Milton’s mayoral election sees the incumbent and vice mayor facing off.
Milton’s vice mayor Lee Revis Plank wasn’t always planning on running for mayor. She says she and mayor John Collier work well as a team.
It was looking like Collier was going to run unopposed, and that is when Revis Plank decided to put her name in the hat.
“If there are not two or more candidates, then there is no election. If there's no election, there are no votes. If there are no votes, you have no voice. And if you have no voice, then democracy doesn't work well,” Revis Plank said.
She added her priorities as mayor would largely be the same as her priorities as vice mayor. That includes ensuring the town has a sense of financial stability.
Collier said he’s not quite sure what choice the vice mayor offers, especially when it comes to local issues.
“The thing that I find interesting is she and I have almost an identical voting record on all these matters.”
Revis Plank agreed that the two are similar candidates.
“I think the basic issue here is that we both care passionately about the Town of Milton… I think that one of the things that I might be marginally better at is communicating and collaborating with all of the people that are on council, John tends to be a little bit more reserved in his approach, and so that communication might be the only thing that I think is really different,” Revis Plank said.
Collier said he’s running on the acronym “CARES,” which stands for creating a community that remains affordable, resilient, economically stable and safe.
“When I was elected, I made three promises: And that was to ensure the future, respect our heritage and that I was done kicking the can down the road and delaying and deferring on much-needed work, and I have delivered those three promises,” Collier said.
Revis Plank and Collier agree that resiliency is a vital part of developing Milton.
Revis Plank commissioned a study on the impact sea level rise will have on the town, which is fairly close to the coast and on a tidal river. That study served as the basis for a $5 million award from the federal government to continue work on flooding in the town, according to Revis Plank.
“If you take care of the river, if you have a good, solid river with clear water and the vegetation and fish and wildlife that are supposed to be there, then you can build on that,” Revis Plank said.
Revis Plank said that lays the groundwork for tourism sites like river walks, hiking trails and fishing spots.
Collier emphasized the importance of resiliency work as well.
“We haven't had a major flooding event since 1962, but if you look around this country in the last four or five years, I've lost count of the number of 1000-year storm events that have occurred in various locations,” Collier said, pointing to the Carolinas after Hurricane Helene.
Both candidates also support affordable housing efforts in the town. Collier said that’s one issue he could take a lot of credit for. He found individuals who looked into the issue, including holding presentations by Habitat for Humanity, the Milford Housing Development Corporation and the Sussex County Economic Development Action Committee.
That group created advisory opinions for the mayor and town council.
“I'm very pleased it was well received by the town council. The people that worked on it are very proud of their work,” Collier said.
Revis Plank said affordable housing is too big a problem for the town to handle alone.
“From Milton's point of view, we have to be very careful in that there are limited funds… I think that that means that we need to really be assertive in reaching out to county council and starting a collaborative approach,” Revis Plank said.
She added a collaboration between state and county legislators opens up opportunities for the town.
Election Day in Milton is Saturday, March 1.
