With just two weeks left of Delaware's legislative session, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have come forward to call for the resignation of State Rep. Stell Parker Selby (D-Milton).
Rep. Parker Selby narrowly won reelection for her Milton-area seat in November, beating her Republican opponent Nikki Miller by just 245 votes.
She suffered a stroke in December, which has kept her from casting a single vote in Dover since the legislative session started in January.
She was ceremonially sworn into office in late March within her home — a photo was released to the public revealing she was in a wheel chair, which she did not previously use.
Her office has remained open for constituent services, but the discourse around her absence from Legislative Hall has grown with little public information available around her condition.
Under Delaware law, the House Speaker can only call for a special election to fill a seat by reason of failure to elect, ineligibility, death or resignation.
On Tuesday, State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-Bear) became the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly call for Rep. Parker-Selby to step down.
"It’s a really difficult situation, and my heart goes out to her and to her family and loved ones. I know my family has dealt with a similar situation going back a few years, and it’s really difficult. And when you see a loved one go through a stroke in particular, it’s — depending on the level of the stroke — it can be really devastating," Rep. Wilson-Anton said. "I will say, it’s been six months now — we’re almost finished with the first leg of the session, and as far as I know, no one has spoken to her. And that’s concerning to me because not only is she representing over 20,000 people, we haven’t heard from her."
While Rep. Wilson Anton believes it’s in the public's best interest for Rep. Parker Selby to step down, she raises concerns over whether the representative can consciously make that decision based on her condition.
"I question how that’s even possible. If she can’t authorize things to be done on her behalf now, how can she step down legally? I don’t know," Rep. Wilson-Anton said. "I think if she was able to make decisions for herself, she would’ve already put a statement out. She likely would have already resigned. And folks that know her know she didn’t even want to run again this time — people around her really pushed her to."
House Speaker Melissa-Minor Brown (D-New Castle) has repeatedly told the media at press conferences that she will not comment on Rep. Parker Selby's condition or when she plans to return Dover.
In a statement sent to Delaware Public Media Tuesday, Speaker Minor-Brown said, "The fact is that only Rep. Stell Parker Selby can make this decision, and over the past several months, including just today, I’ve spoken with her and her family about this. The voters of the 20th District elected her to serve, and neither I nor any other member of the House can make this decision or speak on behalf of those constituents.”
While Rep. Wilson-Anton is the only Democrat to publicly call for Rep. Parker Selby to step down, House Republican Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) agrees.
"If she cannot perform her duties and be here, then we need to move on. And I say that with all due respect because everybody loves and cares for Stell very much, and it has nothing to do with her as a person. But we all care about her a lot and we would love to have her back here, but the unfortunate thing is that the people of the 20th District are not being represented. They don’t have a vote," Rep. Dukes said.
As first reported by CoastTV, Speaker Minor-Brown says she's looking into opening up virtual voting as a way to allow Rep. Parker Selby to resume her legislative duties, but Rep. Wilson-Anton finds this proposal disingenuous.
"To my knowledge, knowing that no one has spoken to her and no one can get an email or a text message to her, that’s just a bold faced lie for the public. It really made me angry hearing that, and I think it’s doing a disservice to the representative," Rep. Wilson-Anton said. "There are members who broached the topic of virtual voting months ago, and it was shut down, and Rep. Selby was never mentioned as someone who would benefit from it. So I think it being brought up now is a lie — I think it’s meant to be a distraction, and I find it to be completely inappropriate and unethical."
Rep. Dukes says he has not been involved in any recent discussions around virtual voting, but he would not be in support of the option regardless.
"I’ve had no conversation with anyone about that, other than seeing the news report, but there’s been no conversation. I’ve not seen any proposal for a bill," he said. "I don’t think that’s the way to go with virtual voting. I believe that we’re elected to serve the people and to hold the office that we were elected to do and work for the people, and unfortunately, it’s difficult to do that from home."
But Speaker Minor-Brown remains adamant that virtual voting should be a possibility for members of the House.
“This is something that is already done in the Senate, and has been considered in the House," Speaker Minor-Brown said in a statement, noting sometimes representatives' lived experiences keep them from being in Legislative Hall everyday. “As Speaker I believe that people still deserve representation, whether virtual or in person, and I know many of my colleagues agree with me.”
Public discourse around Rep. Parker Selby's seat is also heightened due to the political makeup of her district.
As of June 2, there are 8,379 registered Democrats in House District 20, 7,652 registered Republicans and 6,943 registered as "other."
Based on the narrow margin Rep. Parker Selby beat her Republican opponent in this past November election, Republicans believe they have a chance at flipping the seat.
Despite this possibility, Rep. Wilson-Anton believes effective representation should prevail over party interests.
"I think it’s pretty clear that she was a unique candidate, and I don’t think that there’s necessarily a Democrat that can win that district, but I don’t think that should be the priority. I think the priority should always be Delawareans being represented, whether that person votes with my caucus or doesn’t. And I’ll say as a Democrat, I think it’s very short-sighted and counterproductive to hold on to a seat in this manner. And think it’s going to help you in the long run because what it’s doing is showing the Democratic Party refusing to actually take accountability and make decisions and be responsible stewards," she said.
Speaker Minor-Brown released a statement to the public on Tuesday, saying she is committed to transparency around the situation "by continuing to share accurate and timely updates within the legal and ethical boundaries of [her] office."
But she also says she is “deeply disturbed” by some of the reporting practices around inquiries into Rep. Parker Selby’s absence.
Although the speaker did not mention any media outlets by name, she appears to be referencing recent reporting on camera by CoastTV at Legislative Hall involving legislative staff.
"We cannot ignore the broader national context in which all of this is unfolding. This past weekend, we learned of the heartbreaking and senseless loss of life in Minnesota, where Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in what was deemed an 'act of targeted political violence.' Their tragedy is a sobering reminder that those who serve in public life — whether elected officials or the staff who support them — are increasingly vulnerable to threats that go far beyond political disagreement," the statement reads.
The comments only furthered Rep. Wilson-Anton's frustration with how House Democratic leadership has handled Rep. Parker Selby's absence.
"Using the recent tragedy in Minnesota for a political point and painting the media as the bad guys I think is incredibly disturbing behavior coming from the Speaker," Rep. Wilson-Anton told Delaware Public media in a statement. "The Speaker has had ample opportunity to answer important questions the public is asking and has refused to do so, and that refusal has resulted in members of the media going to staff for answers. Part of the reason is because reporters keep being told to 'reach out to Rep. Parker Selby’s office' which is disingenuous and misleading to the public."
There are only five days left of the session, marking the end of legislative business — unless a special session is called — until January.
