Byrne, Coluzzi win easily in 2018 Rehoboth election

A few moments after being announced as the high vote-getter in the 2018 Rehoboth municipal election, Richard Byrne said the magnitude of his win was just beginning to sink in.

“Honestly, I was not expecting this result,” he said. “I’m very humbled the voters of Rehoboth have put their trust in me.”

Rehoboth Beach held its election Aug. 10, and Byrne and Pat Coluzzi defeated Gary Glass in the race for two seats. Incumbents Patrick Gossett and Jay Lagree did not run for re-election.

There were 706 voters the day of the election and 307 absentee voters, for a total of 1,103 voters. Byrne lead the way with 660 votes. Coluzzi, who rejoins the board of commissioners after a 5-year hiatus, received 583 votes. Glass finished with 515 votes.

Immediately after when Coluzzi and Byrne gave each other a big hug. Coluzzi, who served from 2007 to 2013, said she ran again because she feels like she really has something to give.

“I want to continue to do good for the city,” she said.

Glass was gracious in his defeat. He said he ran a positive campaign and he was humbled by the number of people who supported him.

In addition to the election of Byrne and Coluzzi, the election will go down in Rehoboth history as the first election held at the new city hall and convention center complex, and with Coluzzi’s win, the first time the city’s board of commissioners will be majority women. She’ll be joining Commissioners Kathy McGuiness, Lisa Schlosser and Toni Sharp on the board. The three men will be Byrne, Mayor Paul Kuhns and Commissioner Stan Mills.

Byrne said it was exciting for his win to come in the first year of the city’s new facility. It’s great to see the city progressing for the future, but there are still things to work on, he said.

Coluzzi said it’s great the board will be majority women.

While the election did feature a couple of firsts, Glass said he hopes this election will be the last time for anonymous letters ruining otherwise civil campaigns.

In the week leading up to the election, an anonymous letter was mailed to Rehoboth voters, which Glass said broke Delaware campaign law and spread many falsehoods about his candidacy. He said his supporters didn’t believe the garbage in the letter and that ultimately it did not affect the results.

Glass said State Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove had contacted him directly in the days following his complaint to the state department. There’s an active investigation into who sent the letter, he said. Manlove could not be reached for comment.

Glass said he didn’t have any intention of challenging the results, but the investigation would continue until all leads are exhausted.

As they did immediately after the letter was made public, both Byrne and Coluzzi said they were disappointed the anonymous letter was sent.

“It just hurts us all,” said Coluzzi. “Somebody thinks they’re helping, but they’re not.”

Byrne and Coluzzi will be sworn in at the commissioners meeting Friday, Sept. 21. The length of the term is three years.