Jane Gruenebaum enters Democratic primary race for Sussex County Council District 3

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – The co-founder of the Sussex Preservation Coalition officially filed Monday to run in the Democratic primary for Sussex County Council’s 3rd District.

Jane Gruenebaum is looking to represent the district with a focus on what she describes as balanced growth. The Rehoboth Beach resident co-founded the Sussex Preservation Coalition (SPC), an advocacy group that fights to control over-development and protect the environment.

Gruenebaum tells WMDT News, if elected, she would fight to protect the environment and take a balanced approach when it comes to approving development, something she says is rampant in Sussex County.

“We need to maintain the natural environment that keeps us healthy, that includes forests and wetlands, and we need to keep a healthy economy that works for everyone, and that includes housing for the people who work here,” Gruenebaum said. “People who work here should be able to afford to live here, and right now they cannot.”

It’s that same mentality that led Gruenebaum to help found the SPC along with other residents who worked, unsuccessfully, to modify the 175-acre, 300-home development called Coral Lakes that was approved along Robinsonville Road in 2023.

Coral Lakes, which clear cut an entire forest, is one of many large projects approved by the Sussex County Council in recent years that SPC members say disregarded the impact to the environment and infrastructure. Even larger projects are pending before the county right now.

Gruenebaum officially filing to run Monday for the position.

Gruenebaum did stress that she’s not anti-development, but wants to bring a balanced, common sense approach when it comes to approving those kind of proposals.

“I’m somebody that knows how to bring people together to make something happen,” Gruenebaum said referencing her history with SPC. “We started in my home with about roughly 12 people around the table. We now have a membership of over 4,000 people, and that’s in two and a half years.”

Moving forward, if elected, Gruenebaum pledges to provide a positive voice to the council when it comes to the important issues facing Sussex County.

“I want to make this clear: I am not anti-development. I am for a balanced, common-sense approach. In fact, we need more affordable homes built in Sussex County,” Gruenebaum explained. “We cannot keep voting for the same people and expect a different outcome. We are on an unsustainable path, and it is time for a change.”

Gruenebaum is running in the Democratic primary against Dana Paskins with incumbent Councilman Mark Schaeffer running unopposed on the Republican side.

Delaware’s 2024 Primary Election is Tuesday, September 10, 2024.