Randolph new City Council president in Atlantic City | #citycouncil

ATLANTIC CITY — First Ward Councilman Aaron “Sporty” Randolph, in his 12th year on the governing body, was voted City Council president at its reorganization meeting Wednesday night.

It was clear alliances had shifted, with a 5-4 majority for Randolph that included Councilwoman Stephanie Marshall and Councilmen MD Hossain Morshed, Kaleem Shabazz and Muhammad Zia as well as Randolph.

In the minority supporting first term Councilman Bruce Weekes for president were previous council President George Tibbitt, Councilwoman LaToya Dunston, lone Republican Councilman Jesse Kurtz and Weekes.

Tibbitt, who had been council president for three years, said earlier in the week he would not seek the presidency again. He wanted to spend more time on his own projects and with his family, he said, and it was someone else’s turn to lead council.

Mayor Marty Small Sr., however, said Tibbitt simply no longer had the votes to stay in the position after falling out with Small in 2022.

“If you believe the Tibbitt story, I’ve got the second bridge in Venice Park I want to sell you,” Small said Wednesday morning.

Tibbitt had supported a ballot question to move the city to nonpartisan elections, which failed in November. Small had said the effort would weaken the Democratic Party and city committee, which is led by Small supporters.

Small and Tibbitt had run successfully for reelection on the same ticket in 2021, along with newcomers Marshall and Weekes.

Shabazz was again voted in as vice president Wednesday night, with no other nominations made for that position.

It’s the first time Randolph has been voted president for a full term in his history on council. But Randolph was interim 6-month president in 2019 when then Council President Marty Small Sr. left to become mayor, after former Mayor Frank Gilliam resigned and pled guilty to defrauding contributors to a youth basketball team out of more than $86,000.

In other business, council passed a resolution making Crystal Lewis the new director of public works.

Kurtz had suggested requiring Lewis to reside in the city, to comply with an ordinance on the books requiring directors to live here. But council decided it would be unfair to single her out, since most department directors do not live here. Only Fire Chief Scott Evans is a city resident.

Instead, Randolph said after the meeting that council will look at the ordinance and research whether or not to begin enforcing it for all. It will require some research into legal questions, he said.

Lewis said she does not live in the city, but was born and raised here and graduated from Atlantic City High School. 

Lewis had been deputy director and becomes the first female public works director in the history of the city, Small said. Small has called a press conference for Thursday at 11 a.m. to introduce Lewis to the public.

Longtime Public Works Director Paul Jerkins retired effective Dec. 31.