Robin R. Christiansen (born September 4, 1950) is an American politician currently serving as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

. He was elected mayor in a special election on June 17, 2014, and took office on June 25, 2014. Christiansen had previously served on the city council of Dover from 1983 to 2001, serving as council president and vice mayor from 1990 to 2001.

Early life

Christiansen was born on September 4, 1950. Christiansen graduated from Dover High School in 1968 and attended

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

, where he majored in history and political science.

Career

He has worked for

Safeway Inc. Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

, retiring in 1987, and also worked for

SimplexGrinnell SimplexGrinnell, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, is an American company specializing in active fire protection systems, communication systems and testing, inspection and maintenance services. The company headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida; ...

for 27 years before retiring. Christiansen was elected to Dover City Council in May 1983 and served until May 2001. From May 1990 to May 2001, Christiansen served as council president and vice mayor. In 2014, Christiansen ran in a special election for Mayor of Dover after Carleton Carey resigned. On June 17, 2014, Christiansen won the

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

special election for mayor with 658 of the 1,678 votes cast, ahead of Councilman David Anderson with 534 votes, R. Jefferson Reed with 197 votes, James P. Webster with 188 votes, and Chevis R. Anderson with 101 votes. Christiansen was sworn in as Mayor of Dover on June 25, 2014, for a term expiring in May 2015. On April 21, 2015, Christiansen was elected to a full term as Mayor of Dover with 1,390 votes, ahead of former mayor Carleton Carey with 622 votes and retired teacher George Gaudioso with 104 votes. Christiansen was formerly president of the Delaware League of Local Government and currently serves on the executive board. He has served on multiple committees of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

. Christiansen has served as a member of the Governor's Council on Police Training under Governor

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat si ...

and

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

Personal life

Christiansen is the child of Corrine P. Christiansen and Major A.L. Christiansen. He resides in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and has been married to his wife Cindy since c. 1976. They have five children and five grandchildren. He is an active volunteer for the Dover Little League and the Dover Fire Department. Christiansen attends church at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Dover. He was formerly president of the North Dover Civic Association, having been one of its founders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Robin 1950 births Delaware city council members Delaware State University alumni Living people Mayors of Dover, Delaware