Incumbent Rick Meehan will continue to serve as Ocean City’s mayor following a close race against challenger Peter Buas.
Tuesday’s mayoral election was decided by 192 votes in what is the closest contested mayoral race in at least four decades. Meehan, who has continuously served as the city’s mayor since 2006, defeated Buas, a first-term councilman, with 1,324 votes to Buas’s 1,132.
“I really want to thank all my supporters that came out here,” Meehan said Tuesday night. “I mean, what a tremendous group of people, individuals that supported me, many of them for years. I’ve served with some of them, they were here all throughout the day then all here tonight to hear the announcement, you know, to support me, and it was a great feeling to be able to, you know, seek to win another term. It’s something I’m very passionate about. You know, the city is so important to me and this is what I think about all the time and to be able to continue and have the trust of the public to serve another term as mayor is really important to me.”
The results were announced at the convention center Tuesday night following the conclusion of the 13-hour Ocean City’s municipal election. Garnering 54% of the total vote, Meehan secured his 10th term as mayor.
Buas, for his part, expressed appreciation for those who supported his effort.
“Though we fell short in this close election, I remain grateful for the support of my family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors in this campaign,” Buas said in a statement. “You, the residents of Ocean City, showed your passion and belief in this town’s bright future. The increase in participation from just four years ago demonstrates a desire for change, and I would encourage our community to continue to engage with the current and newly elected council members to sustain this momentum. Serving as councilman has been a great honor, and I will always be appreciative of the trust placed in me.”
,Over 2400 votes from an electorate of 8000. Sad really. Any attempt to dethrone old mindsets is dashed again.
Sad and need of ter m limits badly
So there was only 2456 votes cast out of how many eligible voters in the Town of Ocean City ?
Just goes to show that not many people are interested in local politics.
A TENTH term? Too many !
I’m glad that Meehan won, but I hope this is his last term. I don’t want to see him defeated at the ballot box. The mayor’s term is only 2 years in OC so that 10 years isn’t as big as it sounds, but he has been on the council since 1985. I wish Buas had run for council again, he took a swing and missed. I wonder if he will run again in two years or seek a higher office (maybe county commissioner)?