DEWEY BEACH, DE -- This week in a town council workshop, Dewey Beach commissioners will discuss the possibility of expanding voting rights to include LLCs, LLPs, and corporations.
Currently, only people who own property in Dewey Beach or own property under a trust are allowed to participate in local elections. People who only own property in town under an LLC, LLP, and/or corporation are barred from voting.
Town councilman Paul Bauer is focused on the many people who rent out properties under an LLC. He says those that aren't Dewey Beach residents are left disenfranchised under the current rules.
"I think everybody has an equal investment," says Bauer. "Whether I bought it and rent it out or I've bought it and lived in it, I'm in favor of having more people vote than less people vote."
"In my opinion, if you own property, you should have a vote," Bauer continues. "If two people own it, you should have two votes. I'm against having a thousand people vote on one property, so we'll probably come up with something that's reasonable and fair for everybody, and we'll see what the public weighs in on it."
Non-resident owners of retail shops, restaurants, and other businesses would also be included. East of Maui Surf Shop's Haley Schnupp says it's important to give them an opportunity to have their voices heard.
"Making them a part of that say is really vital to make sure that businesses want to stay in Dewey Beach, that they want to keep growing their business and supporting the local people," says Schnupp.
But longtime homeowners like John Kotsiras see it differently. He worries that expanding the voting pool could impact his voice.
"We don't have much say into what's going on in the community anymore," says Kotsiras. "It's all about the businesses and bringing people down here and making money and we're just kind of getting squeezed out."
The topic will be discussed on June 21st. It could then be considered for a future vote or referendum.
