Message Of Unity In Ocean City In Aftermath Of Presidential Elections

Ocean City, NJ -- Ocean City officials spoke about the need for unity following Tuesday’s elections.

“I’d also like to congratulate the winners in Tuesday’s election and thank all of the candidates and voters for participating in the process,” Mayor Jay Gillian said in his weekly address posted on the city's website on Thursday. “Greg Whelan, Tiffany Prettyman and Dale Braun will serve on the Ocean City Board of Education. I look forward to working with Gerald Thornton and Ocean City’s own Marie Hayes on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, and I’m glad to see that Ocean City will continue to have a strong advocate in Washington, D.C.

“Now that the elections are over, I think it’s important for everybody to work together toward common goals. Six years ago, I ran on a platform of ‘Unity in the Community,’ and I believe that notion is just as important today and at all levels of government.”

The message comes at a time when political discourse was filled with name-calling and insults in the lead-up to Tuesday’s presidential election, coming from both the Republican and Democratic candidates and their supporters.

Things didn’t get any better after Donald Trump won the election on Tuesday, with three consecutive nights of protests, including some that became violent.

“Politics shouldn’t divide us,” Councilman Keith Hartzell said during Thursday night’s meeting at City Hall. “We have other things we can focus on. People have to have a lot of facets to their life. We shouldn’t dislike each other because of our political views.”

New Fairness in Taxes President Jim Tweed also weighed in on the topic.

“We don’t have good communication nationally, but I think we can do better here in Ocean CIty,” Tweed said during the meeting. “One way is to not convey the other person as stupid, evil or crazy. No one here is stupid, evil or crazy, and that doesn’t need to be implied. People take politics too personally. … You don’t have to get personal.”