By MADDY VITALE
Ocean City resident Dave Winslow stepped in this month to fill an unexpired term on City Council and on Friday he filed a petition in the City Clerk’s Office to run for the Fourth Ward seat in the General Election on Nov. 7.
On Aug. 10, City Council selected Winslow, a former school board member, in a 6-0 vote, to fill the seat vacated by Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Barr. Barr was selected to fill a vacant seat on the Cape May County Board of Commissioners. Former Commissioner E. Marie Hayes, of Ocean City, resigned to become the new county surrogate in July.
Winslow, 69, a retired human resources executive, has lived in Ocean City since 1977 with his wife, Kathleen. They have lived in the same home on Bayland Drive for 41 years and raised their three sons in Ocean City, where they went through the Ocean City school system.
Winslow stepped away from the public spotlight for years to focus on his career as an executive in human resources.
Following his retirement, he said he is ready to get back into the job of public service.
“I took a little break. I had a very demanding role in my job. I was the vice president for human resources for a multinational company,” Winslow said in an interview Monday. “My father was ill for a while, and I wanted to dedicate time to my family.”
Winslow formerly served in elected office as a member of the Ocean City Board of Education from 1999 to 2007. He also served as Night in Venice chairman beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2000.
After a short hiatus, he became event chairman again for several more years starting in 2006. He returned to that role to oversee this year’s Night in Venice celebration on July 29.
In addition to returning to the role with Night in Venice, he also was appointed over the summer to the Ocean City Free Public Library Board of Trustees to fill the spot vacated by Brian Broadley.
However, when Winslow was appointed to City Council, he had to step down from the library board.
“I always thought I would come back,” Winslow said of public service. “My parents were a part of things, too. I guess it is part of my DNA to be involved.”
Winslow would not only have to run in the General Election to fill Barr’s unexpired term through June 30, 2024, but he would also have to run in the municipal election in May 2024 if he wanted to be elected to a full four-year term on Council in the Fourth Ward, City Clerk Melissa Rasner said.
Candidates planning to run in the Nov. 7 election for the Fourth Ward seat have until Aug. 24 to submit their petitions to the City Clerk’s Office to be placed on the ballot. As of Monday, no candidates other than Winslow have filed nominating petitions yet, Rasner said.
Winslow was the only candidate considered for the Council appointment on Aug. 10 and he was endorsed by Barr to be his replacement.
He said he approached Barr about the idea of filling his unexpired term on Council.
“I said I’d like to sit down and understand the issues and he and I struck up a friendship. We have a good relationship,” Winslow said of Barr. “He started a lot of work in the Fourth Ward, and I promised him I would carry on the work and take it a step further.”
He is happy to be on Council and hopes to continue the work that Barr started, he said.
“When someone contacts me, I always get back to them,” Winslow said. “I don’t leave people hanging. I consider it an honor when people contact me for help.”
