Rehoboth Beach election slated for Saturday, Aug. 14

Rehoboth Beach’s 2021 municipal election features four candidates for two commissioner seats – newcomer Tim Bennett, incumbent Commissioner Richard ‘Dick’ Byrne, Planning Commissioner Rachel Macha and former Commissioner Mary A. ‘Toni’ Sharp.

The election will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14, in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Ave.

To be eligible to vote, a person had to register by July 15. Absentee ballots for voting are available, but they must be picked up by noon, Friday, Aug. 13. Ballots must be received by mail or in person before the polls close on the day of the election.

This year’s race features more candidates for a non-mayoral election than all but four years since 1990 – there were six candidates in 2019, five candidates in 1995, and four in 1991 and 2015. There had been five candidates at the close of the filing deadline, but Suzanne Goode, a resident and property owner, withdrew from the race. Sitting Commissioner Pat Coluzzi is not running for re-election.

There are many important issues facing the city in the coming years, but if already-returned absentee ballots are any indication, this year’s election will not have the same voter turnout. During a city board of elections meeting earlier this month, Chair Stephen Simmons said the city had received 326 absentee ballots; last year at the same time, the city had received 913. Ultimately, there were 1,146 absentee votes last year – the highest ever – and 1,471 total votes, the highest since 1990.

Commissioners are elected to three-year terms, and the winners will be sworn in during the city’s organizational meeting in September. For more information, contact Donna Moore at 302-227-6181, Ext. 108, or go to cityofrehoboth.com.