MILTON, Del.- Three candidates are running for two seats on the Milton town council.
Those candidates, Frederick Harvey, Lee Revis-Plank and Erin Willis all bring unique perspectives to the table and are hoping for a big turnout for the election.
In this article, there will be information about each candidate and what they have to say about different issues facing the town of Milton.
FREDERICK HARVEY
Frederick Harvey, 69, is an incumbent looking for election. He was appointed to the council back in 2022 after then council member John Collier was elected mayor. Harvey was born and raised in Milton, and went to Cape Henlopen School District schools growing up.
He says he wants to give back to his community and drive Milton towards the future.
"I've seen a lot of changes.. I've seen it was very prosperous in what some people call the older days and now I see where it's starting to go now," he told CoastTV. "So being I went through that, I have an idea of some of the things that we could do."
Harvey worked with Cape Henlopen School District for 22 years before retiring, and even today still drives a school bus for the district. Harvey is the chair of the town's water committee and is a member of the Milton fire department.
LEE REVIS-PLANK
The other incumbent is Lee Revis-Plank, 75. She hails from Wilmington, and retired to Milton ten years ago. Before retiring, she worked for Bank of America in Wilmington. She has a masters degree in educational leadership and bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Delaware.
Revis-Plank currently serves as the town's vice mayor, and has worked with multiple different town committees, including the the parking ad hoc committee and historic preservation coalition.
She feels her experience on the council makes her the right fit for the job.
"I think that that gives me the background information that I need in order to do the job," she said. "I've been on the job now for three years.. and as an incumbent, I would hit the floor running!"
Revis-Plank said that there is still much work to do, and she loves working on council.
ERIN WILLIS
Erin Willis is a newcomer that has thrown her hat in the ring. She is a mother of two children that go to school in Milton, and serves on the town's Parks and Recreation committee.Â
Willis has a masters degree in speech language pathology from La Salle university in Philadelphia, and hails from Dover. She works as a speech-language pathologist for Cape Henlopen School District and Sussex Consortium. She feels that experience in her career makes her an ideal candidate, as compromise is a daily part of the job.
Willis says she wants to take an approach that looks towards the future, and feels there's a need for a shake-up on the town council.
"I'm not afraid of disagreement or afraid of learning new things or striving for common ground in the face of entrenched beliefs," she remarked. "I feel like that's really important in running for town council because I feel like the incumbents have not always been willing to look at both sides of an issue, which I think is extremely important."
Willis has been living in Milton since 2015.
CoastTV also asked each candidate their stances on different topics facing the town.
Q:Â Milton has been growing exponentially in recent years, and will be growing even more with the recent annexation. How would you handle this growth and what is the best path forward to handle it?Â
Harvey: "We have a comprehensive plan, and in order for something to get annexed, there's a nice plan that you have to go by. So if we stick to our plans and go with with the way we should and have everybody check out what we do, then we could actually keep control of it that way."
Revis-Plank: "The Town Code, the town charter and the comprehensive plan give a very good structure for how to determine whether or not a an application for growth is viable for the town. And I think that if we followed that pathway very carefully, that we will be able to determine whether or not it's an advantage for the town and and how quickly that should happen."
Willis: "I was really happy that the annexation passed. I think its really important that as the town grows, and looking at the comprehensive plan from 2018, they planned for annexation and for growth. I think town council should work to oppose development that's not in keeping with the town's character and the comprehensive plan, especially when development decisions fall under our town council's purview. I think that we need to guide development and assert regulatory authority when we can. Really looking at the comprehensive plan, I think, is the best way to do that."
Q:Â There was a bit of a stir in the town when the idea of parking meters was introduced to the town council. Do you support this idea? Why or why not?
Harvey: "I support it, but the way I support it is if the parking meter can support itself. Right now, the town would have to hire help and hire somebody to run it for you. And that's an expense that right now we don't need because we already running tight budget as it is. But if we can have some kind of way get this going and see if it can fund itself, that's a nice revenue for the town."
Revis-Plank: "Of course I support it, because I proposed it! I had been leading a group of people, a small group of people to go through the process of taking a look at parking in general and what are the kinds of options that we have available. And that's been going on for two years. And we've looked at a Dewey Beach, we've looked at Lewes, we've looked at Georgetown and tried to explain in our own terms what that would mean for the town of Milton. It's important for us to be able to have a turnover of the spots that are closest to our businesses so that they can continue to have customers coming in. I don't expect that this will be an expensive thing for the town. At worst, it will break even, or at best there'll be an additional income for everyone. But there's lots of opportunities for private and public partnerships so that we can include the area parking lots that are not necessarily part of the town, but we could expand that to."
Willis: "I think it's really important to look at what exactly would work for our town. I think it may make sense to look at having parking meters on the street, but not necessarily in the lot, which is an idea that I got from talking with business owners downtown. But also, I'm not a parking expert, so I think it's important to talk to people who are and listen to what they have to say."
Q:Â Speeding is a big concern with neighbors... how would you address the issue and do you think the town is doing enough to deter bad driving habits?
Harvey: "I think the town is doing a good job. Our police department is doing very good trying to do something about it here. In the last couple of months, they've really picked up, as far as stopping cars and stuff. The only other thing I know we can do right now is try to educate. We got quite a few signs up now, but let's clear the signs, make sure the signs are visible, make sure that you can see them and make people understand that, 'Hey, if we don't do what those signs are saying, then we got a consequence for it."
Revis-Plank: "I think bad habits in driving, belong to the people that are driving. The town has really made big efforts to encourage people to be more aware of their driving habits by lowering the speed limits, changing the stop signs, lots and lots of signs around, lots of meetings and what have you. So there's a lot of publicity around this, but when it comes down to it, it's the individual driver that makes the difference. And so what I have suggested is that in the Milton Library, we schedule some classes for defensive driving so that we can just help educate people about what their responsibilities are."
Willis: "I think it's important to acknowledge that no one is a perfect driver and that we're not striving to scare people into becoming perfect drivers, because that's not going to happen. I think that education, engineering and enforcement are all good- it's a three pronged approach to keeping traffic safe in town. So I think things like speed bumps and bump outs and stop signs are really important. I was extremely upset when the town council voted against having a four-way stop at Chestnut and Wharton. I personally have almost been struck there and my kids also at least twice. I've almost been rear ended there. And since that vote did not pass, I have seen more accidents and people getting hurt, when that didn't have to happen."
Polls are open from 8 am to 6 pm at the Milton Fire Station at 116 Front Street. You must bring an IDÂ in order to vote and be 18 years old or older.