I want to express my appreciation to the voters of Rehoboth Beach for coming to the polls last Saturday, and to my supporters and to all those who helped me, who invited me in their homes, and who contacted me with their concerns. Win or lose, it was a tremendous experience, and I want to thank all the candidates who chose to run, all of whom raised issues they deemed important and presented their views at the candidate forums.
This was not the outcome I wanted, but nonetheless it is very sweet in a lot of ways. I came up short and did not win a place on the city commission, but two very fine candidates did win. Kathy McGuiness is a formidable politician who has deep roots in the community, and Lorraine Zellers is a great constituent commissioner in her third term. I congratulate them both.
The big news, however, was the resounding win by our now nine-term mayor Sam Cooper over challenger Tom McGlone with 685 votes to 364. This will be seen as a most significant degree of confidence in Sam that his leadership and guidance are valued and respected by the citizens of Rehoboth, and that the issues raised by the primarily negative campaign against him are finally laid to rest. So let this be the moment where we can now move on to the issues that truly matter to the voters, and let’s all get to work.
I want to thank all my supporters, and those who voted for me. I do not know personally all 377 people, but is it humbling and gratifying that they voted for me as a result of either having met me, or by letters to voters written by me or by others, or the association I have with Sam and Lorraine. Thank you all.
For me, I remain on the planning commission with an excellent group of folks who do important work for the city, and we have a lot on our plate, including an update of the comprehensive development plan due next year, with more immediate work involving the impact of large rental properties in residential neighborhoods as one example.
Rehoboth is a wonderful place to live, and we all have a responsibility to keep it that way. The voters did their part, and I thank them for taking their task to heart and choosing what is best for the City of Rehoboth Beach.
Francis “Bunky” Markert
candidate for city commissioner
Rehoboth Beach
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