OCEAN CITY, Md.- Some Ocean City neighbors are calling for council member Mark Paddock to resign after, according to Ocean City Police, Paddack collided with another car Friday evening outside Ponzetti's in Ocean City. Paddack then went inside the restaurant and yelled at his son, prompting a response from Ocean City Police. Ocean City say Paddack's son was picked up by his mother and then Paddack was driven home by a sober driver. Neighbors in Ocean City like Vernon Smith say this behavior is unacceptable
"The longer you let this individual sit there the worse there is a stain on the whole city. And then once it leaves the city and goes to Annapolis then that's a much bigger issue. Then you're talking about tourism putting heads in beds and that's not what we need down here," said Smith. "For a council member, there should be respect for law. We need to say that this is not okay, we're tired of it and we need to move forward with a new councilman".
WBOC reached out to Mark Paddock numerous times for a comment on the incident but never returned any calls. In a statement to WBOC, an Ocean City spokesperson said, “The Town is aware of the incident that occurred this weekend with Councilman Paddack. The Ocean City Police Department responded and reported the actions of Councilman Paddack appropriately and within the boundaries of the law. Councilman Paddack did not receive special treatment. Much like our citizens, we [the Town] find this matter concerning."
Others like Angie Webester said she is frustrated about the incident but says she hopes Paddack moves forward from this incident responsibly.
"Everybody makes mistakes. It's okay. Everybody gets worn out and tired. But you know, if you can be big you can take control of you. You can say okay things, maybe things, too many things on me than what there should be. Step out in a graceful way and don't keep pulling more and more attention to you," said Webester.
Smith is urging any Ocean City neighbors upset over the incident to confront Paddack at the next council meeting on April 18th.
"I would like to get a lot of people down there who feel that this is wrong to kind of just be there. Know that the town supports you and that people who are on the council are reaching out and want us to be there and if we are there, I think our voices can speak louder than just Facebook comments letter to here and letters to there, we need to show up," said Smith.
Last fall, the Ocean City council censured Mark Paddack for an alleged racists Facebook message. Paddack said he never sent the message and that his Facebook account was hacked.