From left, Commissioner Lance Landgraf, Mayor Beth Holtzman, Administrator Maria Mento and Commissioner Tim Kriebel, Jan. 26, 2023.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – Residents and city employees stepped to the microphone at the Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday to offer accolades for Mayor Beth Holtzman who was attending her last commission meeting before stepping down on Feb. 7.
The mayor and commissioners held back tears as they spoke about the vision and leadership of the Imagine Ventnor team, who took office in 2016 and set out to revitalize the city, which many who spoke said they have accomplished.
After Holtzman spoke from her heart about the pain she is experiencing in her decision to leave the city she loves, she announced that Acting City Administrator Maria Mento would be appointed to fill her seat on the board until a special election can be held in November to fill the remainder of her unexpired term. Mento will run in the special election and as a member of the Imagine Ventnor team in the May 2024 non-partisan election.
“I beg the voters to keep the Imagine Ventnor team together,” Holtzman said. “There is no other resident in Ventnor that could replace the selection of her to fill the seat in November.”
Commissioners have called Mento, who was appointed to the administrative position two months after they took office, the “quarterback” who ensures their initiatives are implemented.
“She’s more like a general than a quarterback,” Holtzman, who serves as commissioner of finance, said. “I want to know the city is in good hands after I go.”
One of Holtzman’s greatest accomplishments was overhauling the Finance Department, and she said Mento, who was chief financial officer for the Atlantic County Utilities Authority for many years, is the perfect person to fill the role of commissioner of finance.
Residents complimented Holtzman for her leadership as mayor and for making Ventnor a better place to live.
Resident Anthony Tripician said Holtzman is forthright and “compassionate” in her decision making.
“Whenever I talk with you, I always know exactly where you stand,” he said.
Commissioner of Public Works Lance Landgraf said he was the last of the Imagine Ventnor team to be recruited back in 2015. After 10 minutes of speaking with Holtzman, he asked her a question – “Do you have a filter?”
Commissioner of Public Safety and Community Affairs Tim Kriebel said Holtzman “doesn’t take no for an answer” and is a “fierce advocate.”
“She would walk through fire for you,” he said, choking back tears. “She kept the human factor in all our decisions. If you are in her orbit, you know, and I’m a better person for it.”
Public Works Supervisor Ed Stinson said he has learned much from Holtzman over the years he has worked as municipal engineer and supervisor of the department, “especially in keeping the people of the city in the forefront of decisions.”
Planning Board Chairman Jay Cooke, who has served on the board for more than 40 years, said Holtzman was “a godsend” to the city, which is undergoing a renaissance of sorts.
Ventnor Square Theater owner Brett DeNafo couldn’t say enough about how Holtzman and the commissioners supported his effort to purchase and rehabilitate the beleaguered Art Deco-era theater.
“You have done a tremendous job for this town,” he said.
Ventnor City Fire Chief Michael Cahilll said Ventnor was a “dingy grey” before the team was seated.
Former Commissioner Joe Schaffer said it’s hard to see Holtzman leave.
“But the city has never looked better,” he said.
Resident Bill Sill of the St. Leonard’s Association said Holtzman and the team was supportive of the organization’s initiatives to preserve their historic neighborhood.
“There was always a willingness to talk,” he said.
Sue Van Duyne Hunter, who manages the city’s Cultural Arts Center, said Holtzman was able to lead the city through its recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.
“You helped our community heal,” she said.
Atlantic County Commissioner Ernest Coursey said he attended the meeting to introduce himself to the city and offer any assistance he can provide at the county level, but was unaware that it was Holtzman’s last meeting.
“She reminds me of me, I speak my mind,” Coursey said, reminding Holtzman that she has made her mark on the city.
“Your work speaks volumes for years and months and days to come,” he said.
Members of Holtzman’s family attended via Zoom, generating chuckles and tears, indicating how proud they are of her accomplishments.
“I’m so proud to say my sister Beth is the mayor,” her sister Lori Averso said.
Her mother, Mary Maccagnano put Holtzman’s transition to private life in perspective.
“Ventnor is a lucky town to have my daughter as a mayor for the last seven years,” she said. “Happy days are in front of her, which is what every mother wants for their children.”
And Holtzman’s son Zachary, who attends Atlantic Cape Community College, said he laughed a lot over the years hearing his mother tell of some of the complaints people had, “like too much sand on the beach blocks.”
“My mother is the best thing to ever happen to the city,” he said.
Holtzman said she is relying on her faith to carry her through selling her Ventnor Heights home, which was rehabilitated after Hurricane Sandy, leaving the city she loves, and her move to an offshore community. She said her favorite poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” which tells the story of how the Lord carries people through difficult times, will give her strength through the difficult transition.
“My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
Holtzman said she picked Feb. 7 as the date to step down because in the Bible, the number seven symbolizes completion.
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