Who is Marty Small Sr.?
Small has been a fixture in Atlantic City politics for more than 20 years. At age 29, he became the youngest person to ever represent anAtlantic City ward when he won a city council seat in 2004. While serving as city council president, he became mayor after Gilliam’s departure and won his first full term in 2021.
Born and raised in Atlantic City to a single mother, Small was a standout basketball athlete at Stockton University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications in 1993. Small has said his experience growing up in Atlantic City made him want to serve and make the city better.
Small has served as the southern New Jersey vice president for New Jersey Urban Mayors Association and was the Atlantic County representative for the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. He has been an influential “king maker” with his endorsements in recent council races.
Marty Small Sr.’s top issues
Small is hanging his hat on his accomplishments of bringing Atlantic City back from casino closures and the state takeover of its finances more than a decade ago.
He said he has been working with state officials to “ween” the city off of state aid, which has benefited Atlantic City since 2016. He said that Atlantic City’s finances are greatly approved and taxes have gone down under his watch. Small said his collaboration with state officials continues to pay dividends for the city.
“The city’s finances are as stable as ever,” Small said. “When Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s [global financial rating system], two Wall Street agencies who have written horrific reports about the great city of Atlantic City, they have praised our finances and we’re a step below investment grade and we will be investment grade.”
When asked if the current indictments and upcoming trials have compromised his ability to serve, Small called the charges by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office “politically motivated.” He claimed that he and his wife will be “vindicated at trial,” adding that the public proved they support him by voting for him by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in the Democratic primary.
“The residents of Atlantic City know me,” Small said. “I went back to work, and I haven’t skipped a beat. That’s how you know that your leader can handle a crisis. I handled the city crisis with COVID, and I’m handling a personal crisis for myself. I show up for work each and every day and I’m more motivated than ever.”
Small said his administration is striving to diversify the city’s economy, pointing to the growing footprint of Stockton University, the new waterpark at the Showboat Hotel, and the upcoming redevelopment of Bader Field, the city’s former airport, along with condominiums in the Orange Loop district.
“We have not been afraid of introducing new industries to the great city of Atlantic City,” Small said. “We know we’re in competition and that we have to bring family entertainment here. All of that is happening under my watch.”
He added that if people did not think the city was safe and believed the government was ineffective, companies “wouldn’t have invested anything.”
Small said Atlantic City suffers from “Greyhound therapy,” which is when other cities send their unhoused residents to the resort town. He said that he has a team that goes out to locations under the city’s boardwalk and other hard-to-reach locations to offer services to the city’s unhoused population.
In January, DEEM Enterprises reaffirmed its commitment to the $3.4 billion project called Renaissance at Bader Field, turning the abandoned airport to a “lifestyle hub,” complete with a racetrack, entertainment center and condominiums.
“Bader Field will be the gift that keeps on giving,” Small said. “People say we need a new industry. Mayor Small is providing a new industry, the automotive industry. It puts down the rumor that no one wants to invest in Atlantic City. These people don’t need Atlantic City.”
