Final Tab on Winning Ocean City Mayoral Campaign: $47,132

Incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian spent $47,131.84 to win his second term in office, according to 20-day-post election reports released on Monday (June 9).

Gillian used nearly twice as much money as his opponent, Ed Price, who spent $20,669.61 on the campaign.

Gillian was re-elected to a four-year term in a May 13 municipal election that also filled three at-large seats on City Council. Incumbents Michael Allegretto and Keith Hartzell were re-elected to their third terms and first-time candidate Pete Madden also won a seat.

Gillian's campaign was self-financed. He reimbursed a $10,000 contribution from his father, former mayor Roy Gillian, that exceeded the legal limit for an individual donor (see related story). And he accepted a $1,200 in-kind contribution from attorney Joel A. Mott III for the rent of a campaign office, according to the campaign finance reports.

The Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) 20-day post-election reports were due June 2 and released on June 9. The reports give the public a glimpse of campaign contributors and campaign expenses. New Jersey’s ELEC was formed in 1973 to make elections more transparent.

In a five-way race for the three at-large seats on City Council, Hartzell spent $18,908, and Madden spent $21,499. Allegretto and first-time candidates Hyson and Sauder declared that they would not spend more than $4,500 on the campaign, which limits the reporting requirements.

Candidates still must report when they receive a single contribution greater than $300, any cash contribution, or a collection of contributions from the same source greater than $1,400. They also must report when they spend more than $1,400 on any single expense.

See detail on each candidate below.

MAYOR

Jay A. Gillian

• Contributions: Gillian made $46,000 in donations to his own campaign and accepted the $1,200 in-kind contribution.
• Expenses: He spent a total of $47,132, including $23,142.69 in the most recent reporting period. Gillian’s biggest expense was for a victory party at the Flanders that cost about $7,000. Throughout his campaign, he paid for advertising in news outlets, mailings, yard signs, a billboard and consulting.

Ed Price

• Contributions: Price received $26,251 in contributions, including a cumulative $12,847 in donations of $300 or less. A week before the election, he received a $2,000 contribution from Michael Hinchman (a self-employed real estate investment adviser and president of Ocean City's Fairness in Taxes group), $500 from telecom consultant Sam Lavner, and $1,000 from Anderson, Jackson, Metts, Inc., of Mount Laurel, an insurance agency.
• Expenses: He spent a total of $20,669.61 including $11,750 during the most recent reporting period. His biggest expenses went to direct mail and radio advertising.

COUNCIL

Michael J. Allegretto

• Contributions: Allegretto contributed $1,000 to his own campaign. He reported a $500 donation from retiree Thomas Dolan of Ambler, Pa., and a May 14 post-election contribution of $999.99 from the Realtors Political Action Committee.
• Expenses: Allegretto declared that his campaign expenses will not exceed $4,500.

Keith Hartzell

• Contributions: Hartzell reported a total of $19,121.20 in contributions during the campaign. The biggest contributors included: Edward B. Vaughn (Vaughn Insurance Agency), $1,000; Scott Simpson (Playland), $1,000; Jill and Paul Levchuk (Jilly’s Arcade), $1,000; and Steven Howard (HQ Investments), $1,000. Hartzell has contributed an aggregate of $3,133 to himself.
• Expenses: Hartzell spent a total of $18,907.81 on the campaign.

Michael Hyson

• Contributions: Hyson contributed $500 to his own campaign. James Scanlon pitched in another $100.
• Expenses: Hyson declared that his campaign expenses will not exceed $4,500.

Peter V. Madden

• Contributions: Madden reported receiving a total of $21,499 in contributions for the campaign. New contributors in the reporting period included:  Pasquale Croce (Pat Croce & Co.), $500; retirees Thomas Whitworth, $750; Daniel Hilferty, $750; Realtors Political Action Committee, $999.99.
• Expenses: Madden spent the full balance of his $21,499 in contributions. In the reporting period, he spent $1,500 with JASM Consulting, $1,999.20 with Comcast and $1,670 with WMGM TV-40.

Eric Sauder

• Contributions: Sauder received a $500 donation from retired City Councilman Roy Wagner.
• Expenses: Sauder declared that his campaign expenses will not exceed $4,500.

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