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Under the shade of the large trees of Zwaanendael Park in downtown Lewes, Judson Bennett made it official – he’s running for a second time for a seat on Sussex County Council in the third district.
Bennett lost to incumbent Lynn Rogers of Milton in 2004 by just three votes. He claims 13 absentee ballots were missing. “That questionable loss has indeed haunted me ever since,” he said.
Rogers, who has served on the council for 12 years, has not yet announced he will run, but he has indicated he is still interested in the seat.
Bennett, who is a lifelong resident of Lewes and served on the Lewes City Council for six years, has been a critic of county council, and as president of the Coastal Conservative Network comments on county issues daily via the internet.
“Our elected officials have gotten so caught up in fanatical property-rights interests, the boom of the previous real estate market and their own avaricious agenda, they have forgotten that their job is to run our county – not ruin it,” he said.
Bennett said he has gone through a metamorphosis in his life – he is a reformer. “I like to call myself Sussex County’s most imperfect human being,” he told the crowd of supporters, including gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee and other Republican hopefuls.
Bennett said there is no doubt his past will be dragged out during the campaign.
“I’ve been flat broke a couple of times, took all kind of chances, and even had to file for bankruptcy twice many years ago,” he said.
But, things have changed, he said. “I am totally independent, and I am not obligated or beholden to any special interest,” he said.
Diana Robertson, a supporter from Rehoboth Beach, said she would work for Bennett even though she doesn’t live in his district.
“I like his ideas about managing growth,” she said. “Houses are growing faster than corn and beans.
“The county council has gotten stale and staid and oblivious to what is going on. There needs to be a change.”
Bennett, who was a Delaware River pilot for 33 years, outlined six items on his platform:
• Implementation of an adequate public-facilities ordinance. “No infrastructure – no growth,” he said. “The majority of the cost must be paid for proportionally by the developer before he is allowed to move forward,” he said.
• Substantial performance bonds placed on developers. “There are too many developers who don’t follow through on what they promise,” he said.
• Better enforcement of county ordinances. “The enforcement of our county ordinances is little or none by obvious design,” he said.
• Ordinances to protect the environment, including larger buffers in the Inland Bays and more regulation regarding impervious surface in recharge areas.
• Revision of the county’s legal department. Bennett contends that the county’s legal staff that bills by the hour also represents the interests of many developers. “I will advocate the hiring of salaried attorneys who work for Sussex County and nobody else,” he said.
• Comprehensive rezoning of the county. “I will work to change our present laws that are designed to completely develop our entire county,” he said.
Bennett said he is a strong supporter of property rights, but the current council has gone too far. “Without careful, thoughtful stewardship of the land, our American dream will become a nightmare,” he said.
He said even with tough zoning and environmental laws, landowners and developers can prosper.
“However, to overdevelop just because we can is absurd,” he said.
Bennett said a recent county report concluded there is still room for another 2 million people and 1 million homes. “If we continue on this path just because we can, we are fools,” he said.
He said the trend can stop with his election.
“We cannot continue with a systematic destruction of our community and the farms and forests and expect to exist in harmony,” he said.
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