Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes, left, hands in her nominating petitions to City Clerk Melissa Rasner.
By MADDY VITALE
When Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes lost the Ocean City Board of Education election in 2023 after a decade of public service, she didn’t think twice about what she wanted to do.
She wanted to get right back into public office, and continue where she left off, serving the community from young people to seniors on an island she has called home for 32 years.
Surrounded by 25-plus supporters including family, friends and colleagues, Gallelli-Keyes turned in her nominating petitions Tuesday to City Clerk Melissa Rasner to run for the Fourth Ward seat on City Council in the May 14 municipal election.
Her campaign slogan is “Decisive, Determined, Dependable.” In an interview after she handed in her petitions, she spoke about her proven track record of those three things that make up her slogan. She also spoke frankly about her loss in the November General Election.
“After the school board election, I felt empty. I felt like I lost a part of me. I love to give back to the community. I felt like I needed to get back to public service,” she said. “I felt that City Council would be a bigger stepping stone for me where I could concentrate on my ward.”
Gallelli-Keyes, who owned and operated the Tahiti Inn in Ocean City with her family until the family sold it in 2023, works as a customer concierge at Boardwalk Honda and runs parking lots with her brothers. She also volunteers her time for many activities and is treasurer for the Seaville Methodist Church.
She graduated from Temple University with majors in accounting and business law and a minor in hospitality.
Gallelli-Keyes said she has the business acumen, one honed over many years managing a successful family business, to be a good councilwoman with a fresh perspective.
“I don’t have a stake in making decisions now. I know a lot of people on City Council have businesses in town. I don’t anymore,” Gallelli-Keyes said of the sale of the Tahiti Inn. “I can make unbiased decisions. But I also have all of that experience that comes with owning a business in town. I am well-schooled about the tourists and the issues.”
Gallelli-Keyes also knows the importance of family. She is a mother of two grown sons, Joseph and Luciano. They attended Ocean City schools and went on to college and have careers.
Her sons, her mother, Triestina, and her longtime boyfriend, Douglas D’Alfanso, and his son, Dylan, joined her Tuesday as she handed in her petitions. Her brother Pat and his wife, Ann and niece Julianna and brother Franco and nephew Franco were also in attendance.
Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes is surrounded by her family for a photo.
Gallelli-Keyes said she wants to be on Council because “she wants to be a voice for her community.”
“I believe it is important to have a representative for the community who is a citizen -- not just a politician -- someone the people of Ocean City can come to not only as a public official, but as a neighbor and a friend,” she said.
Among the issues she plans to concentrate on if she is elected are flood protection for the Fourth Ward and beautification of the entranceways into town.
She said that if elected, she pledges that she will donate a portion of her Council salary each month to local nonprofit organizations as a way to give back to the community as a public servant.
“My number one policy will be transparency with the constituents and having open conversations with the people of my ward,” she said.
If elected, she said she would like to focus on bolstering the economy in the south end of town and create more activities for year-round families. She also said she would like to see transportation for seniors in the Fourth Ward.
Gallelli-Keyes also said with the recent resignation of Councilwoman Karen Bergman, who took a position as supervisor of the city's Howard S. Stainton Senior Center, there needs to be another female voice on Council.
“There are many times that I supported Karen Bergman because she was a woman,” she said. “I just believe we need a woman’s voice. As the saying goes, behind a successful man is a successful woman.”
The election also includes the Council seats in Ocean City’s First, Second and Third Wards. So far, First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr., Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk and Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow are the incumbents who have turned in their nominating petitions.
Second Ward Councilman Tom Rotondi has taken out his petitions but has not yet returned them to the City Clerk’s Office.
Other candidates who have submitted their paperwork include former Councilman Keith Hartzell in the Second Ward, realtor and former restaurant owner Paul Stryker in the Second Ward and pool and spa company owner Amie Vaules in the Third Ward.
There are two candidates so far who have put in their petitions to run for Bergman’s at-large Council seat, which expires in 2026. They are political newcomer and lifelong Ocean City resident Sean Barnes and former First Ward Councilman Mike DeVlieger.
Candidates have until 4 p.m. Thursday to turn in their petitions.
Family, friends, colleagues and other supporters stand with Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes outside of Mark Soifer Park.
Paid for by Michael DeVlieger
