Sussex County Councilman Mark Schaeffer represents District 3 and is running for reelection Nov. 5.
I am your 3rd District Sussex County councilman, and I am blessed to be able to get up every day and work for you to deliver change and solutions. During my short time as your county councilman, I have voted no on over two dozen projects. On the projects I could not get denied, I made the developer change plans, forcing the company to save old-growth trees and create additional open space. I have gotten several new ordinances passed or modified to protect us from overdevelopment and saved almost 2,000 acres, which will never be developed. These are the facts.
When reelected, I will continue to fight aggressively to stop overdevelopment and require roads and other infrastructure be installed before development occurs — not after — by continuing to foster a relationship with the Department of Transportation.
My opponent suggests that Sussex County has been harmed and that it is not a great place to live. I disagree. Sussex County — and more importantly, the 3rd Council District — is one of the most wonderful, vibrant, beautiful and diverse communities anyone would dream of living in. I have been here my entire life. My father, my brothers’ families, my children and my grandchildren all live here. We wouldn’t dream of calling anywhere else our home and love all our wonderful neighbors.
I aggressively work to rein in overdevelopment, to support our schools and the arts, to preserve open space and to support our cities and towns with any needs they may have. In fact, six letters of endorsement from Sussex County mayors throughout the 3rd District have been published, supporting me because I support them and their citizens with great success. I have a 40-year-plus record of community service. I have always supported, and will continue to support, small business, the arts, faith-based organizations, the LGBTQ+ community and our veterans.
There have been vicious attacks from my opponent and her supporters in letters to the editor over the past few weeks, making false representations of my record. Facts matter, and I ask you to review the Sussex County website to learn the truth about my record as your councilman. It shows my antidevelopment record. My crusade is open and forceful. My opponent has not offered one solution to solve the many issues we face daily. She focuses on slander and lies about my record. My true record validates my many accomplishments.
My opponent’s criticism that I don’t support building schools and building roads is untrue. Because she is new to this area, she has no understanding or knowledge of how and when schools and roads are built. School and road construction are 100% the responsibility of our state, specifically our state senator and representative. The three counties in Delaware have no input or responsibility to build schools or roads. The Department of Transportation requires developers to pay millions of dollars in impact fees every year to construct road improvements prior to the counties issuing permits, but sadly, that money is sent to Dover and is spent in areas that the state and DelDOT choose. Ninety percent of the time, it is spent in the northern two counties.
When asked about building schools, my opponent’s solution is to tax our middle- and lower-income homebuyers. She doesn’t know that we, the taxpayers, already pay for roads and schools every year, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Ninety percent of your property tax is school tax, and it goes to the state, which uses it in the areas the Department of Education chooses. Again, those dollars are usually not spent in Sussex County. School tax money from Sussex County taxpayers needs to stay in Sussex County schools and be used for the hiring of badly needed teachers. Our state government and local state senator and representative need to deliver our tax dollars back to Sussex County, to be spent on schools and roads.
Politics has gotten nasty, and disinformation at all levels has become the norm. That has never been the “Delaware Way.” We have been able to disagree without being disagreeable with one another. That has always been my guiding star in trying to make the right decisions to represent and preserve our special place. Disparaging our county for politics is wrong.
I am thankful for the public and private support I have received across the board. That support includes Democrats, Republicans and independents, who are Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists and agnostics. My supporters are blue-collar, white-collar, restaurateurs, store owners, farmers, plumbers, electricians and builders. They are Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, gay, transgender and straight, and I work for all of them seven days a week. I will always fight for their rights.
One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was from a fellow citizen who happens to be a registered Democrat. He said, “If you have met Mark Schaeffer, you know Mark Schaeffer. He is the real deal. He gets things done for our communities and his neighbors. He is always there, and he delivers.”
I ask for your support and your vote. I am always available to you and your family, seven days a week, and can be reached at 302-423-4801. Please vote for Mark Schaeffer for Sussex County Council District 3.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
