Two years ago, Dewey Beach was in a dark place. Some employees had quit and more were quitting, and rumors of sexual harassment and mismanagement lawsuits were swirling as people begged the commissioners for help.
The mayor and commissioners did not know how to rein in a rogue town manager who allegedly committed these acts, defied FOIA requests from citizens, ignored the emails and phone calls from commissioners who dared to question him, and allegedly retaliated against employees and property owners who criticized him.
That town manager controlled the majority of commissioners, the mayor, the town attorney, and the outside legal and accounting consultants. He orchestrated a bogus $400,000 report at the Town of Dewey’s expense by one of those outside attorneys (reporting to another outside attorney instead of the commissioners), a report which was designed to cover up, whitewash and minimize the allegations of sexual harassment and mismanagement.
Since the mayor did not back up her commissioners, one by one he isolated and rendered his individual commissioner bosses ineffective. One by one, they chose not to run again because the town manager and mayor made it impossible for them to do their jobs. The remaining few employees in town hall that he didn’t control included the chief of police, head of the lifeguards and many of their colleagues, who in desperation eventually mustered the courage to defy him and seek legal protection.
Fortunately, TJ Redefer and Paul Bauer stepped up to join Commissioner Dale Cooke to restore order. It cost the town $100,000 to remove the town manager, but it was worth it. You, the voters, voted for change when you chose TJ Redefer and Paul Bauer to restore stability.
It’s been a long two years, as their efforts have been met with every possible form of obstruction by an outside lobbying group and one commissioner elected by the former mayor and that group. These people have one agenda: revenge and retaliation for ousting the town manager who created the era of darkness and intimidation in Dewey Beach.
Let’s keep Dewey moving forward. No to the revenge agenda and no to returning to those years of darkness. Dewey is a wonderful beach town, and let’s keep this team of good guys who are working to keep it that way.
Vote for Mayor TJ Redefer, Commissioner Paul Bauer and former mayor and Commissioner Dale Cooke.
Joy Howell
former commissioner, Dewey Beach