UPDATE: Newcomer tops field in BPW election

Newcomer Tom Panetta was the top vote-getter in the May 12 election for the Lewes Board of Public Works. 

The former General Electric engineer received 267 votes, while incumbents Robert Kennedy and Jack Lesher regained their seats with 238 and 203 votes, respectively. 

C. Wendell Alfred, president of the board and director for 18 years, finished fourth with 168 votes and will not retain his seat. John Mavromatis rounded out the election with 86 votes. 

Turnout was 410 people, about 32 percent of the 1,290 registered voters. 

Panetta said he was overwhelmed by the support he received, especially in the letters to the editor section of the Cape Gazette. 

“I was really not expecting this,” he said. “There were lots of good candidates running.”

He continued, “I want to reinforce what I said at the candidates’ forum. I think the BPW does a great job. I was really running to look forward to the future and work on constituent outreach.”

He said voter registration is also a concern, especially after seeing the low turnout. 

“Voter registration needs to be looked at to be simplified,” he said. “We need to work with the city on that because their charter is the same as ours. Thirty percent in a democracy is not a good voter turnout.” 

Panetta has been a full-time resident of Lewes for the last 10 years. He worked for General Electric for 25 years, building and designing power plants, managing projects of about $50 million. He also serves on the Lewes Planning Commission and plans to continue his service despite being elected to the BPW. 

Alfred took the news well, quickly congratulating the winners. He received an outpouring of thanks for his nearly two decades of service. 

“I’m very happy for everyone who ran,” he said. “I enjoyed serving. I look forward to retirement.”

During his tenure with the board, Alfred has been essential in upgrading the wastewater treatment facility to a microfiltration system, helped build a new water treatment plant and made safety a top priority. General Manager Darrin Gordon said the BPW is going five years strong without a workplace injury.

Kennedy will assume his seat for a second term when the winners are sworn in late this month. After running unopposed in 2016, Kennedy took an nontraditional approach to the BPW election. 

“I didn’t really run a classic campaign,” he said. “I felt like the meet the candidates forum was going to be a great place to get my message and priorities out.”

Kennedy worked for 21 years as executive director and senior regulatory officer at Delaware Public Service Commission.

He said there are a lot of unresolved issues to deal with in the next three years, specifically the challenges brought by growth in the service area. 

Lesher was out of town for the election and was not able to attend. He was appointed to the board in 2011, and following his three-year term will have been on the board for a decade. 

A retired accountant,Lesher said at the May 7 candidates’ forum that his main focus on the board is to monitor the money. The BPW works from a five-year capital improvement budget of $16 million, manages reserves of about $15 million and operates with an annual budget of about $1.5 million.

Panetta and the returning board members will be sworn in at the Wednesday, May 23 meeting. Board reorganization will also occur at the meeting, including the electing of a new president.