8/2/2006

Meehan to run for mayor of Ocean City
By Don Klein

Back in the late 1960s when Richard W. Meehan started out as a budding entrepreneur in Ocean City he had such enthusiasm for the seaside resort at the time that the father of his partner in a new clothing store called him "Mr. Mayor."

"We just laughed," he recalls now. "It was a joke."

 Today, 37 years later, Mr. Meehan inhabits the mayor's chair at City Hall and it is no joke.

"This is something I always thought I'd do someday, but the opportunity came more quickly than I expected," he said talking about the mayor's job. The sequence of events advancing him into the top town office started with the death of Delegate Bennett Bozman in the spring and the selection in June of former Mayor James Mathias to replace him as the local representative to the House of Delegates.

At the time Mr. Meehan was president of the city council and according to the town charter was designated to succeed Mr. Mathias. He has been in office a bit over a month as interim mayor and he is still "excited" about the new job. The mayor serves a two year term and Mr. Meehan declared, "I intend to run for office later this year." 

The mid-term switch from Mathias to Meehan will not be noticeable to most residents of Ocean City. "Philosophically, Jim and I think the same," Mr. Meehan admitted, "although I may be a bit more conservative than he in terms of growth, and so on." He added, "The biggest difference between us is in style, how we conduct business."

That would seem obvious to most locals. The former mayor was a bundle of enthusiasm, popping up at practically every event where more than four people gathered, making cheerful small talk and forever promoting the virtues of the resort town. The new mayor will get around town as well, be as promotionally-minded, but by nature he is more controlled in animation and zest.

Rick, as he is referred to by friends, was born in Manhattan and grew up in Buffalo and Cleveland until his family moved to Towson when he was 11 years old. His family started visiting Ocean City and in the summer of 1964 he landed a job at the Funcade on the Boardwalk and 9th Street.

"I was bitten (with Ocean City life) by then," he says. "I've been here every summer since." Armed with a business administration degree from the University of Baltimore, Mr. Meehan and his then partner, Lenny Pineau, opened a clothing store they called "OC Rags" near the Boardwalk in the late 1960s. Soon they opened a second store in Salisbury and eventually operated five stores selling women's clothing and beachwear.

"It was a great business and I enjoyed, but its time ran out," he said. The stores were closed in 1992, but Mr. Meehan had already been elected to the Town Council in 1985 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of legendary Mayor Harry Kelly. This erased a narrow defeat by 50 votes in the previous October's bid for a council seat. He went into real estate about 13 years ago and presently is a residential real estate broker with Coldwell Banker.

He credits his relationship with former Mayor Roland (Fish) Powell as the highlight of his political career. "It was a unique opportunity to run for office with Fish Powell. I learned a lot. I learned about his political philosophy and serving in elected office."

From 1992 to 1994 Mr. Meehan served as council president, then served as just a council member for two years before being reelected by the council to serve as its president again. He held that office until he ascended to the mayoralty in June. He credits 20 years on the town council and 10 years as its president, as giving him the necessary experience to handle the mayor's job without missing a step.

"I understand the issues facing this town, I’ve been to Annapolis to represent Ocean City many times and I've been through many storms (political and natural) and hurricanes, I've worked with the city manager on the budget many times. I support this form of government and know how it works," he said.

As for the major issues before the town at present Mr. Meehan puts "the approval and adoption of a comprehensive plan at the top of the list." It will probably be adopted in the next few months, he predicted. "We have to address growth and zoning," he said firmly. "There will be a number of changes as we move forward and we will have to strike a balance between residential and commercial needs as we face the future."

He added that "establishing a fair budget and managing the town's employees," are urgent matters. "Salary structures for employees and other personnel factors are important," adding that, "keeping pace with employee needs can be sometimes costly."

But the challenges of the job did not seem to faze the new mayor as he leaned back on his big leather executive chair behind a properly imposing desk fit for a municipal chief executive and thought about the future. The 57-year-old mayor feels he is where he wants to be politically and has no grandiose plans for himself.

"My goal is to be here in Ocean City. I like to be a part of what's happening," he says, "I like to interact with constituents. I like being accountable and seeing people every day." He said Ocean City entertains eight million visitors every year in a safe, clean and fun-filled environment. He intends to make sure that is protected for the tourists and for the residential neighborhoods.

Mr. Meehan is proud of his 25-year-old daughter, Kellie, a server at Dough Roller restaurant, and his son, Kevin, 22, a cum laude film major graduate from Towson University.

"We live in a place everybody else wants to be for vacations or retirement," he could not resist saying with a beaming, satisfying smile. "The quality of life here is great. Who could not love working here?"               

                
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