OCEAN CITY, Md. - Council President Matt James won the mayoral election against Rick Meehan by 302 votes out of nearly 2,600 votes cast. James received 1,438 votes to Meehan’s 1,136.
James was elected to Ocean City’s council in 2014 and has served as Council President since 2020. He says bringing the right visitor to town is one of his top priorities.
“I think the special events team does a nice job,” he says. “I think we'll look at the events that we have on the books and we'll make sure they fit what the town should be bringing.”
Meehan was elected to the town council in 1985. He became Council President in 1990 and was elected as Mayor in 2006. Voter Charles Curran says Meehan did a great job as the Mayor, but everyone's time comes to an end.
“I was slightly surprised that Matt James won,” he says. “But after seeing what happened across the country in the general election, it seemed like people were voting for change. I noticed that also, younger voters below 40 tended to vote for younger candidates. I believe that probably would help get Matt James over the finish line.”
Curran says he hopes priorities continue to remain the same, including Meehan's talks of bringing back boardwalk transportation.
“I would like to see the tram return to Ocean City or some type of transportation on the boardwalk,” he says. “I think people really responded well to that and like that. Stop offshore wind, continue to support our fishing industry, also take care of the beaches and the boardwalk, public safety, stopping the pop-up events and continuing with the things that make Ocean City great.”
Will Wangel says he thinks James will help market the town better since James grew up in Ocean City.
“I think Matt's got some great ideas on how to better market Ocean City as a tourism destination, especially being where we're located. We're very close to Norfolk, DC, Baltimore, Philly, as well as many markets in Pennsylvania. So, I think he's got a really good vision to sell this town.”
James, along with the newly elected council members, will join incumbent council members for an organizational meeting Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
