Drago offers strong choice for Sussex Council

In a year of extreme oddities, Patti Drago has launched an aggressive write-in campaign for Sussex County Council’s Third District seat. In doing so, she has given the approximately 44,000 registered voters in the sprawling Third District a viable choice in who they want to represent their interests in Georgetown.

Without Drago’s write-in declaration, Mark Schaeffer – who beat I.G. Burton in a close Republican primary race – would have slid into the seat as an unopposed candidate in the general election. In effect, he would have been seated by the 3,164 Republican voters who gave him the 44-vote edge over Burton in the primary. The thousands of registered Democrat, other party or unaffiliated voters would have had no say. But after Drago was unsuccessful in convincing Burton to give those other thousands of voters a choice by mounting a write-in campaign, she put her money where her mouth is.

Elections are meant to be about choices, with energized dialogue among candidates. We applaud Drago’s decision to give voters this choice, and we endorse her candidacy. County council members represent the largest constituencies of any non-statewide elected officials in Delaware. In this home-rule county, council members’ decisions – especially in land-use matters – have a greater direct impact on residents than those of other elected officials.

A retired chief executive of a major insurance company, Drago successfully navigated her $400 million-annual revenues company through challenging times while maintaining almost complete employment levels. She sees those skills as easily transferable to operation of a county with annual revenues of $150 million.

Drago has no ties to special interests. She sees the direct link between a thriving economy and a healthy environment. With her registration as an unaffiliated candidate, Drago brings further independence to her candidacy. In an interview, she stated: “Neither party adequately represents my interests.” In this time of tiresome political division, that brand of nonpartisanship is refreshing.

Voters in Sussex Council’s Third District would find themselves represented by a strong, thoughtful, reasonable and effective leader if they write in Drago on their ballots.