Andrew Williams joins Lewes race for mayor
Deputy Mayor Andrew Williams has joined the race for Lewes mayor, filing just hours before the April 7 deadline to declare candidacy.
He said it was not his intention to file at the last minute, but he was waiting to see if any other candidates would step up.
“People have been approaching me to take it on,” said Williams, who was elected to council in 2020. “I saw that Ric [Moore] got in, but people were still saying they’d like to see another option.”
Williams believes people will view him as the middle choice. Mayor Ted Becker has been in office for 18 years – 10 as a councilman and eight as mayor – while Moore is a newcomer who has been actively engaged with the government as a citizen.
“Ted is the established … and Ric is change,” Williams said. “I’m still somewhat new, but I’ve had some experiences. I would consider some successes and some failures. I’ll learn more from the failures.”
Development in and around Lewes is a big issue to tackle, he said.
“I think Lewes has to get engaged in how we react and adapt to the continued growth around us,” he said.
He pointed to the recently announced proposal from Sussex County to partner with the Lewes Board of Public Works for wastewater treatment.
“The city needs to be at those discussions,” he said. “How do we integrate Lewes with the growth that’s essentially gone on around us?”
Resiliency and sea-level rise will continue to be issues to address, he said.
“It’s a reality now,” he said. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions there.”
Williams, who still works full time, said he and Becker see the role of mayor differently.
“The current mayor has professionalized the role of mayor; I don’t see the mayor as CEO,” he said. “We have a city staff; they should be doing the day-to-day.”
He sees the mayor as one of five people elected to council.
“The mayor runs the meetings,” he said. “The mayor appoints the committees. The other role of the mayor is to hear all the complaints from the citizens and feed those on to the council. It should not be the mayor’s vision. The mayor is a representation of the people, just as are the other four council people.”
Williams said he understands he’s made decisions in the last two years that many people don’t agree with, such as the Fisher’s Cove settlement.
“I recognize there’s some trust that’s been lost there,” he said. “I know that needs to be built back.”
Williams serves on the finance committee, bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee, and public art committee.
Williams was born and raised in Lewes, graduating from Cape Henlopen High School in 1994. A career in market intelligence took him to New York, but he returned to Lewes about eight years ago. Williams’ family has a long history of service to the town. His great-grandfather is James Beebe, co-founder of Beebe Healthcare. His grandfather, Ralph Williams, served on the planning commission under Mayor Al Stango.
He and his wife Rita, who works at Beebe Healthcare’s Tunnell Cancer Center, have two children, ages 14 and 12.
The election will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, May 14, at city hall. Voter registration applications will be accepted through 4:30 p.m., Friday, April 29. Voters must be citizens of the United States and a full-time city residents. They must be 18 years old on or before the date of the next municipal election. A voter registration form can be found at www.ci.lewes.de.us/273/Election-Information.
