Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Beach to elect two new commissioners Aug. 10
Sharp, Bennett not seeking re-election
Rehoboth Beach will elect two new commissioners on Aug. 10.
The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners will have two new members to replace Toni Sharp and Tim Bennett. Four candidates are running to replace Sharp and Bennett, as neither filed for reelection.
Suzanne Goode, Rachel Macha, Craig Thier, and Mark Saunders are running for the two open seats.
Mark Saunders is the only candidate who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community. Saunders was formerly a Realtor, has owned property in Rehoboth with his husband since 2005, and has been a full-time resident since 2013 according to his open letter to The Cape Gazette.
Saunders has some experience in local leadership, acting as president-elect during COVID-19 for the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners’ Association, and later becoming president for the next two years. He also has experience serving on the Rehoboth Board of Adjustment.
Saunders’s goals include establishing a “reasonable and sustainable balanced budget” for Rehoboth’s business owners and residents and advocating for more full- and part-time residents in the city.
The other candidates for the seats have a range of experience in the Rehoboth area. Susanne Goode has made a career in economic analysis for private firms and government agencies, including for the Executive Office of the U.S. President. Goode also has done local volunteer work with the Parent Teacher Association.
Goode said her goals for Rehoboth Beach include preserving the beaches, controlling government spending, and raising revenue.
Rachel Macha is also running for the board of commissioners. Macha brings extensive experience working with the Rehoboth local government. She has served on numerous boards, including on the Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission from 2019 to 2022, Rehoboth Beach Plant, Shade and Tree Commission from 2018 to 2020, as well as the Rehoboth Beach Main Street board of directors. In addition to her local government experience, Macha has 30 years of senior management experience for both public and private companies.
Macha highlighted in her open letter that she wishes to “leverage her business background” to make the commission and its decisions “run efficiently and effectively.” She explained she would do this by using “Common Sense Decision-Making,” to improve Rehoboth’s policies and processes as well as minimize unnecessary city spending.
Craig Thier is the last of the four running for the two open seats. Thier is a full-time resident of Rehoboth and has owned property in the area for the past 22 years. His local experience includes being a founding partner of Blue Line Planning, an institution that focuses on financial growth and planning, experience on a New Jersey school board, and serving on the Rehoboth Boardwalk and Beach Committee since 2021.
Thier has said his goals for Rehoboth include overhauling the annual budget by using two-year projected financial forecasts for devising future city plans, as well as more consistent checks on the city’s comprehensive development plan as actions go into motion.
Election day is Saturday, Aug. 10 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Rehoboth Convention Center located at 229 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, Del. A city spokesperson announced there are 1,664 registered voters in town. The two winners will join the commission in September and serve three-year terms.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
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