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NOVEMBER 7, 2014
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Lower age, higher margin: James is city’s big winner Hartman, Martin also take four-year seats, DeLuca for two-year in OC council contest
ZACK HOOPES/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Freshly-elected City Councilman Matt James hugs former Council Secretary Nancy Howard moments after his victory was confirmed Tuesday night. James captured 71 percent of the vote, far ahead of any other council candidate.
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (Nov. 7, 2014) In certain political environments, less can be more. Despite having taken knocks for his age and assumed lack of experience, Ocean City Council candidate Matt James – age 21 – ran away with Tuesday’s election, gaining the highest margin of popular support for a council candidate in any municipal election of the past several decades. “I didn’t expect it,” James said Wednesday. “Honestly, I don’t think anybody did. I think a lot of people thought [my age] was going to negatively affect me, but it didn’t. I think a lot of people saw the ‘young blood’ or the ‘new blood’ position as a positive.” Tuesday’s municipal contest saw 2,212 voters attend the polls, and another 136 valid absentee ballots cast, for the election of the mayor and four members of City Council. James was the top vote-getter in the council race with 1,666 votes, followed by Wayne Hartman with 1,345, incumbent Council President Lloyd Martin with 1,342, Tony DeLuca with 1,287, Chris Rudolf with 1,075, Joe Hall with 775, and Joe Cryer with 464. This means that James, Hartman and Martin will take the three seats whose four-year terms expired this year. DeLuca’s seat will be good for two years, since the spot was vacated by Joe Mitrecic halfway through his term. Mitrecic will be taking Ocean City’s seat on the Worcester County Commissioners. Although he was unopposed, 1,838 voters affirmed Mayor Rick Meehan for another term. See JAMES Page 9
Worcester turns further right than rest of MD GOP’s upset victories include state as well as local races; Shockley unseated at county
By Josh Davis Staff Writer (Nov. 7, 2014) Maryland has a new governor, and Worcester County has the same state senator, one new and one returning member of the House of
Delegates, the same state’s attorney, and a majority of new county commissioners. Voters consistently saw red in Worcester, even though Republicans had only the slightest numerical advantage over Democrats as of the final day of registration. Larry Hogan handily defeated Anthony Brown to become Governor of Maryland, and especially so in
Worcester County, where voters preferred him by a more than 2-to-1 margin, according to the first unofficial reports from the state. Only Andy Harris, who won more than 70 percent of the vote in his district, did worse in Worcester County than he did elsewhere in Maryland, winning by an overall total of 64.5 to 35.5 percent for challenger Bill Tilghman.
Democratic Sen. Brian E. Frosh defeated Republican Jeffrey N. Pritzker in the Md. attorney general race, winning 55.5 percent of the vote. In Worcester County, however, Pritzker won more than 61 percent of the vote. Likewise, Comptroller Peter Franchot, another Democrat, easily won reelection with 62.5 percent of the statewide vote over Republican chalSee MATHIAS Page 5