Janet Le Digabel is a resident of Milton.
Anyone familiar with Sussex County Councilman Mark Schaeffer’s campaign knows that he is funded by a political action committee made up of developers and Realtors. This information is public knowledge and is available on the Freedom of Information Act website.
The members of this PAC call it “Preserve Sussex.” It has nothing to do with the Sussex Preservation Coalition, which is an environmental group of over 2,000 concerned residents who are voicing concerns about traffic problems; lack of infrastructure, including medical care; destruction of wetlands both tidal and nontidal; and the destruction of mature-growth forests for development.
Anyone who knows how county government works should know that the Planning & Zoning Commission approves or denies application for developments, not County Council. P&Z and County Council are separate entities. The five-member County Council writes the code and rules, along with the county administrator. This code is updated and refined every 10 years, and comes due in 2028. Planning & Zoning commissioners — five of them — approve or deny an application based on the county code. There are no “rubber stamp approvals” for Schaeffer —Schaeffer claims his opponents say there are — because Shaeffer, as a county councilman, does not vote on developments unless they are denied by Planning & Zoning, after which they go to council for appeal. This very rarely happens.
Lewes’ Mayor Andrew Williams and Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba have pretty much copied Mr. Schaeffer’s campaign statement word for word in their Opinion in support for Schaeffer (“Lewes leaders appreciate Schaeffer’s tireless work”). However, did our Lewes leaders fact check? I expect more from government and local leaders than to not fact check.
Williams and Saliba write that Schaeffer voted no on Round Pole Bridge Road subdivisions, taking this from Schaeffer’s campaign statement. I believe this to be a false statement because, as a concerned local resident, I was present for the Round Pole hearings and testified at both. The first development, Lockhaven by developer Don Lockwood, was denied by Planning & Zoning. Mr. Lockwood appealed, and it was sent to County Council. Again, Mr. Schaeffer is a councilman, not a planning commissioner. You cannot be both. Mr. Schaeffer had to recuse himself, as he has had a feud and lawsuit with Mr. Don Lockwood over a business deal concerning a development several years ago. The other four councilmembers, excluding Schaeffer (because he had to recuse himself), voted to uphold Planning & Zoning’s denial. Schaeffer did not vote! The second development, Twin Masts, Schaeffer never, ever voted on because this development was approved at the Planning & Zoning level — it never went to County Council!
Mr. Schaeffer’s campaign statement about Round Pole is misleading. One wonders how many other claims could be false, as well? Yet, his friends, Mayor Williams and Deputy Mayor Saliba, didn’t fact check; they just regurgitated his claims to fame. It’s as if they just copied and pasted his campaign statement.
I have been in touch with Mr. Schaeffer during his three-and-a-half-year tenure and have his phone number on speed dial. Mr. Schaeffer has been very responsive until I questioned him about his political action committee donations and asked for clarification on why he made a false statement about the Round Pole vote. It was not until I questioned Mr. Schaeffer to clarify his Round Pole campaign statement that, suddenly, after three years, he has ghosted me. Perhaps because he knows that I know the facts. Mayor Williams and Deputy Mayor Saliba, check your facts before you support a candidate and regurgitate their claims. All this can be supported by researching the Sussex County website.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.