Tell voters what’s wrong

Two elected officials in the Cape Region recently announced resignations from their respective boards.

After quietly stepping down in August, Janet Maull-Martin’s vacancy on the Cape Henlopen School District board recently came to light when Superintendent Bob Fulton officially announced the open seat at the school board’s November meeting. 

In Rehoboth Beach, Don Preston announced his immediate resignation from the board of commissioners a few weeks ago. 

In each case, grievances were alluded to, but few details were actually released by those who resigned. When Maull-Martin was asked why she resigned, she provided the Cape Gazette with a lengthy statement. It’s clear she’s unhappy with Fulton and other members of the board. However, the tipping point remains unclear. In her statement, Maull-Martin says things came to a head Aug. 15, when something occurred that was highly offensive to her. No other details were provided. 

Preston used similarly vague language in his resignation announcement in Rehoboth. “When I joined the board, I had high hopes of working to elevate our city and making it even better than it is today for the people who live here, work here, own businesses here, and those who visit here. After more than a year on the board, I don’t see a path to my high hopes,” he said. 

Why? What’s happening at city hall that’s getting in the way of elevating the city? Is it the mayor? Is it other commissioners? Why not use the time left to try to convince colleagues to reconsider their stances on issues that are getting in the way of change? 

In both cases, the individual who resigned intimated there were serious problems within their respective governmental body. As people who were elected to those positions, it is their duty to tell voters why they resigned. If there are individuals or factions within each elected board that are getting in the way of progress, the voters should know. Put all the cards on the table, and let the public decide who the right people are to serve as leaders.