OCEAN CITY – A political newcomer has unseated incumbent Anthony Wilson in Ocean City’s May 12 municipal election.
Jody Levchuck, who owns several boardwalk businesses, narrowly won the race for the 3rd Ward seat, with 573 votes to 559. Council Clerk Rita Fulginiti confirmed May 15 that all votes were counted.
Neither Wilson or Levchuck responded to a request for comment. Three other seats were unopposed.
Newcomer Tom Rotondi won the 2nd Ward seat, with 394 votes, taking over for Assemblyman Antwan McClellan (R-1st), who resigned in January. Rotondi was unopposed when another candidate dropped out over a length of residency requirement.
For the first all-mail-in ballot, with no in-person votes allowed due to COVID-19, turnout was slightly under 33%.
In some wards, participation was up over the last ward election. For comparison, DeVleiger received 428 votes, in 2016, when he also ran unopposed for the 1st Ward seat, compared to 673 votes this time, with 59 votes going to a write-in candidate.
According to Fulginiti, the mail-in voting went smoothly. Some residents who are sheltering in place out of state were mailed new ballots, Fulginiti said.
In the 4th Ward, Robert Barr took 719 votes, with 65 votes going to write-in candidates. More people voted in that ward in 2016, with the total vote count at 878, but that was a three-person race with Barr taking the seat with 344 votes.
Ballots had to be post-marked by May 12.
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