Delaware Public Media starts its look at key legislative races in next week’s election in Sussex County where Democrats believe they have a chance to unseat first-term State Senator Ernie Lopez. Claire Snyder-Hall is challenging Lopez in 6th Senate District. Delaware Public Media’s Sean Carlson sat down with both candidates to examine the issues they see making a difference to voters near Delaware’s beaches.
[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/25108-sussexlegwrap.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Sean Carlson profiles the race in the 6th Senate District.]
Lopez won the newly-created 6th Senate District in 2012, capturing 56 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent, realtor Andy Staton.
If you ask Senator Lopez about his chances for reelection this year, he says the energy he’s feeling from constituents makes him confident he’ll return to the General Assembly.
"I’m very proud of my record of accomplishments," said Lopez. "We had one of the highest crossover numbers of Democrats to Republicans voting in a district that is predominantly Democratic, and I’m really proud of that. That’s something we’re feeling as we’re out there on the campaign trail."
The Puerto Rico native who was raised in the First State styles himself as a bridge builder in what he calls the “crown jewel” of Delaware, a district that spans a significant portion of the First State’s beach communities and currently boasts a 5-6 percent annual growth rate.
He’s pushed legislation in the Assembly to boost small businesses and greenlight a shellfish industry in the Delaware Bay, and says if reelected he will continue to find ways to increase revenue for the state as casino profits and other sources of income decline.
But not everyone in the 6th District is happy with the performance of the freshman senator.
Lopez’s Democratic challenger Claire Snyder-Hall says she also supports encouraging economic growth at the beaches, but calls for a more guided approach to development. She points to the lack of a Sussex County planner and Lopez’s support from big developers as reasons to send her to Dover, saying that while growth is good, if left unchecked it will be to the detriment of residents in the 6th District, particularly seniors.
"People put their life savings into their retirement homes, and the next thing you know there’s an RV park going up, or a giant mall, and the traffic is already pretty bad," said Snyder-Hall. "We’ve reached a tipping point where we can’t just develop willy nilly, but we need to take a little bit more of a coordinated approach. And that’s something people support across parties."
Snyder-Hall, who has has a background as a political science professor and political organizer, says seniors are central to her campaign for the Senate. If elected she says she’ll focus on policies that will bring more doctors to the district and help to improve traffic patterns.
But development isn’t the only area where the two candidates differ. Snyder-Hall says she supported raising Delaware’s minimum wage, a measure Lopez voted against in the Assembly this year. Lopez says he isn’t necessarily opposed to decriminalizing marijuana, but needs to learn more about the issue before taking a stance. Snyder-Hall flat out supports the idea, saying putting Delawareans in jail for possession of marijuana places an undue burden on prisons and budgets.
Snyder-Hall takes particular issue with one vote Lopez made during his term in the Senate, though: same-sex marriage. While the General Assembly ultimately voted to legalize the practice last year, Lopez voted against the measure, something his Democratic challenger says is at odds with the large gay community at Delaware’s beaches.
"I do know a lot of people are upset, they feel that their senator did not represent their interests, did not look out for them and stood on the wrong side of history, and I know they’re looking forward to having a chance to let their voices be heard. Because that’s what happens in elections in a democratic system. We get to weigh in," said Snyder-Hall.
Lopez says that while he personally disagrees with the idea of same-sex marriage, he respects the General Assembly’s decision and would never discriminate against any of his constituents.
"What I always like to tell people who still have concerns about my position on it is talk to the residents of my district who have spoken to me and worked with me post vote, especially those in the same-sex community," said Lopex. "When they call me I don’t ask if they are gay or straight, or Democrats or Republicans. I ask them what their problem is.
Lopez adds that as someone with family ties throughout Delaware and particularly at the beaches, he is more representative of the district and the state than Snyder-Hall, who moved to the state only recently after teaching at George Mason University in Virginia.
Snyder-Hall, who’s originally from Sarasota, Florida, counters that the communities in coastal Delaware are not unlike where she was raised.