By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
City Council named a new vice president Thursday night, but surprisingly chose not to appoint a new member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Councilwoman Karen Bergman.
Bergman, an at-large Council member, had served as the governing body’s vice president before stepping down in January to accept a new job as supervisor of Ocean City’s Howard S. Stainton Senior Center.
In a 5-0 vote, First Ward Councilman Terry Crowley was selected as the new vice president. Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk abstained from voting for Crowley. Levchuk declined to comment on the reason for abstaining during an interview after the Council meeting.
Council had also been expected to appoint a new member to temporarily fill Bergman’s seat, but decided instead to leave the position open until the May 14 municipal election.
“The Council has chosen not to appoint anybody to the at-large seat that’s currently open, so we’ll wait for the May election,” Council President Pete Madden announced.
Madden said in an interview after the meeting that he preferred filling the opening so that Council would have all seven members heading into the election. However, he noted that his recommendation was not “universally accepted” among the Council members.
“At the end of the day, we communicate, we listen and we try to make the best decisions for Ocean City,” Madden said of Council’s decision to instead let voters choose who should fill the opening.
Mike DeVlieger and Sean Barnes, two candidates who intend to run for Bergman’s former at-large seat, sat in the audience during the Council meeting. DeVlieger spoke during the public portion to thank Council for holding off on the appointment.
“I just want to thank Council for determining that the voters should decide on the seat. I think it’s the right choice. I’m looking forward to a good, clean campaign. Let the people judge as they will,” said DeVlieger, a former councilman representing the First Ward.
Barnes did not address Council, but said in an interview afterward that he wasn’t upset that a vote wasn’t taken.
“I heard through the grapevine that it wouldn’t happen,” Barnes said of the vote. “Either way, it doesn’t affect anything. I’m not upset by it by any stretch. We’ll wait for the election and let the people choose.”
Bergman said in an interview last month after resigning that she had planned to recommend Barnes to fill her vacancy, but emphasized that she would leave it to Council to make the final decision.
If Council had appointed someone to temporarily fill the vacancy, that person would have been the de facto incumbent heading into the May election.
DeVlieger hopes to return to Council after resigning his First Ward seat in August 2021 to focus on 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’ experience in Talent Acquisition.
Barnes is a newcomer to elected office. He is the director at Enterprise Asset Management Inc. and is also a licensed boat captain and owner of a local sailing charter business, Sail Atlantic LLC.
Barnes’ twin brother, Kevin, serves on the Ocean City Board of Education and was appointed its new president this year. Kevin joined Sean while sitting in the audience at the Council meeting Thursday night.
City Council consists of four ward seats and three at-large positions. The four ward seats are up for election in May for their regular four-year terms.
A special election will be needed in May to fill the unexpired term for Bergman’s at-large seat to 2026. The seat would be up for election again in May 2026 for the regular four-year term for the at-large positions on Council.
