By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
During what is normally a ceremonial unanimous vote, there was some drama during City Council’s annual reorganization meeting Monday when two members of the governing body voted against the appointment of Council President Pete Madden.
The reorganization meetings traditionally feature a show of unity and teamwork as well as celebratory speeches by the Council members who are formally sworn into office following their election victories.
However, Councilmen Jody Levchuk and Keith Hartzell both responded “No” when City Clerk Melissa Rasner called for votes on Madden’s nomination for another one-year term as president. Madden and the other four Council members cast five yes votes to retain Madden as president.
In a separate vote, First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. won unanimous approval to remain vice president of the seven-member governing body for the second year in a row.
The 5-2 vote in Madden’s favor will allow him to serve as president for the third straight year. The president is Council’s leading voice and the one who oversees the meetings. Madden has served as president seven of the 11 years he has been on Council, he said.
Madden seemed to downplay the significance of the dissenting votes by Levchuk and Hartzell when asked for comment after the reorganization meeting.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Hopefully, I’ll earn their vote for the next time,” Madden said of Levchuk and Hartzell in an interview.
Levchuk, who is entering his second term, said that he voted against Madden as president because Madden did not support his re-election bid in May.
“It’s hard to support someone who didn’t support me. I’m only willing to go so far,” Levchuk said in an interview.
Hartzell declined to say why he opposed Madden as president.
Madden is part of Council’s majority allied with Mayor Jay Gillian. He and other Gillian allies supported Levchuk and Hartzell’s opponents in the May 14 election.
Hartzell is a former at-large councilman who served from 2006 to 2022. He stepped down in 2022 after unsuccessfully challenging Gillian in the 2022 mayoral race.
However, Hartzell mounted a political comeback by defeating his opponent, Paul Stryker, to capture the Second Ward Council seat in the May election.
Levchuk defeated his opponent, Amie Vaules by a mere two votes – 402 to 400 – to capture a second term in the Third Ward. Vaules, though, is challenging the election results in a lawsuit.
According to her suit, Vaules contends that two mail-in votes believed to be in her favor were improperly rejected by the Cape May County Board of Elections and a third vote should have been disqualified.
The vote that Vaules maintains should have been disqualified was cast by Levchuk’s brother, Randy. The lawsuit alleges that Randy Levchuk actually resides in Kenilworth, Union County, and should not have voted in the Ocean City election.
Jody Levchuk maintains that his brother is “domiciled” in Ocean City and has a long history of living and voting in the resort town.
During his speech at the reorganization meeting after he was sworn into office, Levchuk disclosed that his brother’s records “of where he volunteers his time” have been subpoenaed in the lawsuit as part of the voting dispute.
“First and foremost, I want to thank the voters and residents of Ocean City for believing in me a second time. And yes, that includes my brother, who is my business partner, my neighbor and a lifelong voter in Ocean City,” Levchuk said. “Some people haven’t done their homework, and it’s a shame what that man is going through.”
In words directed at his opponents, Levchuk forcefully said, “Shame on you.”
Most of the reorganization meeting at the Music Pier was tension-free, including celebratory moments during the swearing in of the Council members who won the four ward races in the election.
Taking the oath of office while surrounded by family members, friends and political supporters were Crowley in the First Ward, Hartzell in the Second Ward, Levchuk in the Third Ward and incumbent Dave Winslow in the Fourth Ward.
All of them spoke buoyantly of Ocean City’s future while thanking their family members, friends and political backers for their support.
“It’s great to have your family all around you. It’s what Ocean City is all about,” Crowley said.
Crowley won re-election without facing any opposition.
In his speech, Crowley said he never thought that he would become involved in politics. But he noted that he was inspired by former Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough, his longtime friend and political role model. McCullough swore in Crowley during the reorganization ceremony.
“He listened to them. He engaged with them,” Crowley said of the relationship that McCullough had with his constituents. “He always got results for the people.”
Crowley also said he was influenced by the way some of Ocean City’s older politicians, including former Mayor Roy Gillian and the late Congressman Bill Hughes, conducted themselves “as gentlemen” while leading the town.
“I looked at those guys and that was really my formation of what I thought Ocean City was. It was a bunch of guys who were from all walks of life, different skill sets, different ambitions, certainly different political parties. But they always put all that aside to do what was best for Ocean City,” Crowley said.
During his remarks, Hartzell said he has a “passion” for the Second Ward and is excited to represent the most demographically and economically diverse ward in town.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.
Hartzell said he plans to hold plenty of ward meetings with local residents to get their input about key issues and ways to improve the Second Ward.
He also pledged to examine the city’s planning and zoning laws to possibly require more parking for the large “party homes” – some with seven bedrooms – that are being built now without adequate parking.
Levchuk also touched on the need for heightened parking standards for the big homes that are becoming increasingly popular in Ocean City. He said it is “selfish overdevelopment” when those homes are built without adequate parking and it impacts the surrounding neighborhood in a negative way.
He also said he wants to explore the possibility of building a parking facility in the center of Ocean City to help relieve parking shortages in the downtown business district.
Levchuk also emphasized Ocean City’s reputation as a safe, family-style resort town. With safety in mind, he noted that the city is planning to build a police substation on the Boardwalk at Eighth Street and will extensively renovate the existing police headquarters at Eighth Street and Central Avenue.
“I love to flaunt that Ocean City is a wildly safe town,” he said. “It’s my three favorite words – wildly safe town.”
In his remarks, Winslow pledged to “do my best” for the Fourth Ward and the rest of Ocean City following his re-election.
He said Ocean City always stands out as a premier town and resort destination because of all of its attractions, including the beaches, the Boardwalk, a vibrant downtown and a clean, safe city with upgraded infrastructure.
“We are one of a kind,” he said.
Sounding an optimistic tone, Winslow concluded his remarks by saying, “I see an incredibly bright future for Ocean City.”
“We have a lot of work to do. Let’s not kid ourselves. There is a lot of work to do,” he continued. “But together, we can keep Ocean City, the envy, the shining star among great towns.”
