Four candidates seek Rehoboth Beach mayor's seat

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — Four candidates are competing to become Rehoboth Beach's next mayor, with the race highlighting disagreements over city spending, growth, infrastructure, transparency and how local officials work together.

Commissioners Suzanne Goode, Susan Stewart and Craig Thier are joined by first-time candidate William "Jake" Raak in the race. Outgoing Rehoboth Beach Mayor Stan Mills has served as mayor for the past six years. After nearly two decades in public service, Mills tells CoastTV he feels it's simply time to retire and step away from public office.

Craig Thier

Thier has served nearly two years as a Rehoboth Beach commissioner and brings 15 years of elected-office experience to the race. Before moving to Rehoboth, he served more than 12 years on a New Jersey Board of Education, including five years as president. Commissioner Thier says his focus as mayor would be on financial transparency, responsible budgeting and collaborative leadership. "This is my 15th year of elected office," Thier said.

Thier said that experience, along with his background in finance, has shaped his approach to city government. He pointed to his work on multi-year financial forecasting and improving the accuracy of the city's financial information. "My goal, as mayor, will be to continue that process that I've been working on for two years," Thier said.

But Thier said civility is the biggest challenge facing the city right now, particularly when disagreements turn into personal conflicts. "I see this as probably the main issue that the city is dealing with today, which is civility," Thier said. He said disagreement is an important part of government, but it needs to remain respectful. "Dissent is important," Thier said. "But it has to be done respectfully."

Thier said he would not support limiting public comment or muting residents to address conflicts at meetings. Instead, he said the city needs to create an environment where people with different views can still work together.

"We have to establish a collaborative and respectful environment, and appreciate that everyone is entitled to their viewpoint," he said. As mayor, Thier said he would focus on collaboration and making sure differing opinions remain part of the decision-making process while keeping the city moving forward.

Susan Stewart

Stewart is an attorney and financial adviser who served for several years on the Planning Commission, as well as the Stormwater Utility Task Force and Mixed-Use Task Force. She was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2025.

Stewart said she is running because Rehoboth is at a critical point, with significant growth and major development projects ahead. "The city is at a critical point where it needs a leader who can unite both fiscal stewardship and a vision for the future."

She pointed to major hotel projects planned for Baltimore and Wilmington avenues and said her Planning Commission experience gives her an understanding of how development can fit into Rehoboth's future.

Stewart also emphasized her professional financial background and the city's recent budget performance. "I'm an attorney and a financial advisor. I understand what it means to be a good financial steward." She said completing major infrastructure projects, particularly the stormwater management plan, would be a priority. "I know it's critical to the city to actually bring this plan home, sort of land the plane, if you will, and I think I'm the person to do that."

Stewart also made civility a major part of her campaign, saying the city needs to rebuild trust and establish clearer expectations for public meetings. "We've struggled some with civil discourse in our public meetings." "I'm going to be a very firm leader, and calling out in public meetings is not acceptable. Name calling is not acceptable."

Stewart said her approach to leadership would focus on bringing people together. "It's the leadership, it's teamwork, it's bringing people together, recognizing that compromise has to happen, but we're stronger together than we are as individuals."

Suzanne Goode

Goode, who was elected commissioner in 2024, has made city spending and government accountability central themes of her campaign. She said she decided to run for mayor after repeatedly encountering resistance to her efforts to reduce spending. "It's been frustrating not to get any support, and that is actually why I made the decision to run for mayor," Goode said. "The mayor sets the agenda, what the mayor wants, the mayor gets."

Goode said the city has expanded administrative spending while basic infrastructure needs remain unresolved. "The taxpayers should not be treated like an ATM," she said.

She said she would prioritize sidewalks, street lighting and stormwater work over what she considers unnecessary consulting expenses. "We are continuing to hire consultants rather than addressing the infrastructure," Goode said. "I want to emphasize the infrastructure and limit all of these consultancies."

Goode also said some city administrative positions and compensation packages need closer scrutiny. "There are some administrators who are not competent, so they might need to be replaced," she said. She also said she believes officials need to move beyond past disputes. "I think people just have to move on," Goode said.

Asked why voters should choose her, Goode said she wants to bring a stronger focus to city finances. "I hope voters would trust me to be fair, to be honest, and to get the city's finances in order," she said.

Jake Raak

Raak is a longtime Rehoboth property owner. He said his own concerns from being a homeowner motivated him to run, leading him to launch what he calls a 1,000-person listening tour. "I was inspired to run due to things that were bothering myself as a homeowner and a resident of Rehoboth, so I embarked on a 1,000-person listening tour to see what your issues are," Raak said.

Raak, a small-business owner, said he would take a different approach to the city's budget by starting from zero and evaluating every expense.

Raak said Rehoboth needs a long-term vision for managing growth while maintaining the city's character. He proposed developing a vision for 2030, 2035 and 2040 and updating city codes. "We need to have a vision board," Raak said. "I believe we need a vision for 2030, 2035, 2040."

He said he wants Rehoboth to grow responsibly without becoming like other resort communities. "We are not Ocean City. I don't want us to ever be Ocean City," Raak said. "I don't want to see us grow up. I want to see us mature." On civility, Raak said elected officials need to put disagreements aside and work together. "There's no room for fighting," he said. "We need to be listened to. We need to work together. Teamwork makes the dream work here."

In his closing statement, Raak pointed to his business background and experience solving problems outside of politics. "I believe I bring a unique skill set to the table, being new to politics but old head in solving real world problems," Raak said.

Commissioner race

While four candidates are competing for mayor, three candidates are seeking two commissioner seats: incumbents Patrick Gossett and Mark Saunders, and challenger Jeffery Goode. If elected, Jeffery Goode would serve alongside his wife, mayoral candidate Suzanne Goode.

The commissioner race also carries financial and leadership questions, with the candidates offering different views on city spending, the current administration and the direction of the commission.

Voting information

Rehoboth Beach's municipal election is Saturday, Aug. 8. Voters will choose one mayor and two commissioners, with all three-year terms.

The election will be held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.