On Monday, April 27th, at 5:00, the “Shine a Light” series will host a candidates’ forum for the
Lewes City Council. Bill Shull of the Cape Gazette and Madeleine Overturf of Coast TV news
will pose questions to the candidates, followed by audience questions. Ronald Collins, a retired
law professor specializing in constitutional and First Amendment law, will introduce and
moderate the program.

Councilmembers Joe Elder and Tim Ritzert, along with Lewes Planning Commission Vice
Chairman Kevin Keane, are vying for the two council seats.
“In 1913”, said Collins, “Louis Brandeis (who would later become a Supreme Court Justice)
wrote: ‘Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.’ He believed that transparency and public
scrutiny (sunlight) are the most effective ways to secure an open and informed government by
the people. Moreover,” Collins added, “the values of the First Amendment are buttressed when
citizens assemble, and the press and the public engage in robust but civil dialogue.”
The “Shine a Light” series launched in 2025. It is a civic transparency initiative featuring Q&A
sessions with local officials at the Lewes Public Library. The series was created to foster open
government and includes press interviews with government officials and public figures on city,
county, and state issues.

Although the event is held at the Lewes Public Library, the program is not sponsored by the
Library. Previous events featured interviews with Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco and Matthew
Ritter, director of the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation. The next “Shine a Light” event
will be with Lewes Police Chief Thomas Spell (date to be determined).