Ocean City Councilman Keith Hartzell announced Monday that he will be running for mayor in the May 2022 municipal election.
The three-term, at-large councilman, who also served two years as Council president, said he believes the time has come for leadership more in touch with the people of Ocean City.
“I set out on a listening tour around Ocean City over the course of the past few months, going door-to-door and hearing from our constituents. There is overwhelming interest in new and positive leadership with a clear vision for the future of our great town,” Hartzell said in a news release.
“With great support and encouragement from friends and residents, I wanted to end all speculation and announce publicly my intention to run for mayor. The election is less than 34 weeks away and I believe it is time to start talking to the voters about finally solving problems.”
“It’s time to start talking about how we aggressively resolve our flooding problems, about what we do about windmills on our horizon, about rejecting an overpriced and unnecessary public safety building but instead building the necessary police station to support and properly equip our men and women in blue, about how we engage in smart, controlled development, and how we keep our taxes down and our quality of life issues on the front burner so our Ocean City residents further benefit from a safe, prosperous, and family-friendly resort community. I will be on the ballot for mayor of Ocean City in May 2022,” he continued.
Hartzell, 65, the regional sales manager for Von Drehle Corporation paper products and a local businessman, has been a resident of Ocean City since 1986.
He has served the community as the former president of Main Street Ocean City, a member of Ocean City Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts and member of Ocean City Exchange Club, a board member with Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce and Business and Neighborhood Development (BAND). He has been honored as the Ocean City Citizen of the Year in 2005 as well as receiving the Martin Luther King Community Service Award in 2007.
“We are announcing now and getting back on the streets to keep listening to the people of Ocean City and building this movement for positive change,” Hartzell said. “In the new year we will hold a kick-off rally with our friends and volunteers and building a campaign that Ocean City will be proud of.”
“A campaign of problem solving on behalf of our taxpayers’ needs over politics and a select group, and speaking up about projects and policy to ensure the best business practices are in place to protect our community and fiscal health,” he added.
