The 2025 Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce Hosts Mayors of Delmarva Forum

On Thursday, October 16, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the “Mayors of Delmarva” Forum and luncheon at the Ocean Downs Casino Event Center in Berlin, Maryland.

Earlier today, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the “Mayors of Delmarva” Forum and luncheon at the Ocean Downs Casino Event Center in Berlin, Maryland.

The forum was presented by Chesapeake Employers Insurance, headquartered in Towson, Maryland, and moderated by David Livingston, Financial Advisor at Livingston Wealth Management.

An audience of one hundred regional business and organizational leaders from across Delmarva heard from mayors representing cities and towns in Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland.

Panelists included Mayors Denise Bowden, Chincoteague, VA; Lajan Cephas, Cambridge, MD; Robin Christiansen, Dover, DE; Richard Meehan, Ocean City, MD; Khalil Saliba, Lewes, DE; Darlene Taylor, Crisfield, MD; and Randy Taylor, Salisbury, MD.

The mayors addressed a variety of timely topics, including the impacts in their jurisdictions from Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, how each attracts and retains talent, infrastructure needs and issues, state-by-state differences in policy and politics, and explored issues many coastal towns face with ever-increasing flooding.

Chincoteague, Virginia, Mayor Denise Bowden, commenting on ICE in her town, shared, “The federal government needs to improve the immigration process. As a nation, the government has not made it easy for individuals to become US citizens.”

Cambridge, Maryland, Mayor Lajan Cephus agreed and added, “We have a role to provide opportunity for all citizens, we want our residents to feel safe and seen. The role of local government is not to uphold someone’s political views.”

On policy differences between the three states, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan commented, “Maryland’s energy policies, supporting 900-foot wind turbines just 10 miles off the coast, have been an issue since I took office eight years ago. The adverse impacts on commercial and recreational fishing, as well as potential declines in property values, are deeply concerning. We continue to buckle up and fight this battle.”

Lewes, Delaware Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba spoke to what he sees as different, “Lewes has a robust historic district, and with that comes expensive maintenance. Additionally, Lewes cannot rely on the State or Federal governments when it comes to dealing with beach erosion and replenishment efforts.”

Chincoteague Mayor Bowden echoed that sentiment, “Since 2016, we have received no help from the state or feds on beach replenishment issues.”

The Mayors shared a variety of infrastructure priorities. Forum Moderator David Livingston asked each to provide their number one priority. Salisbury, Maryland, Mayor Randy Taylor stated that when he took office, over fifty projects were in the pipeline, with insufficient funding even to come close to addressing each.

Mayor Taylor went on, “What is pressing is water and sewer line replacements and addressing the PFAS issues.”

Crisfield, Maryland, Mayor Darlene Taylor addressed the constant flooding in her town, stating, “We have been working several years on this serious economic issue. Flooding impacts Crisfield’s economic growth. We continue to work with state and federal partners to secure funding to address this issue.”

Lewes Deputy Mayor Saliba added, “We face erosion, flooding, and the federal help we have received in the past has been zeroed out for our city. Lewes has created a resiliency fund, knowing storms will impact the town, we created this fund to bounce back quicker from the weather events.”

Ocean City Mayor Meehan spoke to their beach replenishment fund established fifty years ago, “The fund has spent about 190 million dollars, but saved the town $200 billion in lost assets and revenues.”

Dover, Delaware, Mayor Robin Christiansen laughingly added, “Thank goodness Dover doesn’t have a beach! Replacing aging infrastructure in Dover is of paramount importance to City revitalization, business growth, and adding more housing. We try to replace five miles of water and sewer lines each year.”

The SACC wishes to thank each of the mayors for their participation in this critically important dialogue for Delmarva!

For information on SACC events, visit www.salisburyarea.com.