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NOVEMBER 11, 2016
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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KATIE TABELING/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Councilman Tony DeLuca, left, who earned re-election with a second-place finish in the five-person race for four Ocean City Council seats, congratulates top vote-getter John Gehrig on his victory in the municipal contest. Gehrig was propelled to the top of the ballot by strong support from the business community, while DeLuca adopted a shoe-leather-style campaign.
Gehrig, DeLuca, Dare, Knight Cymek ousted as tourism industry shows it still has plenty of political punch
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Nov. 11, 2016) Backing from the resort’s business community continues
to mean something in Ocean City, as its wide support pushed last-minute entry in the municipal City Council election, John Gehrig Jr. to the top of the ballot by one of the highest margins in a municipal election seen in years. “I feel humbled by the people of Ocean City,” Gehrig said moments
after the ballots were counted. “I enjoyed getting to know them and will continue that in my work.” Tuesday’s municipal election saw 2,380 voters go to the polls, with another 105 absentee ballots cast for the election of the mayor and four members of the seven-person City Council. Voter turnout was roughly 41 percent
of the resort’s 5,818 registered voters. Gehrig, who billed himself as an independent voice against the four incumbents seeking re-election, sparked frantic politicking in the month leading up to the election. Businesses in particular rallied to support him, as was evidenced on elecSee THREE Page 3