The Rehoboth Beach Commission election will appear in a few weeks on August 9th. There, three first-time candidates compete for two open seats: Susan Stewart, Chris Garanti and Jeffrey Good.
The board is the city’s governing body and is responsible for preparing budgets, appointing city officials and enacting ordinances. Seven commissioners, including the mayor, serve at one time for three years of office and have no term limits. Two current commissioners, gay Edward Kruzanowski and Francis’ “Banky” Marquhart Jr., are not seeking re-election.
Washington Blade spoke with each candidate about his platform and vision.
Susan Stewart is a lawyer, financial advisor and full-time Rehobos resident. She is Senior Vice President of the Stewart Group, RBC Wealth Management, and serves on the Rehoboth Beach Planning Committee and the Combined and Stormwater Utilities Task Force.
Stewart said her comprehensive vision for Rehoboth’s future is to define a community by pursuing a common goal to cater to the city’s most beautiful, well-functioning, productive, and potential citizens.
“This campaign is to restore trust and build a stronger, stronger Rehoboth Beach,” Stewart said. campaign Read website. “I’m running because I want to be part of a team that governs better by listening to more, by focusing on less discussion and what’s really important.”
Her main platform issues relate to urban code reform, responsible commercial development, legislative approaches, urban finances, consultancy and legal services oversight.
Stewart said he believes that some of the conflicts that defined federal discourse and polarization have hit small towns.
“It’s a real obstacle to getting things done and we all want to be part of this solution,” she said. “We hope that Rehoboth Beach will become a well-running community with a very efficient government.
Stewart referenced current Litigation He faces the city of Rehobos when it comes to hiring mayor Taylor Tedder. Some residents allege that Tedder’s employment agreement violated the city’s charter. She supports the city to protect the lawsuit. Because it’s so expensive if it loses, commissioners want to make sure that they don’t hurt the city financially.
According to Stewart, the central issue is how to balance the needs of businesses and residents.
“I think we all benefit from having a thriving Rehobos. It is defined by people with high quality of life. Visitors have a good experience. [and] A company that can prosper. ”
Stewart describes herself as a creative problem-solver and sees her background as a major differentiator for the other two candidates as a lawyer and financial advisor. She also had an athletic career with the US women’s lacrosse team and coached college basketball and lacrosse.
“Sports really taught me resilience,” Stewart said. “After you’ve been knocked down, you could fight hard for what you wanted, but it doesn’t allow it to fall into a personal attack… I think it’s a huge, huge skill set that brings to this position and it’s important to have a good professional board member.”
Stewart identified him as a member of the LGBTQ community and said that people who live in Rehoboth and who own businesses there know that the city is largely thriving due to the influence of the gay community.
Stewart’s goal is to become an agent who connects businesses with residents “to create the best possible Rehobos.”
Chris Garanti first came to Rehoboth in 1995 and has always been drawn to the beach community that he grew up in New York. After visiting every summer and being part of the gay beach house community, he fell in love with Rehoboth and bought the house in 2018 while living part-time at DC.
Galanty works in the environmental sector and volunteers to multiple organizations. He works for Habitat for Humanity and Save Our Rivers, and for the Bloomingdale Civic Association and the Rehoboth Beach Streets and Transportation Committee in DC.
If elected, the Guarantee will become the youngest commissioner on the board. His main priorities are urban operation excellence, financial responsibility, restoration of Deauville Beach from Rehoboth, public safety and quality of life, environmental protection and resilience, and support for local businesses and tourism.
“I’m very invested in Rehoboth. This is our home. This is where we’ll really live for the rest of our lives,” Garanti said.
As part of the campaign process, Guaranty said he met with all the key department heads, from the mayor to the police chief to the wastewater chief. His focus is on transparency, communication and accountability.
“There’s a lot going on here,” Garanti said. “It’s a well-run city government, but there’s an area of improvement.”
Part of Galanty’s driving drive was to ensure that Rehoboth remains a safe place for a gay generation, as he has been gay for over 30 years.
