Middletown City Council swore in three recently elected members and the Mayor appointed a new vice mayor.
As council bid farewell to former Vice Mayor Jimmy Reynolds, who served for 34 years, Mayor Kenneth Branner names Councilman Aaron Blythe to take his place.
Blythe was first elected in 2019 and will also serve as head of Streets and Parks.
“I’m very pleased to have the trust of the Mayor and council," Blythe says. "I’m certainly very pleased to do it. It’s a joy to be on council and I certainly want to help any way I can.”
Blythe says it’s important to maintain Middletown’s “small-town feel” while managing growth.
“We have a comprehensive plan for a reason," Blythe says. "The idea is to have a plan for the future so that everybody knows what that plan is, they can look at it, they can see it, understand where the growth is going to be, what is being built where. I think it’s just important to be transparent about it.”
New Councilman David Thomas was named head of the police department, which Branner called a no-brainer since Thomas was a Delaware State Trooper for 20 years and served eight years in the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
“I did go to Mr. Royston and asked him what his thoughts were since he was head of police, and he said that it makes the most sense to give Dave the police and I reassigned Jim to other departments.”
Drew Chas was appointed Treasurer and head of the Elections Department and Craig Sherman appointed Secretary and will remain head of Maintenance.
Bruce Orr remains head of the Water and Wastewater Department. Jim Royston will take over Permits, Inspection and IT.
