The Imagine Ventnor Team – Lance Landgraf, Maria Mento and Tim Kriebel – are running unopposed in the May 14 Board of Commissioners election.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The Imagine Ventnor team will run unopposed in the May 14 non-partisan Board of Commissioners election.
It is the second time the team is running unopposed for the three-member board. Lance Landgraf, Tim Kriebel and Maria Mento were the only candidates to file petitions with the City Clerk by the 4 p.m. deadline Thursday, Feb. 29.
Landgraf and Kriebel are running for their third term, and Mento, who was appointed in January 2023 to fill in after former Mayor Beth Holtzman resigned, is running for her first full, four-year term on the board.
Landgraf said despite not having any competition for the second time, they must still go through the process of being elected by the people.
“We still have to go through the election, and I hope everyone still comes out to support us,” Landgraf said. “We’re happy we will be able to focus on continuing to run the city the way we have and that the residents still have confidence in us after eight years.”
Landgraf said the team has managed to turn things around during their tenure. The team is proud that the city has added $158 million in new ratables since they took office in 2016, and that it recently received a $7 million state grant to rebuild the boardwalk.
“There’s still a lot of work to do improving our infrastructure, business districts and streetscapes,” he said.
Kriebel said the team is uniquely qualified because they balance the scales and compliment each other.
“We’re always pushing the city forward and that seems to be what people are responding to,” he said. “The saying, ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it,’ has become a rallying cry for us. We intend to double down on our efforts to improve the downtown areas and continue to improve our infrastructure. We are looking forward to bringing as many people as possible to Ventnor to shop, live and play.”
Mento, who is facing her second election in six months – she was appointed in January 2023 to fill Holtzman’s seat until the November general election – said she is happy to be running unopposed again.
“I’d rather be working in City Hall than campaigning,” the former acting city administrator said. “I believe being unopposed is because people are happy seeing what’s going on in Ventnor and it could be that others may not have the time to serve. People are satisfied with what our team has done since 2016.”
Although they won’t be facing any stiff competition or have to deal with negative campaigning, Mento said the team will still hold a few meet and greets so the residents can hear more about their goals for the city.
“But more importantly, so we can hear what is important to them,” she said.
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