I support the re-election of Lewes Mayor Ted Becker and urge others to vote for him as well.

Ted has served our city for 18 years in elective positions, prior to which he volunteered on various city boards and commissions. These gave him an excellent understanding of how the processes work and how to serve the citizens of Lewes in a fair and impartial manner. 

Weather permitting, Ted literally walks the streets of Lewes almost daily, engaging with residents or visitors, who may just want to chat or to have serious discussions. Residents of Lewes are not shy about expressing opinions or asking probing questions. Ted is universally polite and responsive to all. 

He takes his job of being mayor very seriously. In addition to attending the scheduled city meetings, he also sits in on meetings of similar-sized municipalities, which face many of the same challenges as Lewes. Gathering information and sharing it is time consuming, but an important tool of being mayor of a small town with limited staff like Lewes.

In addition to addressing the immediate problems of today, Ted also has the vision to anticipate and be prepared for tomorrow. Delaware is the lowest-lying state in the union and risks massive losses from sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change. Climate change is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon, which will have severe and lasting impacts on Lewes, but cannot be solved locally. Thus, it is critical to have the attention of state and federal agencies to be able to gain necessary assistance for remediation and adaptation impacts.

Ted chairs the city’s mitigation team that looks at remediation steps communities can take, in advance, to forestall and minimize the impact.

Climate change creates catastrophic problems. These problems require integrated and coordinated efforts, with support from county, state and federal agencies for requisite protection. I am known both locally and internationally for my knowledge and concerns about the complexities of climate change. As a result, I am delighted to know that our mayor takes a proactive role on this existential crisis.

Several years ago, Ted started visiting other coastal communities up and down the East Coast at his own expense, to compare their preparedness and future plans to address climate change. It is critical to address inland flooding and tidal inundation prior to their happening, not after the fact. We need to be prepared and have a plan in place well in advance. While climate change is not a high-priority problem with much of the public, fortunately for us, it is on the radar of Mayor Ted Becker. He has the experience, mature judgment and temperament for this job. I urge you to support and cast your vote for his re-election as mayor of Lewes.