Two Council Incumbents, Two Newcomers Elected In Ocean City; Just 23% Of Voters Turned Out

Two Council Incumbents, Two Newcomers Elected In Ocean City; Just 23% Of Voters Turned Out
Pictured, from left, are Tony DeLuca, Peter Buas, John Gehrig and Rick Meehan. Not pictured was Frank Knight. Photo by Shawn Soper

OCEAN CITY — Two incumbents and two relative newcomers were elected to the Ocean City Council this week in a municipal election with an abysmally low turnout for a variety of reasons.

Around 23% of Ocean City’s roughly 6,500 registered voters, or 1,528 individuals, cast their ballots in Tuesday’s municipal election, including 1,300 who voted at the polls and another 228 who submitted absentee ballots. By comparison, 2,566 voters turned out for the 2018 municipal election, which was one of the closest in memory with just four votes separating second place from fourth place. In 2016, 2,485 voters cast their ballots in the municipal election.

Nonetheless, when the results were announced late Tuesday, local attorney Peter Buas was the top vote-getter with 1,137 votes. Incumbent John Gehrig was second with 1,036, while incumbent Tony DeLuca was third with 919 and Frank Knight earned the fourth and final spot with 704 votes. Nicholas Eastman finished fifth with 491 votes, while Daniel Hagan brought up the rear with 439. For the record, incumbent Mayor Rick Meehan ran unopposed and collected 1,146 votes.

It was guaranteed there would be at least two new faces on the city council going into Tuesday’s municipal election after long-time incumbents Dennis Dare and Mary Knight (Frank Knight’s wife) did not file for re-election. Gehrig and DeLuca cruised to re-election, while Buas was the top vote-getter, continuing a recent trend of young candidates making a big splash in their first attempt at a council seat. In 2014, current Councilman Matt James became the youngest successful council candidate ever at the ripe age of 21 and recorded the highest vote tally in that election.

Perhaps the biggest story on Tuesday was the comparatively low voter turnout for a variety of reasons at just around 23%. For one thing, the municipal election was held at the convention center in conjunction with the federal and national elections, but the polls were in separate areas on separate floors. In addition, a large portion of the local electorate voted early at the convention center during the week prior and there was not an early-voting option for the municipal race. Throw in an unopposed mayor and just six candidates for four open council seats, along with ongoing COVID concerns, and fears for a low voter turnout became reality.

Nonetheless, the low turnout did not diminish the strong showing for the victors. For Buas, a local attorney and Ocean City lifer who grew up in his family’s hospitality business, finishing on top in his first crack at a council seat was particularly rewarding.

“I was confident going in,” he said this week. “We worked hard and we met a lot of people through the campaign and on election day. I have a deep gratitude to everyone who put their confidence in me and now I have to live up to that confidence. I’m prepared and I will draw on my experience.”

After Thursday’s formal swearing-in ceremony and organizational meeting, Buas said he will be ready to tackle the job.

“It’s time to hit the ground running,” he said. “I’ll have a learning curve a little bit and I’ll go in with my eyes and ears open, but it’s time to get to work.”

Gehrig thanked the voters for their support and vowed to push forward with his aggressive initiatives.

“Thank you, Ocean City,” he said. “I am very grateful for your tremendous support again this year. I have very specific ideas to solve our problems while enhancing what makes Ocean City great. I push very hard to put those ideas into action. I have been very outspoken about this over the past four years and particularly during campaign season. I believe your support at the polls is a mandate that you want bold action now.”

Gehrig said he believed his solid finish on Tuesday was a sign from the voters they wanted him to keep pushing his initiatives.

“I will take his mandate to the Mayor and Council and will push forward,” he said. “Please continue to support me in those efforts.”

Gehrig also thanked his fellow electees along with the longtime incumbents who did not file for re-election.

“I congratulate Peter Buas, Tony DeLuca, Frank Knight and Rick Meehan,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with them. I also want to thank Mary Knight and Dennis Dare for their service and leadership over the years.”

DeLuca was first elected to the city council in 2014 and secured his third term on Tuesday. He has a reputation as a fiscal watchdog and leads the town’s Coastal Resources Legislative Committee, or Green Team. He said this week with the incumbents returning and the addition of Buas and Knight, he is confident the new council can continue to move Ocean City forward in a positive direction.

“I really like the make-up of this council,” he said. “We’re really starting to build bench strength. Peter is going to be real asset. I feel good about this group. We don’t always think alike, and we have different ideas about things, but that’s a positive. That’s what this is all about.”

DeLuca has been a staunch opponent of any proposed increase in the property tax, a priority that will continue in his third term.

“One of my top priorities going forward is no tax increase,” he said. “I’ll die on that sword. I have so many revenue ideas. I’m just going to keep pushing what I’ve been doing.”

After June’s spike in serious crime, along with another raucous pop-up rally in September, the hiring of 10 new full-time police officers has already been approved, but DeLuca said he will continue to push for even more seasonal officers and public safety aides.

“My first priority is public safety,” he said. “We’ve heard it’s challenging to hire more seasonal officers and more public safety aides. I disagree. Whatever we need to do, whether it’s changing titles or raising salaries or finding affordable housing, we need to do that. They set the pace, especially on the Boardwalk, with enforcing our ordinances.”

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Peter Buas, right, is pictured with family and friends after the election results were announced. Photo by Shawn Soper

Of course, DeLuca’s pet projects will always be the Green Team and it’s many initiatives, from the Adopt Your Beach program to the cigarette butt-huts to the lights on bikes program.

“It’s all about the beach,” he said. “That’s what we are. I’m going to continue to push those initiatives.”

After Tuesday’s election, Knight takes over the seat occupied by his wife and former Council Secretary Mary Knight. He is hardly a newcomer, considering he is a regular fixture at council meetings and has served on various boards and commissions.

“I’m very satisfied with the election results,” he said. “We all have strong, long-term connections to Ocean City and understand how the local government works. We may not possess the 52 years of institutional knowledge we just lost, but our different areas of expertise will serve Ocean City well in the future.”

Knight said he was disappointed somewhat with the low voter turnout on Tuesday, but that he understood the challenges with the municipal election on Tuesday.

“One disappointment was the low voter turnout, which I think was around 25%,” he said. “I realize this was due to COVID and having early voting at the convention center. Two years from now, hopefully we will be back to normal, but turnout that low is never good.”

Eastman acknowledged he was a long shot going in, but acquitted himself well with 491 votes in his first time running. He thanked his supporters this week and promised to remain a fixture at City Hall.

“I am so thankful for everyone that supported me this election season,” he said. “When I joined the race, I thought winning a seat on the city council would be all but impossible. I have made more friends than I ever thought possible over the course of the campaign. The election may now be over and quickly forgotten for many, but not for me. I will continue to bring change to our town. I hope to be at every meeting, voicing my opinions and making sure that those who supported me will still be heard.”

For his part, Hagan also thanked those who supported him in what was a challenging race.

“I still cannot understand, but it was a wild ride and it was a journey as well” he said on social media following the election. “Thank you for everyone’s support.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.