As we hit the Rehoboth Beach municipal elections, I am writing to urge homeowners, as citizens, voters and longtime taxpayers, to elect two strong-minded candidates.
They must stand for a positive community future while standing against efforts by the current city political machine’s “tourism is all we are” wrongheaded mindset. Are these politicians cynically trading on our community’s past political efforts, and taxpayer contributions as homeowners, which built and protected Rehoboth Beach? Did we make our community a Golden Goose, and now they want to pluck it? And are the people who benefit from this primarily outsiders from Sussex County, Dover, and the LLC factories in Wilmington?
In this “insider versus outsider” contest, the bright, committed and positive Susan Gay comes across as the clearest choice for city commissioner by far. Gary Glass may be a tad confrontational for some, but he knows his stuff and has paid his dues.
Homeowners should vote with their heart, their neighborly memories, and their pocketbooks. Make no mistake: this tourist-based outlook, with evermore clotted traffic, a gradual chipping away at growth and building height restrictions, anti-residential zoning changes, chopping down trees, and the kind of unregulated overdevelopment we experience in Sussex County is coming, unless we take a stand.
And it will soon start to diminish the long-term value we have worked so hard to create for our own homes and properties.
One final point: in the rough-and-tumble rubric of Rehoboth Beach politics, my criticism of the politics and motivation of the current city politicians should not be confused with any assessment of the day-to-day city administration, which I admire. We are lucky to have such a largely smart, dedicated and cheerful group of public officials and workers to make our lives easier.
Stan Heuisler
Rehoboth Beach
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