In Ocean City’s Mayor-Council form of government the Mayor and his Administration are responsible for the overwhelming majority of items placed on the City Council’s agenda for their approval.
This includes the municipal budget, all major purchases, projects, labor contracts, zoning ordinances, bond ordinances, and every single payment to vendors or contractors.
For the almost 12 years of Mayor Jay Gillian’s tenure, he has had no bigger supporter for his initiatives than Councilman Keith Hartzell.
During this period Hartzell has cast almost 4,600 votes on resolutions or ordinances. How many times has he voted “no” during this period?
Just eight! In other words, Councilman Keith Hartzell has voted to approve and support Mayor Gillian’s agenda over 99 percent of the time.
Even a few of his no votes were on items related to special circumstances, such as the ill-fated BYOB initiative, when the entire City Council had to vote no in order for the proposal to be placed before the voters. (Source: Adopted Minutes of City Council 2010-2022.)
Now, after nearly 20 years of support for virtually every single initiative that Mayor Jay Gillian has brought forward, Keith Hartzell is saying that Ocean City wants change.
Mayor Jay Gillian’s leadership and experience have guided Ocean City through good times and bad. He has worked tirelessly to bring people and elected officials together to come up with solutions that benefit taxpayers and the entire community.
He has led Ocean City as we dealt with unforeseen emergencies, neglected infrastructure and undisciplined spending.
He has made the right moves at the right time to control spending, invest in improvements, improve property values and provide services and facilities that are the envy of the region.
There’s no valid reason to support an undefined broad concept of “change” from a candidate that has supported virtually every initiative and action that Mayor Gillian has brought forward. Ocean City is better off now, and in the future, with Jay Gillian as Mayor.
Paid for by “Jay Gillian for Mayor.”
