Milford Mayor race preview

MILFORD, Del.- Milford has an open seat for city mayor, and two candidates feel they are the right fit for the job.

Incumbent Archie Campbell and city council member Todd Culotta will be facing off for the job- which is a rematch of the 2018 race for mayor.

In this article, we will go over both candidates and get their responses to questions on topics that are popular in the Milford community.

ARCHIE CAMPBELL

Archie Campbell has served as the city's mayor since 2018. He previously served on city council for two years and as the chairman of the city's Planning and Zoning commission for seven years before that.

He is a retired corporate executive, and worked with a few companies in Europe and on the New York Stock Exchange. He has a degree in Social Studies and a minor in Science from Colorado State University. He has lived in Milford for the past 18 years and is originally from northern New Jersey.

Campbell feels that the city has taken steps forward during his term, and feels that his honesty and his service to the city makes him the right man for the job.

"This is my home," he said to CoastTV. "I want what's best for this town."

Campbell says that one of his big goals if re-elected was to build a massive park and playground for kids in the city, as well as build a new industrial park.

TODD CULOTTA

Todd Culotta is from Milford. He graduated from Milford High School in 1991 and served in the Marines after graduating. From there, he live in the Washington D.C. area for a awhile before deciding to move back to his hometown in 2015. Culotta has been serving as a representative for the city's 2nd Ward for the past six years. He ran for mayor back in 2018, but lost to Campbell.

Culotta owns his own contracting company, and has a degree from California University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Keller Graduate School. He says his goal is to help boost the local economy, and his experience as a business owner will help him do that.

"I'm friendly with our mayor," he said.  "I don't dislike him, but I think it's time for change and it's time for a new and exciting step forward."

QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES

Q: It is no secret that Milford is growing exponentially. How would you handle this growth and do you think the city is doing enough to prepare for future neighbors?

AC: Yes. Actually, when we get new developments, we make sure they do the infrastructure. I mean, without the infrastructure, you can't survive. We have Milford Roads and we have DelDOT roads.. and we've spent... I can't even tell you a couple of million dollars... just on fixing roads and all. We have three representatives... We have two from the House and one senator that represents us. So we get aid from them. We actually enjoy the expansion. When I came here, I think we had like maybe 5,200 people. We're close to almost 13 to 14,000 now.

TC: Yeah, we are growing. In fact, we're growing in spite of some of the decisions we make. But there's a lot of things we could do to to help. You know, we call it smart growth, and with the master plan to kind of lay out where housing should be, where our businesses should be and things like that. There's four wards in Milford.. I believe each ward should be kind of self-supporting, should have its own retail, grocery stores and things like that and and also whatever you need within those wards... because with that growth now you've kind of diversified all the needs of the the city.

Q: There's been quite a few new businesses that have opened up in Milford. How would you help the local economy?

AC: We have an economics advisor and we have a whole economics group. We have new businesses coming in. And if you'll notice, I've been in the papers numerous times with ribbon cuttings... and I just learned, which really surprises me, that people think they're just cutting the ribbon. They don't realize that's a new business that's coming into town, you know? So people often say, 'Oh, you just cutting the ribbon?' No, I'm welcoming a new business that's coming in. And we do that. 

TC: You got to make it easier for businesses to run, okay? That doesn't mean giving away things, but you can't be difficult. I think that right now we have a city administration and some city employees that just don't really have... they're not there to help you. They're there to just say 'This is the way it is, and that's that.' We've got to be more flexible in working with people and incentivizing them to spend their money and make the investment.

Q: There has been a lot of activity with police recently, between the new police station opening up and the hiring of new officers. Do you think the city is doing enough to deter crime?

AC: Well, that's a big thing for us because we're growing so fast. And, you know, the more people, the more crime. We know that. We went outside to get the new chief. Everything prior to that was the locals. Everybody local would promote up or whatever. But I needed to change the culture. So I went out, and we all agreed with the council and convinced them 'Let's go out and see what's out there.' And we hired Chief Ashe from Wilmington, who is great, very glad we have her. She has changed the culture. We are, so far in the area, the only fully staffed police department. Everybody is missing, two, four, five, six, seven officers. They can't even get police to apply. Where in Milford, we have a waiting list of about 37 officers trying to come to Milford.

