By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. became the first candidate Monday to formally file nominating petitions in what is expected to be an intriguing Ocean City municipal election in May.
Crowley was joined by his wife, Jennifer, and son, Ian, while submitting his paperwork to City Clerk Melissa Rasner. His other son, Tripp, is a student at Penn State University.
He is seeking re-election in the First Ward, an area that stretches from the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to the north side of Fourth Street.
Nominating petitions must be submitted by the candidates by Feb. 29 to be eligible to run in the May 14 municipal election, Rasner said.
City Council’s four ward seats are all up for election for full four-year terms. Second Ward Councilman Tom Rotondi, Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk and Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow have all taken out nominating petitions, but have not yet returned them, Rasner said.
Making the election even more interesting is the vacancy created by the resignation this month of At-Large Councilwoman Karen Bergman, who stepped down to take a new job as supervisor of Ocean City’s senior citizens center.
There will be a spot on the election ballot for candidates seeking to fill Bergman’s unexpired term through 2026.
The race for Bergman’s old seat could be highly competitive. Former First Ward Councilman Mike DeVlieger has already announced that he will run for the at-large seat. DeVlieger has taken out nominating petitions, but has not yet turned them in, Rasner said.
Former At-Large Councilman Keith Hartzell, Ocean City realtor Sean Barnes and local realtor and restaurateur Paul Stryker have also picked up nominating petitions, but have not yet submitted them to the City Clerk’s Office, Rasner said.
Hartzell, Barnes and Stryker haven’t formally announced their candidacy yet or specified whether they will seek a ward seat or run for Bergman’s old seat. Hartzell had to step down from Council after he ran in the 2022 mayoral election against Mayor Jay Gillian and lost.
Meanwhile, Crowley said there was no strategic or significant reason for him being the first candidate to submit his nominating petitions.
“I feel that I’ve done a good job in the ward. As I’ve gone out and got petitions signed, I feel like I’ve gotten good feedback from residents. As I stated when I ran the first time, I want to continue the great work that’s been done in the First Ward and in all of Ocean City for the benefit of the taxpayers, the residents and the tourists,” he said in an interview Monday.
Crowley was suddenly thrust into the spotlight of city government in August 2021 when he was appointed by Council to temporarily fill a vacancy created when DeVlieger stepped down to focus on a family crisis.
Then, Crowley followed up by winning a special election in November 2021 to fill DeVlieger’s unexpired term through June 30, 2024. The municipal election on May 14 will be for a full, four-year term through 2028 for Council’s four ward seats.
No longer a newcomer to elected politics, Crowley said he wants to continue representing the First Ward to build on the momentum of his first 2½ years serving on the governing body.
When he hits the campaign trail, Crowley said he intends to highlight an array of projects and initiatives that the city has undertaken to benefit residents and visitors.
One important accomplishment was the placement of more of the popular handicap-accessible mobility mats on the beaches with the help of a $25,000 grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, he said.
“We expanded the beach mat program. We were able to get a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation and we’ve done a lot with beach replenishment. A lot of individual projects for homeowners, whether it encompasses new curbs, driveway cutouts or the dredging that is taking place in the back bays, have been vital to the First Ward,” Crowley said.
He emphasized that for any issue, “it’s just listening to your constituents, getting them an answer and following up on their needs.”
Although he now has experience serving in elected office, Crowley said he views himself more as an advocate for the public, rather than thinking of himself as a politician.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable being a politician. I view my job as being an advocate for the people that I represent,” he said. “But it has been a learning experience. It is certainly something you can’t just come into and hit the ground running.”
“There are just so many components that go into the job – from the budget to capital projects from the different maintenance and road projects that we do around town. There are so many moving pieces and there are so many people involved. That has really been one of my biggest learning experiences, just realizing the breadth of employees and professionals that the city interacts with. How do we bring them all together to achieve desired results?” he added.
The 53-year-old Crowley is an account executive with the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
His father, Terry Crowley Sr. is a longtime educator who came out of retirement this year to serve as interim superintendent of the Ocean City school district until a new full-time superintendent is hired.
