Candidate Statements
On Saturday, August 8, voters in Rehoboth Beach will go to the polls to elect a mayor and two city commissioners. There are two candidates for mayor: Paul Kuhns and Stan Mills. There are four candidates vying to fill two commissioner seats: Hugh Fuller, Patrick Gossett, Jay Lagree, and Rachel Macha.
The Rehoboth Beach Homeowners’ Association and CAMP Rehoboth are sponsoring a Zoom Candidates Forum for the voters of Rehoboth Beach at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 18. The event can be accessed on Facebook LIVE.
All six candidates responded to questions posed by CAMP Rehoboth.
City of Rehoboth Mayoral Candidates
1.Introduce yourself to Letters readers and explain why you are running for Mayor.
Paul Kuhns: I am a full-time resident of Rehoboth Beach since 2005 and I have owned my home since 1987. I have a BS in Accounting from Georgetown University and an MBA. in Finance from Columbia University. Prior to moving here full-time, I spent 25 years in New York City working in municipal finance for Merrill Lynch. I have been elected Commissioner in Rehoboth Beach twice, in 2006 and 2015. I was elected Mayor in 2017. I was President of the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society for 10 years and I am a Past Chairman of the Rehoboth-Dewey Chamber of Commerce. I am on the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Board and I have been a downtown business owner since 2005.
Stan Mills: I’ve lived full time in Rehoboth Beach with my wife, Marcia Maldeis, and cats and dogs for over 22 years. My longevity here reflects that I love living here. I was honored to serve as City Commissioner for four, 3-year terms. Now I want to serve you again as your Mayor.
Marcia and I are Founders’ Circle members of CAMP Rehoboth. We supported a zoning variance request that allowed CAMP Rehoboth to construct the wonderful Community Center, and we continue to support CAMP Rehoboth.
I have always sought to do my part in preserving, protecting, and improving what makes our city a special place—whether a home, business opportunity, or visitor destination.
My passions are demonstrated in the projects I’ve championed such as a total reconstruction of the boardwalk, audio and video broadcast of City meetings, installation of storm drain markers to protect our waterbodies, sponsoring No Smoking areas on our beach, boardwalk, and parks, and nurturing open and communicative government.
I want to lead Rehoboth Beach into the future with my 5-point plan starting with restoring faith and public participation in our government; enhancing quality of life for residents and property owners using the CDP for direction and to guide growth; revitalizing our local business community by supporting small businesses in part through the enhancement of Baltimore and Wilmington Avenues; providing the visitor with a positive, memorable experience by focusing on our assets—our boardwalk, beach, neighborhoods, our business community, and our natural resources; and re-prioritizing our budget to ensure financial stability in a post-pandemic world.
Many enhancements have taken place in the city since I first took office in 2007 without turning Rehoboth into another Ocean City or losing our uniqueness. I want to continue this trend. I would be honored to have your vote and serve as your mayor.
2.What single issue do you feel defines the 2020 Rehoboth election, and how will you address it?
Paul Kuhns: I believe the one issue that defines the 2020 election will be the social and financial recovery of our community from Covid-19. This crisis has devasted all our community stakeholders. Real recovery will take a protracted period of time; it will be difficult, and it will involve a new normal for us all. I believe under my current leadership that the city has made tremendous progress since the decision to completely close the beach and boardwalk. We have followed the Governor’s rolling recovery; we worked closely with the downtown business community to stimulate their economic recovery by relaxing restrictions on the use of public and private space in the city. We altered the requirements of voter registration and the use of absentee ballots to allow our citizens the ability to feel safe when voting during our upcoming election. We will have to continue to think outside the box, learn lessons from recent events, and create new opportunities for our community. I believe we should stay the course with my leadership—we will rise to the occasion and recover well.
Stan Mills: Conducting city business in an open government in the post-pandemic world is the major issue this year. Conducting what should be public matters in private—out of the eye of other elected officials and with the public unable to witness—characterizes the current administration. At a time when the City should have been planning ahead for re-opening during the pandemic, almost two months went by without any public meetings. The public was kept in the dark about decisions which had significant impact on their lives.
I have been an advocate of public participation and communication for over 20 years, since before I first was elected as a Commissioner. We have new challenges to face as we rebuild our local economy and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Together we can realize the goals of my 5-point plan outlined above through effective public participation and communication.
I believe in planning for our future. I commit to restore faith in government by being mindful of the oath of office I take to serve the public. Under my mayoral administration, public meetings will truly be public, with meaningful public participation.
3.How do you see the City interacting with CAMP Rehoboth and its members?
