Area Businessman Files For OC Council; Election Set For Nov. 8

OCEAN CITY – There will be a municipal election in Ocean City after all next month after a popular local business owner and community leader joined the four incumbents on the City Council whose seats are up for re-election with a late filing at the 11th hour on Tuesday afternoon.

As of late Tuesday, only the four incumbent city councilmembers including Doug Cymek, Dennis Dare, Tony DeLuca and Mary Knight had filed for re-election, along with Mayor Rick Meehan. However, late Tuesday afternoon John Gehrig, D3Corp owner and current Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce president, filed for one of the four open council seats.

For a while, it appeared the four incumbents would not be challenged, but in somewhat of a surprise move, Gehrig filed late Tuesday before the 5 p.m. filing deadline. Before Gehrig’s late filing on Tuesday, City Solicitor Guy Ayres researched the potential for no challengers coming forward and determined there was nothing in the city’s code or charter, or state law that would have required the formality of an uncontested election. However, that point is now moot with Gehrig joining the fray.

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