Former Councilman DeVlieger Turns in Petitions for Ocean City Election Bid

By MADDY VITALE Former City Councilman Mike DeVlieger formally filed nominating petitions Thursday to run in Ocean City’s municipal election on May 14. DeVlieger is seeking to fill a vacancy created when At-Large Councilwoman Karen Bergman resigned in January to take a job as supervisor of Ocean City’s senior citizens center. The unexpired term is through 2026. DeVlieger, who is running on the campaign platform of “Proven Leadership for Ocean City,” said he wants to return to Council to finish some of the work he started when in office. "I have dedicated a good chunk of my adult life to trying to give back and make our community the best that it can be,” he said. “I feel that we all have a duty to do our part.” In August of 2021, DeVlieger resigned from his First Ward Council seat due to a family crisis. He was first elected as the First Ward councilman in 2012 and won re-election in 2016 and 2020. In 2020 and 2021, he served as Council’s vice president. Professionally, he has held executive level roles with two Fortune 100 corporations and has over 30 years of experience in Executive, Technical and Healthcare Talent Acquisition. He has two children. His son, Flynn, is a junior at La Salle University and his daughter, Reagan, is a senior at Ocean City High School. While his ultimate role in life is as a father, he enjoys serving the public, he said. “I am a family guy and while I enjoyed coaching the kids’ teams over the years and being on various boards, nothing was as personally satisfying for me as what I was able to get done while on City Council,” he said. He noted that it is important to have backbone “when you are representing the public's best interests.” After turning in his nominating petitions, he mentioned some of his accomplishments while on Council. He spoke of Orsted, a Danish energy company that proposed to build an offshore wind farm, and how he fought it from the very beginning. The company ultimately bowed out of the project. "I was told that I was wasting my time trying to educate the community about the negative effects of wind farm development off Ocean City and Cape May County,” DeVlieger said. “People said that they are coming whether we want them or not and that we were better off cutting a deal with the developers to get Ocean City some funds to do capital projects.” That philosophy “did not sit well with me and many others,” he said. DeVlieger noted that as the community became more educated, public opinion “sharply turned.” “Eventually, through social resistance, legal action and some economic blunders, Orsted pulled out of developing Ocean Wind I and II,” he said. “Thank God that we did not stop trying." While the Ocean City skate park was not a serious matter such as a wind farm development, DeVlieger said he understood the importance of creating a place for kids to safely enjoy skating. The skate park continues to be a source of enjoyment for kids who live and vacation in Ocean City. "I was advised not to pursue the idea of getting the skate park built. The community encouraged me to lean in and get it done,” he said. “Over time, the Council and the administration came to see the merits of the park and the county awarded us a huge grant to make it a reality. Today, it is one of the most used public spaces on the island and is extremely popular with our kids and the tourists that we attract." In closing, DeVlieger said, “It is tempting to take the easy path, but you deserve what you get when you do. Not everything needs to be debated or fought. My track record proves that I said yes many times more than no. Usually, things are pretty well vetted before they reach the Council's chambers. But when things are not, the Council person is the last stop before a bad piece of legislation gets funded." Meanwhile, nominating petitions must be submitted by the candidates to the City Clerk’s Office by Feb. 29 to be eligible to run in the May 14 municipal election, City Clerk Melissa Rasner said. DeVlieger was the first to submit his petition packet to the City Clerk for the At-Large Council seat. There are other residents who have taken out petition packets to run but have not turned them in as of yet, Rasner confirmed. City Council’s four ward seats are also all up for election for full four-year terms. Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow filed his nominating petitions last week. First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. was the first to submit his petitions. In addition to Ward Council candidates Winslow and Crowley, Second Ward Councilman Tom Rotondi and Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk have taken out nominating petitions. Rasner said on Thursday that no other ward candidates have submitted their nominating petitions as of yet.