WILDWOOD – Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. denied a request by former political rival and current Commissioner Krista McConnell to be appointed the Class I member of the Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustments and instead appointed his son Ryan as the mayor’s designee to the board.
McConnell, who served as the Class I Planning/Zoning Board member from January 2020 to the end of last year, said she expressed an interest in the Class I position to the mayor.
Troiano said that while he respects McConnell’s experience on the board, he believes his son would do a very good job as his designee to serve in his absence.

“He will be a very, very, very good board member, he will be involved, and he expressed an interest in serving on the board,” the mayor said.
He said he was aware of the fact that some people were calling it nepotism, but he doesn’t feel that is the case. He defined nepotism as when you put someone in a position they know nothing about.
There is no pay for the position.
Ryan Troiano is a career firefighter in Wildwood.
Under New Jersey law there are four classes of membership on the Planning/Zoning Board. The Class I member is the mayor or his designee. The Class II member is another city official, but not a member of the governing body. The Class III member is one of the other city commissioners. Class IV members are residents.
Attorney Robert Belasco, who is the Planning/Zoning Board’s solicitor, swore in Ryan Troiano as the Class I member at the board’s April 14 meeting.
A complete list of the Planning/Zoning Board members was not available. The list on the city’s website is outdated and shows every member’s term as having expired. Requests for an updated list from the city were not immediately answered.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcmherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.