James N. Mathias Jr.

James N. Mathias Jr. (born September 2, 1951) is an American politician from Ocean City, Maryland. Mathias served in the Maryland State Senate from 2011 until 2019, was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2006 to 2010, and served as mayor of Ocean City from 1996 until 2006.

James N. Mathias Jr.
Mathias in 2007
Member of the Maryland Senate
from the 38th district
In office
January 13, 2011 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byJ. Lowell Stoltzfus
Succeeded byMary Beth Carozza
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 38B district
In office
2006–2010
Preceded byBennett Bozman
Succeeded byMike McDermott
Mayor of Ocean City, Maryland
In office
1996–2006
Preceded byRoland E. Powell
Succeeded byRick Meehan
Personal details
Born (1951-09-02) September 2, 1951
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Kathleen (Petry) Mathias
ChildrenLauren and Trevor
ResidenceOcean City, Maryland

Background

The former mayor of Ocean City, Maryland, was born on September 2, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] During his childhood, he lived in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Carroll County, Maryland. He attended high school at Calvert Hall College in Towson, graduating in 1969. In 1974, Jim Mathias graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.[1]

Mathias first came to Ocean City as a child, with his parents for summer vacations and it was then that he first fell in love with Ocean City, Maryland. His first Ocean City summer job was at Ponzetti's Pizza on the Boardwalk in 1972. Jim and his father established a business in downtown Ocean City and built an amusement and arcade operation.[2]

In 1978 he married Kathleen "Kathy" Arlee Petry, who died in August 2011.[3] They had two children.[3] Mathias currently works as the Director of Governmental Affairs for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.[4]

Community affiliations

Jim has been active in the Ocean City community. He served as Chairman of the Worcester County Ambulance Service Committee and was Chairman of the Ocean City Humane Society Commission. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus #9053, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Parish, and the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company Engine 703. From 2002 to 2006 Jim represented the Coastal Bays Watershed, Ocean City and Worcester County, on the State of Maryland Critical Area Commission. In 2004 he served as State Chairman for WalkAmerica for the March of Dimes. Jim was the President of the Lower Eastern Shore Mayors Association in 2004 and was the Honored Chairperson for the Light the Night Walk and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2004.[1]

Political career

Mathias began his political career in Ocean City in 1987 when he was appointed to the Ocean City Board of Zoning Appeals, where he served until 1990. In October 1990, he was elected as an Ocean City Councilman and was re-elected to that post in 1994. In October 1996, Mathias was elected Mayor of Ocean City, Maryland. He was re-elected in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. In 2006, Mathias was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates for District 38B, along with fellow Democrat Norman Conway of Salisbury, where he would serve for one term before running to replace retiring State Senator J. Lowell Stoltzfus. Mathias went on to defeat Michael James, general manager of Ocean City's Carousel Hotel and Resort, in the 2010 general election by less than 700 votes. Mathias won re-election in 2014 over Republican state delegate and former mayor of Pocomoke City Mike McDermott. In the 2018 general election, Mathias lost his re-election bid to Republican state delegate and former Ehrlich administration official Mary Beth Carozza, also of Ocean City. [5]

Legislative notes
  • Voted against in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 [6]
  • Voted for the Tax Reform Act of 2007 [7]
  • Voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000 [8]
  • Voted for Jessica's Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison.[9]
  • Voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests.[10]
  • Voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland's drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years.[11]
  • Voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland's budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State's aging fleet.[12]
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References
  1. Maryland State Archives James N. Mathias Jr.
  2. Jim Mathias For Senate About James N. Mathias Jr.
  3. "Ocean City Maryland News | OC MD Newspapers | Maryland Coast Dispatch » Kathy Mathias Services Announced". mdcoastdispatch.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  4. "Former state Sen. Jim Mathias named UMES' government relations director | University of Maryland Eastern Shore". www.umes.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  5. "James Mathias Jr". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  6. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2007 Regular Session House Bill 6 Voting Record
  7. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2007 Special Session House Bill 2 Voting Record
  8. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2007 Regular Session House Bill 713 Voting Record
  9. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2007 Regular Session House Bill 930 Voting Record
  10. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2008 Regular Session House Bill 370 Voting Record
  11. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2009 Regular Session House Bill 293 Voting Record
  12. General Assembly Of Maryland - House of Delegates - 2009 Regular Session House Bill 102 Voting Record
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