Commissioner Jay Lagree withdraws from Rehoboth election

There won’t be an election in Rehoboth Beach after all.

Less than 24 hours after the filing deadline closed, incumbent Commissioner Jay Lagree announced he will no longer seek re-election.

“After much consideration, I am withdrawing my candidacy for city commission,” said Lagree, in a prepared statement June 6. “I have been honored to serve on the commission and to serve the citizens of Rehoboth Beach, and I had intended to continue my service. However, I am getting older every day. My hearing has become a problem; although, with correction, I can do pretty well most of the time.”

The filing deadline was June 5. At closing, Lagree, incumbent Commissioner Patrick Gossett and first-time candidate Don Preston had filed for two commissioner seats. Incumbent Mayor Stan Mills was the only person to file for the mayoral seat.

Lagree is in the first term of his second stint as a commissioner. He served for 10 months beginning in late 2017 after being appointed to fill former Mayor Paul Kuhns’ vacant commissioner seat.

After serving with Gossett and getting to know Preston, Lagree said, he’s convinced the city will continue to be well served.

“They are both leaders in our community, and share my goals and objectives for the city. With those two qualified and capable candidates, I feel I can now step away at the end of my term, confident that they will serve the citizens well,” said Lagree. “I look forward to the last months of my term of office, and thank the city and our voters for all they have done to support me in my role as commissioner.”

There was no election last year, as incumbent Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski and Commissioner Francis “Bunky” Markert were the only people to file. It was the first time in nearly a decade the city didn’t have an election. Prior to the past two years, according to city voting records dating back to 1990, the last time there had been no election in Rehoboth was 2013.

Mills, Gossett and Preston will be certified as candidates during the June 16 board of commissioners meeting and then officially sworn in during the commissioner meeting in September.

See more in the Friday, June 9, edition of the Cape Gazette.