Paul Kuhns: As a city valuing and embracing diversity, we are proud to partner with and support CAMP Rehoboth and its members. CAMP Rehoboth has been a major center of life for our LGBTQ community and instrumental in the success of the city as a whole. The City was proud to be a part of the dedication of Steve Elkins Way and honor his memory. As home to a large LGBTQ community, the City, under my leadership, must constantly strive to be the most supportive we can be. We will continue to work with CAMP Rehoboth providing venues for large safe social gatherings, when we can, such as the annual Block Party and Sundance at the Convention Center. The city is always open to new innovative ways to enhance our community and we hope CAMP Rehoboth will always partner with us in advancing opportunities for all, but especially for the LGBTQ community.
Stan Mills: CAMP Rehoboth has successfully worked with the City for many years, and I expect no change in collaboration. For example, CAMP’s annual workshops on diversity for the city’s seasonal officers prove highly beneficial. Additionally, CAMP counsels city personnel and elected officials for ongoing understanding of diversity issues and the challenges unique to our LGBTQ visitors. City representatives participate often at events sponsored by CAMP Rehoboth and other organizations in the Community Center, giving the opportunity for exchange of ideas.
I am confident CAMP Rehoboth will continue to prosper, serve the entire community through its many programs, and strengthen community partnerships and friendships.
Having just celebrated LGBTQ Pride Month and the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, I would like to work with CAMP Rehoboth on ways to recognize the history and contributions of the Rehoboth Beach LGBTQ community, such as a state historical marker highlighting the significance of Poodle Beach.
4.In five words or less, what is your vision for the city of Rehoboth Beach?
Paul Kuhns: Open, Welcoming, Friendly, Safe and Inclusive.
Stan Mills: Warm and welcoming to all.
City of Rehoboth Commissioner Candidates
1.Introduce yourself to Letters readers and explain why you are running for Commissioner.
Hugh Fuller: I appreciate this chance to share my background and thoughts with Letters readers and to share why I am running for Commissioner. Those who know me know it wasn’t a decision I took lightly. During these tumultuous times when we, as a nation and a city, are dealing with two unprecedented crises, the Coronavirus and working toward equality for all, I think I can contribute to making our town’s recovery successful and for it to be even stronger for the future.
My family is from the shore. I left to join the Air Force, got to travel the world, and serve in a Presidential Honor Guard, at the Pentagon and White House. After leaving the military I worked in a law firm for both a former US Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Transportation. Then worked in a management role with Charles E. Smith and Company.
In 1991 I decided to make my life here in Rehoboth Beach. In the past 30-years, I opened and grew two businesses: The Purple Parrot and Iguana Grill with Troy Austin Roberts. I learned much in these years but above all, I learned we are all dependent on each other. Some suggest that if I’m elected I’ll only represent the business community. This is not true. Downtown Rehoboth is a strong combination of homeowners, long term and more recent, the business community, and vacationers visiting our beautiful, welcoming city. We are all here for our sandy beach, mile long boardwalk, and small business community. We must see all community segments thrive. It’s time to bring the community together, to trust each other again, listen to each other, and move forward together. I believe I can help us to do that.
Patrick Gossett: With my husband, Howard Menaker, I have been a homeowner and part-time resident of Rehoboth Beach since 1996. During those 24 years, I have been elected as a City Commissioner 3 times, in 2004, 2012, and 2015. I also served 9 years as a Planning Commissioner. I was one of the authors of the 2005 & 2010 Comprehensive Development Plans (CDPs), our city’s blueprints for managed growth and planning.
I am running for Commissioner in order to tackle the challenges before us:
Keeping our community healthy. We are living in a unique time, and we must adjust to the new reality: our paramount concern must be the health and safety of our residents, business owners, employees, and visitors. Rehoboth must be known as a destination that provides a safe and secure environment from COVID-19 transmission. A healthy community will, in turn, help to create a healthy economy.
Managing our growth before it manages us. I have always been a champion for preserving our sense of place and the character of Rehoboth Beach. The 2020 CDP provides the opportunity for all residents to reexamine our vision for Rehoboth regarding growth, preservation, value of community, effectiveness of our building codes, as well as the scale and character of our neighborhoods. I will be guided by the vision of our citizens in my decision-making process as your Commissioner.
Restoring citizen confidence in open government and responsible fiscal management. I am firmly committed to conducting city business in the open and welcoming all citizen comment and input. I bring detailed knowledge of the City budget and know we must differentiate between needs and wants when making financial decisions, especially in a time of reduced revenues. Get to know my views: www.gossettforrehobothbeach.org. I hope I will have the honor of your vote.
Jay Lagree: I am Jay Lagree, a Rehoboth Beach homeowner, along with my wife, Enid, for 30 years. My wife’s parents owned our home for 12 years before our purchase, so it has been in our family for 42 years.
I served 30 years in the United States Air Force, the last 14 as a senior officer specializing in upper-level management of assets, personnel, and finances.
