Democrat Cuccia challenges for Sussex County Council District 4 seat

Justine Cuccia said it is not in her nature to sit back when she sees a need for change, whether it’s national politics or crowded roads, schools and doctors’ offices in Sussex County.

Cuccia, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent Sussex County Council President Doug Hudson, a Republican, in the race for the District 4 seat. The district includes the Bethany Beach, Dagsboro, Fenwick Island, Frankford, Long Neck, Millville, Oak Orchard, Ocean View, Selbyville and South Bethany areas.

“I bring a wealth of experience and ideas,” said Cuccia, who is 64 years old. “My biggest strength is that I’m a listener and a bridge builder.”

Cuccia split time between her native New York City and Delaware since she and her husband Matthew bought a house in Bethany Beach in 2016. The couple began living there in 2024 after their two sons graduated from college.

She emphasized that she embraces her new home and doesn’t want to make it like New York.

“I’m a new Delawarean and an old New Yorker,” she said. “I don’t want to make Delaware like New York. I left for a good reason. I like it here. I want Delaware to be Delaware.”

But Cuccia said rapid changes fueled by a housing boom have created many problems, clogging roads, making it difficult to get a doctor's appointment and overcrowding schools.

“All of those things made me frustrated,” she said, prompting her bid for a council seat.

Cuccia said her experience as a lawyer, teacher and community activist would help her in the county post. 

She received a bachelor’s degree in 1983 from Syracuse University with a concentration in special education and a degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law in 1987.

She helped organize three No Kings rallies in Bethany Beach. The events are a continuation of her civic involvement from her time serving on the Community Board, an advisory panel concerned with land-use and quality-of-life issues, in her former neighborhood in Manhattan.

Cuccia ran an unsuccessful primary election campaign for a New York State Assembly seat in 2022. Sussex County Council would be her first elective office.

She has been serving in an administrative capacity with the 9/11 Survivors Fund for the past couple of years, helping determine compensation for victims and their families.

She is a survivor herself, of breast and thyroid cancer, as she and her neighborhood were enveloped by the cloud of debris when the World Trade Center towers fell. Cuccia was pregnant at the time and gave birth two weeks later to her youngest son.

Working as a substitute teacher for the Indian River School District during the past couple of years, she said she has seen the effects on school overcrowding as the population grows. But she enjoys the work.

“It’s been fun,” she said. “I love it. It was a great way to get integrated into the community, meeting people. I love kids. They bring so much hope, joy and curiosity. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me young.”

Cuccia noted that her distinctive tattoo on her bald head came about due to her Alopecia Universalis, which developed in her early 20s. She said the medical condition, which results in loss of body hair but causes no other symptoms or limitations, motivates her to “fight for healthcare access and community support for all individuals.”

Cuccia said Hudson is experienced and knowledgeable, but she disagrees with the direction of development in the county during his tenure on council and previously the county planning & zoning commission. Hudson has served on the council since 2019.

Developers have been playing by the rules, Cuccia said. And since so many problems have occurred, the rules need to change, she added.

Council has begun considering recommendations for redirecting and improving housing development, based on recommendations of a working group it created.

“The incumbents have been around for a while,” Cuccia said. “I want to be the change. If you don’t like something, change it. I don’t sit on the sidelines.”