TC: We hired Chief Ashe little over a year ago, and I think she's done a wonderful job. So I do think we're taking the step in the right direction for a small town. In the past, Milford had a relatively higher crime rate for our size than normal. The police are very active now and getting out in the community and building relationships and preventing crime as opposed to just responding. I think the citizens spoke and when they passed the referendum for the police station, they proved it. And it's now it's our time to deliver a safe city. I mean, you can't have a good economy without safe streets. And that's my primary thing- good economy, safe streets and economic, fiscal transparency.

Q: One of the things that recently caused a stir in the community was the possibility of a pallet village for the homeless in the city. Do you support the idea of a pallet village in Milford and do you think it belongs in city limits?

AC: Right now, it's on hold. We have money that the state gave us to build a pallet city. We don't have operational cost. So my thing is, why would I build it, bring in people, and then in one year put them out back in the woods? It doesn't make sense to me. So until we get operational costs, I'm not even entertaining the idea.

TC: The pallet village by its' design is a unique concept. However, how it's currently run and the lack of controls and accountability for how it's being managed now where the existing one is in Georgetown- it's not a good solution. It's going to cause more problems than it solves. Everybody's got a heart for the homeless, there's no question there. And we can do things to help those that need help, not that don't want to be helped. And there's a difference there. So we have to have policies that help people get up and move on and not not be enabled by the system.

Q: The other topic that caused a stir in the community lately was the eminent domain case and Annette Billings. It's not unfair to say that there were some negative feelings towards city council at that time. How would you mend that relationship and do you think eminent domain belongs in the city of Milford?

AC: This all started way back, long before me... it was 2013 I believe when she had it appraised. And Mrs. Billings agreed at that time, from what I understand. And they went out, they had a appraisals done... She never came back. So then we would look because we want to build a real nice park. And we bought the property from her brother to build this park... 17 acres we bought. So we want to make a real big park. Something came up about eminent domain and we said, 'Well, let's look at it.' We looked at it. We said, 'Okay', because the property we looked at- that eight acres- is worthless. Everybody was screaming about, 'Oh, you're only going to give a $20,000 for the property... But it's marshland. You can't even use it. We were going to just build a bridge over it, so the kids on the other side of Milford don't have to take their bicycles across the highway... So when the vote came out after the city hall was packed two or three times. Two (city council members) chose to abstain. Three said we should go with the eminent domain and three said 'No, we shouldn't go with it.' As the mayor, only time I vote is a tie. So I voted no. It's not worth the headache.. we'll find another way to get the bicycle path through there so the kids don't have to cross the highway first.

TC: So, I was the only one that voted against eminent domain when we first decided to go after the property. I said, 'I'm sure there's a lot more negotiation that could take place here before we try eminent domain.' So I just felt it was the long arm of the government going after an individual's property and I didn't like it, so I voted no. And I think after the backlash from the community, I mean, this is the first time that I've ever known that all four ward seats are being contested. And I think it has a lot to do with that. I think people are concerned with if the government can  vote to take somebody's land that doesn't even live in the city, they can certainly vote to raise taxes and really impact your lifestyle.  I think we got to get out there and work with the people that invest in the city, the people that are interested in serving and helping in the city and work with them to make a better community. I think we'll get over that. And I think this this election's going to have a lot to do with that. And to answer your second question, no, I don't believe in eminent domain. I mean, we're a city. We don't have to work on highways and exits and things like that, which is typically where eminent domain is used. So I don't think there's a need for it here. We just still have the ability to do it. But I would never do it under my under my leadership. 

There are multiple seats open on the Milford city council besides mayor. Polls are open 10 am to 6 pm this coming Saturday at the Milford Public Works facility. You must live in the city limits of Milford to vote.