SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- The race for the District 3 Sussex County Council seat continues as a write-in candidate begins her campaign.
Patricia Drago is taking on Mark Schaeffer. She says her decision comes after Schaeffer won a tight race against incumbent I.G. Burton in the Republican primary. Schaeffer beat Burton by 44 votes and with no Democratic primary candidate, would have taken the seat.
Drago, who is politically unaffiliated, says she recognizes that there's not a lot of time before the election, but that she's filing to give voters who weren't eligible to vote in the Republican primary a voice.
Drago started a change.org petition urging Burton to file as a write in candidate. Burton said he appreciated the support, but that it was time to move on.
Drago was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. She graduated from Stony Brook University and went to work into the commercial property casualty insurance business. She also holds a law degree, but never practiced. She settled in the Lewes area with her husband, Rich Weissmann, about six years ago. She thinks her business skills and involvement in community organizations make her a good candidate to tackle Sussex County's issues.
According to Drago, all she had to do to file as a write-in candidate was to fill out a simple, one-page form, have her residency verified by the elections commissioner and create a campaign committee.
"We hope to be ready this weekend with the website and with much more information about who I am, the issues I am concerned about and my thoughts on those issues," Drago says. "If people would give me just a few more days before signing off on that mail-in ballot, I think they'll realize they have a pretty good choice in front of them."
WRDE reached out to Mark Schaeffer to see what his thoughts were on Drago filing.
"I'm sure she's a fine lady," Schaeffer says.
Schaeffer plans to keep campaigning through election day.
"We planned on continuing our door knocking campaign and we're doing that," Schaeffer says. "We plan to knock on doors for another six weeks and we'll continue that over the next four years to go meet people in their communities."
Drago's name will not appear on the ballot. She says voters will have to write her in on their mail-in ballot or press the write-in candidate button on voting machines to type her name in.