Ocean City Council Vice President Pete Madden
City Council elected Pete Madden as vice president in a 5-0 vote on Thursday.
Madden replaces Mike Allegretto, who resigned from council on Sept. 14 after accepting a position as the city's new Community Services Department director.
Madden, 37, is a broker manager at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and was elected to his first term in an at-large council seat in May 2014. He is a former president of the Ocean City Board of Education.
Madden was the only candidate nominated for the post. Councilman Tony Wilson was not present for the meeting.
Council President Keith Hartzell cited Madden's "extensive experience on school board" and said he was "a great choice."
Council also discussed the process for filling Allegretto's vacant at-large seat on the seven-member council (which is comprised of three at-large representatives and four ward representatives).
City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson said council has the option to leave the seat vacant until the May 2016 election — when candidates would run to complete the remaining two years of Allegretto's term. Candidates would then run for a full four-year term in the at-large seat in May 2018.
Council also has the option to make an appointment within 30 days of Allegretto's resignation (by Oct. 14). Interviews with potential candidates could be conducted in public session or in private, according to McCrosson. Any vote on a new appointee would have to be made at a public meeting.
In discussion and in a straw poll at Thursday's meeting, three council members leaned toward keeping the seat vacant and letting the public decide on the new council member in May. Two councilmen were undecided.
Councilman Antwan McClellan and Councilman Mike DeVlieger said the issue warranted further discussion.
"I'm not prepared to act this evening," DeVlieger said.
Madden said he would prefer to leave the at-large seat open until the vote in May. He said he would feel differently if it were a ward representative charged with working more closely with constituents from different parts of town.
"If it were a ward seat, it would make more sense to fill it," Madden said.
Hartzell said he was worried about the tight time frame for filling the seat and said he was committed to keeping interviews and the process in the public eye. He also said he wanted to keep the May election fair.
"I don't feel comfortable choosing somebody and giving that person an advantage," Hartzell said.
Councilman Pete Guinosso also said he favored keeping the seat vacant.
If council were to remain at six members through May, votes that result in a tie would fail, according to McCrosson. The mayor, however, would be able to cast a tiebreaking vote on the appointment of a new council member.
Hartzell said if three council members request it by Monday, the council workshop scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1, could be dedicated to a discussion of whether or not to fill the seat.
If council decides to make an appointment, interviews and a vote would take place at the regularly scheduled council meeting on Thursday, Oct. 8, he said.
