Why Should Delaware Care?
Resident engagement in local politics in Georgetown has been remarkably high in recent months, as residents have grappled with the impacts of a growing homeless population. Two frontrunner candidates to replace retiring mayor Bill West in the town’s upcoming municipal elections have the potential to turn that engagement into action, potentially reshaping how the Sussex County seat responds to homelessness and affordable housing proposals.
In the wake of longtime mayor Bill West’s impending retirement, a three-way race for Georgetown’s next leader has quickly heated up between a former town council member and two candidates new to town politics.
As the Sussex County seat has grown increasingly divided in recent months over the widespread impacts of homelessness, the upcoming May 9 election will be the first real litmus test of how Georgetown residents want their leaders to handle key issues.
The election could be a chance for a candidate supported by a passionate Facebook group of residents opposed to the current town government to take the helm. Conversely, it could be the first time a member of Georgetown’s Latino community – which comprises roughly half the town’s population – takes the mayor’s seat.
Angie Clauser Townsend, who served on town council for multiple stints since the early 2000s, narrowly lost the race for mayor to West in 2024. Townsend is seeking the mayorship for the second time, with the endorsement of the vocal 5,600-member Facebook group Make Georgetown Great Again behind her.
The group has gained considerable traction online and at town council meetings since last fall, fighting against proposed new projects in town and seeking to unseat members of the town government with whom they are not satisfied, like West, with the tagline, “May is on the way.”
Itzel Hernandez is a 37-year-old Latina artist, who is seeking elected office for the first time. Since Hernandez announced her candidacy in mid-April, Latino community leaders have been rallying to get more community members registered to vote ahead of the May 6 registration deadline.
Christina Diaz-Malone, the current vice mayor and the only Latino person to serve on the town government to date, told Spotlight Delaware she is endorsing Hernandez’s campaign.
The third mayoral candidate is Geoffrey Walker, a longtime town resident who works as a prison correctional officer. Walker has not garnered prominent endorsements in town like the other two candidates, but told Spotlight Delaware he is aiming to run a low-key campaign, and get his message out “by word of mouth.”
Two of the four additional seats on town council also are up for election on May 9. Michael Briggs is running against incumbent Eric Evans for the 3rd ward position, and Penuel Barrett, who has been in office since 2020, is running unopposed for reelection to the 4th ward seat.
The five-member council is divided into four geographic districts, or wards. The mayor, who represents the entire town, is the council’s fifth voting member. Candidates running for a council seat must live in the ward they are seeking to represent, but citizens vote at-large for all council positions, regardless of where they live, Georgetown town manager Gene Dvornick said.
Members of the Make Georgetown Great Again group have billed Townsend, Briggs and Barrett together as the group of candidates they support to bring change to the town government.
Barrett and Briggs said they support one another’s candidacies, but are running as independent entities, separate from the MGGA message. Townsend did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s requests for comment.
The mayoral contest
The race for mayor has intensified in recent weeks, with social media blasts questioning candidates’ qualifications for office and yard signs aplenty around town in support of Townsend or Hernandez.
Hernandez was born and raised in Georgetown, but she has been living in other parts of the United States and other countries for some years until recently returning home. Her journey, she said, provides her with a unique approach to addressing problems in Georgetown.
Hernandez told Spotlight Delaware she would use her artistic background to bring “out of the box” solutions to the town, while encouraging residents to feel more of a connection to their town through initiatives like trash clean-up programs, painting murals in public spaces and adding better lighting around town.
She said her campaign ethos is inspired by the Spanish word “convivir,” which translates to “coexist,” or “live together,” for how she wants the town’s Latino community and non-Hispanic population to unify for a better Georgetown.
“We’ve got to make [the town] attractive, more appealing, more friendly,” Hernandez said. “Make the town feel like it belongs.”
Since launching her campaign, Hernandez has faced criticism that she is not well-versed in the issues facing Georgetown and does not have experience with the town government.
Hernandez acknowledged her lack of experiences but said she is ready to “learn and listen.”
Townsend did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s multiple requests to discuss her candidacy.
