After controversy, Smyrna’s election is set for April 29 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 27 S. Market Street Plaza, with one council race open to all voters.
Two candidates filed for mayor, but candidate George Coates was ruled ineligible after the filing deadline.
That means the other mayoral candidate, Tabitha Gott, the current District 1 council member, will be the next mayor. The term is two years.
Mayor Robert C. Johnson decided not to run for reelection after six years in office.
The Smyrna Town Hall is on Market Street Plaza between Commerce and South streets.
Coates was declared ineligible because of the residency rule that requires candidates to live in the town limits of Smyrna for at least one year before the election.
A special council meeting was held April 8 to decide. Johnson and Gott both recused themselves from voting. The majority of the rest of the council voted to remove Coates from the ballot.
Candidates for 2 council seats
For the at-large council race, open to all voters, incumbent Michael Rasmussen is being challenged by Deborah Camaratta, Ayonne Miles and Ken Olson.
In District 1, Nelson Drew Jr. is running unopposed. Gott, the current District 1 council member, decided to run for mayor.
Council terms are three years.
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Outgoing Smyrna mayor reflects on tenure
Mayor Johnson said he chose not to run for a fourth term because “I felt it was time. I found myself becoming a little more vocal. I speak my mind and some people like it and some people don’t.”
Johnson said the town has weathered highs and lows in the past six years.
The highs include the Duck Creek Business Campus on Route 13 near Paddock Road, new water tower, new businesses like Starbucks, Burger King, Popeyes, Planet Fitness and Firestone, and updates to policies and procedures to “put the town in a stronger financial position.” Those include setting up reserve funds for utilities and increasing the town’s contribution to employee pensions which were underfunded, he said.
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The lows included managing the uncertainty during the pandemic “which I think we handled pretty well,” Johnson said, and financial woes which led to the doubling of property taxes to fill the gap.
He said he appreciated the town employees who said he improved the work atmosphere during his tenure.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Smyrna Town Council election set for April 29 after controversy