“Representation is very important and I think it’s important to make sure there are members of the LGBTQIA community represented by the city government,” Galanty said.
According to Guaranty, many people want to maintain the small town vibe. They don’t want skyscrapers and don’t want to be Ocean City. They want [Rehoboth to be ] Easy to walk, safe, pedestrian-friendly, and environmentally friendly.
“One of the things people like about Rehobos is that they can walk anywhere. I’m really a big advocate for transport safety and cycling and pedestrian access,” Garanti said.
Maintaining the quality of life of residents with balancing the economy and tourism is a challenge, and the campaign’s trajectory is being talked about, Galanty said.
Galanty manages his home and business by ensuring that spending and revenue match. You don’t want to spend more than you are making, and what is spent should reflect the value of the community, he said.
“We are very careful about the issues of financial responsibility and management being discussed,” he said.
If elected, Guaranty wants to see a more vibrant downtown business district by the end of his term. He believes his unique set of experiences as an urban planner, community advocate and environmentalist stands apart from other candidates.
“My hope is that Rehoboth Beach retains its unique character and charm, but it will evolve to be more responsive, more transparent and more outcome-oriented.”
Jeffrey Goode was at Rehoboth full-time for about eight years, but there was a much longer-lasting second home. In his background as an economist, he has worked as a research manager for about 40 years. He has taught classes part-time at universities, including American University, Georgetown University and American Catholic University, mainly along with the federal government in DC.
Good is currently mostly retired from the government and has time to take office. He said he decided to run for “financial sanity and ability.” His top priority is to control his spending.
Since he moved here eight years ago, budget It’s doubled and is now around $44 million. Good is worried that the city will reach its $75 million borrowing limit over the next few years. If elected, he will not vote for budgets that exceed inflation.
His top priorities are to focus on financial sanity, withdrawing stormwater impact fees, regaining control of Deauville Beach, vigilance in beach protection, and improving everyday infrastructure rather than large-scale projects.
Goode says Rehoboth is “basically busy right now,” and the way to control it is to use economics to serve all the people visiting, such as parking fees. Good said the number of tourists should correlate with infrastructure, but the city is overflowing over the months of the year, causing the experience to decline.
Good also said the gay community of Rehoboth is a very integral and important part of the city.
Good’s wife, Suzanne Goode, is the current commissioner. As outlined in the article, there are no rules for spouses to serve together. Section 3 of the City Charter. According to the communications manager at Rehoboth Beach, the city’s election manager and city counsel reviewed the charter and found that they were not dealing with the spouse serving at the same time. Some criticize Suzanne Good’s social media posts as being too conservative for progressive towns, including posts relating to immigration and climate change.
Good said he saw a mixed reaction to the run to the commissioner’s seat. He wants to reassure residents that they are trying to balance things rather than seize power.
“There’s no rule that families can’t run. They don’t appoint you. You have to be elected. You have to be elected by the whole people,” Good said. “We don’t see any conflict of interest. There’s no problem.”
Suzanne Goode has expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency in her case against the city. Following tension Meeting On July 7th, when she asked about it, she closed, and a new one was Workplace courtesy The rules required “cosy and polite behavior” between city employees and commissioners.
Jeffrey Goode argues that the committee operates like a political machine that helps select and support candidates, including two enemies in this election.
Guaranty and Stewart both disputed the claim. Garanti said he was an independent candidate running of his own will and made the decision after considerable consultation with his husband and family. Stewart said the characterization of the political machinery reflects citizens and voters’ unwillingness to see the commission’s spouse.
If elected, Good hopes to save taxpayers money and make the city financially sound.
“I hope for that [in] In our city, everyone might be proud of it. I hope you go to a safe, welcoming and great resort. I hope our financial situation is strong. ”
Voting method
Voting is open August 9th, from 10am to 6pm at the convention center. Property owners can vote even if they do not live full-time in Rehoboth, but they must register for the vote at least 30 days before the election.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
