Newark resident Bill Dilks is campaigning to replace Democratic State Rep. Ed Osienski (D-Newark) in the House this year.
One of the Republican candidate’s top priorities is improving education in the First State.
Dilks said under Democratic control of the state legislature, crime and drug addiction have increased. He said lawmakers have failed to fix the problems in the Christina School District.
“I decided just this last year I had to do something, things are just getting too out of hand and outrageous," he said. "I just want to try to help get things back on track.”
He also opposes the proposed anti-discrimination policy by the Delaware Department of Education. The regulations would allow students to self-identify their gender or race regardless of age or parental consent.
“That to me is, you know, that’s heading towards socialism and communism," he said. "The parents are in charge of their kids, not the schools. Parents have to be involved in every facet of a child’s growing up. You can’t have a kid go in and declare a gender without parents being notified.”
Dilks also said he supports reducing the burden on companies so they can create more jobs.
He was an IT project manager before retiring two years ago. Osienski has represented the 24th House District since 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 and defeated Timothy Conrad in 2016 to win a third term.
Note: The original version incorrectly said Osienski was elected in 2012. He was elected in 2010.
