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Races to Watch: Kent County Levy Court

Delaware Public Media

Three of the seven seats on Kent County Levy Court are up for grabs this election.

Delaware Public Media’s Nick Ciolino has more on the candidates running in those races and the county issues they believe need to be addressed.

The latest data shows the median income in Kent County growing slower than New Castle and Sussex Counties. It’s also the least populated county and has the highest unemployment rate. 

A 2018 survey shows most of its residents live there because it’s inexpensive. 

Kent is largely rural.  But it has maintained a manufacturing presence - using incentives to attract new businesses to replace ones that have shuttered.  

Kent County Levy Court is responsible for services like constructing and maintaining the county sewer system, granting landapplications and providing ambulance service. 

The court’s District One seat represents the northernmost section of the county including parts of Smyrna, Clayton and Cheswold. 

District 1 Commissioner Brooks Banta is retiring after serving as Levy Court President since 1996. He has endorsed former Smyrna Mayor and fellow Democrat Joanne Masten to replace him. Masten sits on the Kent Economic Partnership—the county’s economic development agency that works with the Levy Court to try to attract business in central Delaware. 

 

“There’s a lot of competition, obviously between Maryland and surrounding states, but also New Castle and Sussex County," said Masten. "And I think the KEP, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Kent Committee and Kent County Levy Court are really doing a great job in the worst situation of bringing businesses here.” 

Masten faces Republican Family Doctor and former Smyrna Town Councilman Doug Chervanak. He wants to pursue bringing air access to the county by exploring a mixed use option at Dover Air Force Base. He calls the county’s development “haphazard” and says the infrastructure is not keeping up. He says he’ll bring a common sense approach. 

 

“What I mean by common sense is you don’t put factories or you don’t put cement plants or you don’t put chemical plants near a residential area," said Chervanak. "They should be placed in area where that sort of development is concentrated.” 

District 3 covers the central eastern portion of the county including portions of Dover and Cheswold. Its Commissioner, Democrat Allan Angel has held the seat for the past 16 years. He previously served in the Army and currently Chairs the Economic Development Board. He was out helping people in the county affected by the hurricane and tornadoes that hit the state in August.

“I’ve been out with my tractor helping people get the yards back together. I helped (Team) Rubicon 12 to 14 days while they were here," said Angel. "I learned a lot from them, and as well they learned from me too. I just wish we had more people during a disaster who can come out and help, and that’s one of the concerns that I have.”  

Angel’s Republican Challenger is Welton Satchel. Satchel works in construction and coaches youth sports. He says he wants to bring back jobs that may have been lost during the pandemic—even if it’s just to add to the county’s manufacturing jobs. He also wants to help people living in the county to start small businesses.   

“I’m hearing a lot from voters that: jobs," said Satchel. "As we know, the pandemic that we’re currently dealing with has caused a lot of businesses to shut down. Some businesses are reopening, but they’re struggling to reopen and that means people are losing their jobs.” 

The 5th District is just south of Dover encompassing areas like Camden and Wyoming. Commissioner George “Jody” Sweeney has lived there most of his life and has represented it on Levy Court for 12 years. He chairs the Community Services Committee and points to the county’s role in bringing in the DE Turf sports complex and its first ever dog park among its accomplishments. He also touts implementing two job employment zones.

“One in Little Heaven and one in south Frederica," said Sweeney. "Those are going to be areas that we focus any new startup businesses that are looking for space. They are right off of Route One. The infrastructure is nearly in place.” 

Sweeney’s Republican challenger is Clint Brothers. He’s a Homeowners Association Director in Camden’s Stonegate community and board member of his church. He works as a warranty service manager for a homebuilder. He wants to simplify the permitting process in Kent County.

“We always hear a lot about ready in six—that’s also statewide they’ve been talking about that—but we’re not. It’s taking 12 to 24 months for businesses to get through the permit process to come here, and they’re looking at other states such as Maryland and surrounding areas where they can get in quicker,” said Brothers. 

All six candidates list addressing broadband deserts in the western part of the county as a priority. The state is putting $20 million of its CARES Act funding towards addressing this issue with new infrastructure, but that process is ongoing and some “dead zones” still exist.

Another topic of discussion is further compensation for first responders who’ve worked during the pandemic. Kent County Paramedics and wastewater treatment workers were paid time and a half for a time during Gov. John Carney’s coronavirus shutdown, but that extra pay was eventually rolled back.

Many of the candidates say they support trying to come up with a way to further compensate paramedics for their work during the pandemic.

But incumbents Jody Sweeney and Allan Angel point out many of the other county employees who had to work during Gov. Carney’s state of emergency did not benefit from time and a half pay, and point to the county’s budget as a limiting factor on further compensation.

This election cycle is one of the more competitive for Levy Court.  In 2018, two of the four races had a candidate run unopposed.  There was one unopposed race in 2016 and three in 2014.