Outgoing Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian will get a sizable raise, when he becomes Toms River’s next business administrator.
According to SHOREBEAT.com, At the recent Toms River council meeting of Dec. 26, council approved the appointment of Don Guardian as business administrator. Guardian will earn a very healthy annual salary of $175,000. The previous salary of a BA was an eye-popping $223,000.
Paul Shives, the Toms River business administrator since 2009, announced he would be retiring Jan. 12, 2018.
Guardian was the city’s first openly gay mayor and was Atlantic City’s first Republican mayor since 1990. He served as an executive with the Boy Scouts Of America and was a director at SID, special improvement district for Atlantic City.
Some were not happy with how the Guardian decision went down. Incoming Toms River councilman, Daniel Rodrick, is one of them. He thinks he should have had a voice in the decision. The vote was also taken the day after Christmas, without the mayor and two councilmen in attendance.
According to Shorebeat: Rodrick says “Guardian leaves Atlantic City with a downgraded double-‘c’ bond rating. Is that what Toms River needs?”
From Wikipedia: Donald A. Guardian (born June 12, 1953) is the current mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Lorenzo Langford in the 2013 mayoral election to become the city’s first openly gay mayor and first Republican mayor since 1990.
He is a former executive with the Boy Scouts of America and headed Atlantic City’s Special Improvement District for two decades prior to his election as mayor.
On January 19, 2013, Guardian announced he was challenging incumbent mayor Lorenzo Langford. He won the Republican primary unopposed.
On November 5, Guardian defeated Langford by 50% to 47%.
On November 7, 2017 Guardian lost re-election to Democratic city councilman, Frank Gilliam.