The Aug. 28 debate between five candidates for two seats on Kent County’s Levy Court focused primarily on growth in the county and how to pay for essential services in a time of budget constraints.

    The candidates – incumbent Allan F. Angel, D-Third District, and challengers Democrat Sean Lynn and Republican David L. Anderson, and Fifth District incumbent Republican W.G. Edmanson II and Democratic challenger George W. “Jody” Sweeney – met at Dover High School in a question and answer session sponsored by the Kent County Association of Realtors.

    Angel and Lynn provided some fireworks to an otherwise sedate discussion, with Lynn repeating accusations that Angel had been going to too many conferences at county expense and Angel accusing Lynn of being in the pockets of real estate developers.
 
   They will face each other in a Sept. 9 primary, with the winner taking on Anderson in the Nov. 4 general election.

    The other candidates generally stuck to the issues in answering questions submitted by a three-person panel and audience members, although it was notable Edmanson backed his embattled fellow commissioner on several occasions.

TDR, taxes and revenue

    Overall, the candidates agreed with Levy Court’s passage of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which requires developers to pay for infrastructure upgrades when proposing new developments. Anderson and Lynn, however, said they did not agree with Levy Court’s attempts to apply the legislation retroactively, with Lynn favoring instead a building permit surcharge that would raise money from already approved projects. Sweeney added he would be in favor of exemptions to the APFO when requested by area residents.

    The five candidates also generally agreed with the concepts behind the Transfer of Development Rights program, which allows farmers to sell the rights to develop their farmland in exchange for developers targeting projects into the county’s designated growth zones. These areas, where roads, sewer, schools, fire and law enforcement activities are already in place, generally follow the Route 13/Route 113 corridors.
 
   Anderson felt the program doesn’t work as is, citing the need to simplify the regulations, and agreeing with Sweeney about creating a TDR “bank” to make it more equitable.
 
   Edmanson supported the TDR program and said getting it working properly is a priority with Levy Court.
 
   “This is critical to get this going and to benefit all the citizens of the county and especially farmers outside the growth zone,” he said.
 
   On the subject of police protection, the candidates agreed in principle it would be too expensive to establish a county police force similar to that in New Castle County.
 

   The budget came under scrutiny when the candidates were asked if the county relied too heavily on realty transfer taxes, which provides more than 85% of the funding for paramedic and rescue services.

    “Boy, I hope not,” Edmanson said, adding he was the only commissioner to vote against this year’s budget. With the economy suffering, there needs to be a better way of developing revenue, he said.

    Anderson concurred, arguing that Levy Court commissioners had not cut the county budget enough nor had they laid aside enough to help pay for infrastructure improvements.

    Angel countered by saying Kent County needs to foster economic development as a way of increasing revenue. The only other alternatives would be to raise taxes or cut services, which he said would be bad for those living in the county.

    The county already is too reliant on the transfer tax, said Lynn, and commissioners need to practice better fiscal responsibility. Another source of income could come from raising fees, which would require approval from the General Assembly, he said.
Accusations fly

    The debate gave both Angel and Lynn a stage to continue pointing fingers at each other.

    Angel got off the first round in his opening remarks by disputing claims by KCAR President-elect Todd Stonesifer, who also moderated the debate, that the session was non-partisan. Lynn, he noted, often represents developers in court, and has worked for former Levy Court Commissioner Ron Smith, a partner in the Hudson, Jones, Jaywork and Fisher law firm.
 
   In his opening remarks, Lynn accused Angel of misrepresentation, adding, “I am not the developer’s lawyer.” He later accused Angel of spending more than $17,000 in county money during the past four years to attend conferences in Hawaii and other “exotic” locales.

    Angel retorted he has been able to bring back new ideas from such conferences, including a county-backed drug prescription program he said has saved Kent residents more than $187,000. Angel also noted Smith spent more than $25,000 on similar trips, which later prompted Lynn to say Angel was attacking with innuendo.


    “What difference does it make who you work with?” he said, referring to Smith.

    “It’s ridiculous to even assume that,” Lynn added.

    The county has had to fight 38 lawsuits over the past few years, all based on the current Levy Court’s running “roughshod” over the Constitution, Lynn said, a claim Angel later disputed, saying developers had filed the suits in part to get out of having to pay for infrastructure improvements under the APFO.

    Kent residents’ desire to control growth led to the APFO, so in reality Levy Court is not the one being sued, it is county residents, Angel said.

Arguments continue afterward

    The conclusion of the 90-minute debate, however, did not end the animosity between the two camps. Angel supporter Lois Myers, who had interrupted Lynn’s comments during the debate, accused the candidate of using lies and half-truths to boost his own chances in the primary.
 
   “I’m very disappointed in the man,” she said.

    “He needs to quit running on his father’s coattails,” Myers added, referring to Lynn’s father, the late Patrick H. Lynn Sr., who held the Third District seat for two years as a Republican.

    Pat Lynn Jr. said afterward he was not surprised by the attacks on his brother.

    “Politics is not a friendly environment,” he said, adding it is necessary to get firm facts on the issues and the candidates.

    “My brother has no political experience, so he’s trying to establish who he is,” Lynn said, adding that a number of comments made about his brother were misrepresented.

    “Dad would be proud of my brother for what he’s doing,” he said.

Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com