By Donald Wittkowski
Ocean City Councilmen Antwan McClellan and Michael DeVlieger submitted their nominating petitions Friday to have their names placed on the ballot for the May 10 municipal election.
DeVlieger, who represents the First Ward, and McClellan, Councilman for the Second Ward, were elected in 2012 and are seeking their second four-year term on the governing body.
Both men stated they are running for re-election to continue the work they started when they first joined Council.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” DeVlieger said.
A top priority of their campaigns will be the dredging, roadway, beach replenishment and flood-mitigation projects that are part of the city’s proposed $98.5 million capital plan.
They also support the construction of a proposed pumping station in the north end of town to help alleviate tidal flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.
“These neighborhoods have had flooding for decades from storms. If we can bring some relief to those neighborhoods, it would be a great thing,” DeVlieger said.
The pumping station is proposed at Sixth Street and Bay Avenue. McClellan noted that he would consider having it built at another site in the north end in response to neighborhood concerns in his ward and lingering questions over whether another location would be better to help solve the flooding.
The city’s proposed $20 million dredging program to clear out clogged lagoons along the back bays is another major project supported by DeVlieger and McClellan.
“Dredging is a major concern and also the flooding,” McClellan said.
DeVlieger, 49, is an executive recruiter and one of the new owners of the OCNJDAILY.com digital news site.
McClellan, 41, is a Purchasing Department buyer for Cape May County.
Monday, March 7, is the deadline for City Council candidates to file their petitions with the Clerk’s Office. DeVlieger and McClellan are the only ones so far to hand in petitions for their respective wards and are likely to run unopposed, barring a last-minute filing by another candidate to beat Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Even if they run unchallenged, both DeVlieger and McClellan said they are planning to mount vigorous campaigns that will keep them in close contact with their constituents.
“I’m running for the quality of life for the people of the First Ward and the city as a whole,” DeVlieger said.
“I will continue to work hard,” McClellan said. “I will continue to knock on doors.”
DeVlieger and McClellan are the latest candidates to file their petitions. Councilwoman At-Large Karen Bergman, Third Ward Councilman Tony Wilson and Fourth Ward candidate Brenda Moiso have also submitted petitions, according to City Clerk Melissa Bovera.
Bovera said other candidates have taken out petitions but have not yet returned them to the Clerk’s Office. They include H. Lloyd Hayes III, for the Council at-large seat, Georgina Shanley, in the Third Ward, and Fourth Ward candidates Edward Price, Bart Russell, Sharon Gawel and Robert Barr. Price, who is considering his options, has also taken out petitions for the at-large seat, according to a list of candidates compiled by the Clerk’s Office.
Fourth Ward Councilman Peter Guinosso has decided not to seek re-election, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.
