He couldn’t go, not this time, Assemblyman John Amodeo (R-2) told PolitickerNJ.com in the aftermath.

During Irene, he evacuated his family out of their Margate neighborhood on the barrier island and made for the mainland. But his aged mother found herself without power and dangerously incapacitated away from home.

With Sandy bearing down on the barrier and Gov. Chris Christie issuing an order to Atlantic City and Margate to clear out, Amodeo made the decision to stay.

“I couldn’t leave the island,” Amodeo said. “During Irene my mother was stuck on the fourth floor and she didn’t want to go this time, she wanted to be home, and so we broke the governor’s order and stuck.”

The assemblyman’s house was surrounded by water, but he rode it out, he told PolitickerNJ.com.

“Parts of the north inlet got hit very hard,” he said. “Now it’s a clean-up around us, with the ends of the streets running parallel to the beach piled up three to four feet with sand.”

The assemblyman said in his case he made the decision to stay because of his mother, but noted that many old-time Margate residents made a similar call and stayed on the island despite the governor’s order to retreat.

“Solidarity was widespread,” Amodeo said.