After retirement to Rehoboth Beach, I became active in RBHA, serving two years on the Board of Directors, and served over a decade on the Rehoboth Beach Audit Committee.
I was elected by the Board of Commissioners in November 2017 to serve the final 10 months of Paul Kuhns’ term as commissioner when he became mayor.
In the era of reduced revenues due to COVID-19, financial management is more important than ever. Rehoboth Beach has challenging and complicated financial issues ahead as we complete the upgrades of our wastewater treatment plant and sewer system.
Mayor Kuhns has tried to give this asset to Sussex County, which would cause us to lose control of both the revenue we could collect and the discharge that would be pumped into the ocean off our beaches. Our city can face difficult challenges. We’ve done it before. We can do it again. I want to lead that effort.
We must protect our freshwater lakes from pollution. Our stormwater infrastructure is in desperate need of upgrades. Our beautiful lakes serve as essential retaining ponds for our city-wide stormwater drainage system. They are exceptionally clean but in need of maintenance. The city is developing a Stormwater Management Plan. I will work to ensure its effectiveness and I will work to develop a stormwater management ordinance that will ensure beautiful pristine lakes and clean stormwater discharge system infrastructure into the future.
Rachel Macha: My name is Rachel Macha. My husband and I have 22-year-old triplets and 20-year-old twins. We’ve been Rehoboth property owners for 20 years. We’ve created priceless family memories, enjoyed Summer weekends and vacations here, as well as spent off-season time attending events including SeaWitch and Holiday Tree Lighting with our 5 children.
Since our kids were 14 years old, they have held summer jobs in Rehoboth at Funland, Royal Treat, Jungle Jim’s, Bin 66, and Big Fish Restaurant Group. In addition to family, I have a full-time career and have always given back to my community. I started my career working for AT&T then moved into the technology, software, and service industries. My specialty area is improving customer service and customer experience.
Through the years, I have served on various school, church, company, and non-profit boards and committees. For the past three years, I leveraged my experience serving Rehoboth on the Park, Shade, and Tree Commission, and Planning Commission. I am running for Commissioner because my family loves Rehoboth and I want to ensure that Rehoboth thrives in the future, that we preserve the charm of Rehoboth, have a strategy that includes a forward-looking plan and budget, and improve the experience of residents, businesses, and tourists. My hope is that others experience the beach, shopping, restaurants, and fun that Rehoboth offers for years to come. To achieve this, the vitality of Rehoboth in the coming years is critical. We need to carefully assess COVID recovery and develop a robust strategic plan that provides for infrastructure upgrades and corrects years of deferred maintenance. We must ensure our downtown thrives with shops and restaurants and keep our Boardwalk and beaches clean, safe, and enticing for tourists and residents. We want people to enjoy spending time and money in our charming town.
2.What single issue do you feel defines the 2020 Rehoboth election, and how will you address it?
Hugh Fuller: While one issue, the impact of the Coronavirus, has taken focus, I think it would be myopic to believe that’s the only issue to concentrate on as we move into the future. Yes, economic recovery is crucial, but we have budget issues, need to approve a long-range plan, and must constantly balance the equally important needs of our trio of stakeholders: homeowners, businesses, and tourists. The one thing we cannot afford to do is to move backwards. We must never again have a commission which approves financial boondoggles such as the wildly over-budget City Hall building. That is why I am running for Commissioner, and why I support both Paul Kuhns for a second term as Mayor, and Rachel Macha and myself for commissioner—we will bring a steady hand and two new voices to the Commission.
My vision for Rehoboth is to continue to be welcoming to all; an exciting place to live, work and vacation. I believe my experience both in business and community involvement will allow me to work to foster a philosophy of consensus and common sense on the way forward.
Patrick Gossett: There is no more important issue facing our city than the health of those who live, work, and visit here. If Rehoboth Beach becomes (or is perceived as) a “hot spot” for COVID-19, both our physical health and our economic health are endangered. If we do not act decisively now to draft comprehensive plans for immediate action and for our long-term economic recovery, the city as a whole will suffer losses that will last more than one season. Furthermore, it is imperative that we convey far and wide that Rehoboth Beach is a destination that provides a safe and secure environment from COVID-19 transmission.
The Mayor and Commissioners should empower a task force headed by the city manager, comprised of residents, property owners, and representatives from retail, restaurants, hotels, the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street, Police Department, EMS, Beach Patrol, and the Building & Licensing department to develop plans based on the Governor’s Executive Orders and 100% accurate and up-to-date public health information. These plans should then be implemented, regularly reviewed, and updated as conditions require.
Jay Lagree: Transparency. The past few years have seen many instances of our elected officials conducting the city’s business in secret. As a result, confidence in our local government is low. The Mayor and Commissioners have been cited by the Delaware Attorney General and others for holding meetings in secret, improperly forming a city committee out of public view, and making backroom deals to favor large commercial development. The Mayor and Commissioners are frequently criticized by media for failing to share information and authority. This must stop.
