Landslide victories for Collick, Maull-Martin, Myers
Bill Collick, Janet Maull-Martin and Alison Myers sailed to landslide victories in the Cape Henlopen School Board election May 14.
Collick defeated Chuck Mowll 1,762 to 444 for a one-year, at-large seat. A longtime coach, educator and administrator, Collick retired from the district in 2018, but has served as a mentor for students throughout the district.
“It’s really special to stay connected, and I’m excited to see how I can be of help on the board,” Collick said.
Collick received 1,048 votes at Cape, 352 at Mariner Middle, 304 at Rehoboth and 58 absentee. Mowll received 300 votes at Cape, 74 at Mariner, 63 at Rehoboth and 7 absentee.
Maull-Martin defeated incumbent Andy Lewis 1,571 to 603 for the five-year Area C seat. Maull-Martin, who retired from the district in 2014, thanked Lewis for his years of service and leadership to the Cape district.
“I am excited about the opportunity to once again work on behalf of the administration, staff and students of this fine district,” she said. “There are some challenges ahead for the board, and speaking as one voice, we will always base our decision on what is best for all students.”
Maull-Martin received 908 votes at Cape, 337 at Mariner, 275 at Rehoboth and 51 absentee. Lewis received 427 votes at Cape, 83 at Mariner, 79 at Rehoboth and 14 absentee.
Incumbent and board president Myers held onto her seat by defeating Calvin Jackson 1,523 to 633 for a five-year, at-large seat.
“I’d like to thank all the voters who came out,” Myers said. “I am humbled, honored and excited to serve on the board for another five years. Thank you also to my opponent, Calvin Jackson, for a fair and friendly campaign. Thanks to all who ran and congratulations to our two new board members, Janet Maull-Martin and Bill Collick.”
Myers received 979 votes at Cape, 266 at Mariner, 250 Rehoboth and 28 absentee. Jackson received 345 votes at Cape, 146 at Mariner, 106 at Rehoboth and 36 absentee.
Superintendent Bob Fulton said he was pleased to see so much interest from voters and candidates.
“We had top-notch candidates,” he said. “I believe everyone was running for the right reasons.”
New voting system
Many voters were surprised by a new voting system at the polls.
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons said he secured $380 million for election security nationwide, including $3 million for new voting machines in Delaware to replace some of the nation’s oldest.
Delaware Department of Elections Sussex County Director Ken McDowell said the new machines performed well in their inaugural use.
Upon arrival, voters provided identification to election officials and signed a tablet. Voter names were automatically recorded into a secure, online system that ensured voters could only vote once.
“If you voted at Cape, and then tried to vote at Mariner, we would know immediately,” McDowell said.
Voters then inserted a paper card into the machine. After voters selected candidates onscreen, a summary printed on the card, creating a paper record. Voters then hit the vote button, and each vote cast was stored within the system’s internal memory. Voter data was recorded using a random file name to protect voter anonymity.
