All six candidates for Delaware governor took the stage at Dover Public Library Wednesday to debate policy points ahead of next month’s primary election.
Three Democrats and three Republicans are vying to replace term-limited Gov. John Carney and they gathered to discuss issues like education reform, climate policy and affordable housing during the Delaware Journalism Collaborative gubernatorial forum.
Democratic candidates Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara rallied around reducing zoning barriers and investing in denser housing units to increase affordability.
"We've put barriers in place. We've got to change rules and regulations. A lot of the roadblocks are at our county level. People cannot get permits, prices go up, developers go to other states. We need individuals being able to turn dirt here and develop a culture of excellence," Hall-Long said.
While Hall-Long, Meyer and O'Mara commented on housing being a right within Delaware, House Republican leader Mike Ramone feels differently.
“Everyone doesn't have the right to own a home. Everyone does have the right to live the American dream and earn the ability to earn a home. With inflation, with mortgages, with everything the government is doing to screw it all up, and then I listen to everyone say, ‘Well, now we've got to give them that right.’ Are you gonna all pay for everybody else's house?," Ramone said.
Fellow GOP candidate and Bridgeville small businessman Bobby Williamson agreed with Ramone and stressed his belief of limiting governmental overreach, while Republican candidate and former NYPD officer Jerry Price advocated for the state to purchase farmland in order to put up affordable rental units.
Education reform was also a focus of discussion, with Williamson arguing parental involvement needs to be at the center of Delaware's education system.
"Whether it be food, education and the upbringing of a child needs to be carried back more to the parent's responsibility. Let the parents raise their children, feed their children. It's fine if it is a deprived child who needs help — I'm all for that. But to generalize everything back to 'the schools are going to fix all of our children;' we as parents need to step it up," Williamson said, who also expressed support for a school voucher system in the state.
Price agreed that family values need to make a comeback in the education system, but he did express support for free school meals for all children. He also brought up tactics for tackling the state's school behavior problems.
"I've talked to karate studios and boxing studios already. They're willing to take kids for free," Price said. "And they will learn the value of, basically, discipline and getting along and working together."
On the other hand, O’Mara's comments on education focused largely on bringing autonomy back to educators.
“We have to trust teachers. We’ve got to make sure resources wind up in the classroom. We added $60 million of opportunity funds — a lot of it went to consultants, very little wound up in the classrooms. We need to make sure there are actually teachers and ratios that make sense based on the needs of the students, not just based on the head count," O'Mara said.
Ramone agreed with prioritizing funding reaching the classroom, while Hall-Long commented on increasing wraparound services within schools and funding universal childcare.
Meyer also stressed the importance of birth to five childcare and centered his remarks around the literacy emergency among young students in the state.
"Every child in Delaware needs to be exposed to one million words before kindergarten. If they're not, that's an emergency. Our funding formula in Delaware was written in the 1940s, 80 years ago. Think about the values the individuals who wrote that funding formula [had]," Meyer said.
Candidates also discussed beach replenishment, paid sick leave, mental health services in schools, attracting new residents and businesses and support for immigrants, particularly from Haiti and Latin America.
Candidates will face off in the primary election just four weeks away on Sept. 10, 2024.
You can find a deep-dive into all of the candidates policy points by listening to our 2024 Candidate Conversations.
