John Flood Talks Litigation, Mayoral Debate Issue In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — John Flood released information on his website over the weekend concerning two lawsuits that have been referenced leading up to the possible debate between himself and Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, which was to have taken place Friday night.

Last week, Fairness in Taxes — the advocacy group which said it would sponsor the debate — issued a statement noting that the debate likely wouldn’t happen. Gillian has said he would follow the advice of counsel to avoid prejudicing the city by participating in the debate. He also said he didn’t want to make the litigations off-limits because that would unfairly tie his hands in a debate.

Flood has agreed to debate whether the litigation is included in the discussion or not. One piece of litigation revolves around a lawsuit concerning a council vote to rescind the proposed Coastal Cottages legislation. The other involves Flood’s son, who is an intervenor with the city’s consent in the affordable housing issues facing Ocean City, according to a post on Flood’s campaign website.

As far as the issue with Coastal Cottages is concerned, Flood said he built office buildings in Ocean City in the late 1990s and the early part of this century. After the Coastal Cottages legislation was passed, Flood signed leases with tenants on properties that could’ve been developed into Coastal Cottages.

“I’ve actively worked to renegotiate the lease on the CVS at 16th Street which will expire in the coming years,” Flood said. “The holdup is not that we disagree on something or have come to an impasse, it’s that CVS has been known to wait until the last year of a lease to start renegotiation. I like many others hope they stay for many years to come.”

He said the issue was slated to go before a judge on March 8, but claims the mayor went to court before then to request the litigation be postponed until after the election, and the request was granted.

“Had Gillian not made that request he could have been free to debate and the entire issue would have been long settled already,” Flood said. “It now seems like it may have been the Mayor’s plan all along to use this issue to avoid debating me. Talk about the litigation, don’t talk about the litigation, makes no difference to me, I have nothing to hide.”

The debate was to be held in two parts. During the first part, the candidates would field questions from the public. During the second part the candidates would pose questions for each other with opportunity for rebuttals.

If Gillian doesn't participate, the second part wouldn't be possible. Flood said he would still take questions from the public, but the League of Women Voters said it wouldn't moderate a debate in which only one candidate is present. If nothing changes, FIT would seek another moderator for the April 27 debate, which is scheduled to take place in the Ocean City Library Auditorium, 7 p.m.

“Four years ago when Jay ran for his first re-election, he declined that debate invitation as well,” Flood said. “The mayor wants to run on his record but seems awfully shy to talk or answer questions about it to the public. Spending record amounts of taxpayer dollars does not equate to doing a good job and it is truly a shame the mayor is so arrogant about his record that he feels he can ignore not just me but the voters of Ocean City.

“As a city, we have challenges that need to be addressed. Such as how to replace our infrastructure, how to pay for it responsibly, and more. I’m ready to discuss all the issues along with offering my vision for the city. This election is not about one group or party against the other. It is about one person's management style versus the others. What better way for the community to make a decision than to see them face to face giving their views of how the city has been run in the past, present and most importantly their vision for the future. I hope the Mayor changes his mind and has the courage to show up as the community deserves nothing less.”

On his website, he included the following links to documents involved in the litigation:

Complaint filed 7/11/2016
Answer filed 8/17/2016
Statement of Factual and Legal Issues filed 9/26/2016

He said the issue concerning the affordable housing litigation would be discussed at a later date. He concluded by saying the decision to settle litigation is up to city council, not the mayor.

"As mayor I would totally and completely recuse myself from any discussions or deliberations regarding this or any other mater having to do with my business or family," Flood said. "I would openly disclose any conflicts of interest."

See related: Will Candidates For Ocean City Mayor Debate?

The attached image of John Flood was previously provided