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McGuiness to step down in Rehoboth

Auditor-elect to leave commissioner post by year’s end
November 23, 2018

Story Location:
229 Rehoboth Avenue
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19958
United States

State Auditor-elect and Rehoboth Commissioner Kathy McGuiness announced she will step down as commissioner by year’s end.

“It’s bittersweet,” she said in an interview Nov. 21. “I’m very thankful I’ve gotten to serve the town I grew up in for almost two decades. Now, I’ve got an opportunity to continue to serve the people of Rehoboth and the community we call the state of Delaware.”

McGuiness served as commissioner from 2000-13 and again since 2014.

In the Nov. 6 election, McGuiness defeated Republican James Spadola by nearly 60,000 votes – roughly 206,000 to nearly 150,000 – to become the first woman elected to the statewide position in Delaware history. Republican Thomas Wagner, who has been state auditor since 1989, decided not to run for re-election because of health reasons. This race marked the second time McGuiness ran for a statewide office; in 2016, she ran for lieutenant governor, finishing third in the Democratic primary.

McGuiness said she started to work on the transition the day after her win so she could be as prepared as possible. Neither state law nor the city charter required McGuiness to step down, but she said it is the appropriate thing to do.

The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners isn’t the only organization McGuiness is stepping down from. She said she has also stepped down from Henlopen Acres Board of Adjustment, and the board of directors for CAMP Rehoboth and Meals on Wheels Lewes Rehoboth. McGuiness is also on the Delaware State University Board of Directors, but she has not stepped down yet. She said she would also step down from that board by the end of the year.

With McGuiness’ pending resignation, her fellow commissioners in Rehoboth will be tasked with filling her soon-to-be vacant seat.

During the commissioner meeting Nov. 16, Mayor Paul Kuhns announced a special commissioner meeting Friday, Dec. 7, to discuss McGuiness’ vacancy. The term ends in 2020.

In an interview Nov. 21, Kuhns said he hopes to schedule another special meeting Dec. 10 for the commissioners to vote on who will fill the seat and then to swear that person in during the regularly scheduled meeting Friday, Dec. 21.

Commissioners Toni Sharp, Richard Byrne and Stan Mills all said they had only just begun thinking about a possible replacement.

It can be a challenge in Rehoboth to find people who are both interested and available, said Sharp.

The board of commissioners is majority women for the first time in city history, but Sharp said keeping that majority takes a distant second to finding a competent and capable person.

Mills said he would begin his search by going over the people who are on the city’s various volunteer committees. “Personally, I hope to get somebody that’s not new and has a history of participation,” he said.

Byrne said there are dozens and dozens of qualified men and women in Rehoboth to fill the seat.

Kuhns said he will also be asking McGuiness for her input.

McGuiness said she has an idea for who should take her seat, but she declined to say who that person was.

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