Mark G. Schaeffer serves as the 3rd district councilman on Sussex County Council, representing Delaware Bay and Atlantic coast communities, including the Broadkill Beach, Dewey Beach, Henlopen Acres, Lewes, Long Neck, Primehook Beach, Rehoboth Beach, and Slaughter Beach areas. Elected to County Council in 2020, Mr. Schaeffer is a veteran of public service in the First State, notably as a former mayor of both Little Creek and Smyrna in neighboring Kent County, as well as a former Delaware River and Bay Authority commissioner and one-time member of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. A lifelong Delawarean, Mr. Schaeffer spent every summer of his youth living in Dewey Beach and working in Rehoboth Beach, and as an adult moved full time to Lewes in 2003 with his family to enjoy the area’s more relaxed way of life. An associate commercial broker and businessman, his more-than-40-year background in construction, as well as appraisals and auctions, has given him a unique understanding of the challenges small businesses face amid changing economic conditions. He counts managed land use, adequate funding for public safety, and creating jobs, as well as limited government spending and protecting property rights, among his top priorities. Mr. Schaeffer and his wife, Ruby, are parents to five children and grandparents to 12 grandchildren.