Kevin Burdette joins crowded District 3 race
The District 3 Sussex County Council race is getting crowded.
Milton Republican Kevin Burdette has announced he is running for the seat of incumbent Democrat Joan Deaver, who has served for eight years. Deaver said it's not likely she will run for a third term.
Two other Republicans, Mark Schaeffer of Lewes and Frank Shade of Lewes, who plans an official announcement next week, are in the race as is Democrat Leslie Ledogar of Lewes.
Born in Maryland, Burdette moved to Sussex County in 1974; he's lived in Williamsville, Selbyville, Seaford and now Milton. “It's not the length of time you have lived here, but the caring you have developed. It's that Christian nature and the hometown pride that defines Sussex County,” he said.
Burdette's background is in well drilling, water and wastewater treatment, water supply and geotechnical testing for government, farmers and residential clients. He has testified numerous times throughout the past two decades representing applicants at municipal and county public hearings.
He helped develop the standards to license water operators in the state; his license number is 0001. “That was the first license issued; I'm proud of that,” he said.
Burdette, 60, is a semi-retired consultant who provides business and regulatory review services, issue resolution, lobby efforts and staff development. He said most of his clients are in Kent County so there would be no conflict of interest if he's elected to council.
Burdette says he has been studying and participating in Sussex County and Delaware government for the past 20 years.
He was a member of the committee that was tasked with drafting the county's first source water protection ordinance, and he provided comments during the 2003 and 2008 Sussex County comprehensive land-use plan process. He's been an associate member of the Sussex County Association of Towns for more than 20 years.
At the state level, he says he provided the genesis for the state's Preliminary Land Use Service hearing process for land-use applications.
Before the state established the PLUS process, Burdette said projects were held up because it was hard to get straight answers from state agencies. During his work for a client on The Peninsula in Long Neck, he set up a meeting with representatives of state agencies in one room at the same time.
“They thought it was not a bad idea. We could talk through a problem and come up with a solution,” he said. “PLUS came out of that.”
Burdette is a registered lobbyist. “I understand how the Delaware process works at Legislative Hall, and I'm on a first-name basis with all of the Sussex County representatives and senators,” Burdette said.
He said that connection is advantageous to a better understanding of the interconnections between the county and state.
Burdette has ideas for county council
Burdette said his understanding and involvement in the county's previous two comprehensive land-use plans would give him an edge as a new councilman.
“The plan is like a coloring book, and the ordinances are the colors. So many ordinances from the last plan were never touched by council,” he said.
He said the plan is an important living document. “It explains where we want development and what we want the county to look like,” he said.
He said planning should not be reactionary but looking out into the future as far as 50 years.
Burdette has several ideas he would to see implemented by county council.
He said developers and residents testify at public hearings, but they do not speak to one another. “I would like to see a pre-application submission requirement that developers have meetings with residents before the planning and zoning hearing,” he said. “This would help clear up misinformation and misconceptions. Delaying decisions is not fair to either developers or residents.”
He said council should enact a deadline of 60 or 90 days for decisions on land-use applications. Planning and zoning commissioners have a 45-day deadline to make their recommendations.
He would like council to explore the formation of special tax districts to help pay for infrastructure in specific areas. “That way the cost of improvements is paid directly by the people who benefit from them,” he said. “It works in other states; it can work here. They are limited and have an end point.”
He said a special tax district established along beachfront areas could provide funding for beach replenishment.
He said, if elected, he would champion a drive to attract a four-year college to a central Sussex County location. “It would be a grand slam as an economic driver for new jobs that could help keep our kids and grandkids here,” he said.
He also advocates the creation of an incubator in the Sussex County through the county's economic development office to assist small business start ups using private-public partnerships.
Burdette has been an adjunct Delaware Technical Community College environmental trainer teaching water and wastewater courses for more than 15 years. He was president of the college's alumni association and helped establish a scholarship endowment.
He's also a member of the Internet Broad Band Working Group for Delmarva.
Burdette and his wife, Nancy, have four adult children and six grandchildren. He's a member of Crossroad Community Church and helps take care of his 90-year-old mother who lives with him and his wife.
District 3 is the area north of Route 24 including the communities and areas near Lewes, Milton, Milford, Broadkill Beach, Ellendale, Primehook Beach and Slaughter Beach.
Two other council seats up for election
Two other Republican incumbents face re-election this year: Council President Mike Vincent of Seaford, District 1; and Council Vice President Sam Wilson of Georgetown, District 2.
The deadline to file for county council seats is noon, Tuesday, July 12. The primary election is 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 13, with the general election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 8.
