Mayor Jay Gillian Announces Re-election Bid

Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian will seek another four-year term in office.

The mayor filed his petition to run for re-election with the City Clerk's Office on Friday, three days before the filing deadline, he announced Friday afternoon.

Stating, “I love what I'm doing, and I love Ocean City,” Gillian said he’s proud of his accomplishments during his first term.

“I want to continue the progress we've made as we've stabilized operating expenses and significantly increased our capital improvement program,” Gillian said in the announcement. “I want to provide proven, common sense leadership to maintain Ocean City as ‘America's Greatest Family Resort, a great place to live, raise a family, invest or visit.”

Gillian was elected in 2010. He defeated Michael Hinchman that year with about 63 percent of the vote after incumbent Mayor Sal Perillo decided not to run for re-election.

He owns and operates Gillian’s Wonderland Pier. He is married to his wife Michelle and has seven children, ranging in age from 15-30 years old.

He’s proud of the way the council and the city’s administration have worked together during his term as mayor.

“I look forward to discussing the future of Ocean City with our residents in the coming weeks,” Gillian said.

The deadline to file a petition for the May 13 elections is Monday, 4 p.m.

In addition to the mayor’s seat, three at-large council seats are up for grabs. Those seats currently belong to Michael Allegretto, Keith Hartzell and Scott Ping.

Former school board member Peter Madden already announced he intends to run for one of those seats.