Five city councilmen removed themselves as plaintiffs in the dispute about the legality of publicly funded elections.
The remaining plaintiffs also removed City Council as a defendant in the case, which seeks a judge's opinion about whether taxpayers may pay for political campaigns in New Jersey.
The council members supported the notion of getting a judge's opinion on the legality of publicly financed campaigns. But in doing so, they inadvertently agreed to be plaintiffs in the case, which pitted the city and City Council as defendants.
It was kind of embarrassing to be on council and also to say we're going to sue ourselves, Councilman Roy Wagner said.
Wagner said he still supports the idea behind clean-money campaigns, in which candidates use tax money to finance their political campaigns.
I am still very much in favor of removing influence of money on the election process, he said.
A lame-duck City Council planned to vote in June on an ordinance that would let candidates use tax money to finance campaigns. But Solicitor Gerald Corcoran dissuaded council after concluding the ordinance was illegal and unenforceable.
The remaining plaintiffs, including Steven Fenichel, want a second opinion from a state judge.
It's the only hope we have of having a government that's accountable to the taxpayers, Fenichel said.
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint.
Meanwhile, Mayor Sal Perillo took council to task in a Sept. 15 letter for participating in the lawsuit. Perillo said the ordinance council considered was replete with technical flaws, including a provision that called for the city clerk to write campaign checks.
Perillo urged the council members to withdraw the legal complaint and work with him on a new Clean Campaign Bill that could make Ocean City a model for the state.
In the letter, Perillo said he hopes to let candidates use public money for campaigns as early as the next City Council ward races in 2008.
To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: