Former Atlantic City Casino Union Leader Running for Mayor

Posted on: January 22, 2025, 01:05h. 

Last updated on: January 22, 2025, 01:58h.

The president of the largest hospitality union in Southern New Jersey is running for mayor of Atlantic City.

Atlantic City casino union Bob McDevitt
In July 2016, Unite Here Local 54 President Bob McDevitt rallies outside the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. McDevitt is running for mayor of Atlantic City. (Image: AP)

Bob McDevitt led Unite Here Local 54 for more than a quarter of a century before he stepped down in March 2023. His resignation after being the union’s president for 26 years came after he suffered severe sepsis and had his right foot amputated.

Almost two years later, McDevitt is seeking the top government position in the oceanside resort town. McDevitt says he’ll challenge Mayor Marty Small Sr. during the Democratic primary this spring.

Small was appointed to the mayor’s office by the Atlantic City Council in October 2019 after Mayor Frank Gilliam resigned and admitted to stealing $86K from a youth basketball program he founded. Small completed Gilliam’s term and won reelection in November 2020.

The Press of Atlantic City first broke the news that McDevitt was running for public office.

Smalls Seeks Second Term

Small officially kicked off his reelection campaign on Tuesday night. This time will be much different than in 2020, however, as Small is facing criminal charges of child endangerment and witness tampering.

Law enforcement alleges that Small and his wife, Dr. La’Quetta Small, who is the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, subjected their teenage daughter to physical and mental abuse. A grand jury found sufficient evidence to bring charges against the mayor, with the complaint alleging that Small hit the girl with a broomstick, causing her to lose consciousness. He’s also alleged to have threatened to “smack the weave out” of her head and throw her down a flight of stairs.

The Smalls have denied the charges against them. During a campaign event on Tuesday, Small celebrated his accomplishments.

Since I’ve been mayor, every single year we completed at least 90% of what we said we were going to do,” Small declared.

Small said crime is down, and so are the number of arrests. The mayor will face a strong opponent in McDevitt, who led the union that today represents about one in every three workers employed by the nine casinos. 

McDevitt For Mayor

McDevitt will officially announce his candidacy for mayor on Friday, January 31, in front of The Ritz Condominiums at California Ave. and the Boardwalk adjacent to Tropicana. He’s running with John Devlin, Mohammed Akbar Hussain, and Steve Young for the city council.

Devlin is among Small’s biggest political foes. In 2022, Devlin, a retired Atlantic City police officer, sued the city and Small after the council ousted him from the school and utility boards. He alleged his ousting was politically motivated. The charges were eventually dismissed by a county judge.

McDevitt was habitually reelected as Unite Here Local 54 boss during his lengthy tenure. He said taking on billionaire Carl Icahn was among his biggest victories. McDevitt was unwilling to give in to the corporate raider’s demands after Icahn used bankruptcy laws to reduce or halt certain employee benefits.

McDevitt and the union initiated a strike at Icahn’s Trump Taj Mahal in 2016. Undeterred by the billionaire’s threats to close the property, McDevitt and the union workers held steady. Icahn said McDevitt left him no options other than to shutter the Boardwalk resort.

The best thing that could happen for Atlantic City would be for McDevitt to leave,” Icahn said after closing the Taj in October 2016. “I’d happily buy him a one-way plane ticket and pay his moving expenses.”

McDevitt said Icahn took “hundreds of millions of dollars out of Atlantic City.” Icahn sold the property in 2017 for just $50 million to Hard Rock International.

While McDevitt was popular with many casino workers, some were upset that he never fought for clean indoor air workplaces. McDevitt’s opinion was that until casinos in Philadelphia are all smoke-free, Atlantic City casinos need indoor tobacco use. That position has been retained by current Unite Here Local 54 President Donna DeCaprio.