Jerry Clifton wins Newark's mayoral election, will finish Markham's term
Jerry Clifton has once again been elected to serve as Newark's Mayor during Tuesday night's special election.
Clifton is a familiar face in Newark's local government. He previously served on the city council between 1997 and 2014 and again between 2017 and 2019. He served as Deputy Mayor for nine of those years. Clifton was previously elected as Newark's mayor in 2019.
"I'm looking forward to working in city government again," Clifton said. "And I look forward to tackling some of the bigger issues."
After former Mayor Stu Markham's resignation in September, Newark scheduled a special election to elect a candidate to finish out Markham's term, which will end in April 2025.
City officials never disclosed the exact reason for Markham's departure other than to call it a "personnel issue." In an interview with the Newark Post, he described the reason for his stepping down as an "inadvertent, unintentional" comment he made to a city employee.
Tuesday's election occurred as a major storm hit Delaware with up to four inches of rain in some areas. A power outage at the Newark Free Library led to District 2 voters being relocated for the last few hours of open polls.
"I have to commend everybody that made it up," Clifton said. "It was a horrible time of year to hold an election coming off the heels of three major celebrations in December and the storms. Those voters really overcame a big obstacle yesterday."
The city posted on its website that Clifton won but did not include results or respond to requests Wednesday morning for the numbers.
Clifton received around 45% of the vote (858 votes), narrowly beating out University of Delaware professor Mike O'Neal, who received 41% (790). Wonderland Records owner Demitri Theodoropoulos received 14% (262) and resident James Carley received less than 1% (17).
The election also comes at an uncertain time in Newark's economic viability. November's recent budget approval for 2024 instated a 7.5% tax hike and around a 4% increase in utility fees.
Development activity has not brought in as much revenue for the city as required. The city is also facing a $6.2 million deficit with hiring and employee retention issues continuing to mount.
Inflation and wage pressures have made it harder for the city to increase its utility services without increasing tax revenue. All four of the city's unions, including the Police Department, will also be up for contract renegotiation this year.
"Council did what they had to do," Clifton said. "I want to see if we can figure out some productive ways to try and eliminate any tax increase this year."
Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Jerry Clifton wins Newark mayoral election, will finish Markham's term
