Why Should Delaware Care?
Municipal elections often have significantly lower voter turnout rates than state and federal elections. As three candidates seek two council seats in the upcoming Seaford city election, however, the winners will have the direct authority to shape the future of the city’s business redevelopment and other projects.
Three candidates will seek two open seats in next Saturday’s Seaford city council election, while Mayor Matt MacCoy is running unopposed in his bid for a second term as the city’s leader.
Incumbents Dan Henderson, the current vice mayor, and Councilman Michael Bradley have been serving on the city’s government for 12 years and three years, respectively.
The two candidates told Spotlight Delaware they have watched the city make significant strides in the areas of crime reduction, attracting economic development and improving electric rates in recent years. They would like to continue building on those priorities with another term in office, they said.
The challenger, Roberto Santos, is fresh out of college and seeking his first term on city council. Santos’ older brother, Jose Santos, previously served as the youngest member of the city council, and ran for mayor against MacCoy in 2024.
Santos declined to speak with Spotlight Delaware by phone, but he wrote in a message that he is running to make a “meaningful difference” in the community he grew up in. That difference would include strengthening public safety in the city and being accessible to residents as a council member, he said.
All of the five city council seats in Seaford are at-large, meaning whoever wins the April 18 election will represent the entire city rather than one neighborhood or district. Council members serve staggered three-year terms, and the mayor is elected in two-year terms.
Historically, Seaford has struggled to attract more residents and economic growth to the city since the closure of the DuPont nylon factory in 2004. City leaders, however, say Seaford is now turning the corner.
The population is growing substantially, and the city is seeing progress on new developments like reopening the Nylon Capital Center, which will include a new co-work space, an expansion of Delaware Technical Community College, and an additional TidalHealth health care center.
The candidates have the potential to significantly steer the course of the city’s current development projects, and future efforts it undertakes.
There are 5,403 residents located within city limits who are eligible to vote in the April 18 election, city clerk Beth Stewart told Spotlight Delaware. Resident and non-resident property owners are able to vote if they registered with the state Department of Elections by March 27.
A closer look at the candidates
Incumbent candidates Henderson and Bradley each described themselves as longtime Seaford residents who understand what the community wants in terms of efficient spending, public safety and economic development.
Santos, the challenger, said he was busy “community door knocking and setting up yard signs,” so he was unable to speak with Spotlight Delaware about his campaign platforms.
In a message, however, Santos wrote that his door-knocking efforts have given him a good understanding of the issues that are important to Seaford residents. These issues, he said, include supporting “local volunteers and first responders” and ensuring residents are “treated fairly by making sure their voices are heard.”
Henderson, who works as a technical consultant for heating and air conditioning manufacturers, has served as vice mayor since 2018. He said he has spent his time in city government working as the liaison to the city’s police department, aiming to concurrently improve safety and attract more business downtown.
“If you don’t have a community where businesses feel safe, it’s hard to have economic development,” he told Spotlight Delaware.
Bradley, who has run a furniture store in Delmar for 36 years, is seeking a second term on city council.
Bradley said his priorities include improving existing infrastructure, so that the city can support more manufacturing industry once again, He also serves as the city council’s liaison to the electric department, advocating for better electricity rates.
Santos could unseat either Henderson or Bradley, depending on which two candidates receive the highest number of votes.
Bradley said he does not mind having a challenger in the form of Santos, as it gives the voters a chance to actually exercise their right to vote.
“This is not about our egos,” Bradley said. “Nobody on the council, including the mayor, is self-serving. We are all residents of the city.”
While voter turnout often sits below 20% in municipal elections nationally, participation in Seaford city elections has been particularly low in recent years.
In last year’s election, just 230 residents – 4% of the total eligible voting population – participated. The 2024 election, which included the mayor’s seat up for election in addition to two council seats, produced a roughly 11% voter turnout rate.
MacCoy, the mayor, who is running unopposed for another term, said he does not know Santos personally but has the “utmost respect” for his brother, Jose, with whom he has faced off in previous city council and mayoral elections.
MacCoy added, though, that he believes the current government, including Henderson and Bradley, has made a strong team on which he would like to continue working over the next couple of years.
“There’s so many things that we’re in the middle of that I want to see come to fruition in the next two years,” he said.
Get Involved
The Seaford municipal election will be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, inside Council Chambers at Seaford City Hall, located at 414 High St.
Maggie Reynolds is a Report for America corps member and Spotlight Delaware reporter who covers rural communities in Delaware. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://spotlightdelaware.org/support/.
