ZOOM Needed for Public Meetings Says Former Ocean City Councilman

Keith Hartzell Ocean City ZOOM
Keith Hartzell

A former Ocean City Councilman says ZOOM video access to municipal meetings was shut-off after the recent election.

Keith Hartzell came very close to beating incumbent Jay Gillian for the Mayor’s seat in the last Ocean City election.

Hartzell was a guest on the WOND Prime Time Dan Klein show.

Hartzell on WOND Radio

The lack of opposition I’m finding along the shore.

Many small towns like Ventnor and Brigantine have no opposition against the incumbents in both past, and upcoming elections.

Hartzell wants ZOOM access.

Brigantine had zero opposition last cycle. Ventnor’s last election cycle had nobody running against all three commissioners. Last election cycle, Margate only had one opposition candidate.

Good or bad? Little or no opposition to the incumbents?

Opposition is the key. But let me tell you how hard it is. People don’t overly pay attention. The first time I ran, it was against the backroom guys that run the town. So the problem is trying to get everybody involved, and not just the developers.

Involvement of the electorate.

Hartzell was asked if shore towns should provide live video streaming via zoom, and remote participation for municipal meetings.

Down the shore, a majority of people are non-voting second homeowners. Should we turn-on those municipal meeting video cameras?

Hartzell: Yes. Once I lost the election (for Mayor of OC) they stopped the live video stream.

Dan Klein: This is almost like not wanting the release to January 6 footage.

Can’t understand why they wouldn’t want to stream their public meetings. Cost and tech are no longer a concern.

Hartzell: the minute I lost the election and the new regime came in, OC meetings on Zoom stopped.

They don’t want to let you to know how the sausage is made.

Editors note: Former Margate Business Admin Rich Deaney was opposed to live ZOOM video of municipal meetings. Deaney, an Ocean City resident, was also against remote participation and comments from 2nd homeowners.

Today, Margate Business Admin Ken Mosca, continues the blocking of ZOOM access for 2nd homeowners.

‘Friends of Margate’ candidates, lead by Commissioner Maury Blumberg, are also in support of blocking ZOOM video access to public meetings.

4 thoughts on “ZOOM Needed for Public Meetings Says Former Ocean City Councilman”

  1. Undercover bureaucrats that run beach towns don’t want taxpayers to be privy of what’s being discussed in their meetings!

    Their system almost makes me physically sick.

    I wish someone would investigate “pay to play “ in Ventnor to see who and what contractors get special treatment!

  2. The Sunshine Law (Open Public Meetings Act) was one of the best mandates enforced during my tenure as a public official.

    Beware of ANY public body, local, state, elected or appointed ~ that does not allow the public access to their audio/visual taping (free of charge).

    I did not say INVOLVEMENT in every meeting, I said access (unedited) to their decisions.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.