Allegations Fly In 3rd Ward Council Dispute In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Accusations are continuing to fly in the wake of the Third Ward Council race, despite challenger Amie Vaules dropping her lawsuit contesting the results earlier this week.

Vaules initially filed the lawsuit challenging the results of the election after incumbent Jody Levchuk won with a razor-thin majority: 402 votes to her 400.

She had claimed in her lawsuit that two mail-in ballots were not counted that should have counted towards her, and also claimed that Levchuk's brother, Randy Levchuk, should have not had his vote counted as he didn't reside in Ocean City.

But in a statement Thursday, Levchuk's attorney Tim Howes said that Vaules "isn't telling the public the real reason she withdrew her challenge."

"Vaules claimed that she withdrew her challenge because the two mail-in ballots she raised in her complaint had been received after the deadline. That statement is inaccurate," Howes said. "One was received after the deadline, and one was rejected because the signatures did not match and the voter did not cure the defect in the ballot."

"Ms. Vaules was concealing the real reasons for her withdrawal, which had to do with the problems with her own residence. Vaules put herself in a compromised position by challenging Randy Levchuk's vote based on his domicile. To be clear, Randy Levchuk voted legally," Howes said, calling Randy Levchuk an "Ocean City guy."

Howes claimed that Vaules drives a car with a Florida license plate and owns a home in Florida.

"The kicker is that Ms. Vaules and her husband elected the Homestead Exemption on the Florida home, giving her a property tax break available ONLY to Florida residents," Howes said. "Under Florida law, her primary residence is in Florida."

Vaules called these allegations false in a statement, and shared a photo of her driver's license, showing that she is an Ocean City resident.

"Although my husband and I own property in Florida, it is not my home of record, and I am not registered to vote there," Vaules said. "I live and vote in Ocean City. The fact that the property was homesteaded years prior to living in Ocean City, has absolutely nothing to do with my residency."

Vaules continued that her dropping the lawsuit only had to do with the mail-in ballots.

She said that she had provided proof that she lived in Ocean City, but found no record proving that Randy Levchuk did so. "The matter remains unresolved," Vaules said.

"I am deeply disappointed and angered by the baseless attacks on my family. It is unacceptable that my brother, who has been a resident of Ocean City for years, was targeted in this manner," Levchuk said in a statement. "The unwarranted scrutiny and public mockery we've endured are beyond shameful. While I am relieved that this challenge has been dropped, I am frustrated that we were denied our day in court to defend my name and my family's reputation and clear up these false accusations."

Vaules said that she refused "to engage in the type of behavior Mr. Levchuk seems to thrive on."

"It is shameful that an elected official chooses to focus his time on false witch hunts instead of serving his community," Vaules said.