2 Announce Candidacy For Ocean City Council Seat

Patch will announce every candidate on Ocean City's ballot after the deadline to file petitions. If you would like to announce your candidacy before then, email josh.bakan@patch.com.

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Two have announced their candidacy for Ocean City's council seat in the Second Ward. Gabe Staino and Tom Rotondi are set to appear on the ballot for the May 12 election.

The seat has been vacant since January, when former Councilman Antwan McClellan began serving the state assembly. Four people, including Staino and Rotondi, interviewed with City Council on Feb. 13 as they sought to fill McClellan's seat for the rest of the council term.

Three council members voted for Staino, but Councilman Keith Hartzell abstained. A candidate needed four votes to get appointed, so the seat remains vacant. Read more: Ocean City Council Seat Stays Vacant; Vote Falls Short

Christopher Robertson and Kyle Gillen also applied for the position. Hartzell said all four were "very good" candidates but couldn't make a decision.

Rotondi

Rotondi has lived in Ocean City for more than 10 years. He bought his family's first property two months before Superstorm Sandy hit.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1997-2000. After returning from service, he attended and graduated as class president from the Cape May County Police Academy.

Rotondi served with the Lower Township Police Department and then with the State Department of Corrections. He now works with the Marsh and McLennan Agency.

The candidate is a current member of the Ocean City Zoning Board, which council unanimously appointed him to in 2016. He is also a volunteer coach with Ocean City tee-ball and a master mason with Cape Island Lodge #30.

He also sits on multiple boards and is an active volunteer with “Hand-to-Hand Mission to Haiti,” a non-profit which hand delivers solar light, food, education supplies and tuition to children of Haiti.

Staino

Staino has lived full-time in Ocean City for less than a year, according to The Press of Atlantic City. But he has lived in South Jersey since 1983. He filed his petition Monday.

The candidate has experience raising money for health providers and in charity work. Her served on the Stockton University Foundation Board of Directors for 25 years, including two as chairman.

He is a founding member of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, host of the March of Dimes Telethon, board member for Mary's Manor, host for ARC events, board member of the Dooley House in Camden and founding member of the John R. Elliott Hero Campaign and the Right Notes event for multiple sclerosis.

Staino worked for 38 years in the automobile business, including 25 as dealer principal. Since retiring, he has spent the last 13 years raising money for medical institutions.

His experience on various volunteer boards an organizations has a particular focus on health care, including Shore Medical Center and Bacharach Rehabilitation Hospital. Staino is currently consulting to the AtlantiCare Foundation.

All four ward seats are up for election May 12. The council includes three at-large members and four ward positions.

• First Ward: Longport Bridge to north side of 4th Street
• Second Ward: south side of 4th Street to north side of 12th Street
• Third Ward: south side of 12th Street to north side of 26th Street
• south side of 26th Street to 59th Street, including Ocean Reef

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