At the April 23 City Council meeting concerning the mayor’s budget, and also earlier in the week in a blog post, Mayor Jay Gillian went on the defense to respond to campaign criticisms around budget mismanagement. It was clear questions had struck a nerve.
To discredit his critics, the mayor cited a recent S&P Global report for reassurance, but failed to mention another part of the same report that raised cautions about the city’s credit rating.
Our Ocean City PAC was established with a straightforward goal: to support a more balanced and open civic process in Ocean City.
EMAILS
5/11 Vote tomorrow, May 12
5/2 $2M Mita-Gillian Agreement Raises Conflict of Interest Questions
4/25 Big Decisions for OC Require Integrity and Independence
4/20 Livability, Not More Listings
4/9 We Are Ocean City, and Believe It’s Time for a Change
