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12/31/05 - Ocean City Mayor

O.C. mayor unsure whether to run for re-election

By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Saturday, December 31, 2005

OCEAN CITY-Longtime Ocean City Mayor Bud Knight said Friday he is undecided on whether to seek re-election in the spring.

Knight said he will announce his decision at an Ocean City council budget meeting on Jan. 12.

Knight said he is still mulling the possibility of seeking another four-year term for the city's highest office.

"I'm trying to weigh the pluses and minuses," he said. "I love doing the job. I think I've done a good job."

But Knight said he will turn 74 next year.

He will also be getting remarried in February, he said.

He has been talking with family members over the holidays regarding the options.

"I think I have a wonderful record of managing the city to delegating the responsibility to qualified professionals. But like I said, 'I'm getting older, I'm getting married, and maybe it's time to smell the roses,' " he said.

The Ocean City nonpartisan election is not until May, and candidates have until March 16 to file.

Ocean City Councilman Frank McCall is the only candidate to officially file yet, according to the Ocean City Clerk's Office.

McCall, a former mayor of Wildwood Crest, announced his candidacy earlier this month.

Councilman Jody Alessandrine, who narrowly lost to Knight in a 2002 mayoral race, is getting a campaign together and plans to formally announce his candidacy in late January, he said.

Alessandrine said he believes Knight will not seek re-election.

"I wish he would run, for the rematch. We'd love the opportunity again because some of the things I was concerned about four years ago came to pass. It would be an opportunity to talk about the record straight up," Alessandrine said.

Other potential candidates still have more than three months to decide.

Knight has been mayor of this resort city since 1992, when he won a special election following the death of Mayor Nickolas J. Trofa Jr.

Knight also held other positions in Ocean City, including on City Council and on the city's planning and zoning boards.

"Next year will make 40 years that I put some of my life in City Hall," Knight said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press: BIanieri@pressofac.com