DOVER — The past four years have given Dover Mayor Robin R. Christiansen a chance to work hand in hand on the city’s most pressing issues alongside members of city council.

Mayor Christiansen said he has seen optimism grow due to improvements that have been made within the city over the last four years in areas such as attracting new businesses, lowering crime statistics and finding places for homeless veterans to live.

He cited those achievements, as well as future initiatives that he would like to see fulfilled, as some of the main reasons he decided to file for re-election at the City Clerk’s office at Dover City Hall at 12:30 on Monday afternoon.

This year’s city of Dover Municipal Election is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 16.

“We still have a lot of projects that we’ve started over the last four years and I think that the city is moving in the right direction and I want to be a part of its’ continued success,” Mayor Christiansen said.

“Next to my family, God and country, the city of Dover is priority number one for me. That’s why I decided to ask the citizens of our city to give me an opportunity to continue to work for the betterment of the city.”

Mayor Christiansen is the only candidate to announce his intentions on running for the mayor’s office so far.

City residents who plan to run for election to the mayor’s office must submit their completed election petitions no later than 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Mr. Christiansen took his oath of office as Dover’s mayor on June 25, 2014. His term is scheduled to expire in May unless he is re-elected.

The mayor believes his track record shows he is the ideal candidate for the job.

“I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve brought stabilization to the Dover Police Department, a sense of direction with new Police Chief (Marvin) Mailey and our crime statistics are down in 2018 from what they have been in year’s past,” Mayor Christiansen said.

“We have been able to take homeless veterans off the street and we are currently working finding answers for the other population in the city who are less fortunate with the Mayor’s Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Homelessness.”

He added, “We continue to bring businesses here and, looking in that direction, Dover’s moving forward, and I think we’ve repurposed many buildings and brought new buildings and businesses within Dover as a team as the mayor and with our city council members.”

Mayor Christiansen was first elected in May 1983 to serve on Dover’s City Council. He served as council president and vice mayor from May 1990 to May 2001.

He graduated from Dover High School in 1968 and attended Delaware State University.

Mr. Christiansen retired from Safeway Stores, Inc. in 1987 and mostly retired from Simplex Grinnell after 27 years of service.

He is an active parishioner at Holy Cross in Dover and has been active as a community volunteer with the Dover Little league and Dover Fire Department for 40 years.

Mayor Christiansen, married to his wife Cindy of 42 years and the proud father of five children, said he has had a life-long love affair with the city of Dover.

“Ever since I came here as a small child during the summers, I’ve seen Dover grow from a small town of around 3,500 to a city that’s now close to 40,000 people,” Mayor Christiansen said. “I’ve seen Dover go from a town centered around Loockerman Street to a 28-square-mile city.

“But one thing has never changed – I have always believed in Dover … and I always will.”

Other candidates who filed

Matthew J. Lindell is seeking re-election to his First District seat on Dover City Council.

Councilman Lindell was first elected to city council in May 2017 in a special election that was held after Jim Hosfelt Jr. vacated his council seat after he was elected to become a commissioner on Kent County Levy Court.

Incumbent Scott W. Cole also filed for re-election for his Third District seat and Albert W. “Bill” Holmes Jr. announced his intentions to seek the Second District seat that was left vacant when former Councilman Brian E. Lewis was elected as Kent County Sheriff last November.

Candidates who hope to run for city council have until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, to file their nominating petitions.

Municipal elections are held in odd-numbered years on the third Tuesday in April, with half the members of the city’s council four districts up for a vote each time.

The mayor and nine council members are elected to four-year staggered terms on a non-partisan basis. Elections for mayor are held during odd-numbered years while the seat of council representative-at-large is held in the years when the mayor’s office is not voted on.

Candidates elected to council and the mayor’s office will be sworn in during the Monday, May 13, meeting of city council at Dover’s City Hall.