Charlie Dorman

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 29, 2018) Incumbent Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman announced this week he would run for reelection.

Dorman, 76, and originally from Baltimore, was the director of public works in Snow Hill for five years, then became mayor in 2012.

“I used to work for the Navy in Washington and the Navy transferred me to Wallops Island to help oversee the construction of … the Naval base down there. That’s how I got here,” Dorman said.

“I’d seen what was going on and thought, hopefully I can make a difference,” Dorman said.

Dorman was reelected twice, in 2014 and 2016, without opposition. He also runs the Country Flag Shop, which he opened in 2009.

“If you look at the town like it was before I came here and when I was just riding through, you’ve got a town that’s sitting on the river. And a town on the river has something good going for it,” Dorman said.

“The town has really come together and you can see that in the redevelopment of downtown,” he continued. “We’ve really pushed hard and, it’s not me, it’s the Town Council, it’s the town manager, it’s the whole town staff – everybody has pushed to make downtown better.”

Dorman would like to see more restaurants open downtown – emphasis on more.

“More restaurants, hopefully, will bring more people to see the town,” he said. “And once they see that, they’ll want to live in the town. And then we have to figure out a way to get new housing in the town. That’s one of our big factors.”

He also would like to see redevelopment plans for Sturgis Park realized, starting with a butterfly garden attraction to be built in cooperation with the Lower Shore Land Trust.

“Hopefully, that happens very soon,” Dorman said.

“A nice brewery” established inside the old firehouse, currently used as a community center, is also a goal. To do that, however, would require finding another location to use for community gatherings.

“We would have to try and figure that out before we’d even [consider a brewery there],” Dorman said. “We’ve had interest in the building for that and we’ve had interest in the building where the toy store is now, before the toy store came to town.

“With Brews Up coming to town, it will bring more people that will want to make beer and to make wine, and maybe somebody else will look [at the old firehouse],” Dorman added.

Working with town staff has been a pleasure, Dorman said, from the administrators at Town Hall, to the fire department and police, to public works and the sewer plant.

“All these people make the town work and they’re all very dedicated people,” he said. “We’re happy to have them and we hope we can keep them.

“And you’ve got a lot of people who do not like the town manager [Kelly Pruitt] and that’s because they do not know her,” Dorman added. “If they would take time to learn who the person is, I think they would see a different person. She is very dedicated to the town and lives and breathes this town. A lot of people don’t think that way, but it’s true.”

The deadline to file for election in Snow Hill is today, Thursday, by 4:30 p.m. Dorman will face Ocean City Today Associate Editor Brian Gilliland in the May 1 municipal election.

Incumbent Eastern District Councilwoman Alison Cook is running unopposed.

As of press time, Wednesday, no other candidates have filed.