James N. Mathias Jr. (born September 2, 1951) is an American politician from Ocean City, Maryland. Mathias served in the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

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.

Background

The former mayor of Ocean City, Maryland, was born on September 2, 1951, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

.Maryland State Archives
James N. Mathias Jr. During his childhood, he lived in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Carroll County. He attended high school at

Calvert Hall College Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school's mission is to make its students "men of intellect, men of f ...

in Towson, graduating in 1969. In 1974, Mathias graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. 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. Mathias and his father established a business in downtown Ocean City and built an amusement and arcade operation. In 1978 he married Kathleen "Kathy" Arlee Petry, who died in August 2011. They had two children. Mathias currently works as the Director of Governmental Affairs for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

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. 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 James Lowell Stoltzfus (born July 15, 1949) is a former Republican state senator, having represented Maryland's 38th Legislative District. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 38. Early life and education James ...

. 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 Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as P ...

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 Mary Beth Carozza (born February 13, 1961) is an American politician who is a Republican member of the Maryland State Senate, representing District 38. She previous represented District 38C in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2019. ...

, also of Ocean City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, James N. 1951 births 21st-century American legislators Living people Maryland city council members Democratic Party Maryland state senators Mayors of Ocean City, Maryland Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore County alumni 21st-century Maryland politicians 20th-century mayors of places in Maryland 21st-century mayors of places in Maryland