In a graphic posted to her Facebook account, Townsend wrote that her campaign priorities are to strengthen government relationships with local businesses and residents, engage in conversations with nonprofit organizations about the best ways to serve the town’s homeless population, and “ensure that future economic development and land use decisions are consistent with recommendations from the Planning Commission.”
Her third recommendation seems to reference the Little Living development, which generated controversy when the town council voted to approve the tiny homes project in early February, after the planning commission recommended to deny the proposal in late 2025.
In an interview with Kevin Andrade, host of the prominent Delmarva Spanish-speaking radio station Maxima 95.3 FM, Townsend said homelessness is “the most fearful” issue in town. She said she does not want The Shepherd’s Office – a day center that provides daily meals and church services in town – to continue operating, because it attracts homeless people from other towns.
“I don’t want to enable the homeless,” she said. “I would love to see the town of Georgetown take a stand that it’s illegal to live in a tent in the woods.”
Townsend, along with Barrett and former town council member Sue Barlow were also the subject of controversy in 2022. The three, all serving on town council at the time, voted to continue funding the Georgetown Historical Society, which hosts a monument dedicated to the those who served the Confederacy in the Civil War and was flying a Confederate flag at its museum.
In the La Maxima interview, Townsend said her stance in support of the museum has not changed.
“To me, [the Confederate flag] represents individuals – young men, old men – that gave their lives to fight for a cause they believed in,” Townsend said. “Whatever somebody makes of the flag is their opinion.”
Walker, 55, said he has been wanting to run for mayor for a while, and decided to throw his name in the ring when he heard about West’s retirement.
He told Spotlight Delaware he was inspired to run because he “loves this town,” and he wants to make it a more desirable place for people to move.
“I want this town to look beautiful,” Walker said. “I want this town to be the next thing on the Delaware Today magazine: the best town to live and raise your kids.”
West, who will be wrapping up 12 years in office in May, announced his retirement in late March. He told Spotlight Delaware he does not want to weigh in and endorse a candidate for his replacement, but he hopes residents “look at the big picture” when voting.
A contested council race
The candidates running for town council seats described similar campaign priorities – homelessness and public safety – to those of the mayoral candidates.
Briggs, running to unseat Evans for the 3rd ward seat, runs a propane company and has been a part of the town volunteer fire department for nearly three decades. He also has served on the Georgetown planning commission for the past two years.
Briggs said he decided to run for town council after becoming frustrated by what he described as the “back and forth” between the planning commission and council. The council disregards resident concerns by approving projects like the tiny homes, he said.
“I feel like the [planning] commission listens to the community, and the mayor and council do not,” he said. “But that’s small town politics.”
While members of the Make Georgetown Great Again Facebook group have been posting a grouping of Briggs, Townsend and Barrett’s campaigns as the three candidates who can provide positive change to the town, Briggs said he is running as his “own person.”
Evans, the incumbent, said he would prioritize building a mix of high- and low-density housing in town, if reelected.
An electoral turning point?
Despite competing views over the best future for town government, residents on both sides of the debate say they hope the contest will spur increased engagement in local politics.
Voter turnout was 19%, or 725 out of 3,773 registered voters, in the most recent town election that included a mayoral contest in 2024, Dvornick, the town manager, told Spotlight Delaware.
The 2022 mayoral election produced slightly lower numbers, with 15.9% voter turnout. The average turnout in local government elections in the U.S. is under 20%, according to data from the University of Chicago Center for Effective Government.
Tyler Scott, who started the MGGA Facebook group last fall, said his goal is to see at least 25% to 30% voter turnout for the election.
“So much attention has been put on this race,” Scott told Spotlight Delaware. “So many people are fired up about it and just want to see change.”
Diaz-Malone, whose council term runs through May 2027, said engagement in local government among the Latino community has been low for many years. She also said it is time for the younger generation to “step up” and become more involved.
“We need to do whatever we can to inject new blood in Georgetown,” Diaz-Malone said. “Otherwise our history will fade.”
Get Involved
Georgetown’s municipal elections will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at Town Hall, located at 37 The Circle. In order to vote in the election, residents must register with the Sussex County Department of Elections by Wednesday, May 6.
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/.
