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POLITICS

To serve on council, one must be true to the code

May 24, 2016

If there’s one issue that unites most residents of the Cape Region, it’s the importance of maintaining our quality of life.

How to do that is another question.

For Leslie Ledogar, it begins with understanding and following the county code.

The code, she said, governs everything from county administration to zoning requirements to road construction - “everything that affects our daily life.”

If Sussex County Council members don’t read and understand the code, she said, they don’t know what they’re doing.

Ledogar, a Democrat, has filed for the District 3 seat on Sussex County Council to replace Joan Deaver, who is retiring.

She appeared Thursday at Fish On in Lewes before the 20th Representative District Democratic Committee.

Ledogar, who has a master’s degree in forestry, served 10 years as an attorney for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

She learned how to read and write code. A certified mediator, she also learned how to bring people together.

And she learned something else.

You don’t always need new regulations.

The way to get the “biggest bang for the buck,” Ledogar said, “is understanding and enforcing existing regulations.”

In her former job, she said, people would often ask for a new regulation to address a problem.

Ledogar said her response was always the same: Let’s look at the current regulations and see if there’s some way to make them work.

Regulations are important, she said, “but too many are burdensome.”

She would also like to see the county use “specific criteria for evaluating the impact on our natural environment of a proposed development.”

If that’s not done beforehand, she said, “it’s really hard to pick up the concrete and make it go away” afterward.

In addition to existing regulations, Ledogar said, we have existing tools we can use to “ensure that our treasured landscapes, rich historical heritage, and outstanding natural resources are preserved and maintained.”

Ledogar took that last quote from the Lewes Scenic and Historic Byway Corridor Management Plan, one of three “tools” she would like to see the county implement to preserve and enhance our quality of life.

The other two are the state’s Health and Transit-Friendly Development Act and the Transportation Improvement District program.

All three of these initiatives “share the goal of easing congestion on our roads and highways,” she said. “All three can be leveraged to get transportation dollars to this area to be spent on ways that we think are helpful.”

The Lewes Byway plan seeks not only to preserve the landscape but also to establish the touring routes of Greater Lewes as “an economic asset.”

“And I would maintain to you when one part of our county flourishes, the rest of the county flourishes,” Ledogar said.

The Transit-Friendly Development Act encourages “complete communities,” where people have choices other than using a car for every errand.

Streets are designed, according to the state website, “to be safe and comfortable for walking and cycling, and car speeds are limited.”

It also encourages development in town centers, she said, while allowing communities to tailor a plan for their own area.

The third tool is the establishment of Transportation Improvement Districts, or TIDs, which already exist in Kent and New Castle counties.

TIDs are designed to “coordinate land use and transportation within a specific geographical area.” It’s not a countywide plan.

They require developers to help pay up front for infrastructure.

That hasn’t been the case in Sussex, and as Ledogar said, “We all know the consequences of poorly planned growth.”

Ledogar listed “sprawl, traffic congestion, environmental problems and increased costs for necessary public services and infrastructure.”

These and other issues should generate a lot of discussion this summer.

In addition to Ledogar, four Republicans are vying for the District 3 seat.

They are: Kevin E. Burdette of Milton; I.G. Burton of Lewes; Mark G. Schaeffer of Lewes; and Frank E. Shade of Lewes.

A primary to decide on the Republican candidate will be held Sept. 13. The deadline to change party registration is May 27; to register to vote, Aug. 20.

District 3, as of May 9, had 13,651 Democrats, 13,104 Republicans and 8,830 members of various parties and independents.

It includes Lewes and Milton and stretches south to Route 24, north to Slaughter Beach and west to Ellendale.

In Sussex, Republicans now outnumber Democrats

From the past few elections, you’d be excused for thinking that Republicans in Sussex greatly outnumber Democrats.

Countywide, Republicans recently marked a milestone, according to totals from the Sussex County Department of Elections.

For many years, Democrats held the edge in registered voters. In March, Republicans captured the lead and now number 58,734 registered voters, compared to 57,846 for the Democrats.

Other parties and independents account for 35,159 registered voters.


Don Flood is a former newspaper editor living near Lewes. He can be reached at floodpolitics@gmail.com.


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