Andrew Williams is new Lewes mayor
The votes are in: Andrew Williams has been elected mayor of the City of Lewes.
The mayoral election, the first in 24 years, saw a turnout of 1,125 voters. Andrew Williams received 471 votes (42%) to top incumbent Ted Becker, who netted 414 votes (37%). Candidate Ric Moore received 238 votes (21%).
City officials said voting activity was at its peak during the morning hours, with the line flowing beyond city hall’s doors. They said of the 1,125 votes, 887 (79%) were cast in person and 236 (21%) were returned via absentee ballot. Lewes currently has 1,484 registered voters, meaning the city saw 76% participation in a race Williams won by 51 votes.
The tally for Williams was the last to be announced. A large uproar from family, friends and supporters of the newly elected mayor reverberated along East Third Street. With tears in his eyes, Williams, who was born and raised in Lewes, embraced his wife Rita and their two sons, and began thanking those who helped him during his campaign. He sought out both of his opponents, and quickly found Ted Becker, mayor since 2014 and a Lewes City Council member since 2004. Williams and Becker shook hands and congratulated one another on their efforts.
“There’s a lot of different people that I lean on throughout town, and we won on a couple hundred dollars’ worth of stickers and postcards and people beating the streets,” Williams said. “And that type of community commitment is what I’m going to still depend on as mayor.”
Transparency, a theme that ran throughout William’s campaign, is something he said he will continue to seek to prioritize in Lewes, and moving forward, with council members. Speaking off of the top of his head, he said he’s considering starting a coffee time when residents can sit down and speak with him and possibly other council members at a local coffee shop about the issues that are important to them. Creating a more casual and personable atmosphere could make people feel more comfortable in their conversations with their leaders, he said, possibly leading to more productive dialogue between residents and leaders.
Moving forward, Williams also brought up how valuable both Becker and Moore are to the Lewes community: “I’m still going to depend on Ted, and I’m going to depend on Ric Moore, because Ted has a lot of experience that we still need to lean on, institutional knowledge, and Ric Moore brought an energy and the desire for change, and his constituents showed up and they did so through him. I think we need to find a way to utilize Ric’s energy and skills in the city.”
According to City Manager Ann Marie Townshend, because Williams is currently the deputy mayor, that position will need to be filled, and the Lewes charter states that council members will choose William’s replacement via majority vote. The new member must be qualified to hold a seat on city council, although requirements to be a council member are less rigorous than for mayor. The appointee will be considered an elected official for the remainder of William’s term. The mayoral position pays $4,000 per year, while council members are paid $3,000.
Andrew Williams will be sworn in as mayor of the City of Lewes during mayor and city council’s meeting Monday, May 23. The regular meeting was pushed back this month to accommodate the election. More information about that meeting can be found at ci.lewes.de.us.
