The November 2nd election was just the beginning of a period of transition for New Castle County government.
The victory by former County Executive Chris Coons in Delaware’s U.S. Senate race meant that County Council President Paul Clark was elevated to County Executive November 15th.
Eight days later, Clark, a Democrat, delivered his first address as County Executive to members of Council at a meeting of the Executive Committee. He also delivered a message to New Castle County citizens: “be assured that the transition has and will continue to be seamless with no interruption to important County services.”
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Clark went on praise the work of County employees, and stressed to the business community that County government “is here to help you attract and retain good jobs so that we can keep our citizens working.”
“We have experienced too many property foreclosures. We have experienced too many businesses shutting their doors. The human impacts have been, and continue to be, profound,” Clark said.
Clark also said New Castle County continues to face a structural deficit, and will need to maintain its focus on delivering core services: public safety, parks, libraries, sewer service, and comprehensive land use and housing programs.
He also said despite the challenges, he is optimistic, adding that economic growth and other quality-of-life concerns are not mutually exclusive.
“By making wise, while not always universally popular decisions, we can help our economy, create jobs, maintain the quality of life, and protect our environment,” Clark said.
Near the end of his remarks, Clark addressed concerns over a possible conflict of interest presented by the work his wife, Pamela Scott, does as a land use attorney at the firm Saul Ewing LLC. “I hope that the public would give me and my family the time to adjust to this position,” said Clark. “During my years with you on Council, we all came to know that in a state as small as Delaware we all experience issues which can be potential conflicts of interest or create the appearance of such.” Clark then noted his attempt to directly address the issue - the executive order he signed last week ordering county employees to exclude him from all land use cases involving Saul Ewing, delgating decision making in those cases to County Attorney Gregg Wilson. Monday night, the Democratic nominee for Clark’s previous position of Council president, 9th District County Councilman Timothy Sheldon, stated that, if elected, he would seek an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission on the situation.
8th District County Council member John Cartier (D) of Brandywine Hundred agreed that it had been a smooth transition so far. 2nd District Councilman Robert Weiner (R) said that while positions may have changed, “the duties of the Executive and legislative branches remain the same, and that is to provide checks and balances for the benefit of the public, so that we can protect both fiscal integrity, openness and honesty of County government.”
NCCo Councilman Robert Weiner assesses the county's fiscal situation (listen here).
10th District County Council member Jea Street (D) said public safety is the overriding concern in his district, which includes parts of Wilmington. “We’re scuffling now to keep the libraries open, and we cannot take cops off the street, and paramedics have to be there,” he said.
Weiner wants to look for opportunities to consolidate what he called “duplicative services, between various levels of government.” Street said he would continue to advocate for a combined law enforcement task force involving the County, the State and the City to address the rising number of shootings.
Clark said with fiscal soundness in mind, he expected to conduct a “top to bottom review” of County government, looking at everything it does “with fresh eyes and fresh ideas.” His 31-member transition team will come up with recommendations, but Clark also plans an independent survey of citizens and a series of town hall meetings to examine how the County operates and the quality of its services.
Clark will deliver a budget proposal in March. However, the election season is not yet over. The special election for Council President pitting Councilman Sheldon against former State Representative Tom Kovach is expected to be held in late December or early January. Councilman Sheldon was nominated Monday night by Delaware Democrats. Kovach is the endorsed Republican candidate.
