Why Should Delaware Care?
Georgetown Mayor Bill West has been the subject of substantial criticism in recent months from a group of residents who have questioned his approach to housing and homelessness policy. His impending retirement will open the top seat in Sussex County’s seat, just as it seeks to address those concerns.
Longtime Georgetown Mayor Bill West, who has been the target of criticism amid a heated town debate over homelessness services, announced Monday night that he will retire at the end of his current term in May.
West’s announcement comes after several tumultuous months for elected officials in the Sussex County seat, which have devolved into shouting matches at town council meetings and frequent social media attacks.
Since last fall, West and other members of the town council have often found themselves at odds with a growing group of vocal residents who have criticized the town’s approach to homelessness. That group has repeatedly said it would seek candidates to run against West and other council members up for re-election later this spring.
Much of the tension in town has centered on the effectiveness of two homelessness service providers — the Shepherd’s Office and Springboard Delaware’s Pallet Village — and the town government’s consideration of a proposal by the nonprofit Little Living to build cottage homes in town.
West’s support for the homelessness service providers and the Little Living tiny homes drew a strong reaction from residents in opposition to those initiatives.
West, however, who has been mayor since 2014, said his decision to not seek re-election is not related to the pressure he has faced. Rather, he said it is time for him to lean into retirement and focus on his health and spending time with his family.
“You get to the point where your kids want to see more of you, your grandkids want to see more of you,” West told Spotlight Delaware before he made his official announcement at the March 23 town council meeting. “And somebody will continue that job after I’m gone.”
Next leader to be determined
Town council members and residents supportive of West’s tenure as mayor say he worked tirelessly to bring more development to Georgetown.
“It’s going to be hard shoes to fill, as far as the amount of time that Bill has put in and the things that he’s accomplished in town,” resident Dennis Winzenreid said. “He’s a tough act to follow.”
West’s opponents, however, say they are relieved to see their pressure campaign pay off, and that there will be a new town leader for the first time in 12 years.
Members of the ballooning Facebook group in opposition to West’s government, Make Georgetown Great Again, which has grown to more than 5,000 members since early October, have coined the phrase “May is on the way” to rally support for new candidates in the upcoming May election.
Only one candidate, Geoffrey Walker, had filed for the mayoral election as of March 24, Town Manager Gene Dvornick told Spotlight Delaware. No candidates had filed for the two open council seats, currently held by Penuel Barrett and Eric Evans. But Dvornick said that is unsurprising, as candidates often wait until “five minutes before the filing deadline” to declare their candidacy.
The deadline to file for the May 9 town election is 5 p.m. Friday, April 17.
Tyler Scott, who created the Make Georgetown Great Again Facebook group and has been a prominent West critic, declined to say who, if anyone, his group plans to put up for election.
Scott said he is not worried about finding candidates, though, because his group still has “some time to see what’s going to happen” before the April filing deadline. Scott said he hopes to keep Barrett in office, but would like to find candidates for both West’s and Evans’ seats.
A number of members of the Make Georgetown Great Again Facebook group responded to West’s announcement with posts on the page Monday night, some praising West for his service to the town, and others expressing relief at his decision to step away.
West told Spotlight Delaware that he has asked five people in town whether they would be interested in running to take his place, but each person declined.
“Nobody wants any part of it,” West said.
In the 2024 mayoral election, West defeated Angie Townsend, who was a town council member at the time, by a narrow margin of 34 votes.
Councilwoman Christina Diaz-Malone, who is currently serving as West’s vice mayor, praised the “one-on-one care for the people in town” that West has provided during his tenure.
But Diaz-Malone said she has no interest in running for mayor herself. She plans to step away from her position on the town council when her term is up in May 2027, she added.
Evans said he has still not decided whether he will run again, and it depends on whether any other candidates toss their hat in the ring.
“If nobody runs, then yeah, I’ve got to step up to continue on,” Evans said. “Somebody’s got to do it.”
Council members Penuel Barrett, who is up for re-election this spring, and Tony Neal, whose term runs through May 2027, did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment.
West’s tenure
Reflecting on his time as the leader of Georgetown’s government, West said he is proud of the work he has done to encourage cohesion between the diverse communities in town, and bring more commercial and residential development within town limits. He brushed off the criticism he has faced in recent months as something he has experienced at various points during his time in office.
“Every town is going through the same thing right now,” West said. “I’ve not let it worry me because I stay focused on things that I need to do to improve this town of Georgetown.”
West took office as mayor in May 2014, following a two-year term as a member of the town council. Before serving in municipal government, West worked for 25 years as a state trooper.
He highlighted some of the organizations that have come to town during his tenure, such as PAM Health Rehabilitation Hospital, the new Sussex County Family Court House building and some restaurants near the Delaware Technical Community College Owens campus, which he said have incentivized people to stay in town, instead of moving elsewhere.
Diaz-Malone, West’s vice mayor, said she has seen how the relationships West has cultivated with state lawmakers and Delaware’s federal delegation have been key to bringing more funding and opportunities to the town.
“He knows a lot of people,” she said. “Bill likes to experiment with solutions.”
West has also served as the president of the Sussex County Association of Towns for the past six years and the vice president of the Delaware League of Local Governments since 2022.
After his term as mayor ends, West wants to continue to be involved with a couple projects that began when he was in office, including the building of a new ChristianaCare campus in Georgetown and helping to advise the town police department.
While the mayorship is considered to be a part-time position, West said he would encourage the next mayor to approach it as a full-time endeavor, as he has, to really be successful in bringing change to the community.
“You can’t just sit in the town hall,” West added. “You have got to be out. You have got to be talking to people.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Geoffrey Walker’s name. A previous version incorrectly referred to the Georgetown mayoral candidate as Jeffrey Walker.
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/.