Ocean City has a new mayor for the first time in two decades. Matt James, the town council's president since 2020, defeated longtime incumbent Rick Meehan in a tight race, picking up 1,438 votes to Meehan's 1,136 in results released Tuesday night.
The win ends Meehan's 20-year hold on the mayor's office, a run that began when he took office in 2006 after 14 years on the city council, according to WBAL News Radio. James, for his part, first won a council seat in 2014 and climbed to council president six years ago, positioning him as the most familiar alternative to the mayor voters had grown accustomed to for a generation.
Beyond the mayor's race, the Town of Ocean City announced three newly elected city council members: Billy Apostolou, Larry Noccolino and Carol Proctor, per the same report. The incoming mayor and council are scheduled to hold an organizational meeting Thursday.
Tourism Slump and the Boardwalk Tram Loomed Over the Race
In the weeks leading up to the election, the two mayoral candidates sparred over the state of Ocean City's tourism economy. WMDT reported that both men addressed a decline in visitors since the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a drop in the average length of stay — a trend they discussed in the context of the town's tourism economy.
The candidates also weighed in on whether to bring back the boardwalk tram, a beloved fixture of the resort town that has sat idle since a 2024 incident in which a two-year-old child was killed, the station reported. The debate over reviving the service was part of the campaign.
Ethics Mailer Clouded the Campaign's Final Stretch
The race also turned contentious over a political mailer that accused James of violating ethics laws by turning a medevac helicopter flight into a photo opportunity during a storm-damage assessment, according to WBOC. Meehan denied involvement in the mailer, telling the station it had been sent by a political action committee called Truth for Maryland rather than his own campaign.
Ocean City City Manager Terry McGean pushed back on the mailer's allegation, saying no political campaign activity was discussed or conducted as part of that storm-damage assessment, the station reported. The Town of Ocean City separately stated that it had requested Maryland State Police assistance for an aerial assessment of dune damage and beach erosion, and maintained that no campaign activity occurred before, during or after the flight, according to its own statement.
Whether the mailer swayed the outcome remains unclear, but James's margin of victory was comfortable enough that the controversy did not appear to derail his bid. He now inherits a town grappling with tourism headwinds and an unresolved question over the boardwalk tram, alongside a fresh three-member council eager to get to work.
