By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Mayor Jay Gillian touted his accomplishments ranging from Ocean City’s recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy to the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic while launching his re-election bid Sunday for a fourth term.
In what is a major theme of his campaign leading up to the May 10 municipal election, he focused on the city’s extensive infrastructure program to improve the beaches, Boardwalk, neighborhoods, roads and drainage systems during his 11 years in office.
He also pointed out the benefits of the city’s flood-mitigation projects, new stormwater pumping stations built across town and a multimillion-dollar dredging program to clear muddy sediment from lagoons along the back bays.
Gillian pledged to continue the city’s infrastructure improvements if he is re-elected. He also emphasized the city’s record of “fiscal responsibility” during his time in office.
“The reason we’ve been able to achieve so much is fiscal responsibility,” he said. “We are maintaining Ocean City without burdening future generations. We have been named New Jersey’s most tax-friendly municipality.”
He also underscored a number of family-friendly recreation amenities accomplished by his administration and City Council, including the acquisition of open space and the construction of new pickleball courts and a skateboard park.
“We unified City Council and began fixing Ocean City infrastructure. Everything we’ve accomplished has been because we put nonsense aside and worked together for the community,” he said while kicking off his campaign at his family-owned Gillian’s Wonderland Pier amusement park on the Boardwalk.
Video courtesy of Martin Fiedler of Just Right TV Productions and Mayor Jay Gillian’s re-election campaign.
Speaking before more than 100 supporters, Gillian used Wonderland Pier’s historic carousel as the backdrop for his announcement. The amusement park was started by his grandfather, David Gillian, in 1929 and continued under his father, Roy Gillian, a former Ocean City mayor, before Jay Gillian took over as the third-generation owner.
Jay Gillian said he had planned to refinance Wonderland Pier before the pandemic struck and caused severe hardship for the amusement industry. Then he had to scrap his refinancing plans.
He now has a partnership with Icona Resorts developer Eustace Mita and “great things” are planned for the amusement park known for its iconic Ferris wheel, he said.
“COVID damaged our industry, and like so many others, I got my team together and we looked at my options and we planned for the future. And those plans included partnering with the Mita family. As our press release said at the time, it was two families joining together to take Gillian’s Wonderland Pier into the future,” he said.
“So stay tuned. (There will be) new rides, new experiences and great things to come. As our theme song says, try that roller-coaster ride and that giant (Ferris) wheel to touch the sky. I promise you, you’ll be touching that sky and grabbing that brass ring for many more years here at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier,” he added.
Gillian said he learned to become an even stronger leader during tumultuous times, including when Sandy and the pandemic hit. He said he remains proud of how his administration helped the city and community recover from Sandy’s devastating blow to the Jersey Shore in October 2012.
“We all know that since that superstorm came in, it knocked us all. But we were ready. That was one thing I was so proud of, too. We’ve always been ready for anything that comes our way. We helped people get back into Ocean City, get back into their homes and we helped the businesses reopen,” he said.
He noted that lessons learned from Sandy have helped the city with its response to the pandemic, including helping senior citizens and others get their vaccinations.
“When COVID hit, as we did after Sandy, we assembled a team and we communicated and educated citizens through the crisis,” Gillian said. “We helped seniors and the most in need to get vaccination appointments. We continue to stay in contact with our local hospital and medical professionals to keep our community informed. That’s one thing we did. We called our hospital, we talked to the experts.”
State Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, a former Ocean City councilman and one of Gillian’s key supporters, praised Gillian for the way he handled both Hurricane Sandy’s response and the COVID crisis.
“Jay’s been unbelievable in times of turmoil,” McClellan said in opening remarks during Gillian’s re-election kickoff. “When Sandy hit, he didn’t wait for anybody. He took care of Ocean City. It was all about Ocean City. He made sure that our residents stayed home. He made sure that our residents had time to celebrate the holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas. He made sure that families and the kids had presents. He gave back.”
“In the time of the pandemic, he didn’t wait for the state to do any handouts,” McClellan continued. “He wanted to make sure that he protected the citizens of Ocean City. He is a lifelong giver of his time, of his money, of a commitment to this community. And that’s what we’ll continue to need, a commitment to this community.”
McClellan also spoke of Gillian’s lifelong ties to the city.
“A lifelong commitment, born and raised here – all about here,” McClellan said of Gillian. “He has sand between his toes, salt air in his lungs and he’s going to continue to do what needs to be done for this community.”
Gillian, 57, first won election in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2018. City Councilman Keith Hartzell announced in September that he will run against Gillian for mayor in the city’s nonpartisan election in May.
Among those joining Gillian at his re-election announcement Sunday were City Council members Pete Madden and Karen Bergman and Cape May County Commissioner E. Marie Hayes, a resident of Ocean City.
Madden and Bergman are also up for re-election this year. Bergman said they are both planning to run again and will make a formal announcement in the upcoming weeks.