In 2017, candidate Kuhns wrote that there was too much authority in the Mayor and too many decisions being made without citizen input or even input from Commissioners.
Yet Mayor Kuhns and his Commissioners not only have failed to correct the problems he alleged, they have taken them to a new level. If elected, I will do everything possible to bring back confidence in our local government. I promise open and honest communication with the public. I will seek your input on the matters that effect you every day. And I will answer your letters promptly and honestly. There will be no more secret deals.
Rachel Macha: We are living in unprecedented times as we live through and recover from COVID. The COVID pandemic, more than anything else, will have a profound impact on not only the election but on the future of Rehoboth. Later this year, the strategic vision (CDP) will be completed after public review and comment. It will define Rehoboth’s future. For the past year, I have been working on the CDP as a member of the Planning Commission, reviewing and understanding the concerns and suggestions of residents, businesses, and tourists before and during COVID. As a Commissioner, I will be in a position to leverage the time, effort, and insights I learned on the Planning Commission to help execute the strategy for our City. I will actively work with the Mayor and the other Commissioners to ensure that Rehoboth follows through on recommendations in the CDP, carefully plan for infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, ensure a thriving commercial district, and protect the investment in our properties. In addition, I am confident that my 20 years as a resident with a balanced view of family fun, business career, and community experience positions me to contribute positively to Rehoboth’s future and success.
3.How do you see the City interacting with CAMP Rehoboth and its members?
Hugh Fuller: I look forward to working with CAMP Rehoboth as I have since its start in 1991, the same year I moved here. It was a less welcoming town then. And I continually supported CAMP Rehoboth as they worked for years with the City, providing police sensitivity training and building a good relationship to ensure the safety of our LGBTQ+ homeowners, businesses, and guests. Many people, myself included, supported and worked with CAMP Rehoboth in their successful fight for equality in Delaware.
CAMP Rehoboth still has a major role to play in continuing to work with the City for the benefit of not only the LGBTQ+ community, but all who live, work, and visit here. There is still a need for diversity training for city workers and many opportunities to work together, applying for grants, funding and expanding programs, including healthcare, allowing CAMP Rehoboth to expand its role in the community.
Patrick Gossett: The City must continue to work closely with CAMP Rehoboth’s leadership and incredible group of volunteers, continuing our positive trick Gossettrelationship on all fronts. I have seen this relationship first-hand as I participated in sensitivity training for our summer police officers, and over time saw hearts and minds change.
Due to the great work of CAMP, the CAMP Community Center truly has become a “place for all,” offering services needed by anyone, whether they are LGBTQ, straight, youth, seniors, Rehoboth residents, or Sussex Countians. Howard and I are proud to have been Founders Circle members and to have continued our membership for more than 2 decades.
CAMP Rehoboth needs the City, and the City needs CAMP. We are all better for the close relationship we have fostered ever since Steve and Murray’s original vision. We can take no more meaningful action than to care for that legacy and keep it alive.
Jay Lagree: We have had a house on Prospect St for 42 years, well before CAMP Rehoboth came to our town. We had a ringside seat to both the negative and positive history of the city.
When CAMP Rehoboth was established, it entered as a positive force to truly “Create A More Positive Rehoboth”. And it achieved it. Steve and Murray were the face of CAMP Rehoboth, changing minds and joining in civic affairs. CAMP Rehoboth gave advice without being pedantic, they helped without pressuring, they contributed without demanding compensation, and they joined in without being possessive. Before we knew it, CAMP Rehoboth was a central element of our town. Now the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is indeed, a place for all. When Steve passed away, the Board and volunteers kept CAMP Rehoboth moving forward, assuring CAMP will be an influential part of the future for all of us.
Rachel Macha: CAMP Rehoboth serves a critical role in our City and beyond our borders. CAMP Rehoboth is recognized as a leader in its support of LGBTQ+ rights and provides an array of services that benefits its members and our Rehoboth Beach community as a whole. Its support programs and many events bind together our unique community and exemplifies who we are—a City with room for all. I want to encourage greater participation by the City to support their inclusiveness, awareness, and community involvement through joint efforts to bring more services and acceptance to our community. We should do more to recognize what CAMP has contributed and continues to contribute to the vitality and health of our City and surrounding areas, and enhance everyone’s understanding of the importance they hold in the future of our City.
4.In five words or less, what is your vision for the city of Rehoboth Beach?
Hugh Fuller: United and moving forward together.
Patrick Gossett: Beach, Boardwalk, welcoming, memories, family (of all kinds)
Jay Lagree: Security, Financial stability, Beauty, Harmony
Rachel Macha: A welcoming, thriving coastal town.