Gubernatorial candidates discuss education, housing at inaugural Delaware Journalism Collaborative debate

DOVER — The First State’s six gubernatorial candidates discussed issues such as affordable housing, education and climate resiliency during the Delaware Journalism Collaborative’s inaugural debate Wednesday night at the Dover Public Library.

Democrats Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and former DNREC secretary Collin O’Mara, along with Republicans House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, former New York and Rehoboth Beach police officer Jerrold Price and Bridgeville small businessman Bobby Williamson offered their plans ahead of the Sept. 10 primary.

Education

Each candidate discussed the ongoing work of the Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force, as well as Delaware’s concerning student proficiency statistics.

Despite recent investments in education, Rep. Ramone said this money is not getting into the classroom, which has worsened existing problems with performance while making it difficult for teachers to perform.

His GOP counterparts stressed that to improve outcomes in the classroom and school climate, much of that work starts at home.

“Let the parents raise their children, feed their children. It’s fine if there is a deprived child that needs help. I’m all for that,” Mr. Williamson said. “To generalize everything back to the school isn’t going to fix all of our children. We, as parents, need to step it up.”

When it comes to school behavior and student mental health, Mr. Price said while it starts with discipline, sometimes all kids need is positive reinforcement from adults.

“With this issue, we don’t have to spend money. We just need logic and common sense,” he said. “When they’re in school (and) they do something good, they want a pat on the back … It might be all (they) need because they might not be getting it at home. We’ve got to take care of these kids; it’s not going to cost us that much money, if any.”

To improve educational success, Lt. Gov. Hall-Long stressed the need for wraparound services to meet the specific needs of each student. She advocated for universal early education, considering 90% of a child’s brain is developed during their first five years of life.

“That legacy of birth to 5 — that will be a game changer. But in the short term, we have to make sure, not only that we have the counselors in the classrooms, but the wraparound services… making sure we have those resources so that no one doesn’t have the services that they need,” she said.

Mr. O’Mara pointed to policies such as free school meals for all students as a way to not only improve behavior, but also educational performance. He said if a student comes to school hungry, they are more likely to act out and situations can escalate.

School safety was a focus for Mr. Meyer, who said he would turn the focus onto students with behavior problems and provide them with the resources they need. The county executive also said the state’s funding formula for Delaware schools needs to change to boost performance, as it was written in the 1940s.

“My view of safety is you find those who are having challenges, and you bring them in. You envelop them with resources,” Mr. Meyer said. “Too often they’re coming from communities in places of hurt; hurt people, hurt people. We need to invest in love. We need to invest in rebuilding our communities, starting in our schools.”

Housing

Candidates were asked how they would boost the availability of affordable housing and create homeownership opportunities for Delawareans, given the state of the housing market.

Mr. O’Mara noted the housing crisis in Delaware has reached a boiling point, alluding to the state’s high eviction and foreclosure rates.

He attributed this to investor ownership of the state’s housing stock, and while he applauded efforts like the widespread housing package led by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, and initiatives in states like Montana, the former cabinet member said more needed to be done to support the availability of units.

“We’ve made it incredibly difficult to build any kind of density, especially around transit, existing infrastructure,” Mr. O’Mara said.

“It’s much easier to build a subdivision in the middle of nowhere where there’s no infrastructure — but not as much opposition in some cases — than just to build density where there is this NIMBY fear that if you have more people living in your community, the values could go down.”

Lt. Gov. Hall-Long emphasized the significant housing investments made by the Carney administration but said land-use and zoning barriers at the county and municipal levels have slowed the process of getting dense housing projects going.

Like Mr. O’Mara, she advocated for a statewide policy to remove those barriers to increase affordable housing stock.

While Lt. Gov. Hall-Long, Mr. O’Mara and Mr. Meyer stated that housing was a right for Delawareans, some of the Republican candidates disagreed.

Mr. Price advocated for the state to purchase farmland to transition it into affordable housing units, while Rep. Ramone and Mr. Williamson emphasized that government overreach and regulatory procedures have impeded the process for those building housing stock.

“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 own a home,” Rep. Ramone said. “With inflation, with mortgages, with everything the government’s doing to screw it all up… Are you going to all pay for everybody else’s house?”

Time off

Candidates were also asked if they would support recently introduced legislation to provide earned sick time and safety leave for employees.

Regarding the sick time bill, as well as Delaware’s impending paid family and medical leave program, Rep. Ramone said he attempted to mitigate unintended consequences of the policies when they were considered in the General Assembly.

He pointed to how the program could impact schools, as teachers could be on leave to start the school year, which adds the need for substitute teachers and impacts students’ learning.

Though state jobs offer vacation and paid time off, Mr. Price said Delaware can do more to support workers with such policies, though fellow Republican Mr. Williamson said, “we need to keep government out of running other people’s businesses.”

Relating the proposal on paid family and medical leave, Lt. Gov. Hall-Long said compromises are likely needed among stakeholders and suggested a “whole systems change” like incorporating sick time into paid time off or altering state benefit structures.

Mr. O’Mara was an outspoken supporter for the measure, testifying on its behalf in Legislative Hall earlier this year. The former state environmental chief said it was “inhumane” to expect Delawareans to go to work sick, especially in the food industry.

Fellow Democrat Mr. Meyer said the state needs to play a leading role on this front, but in a way that protects the middle class and “mom and pop” small businesses throughout the state.

The second Delaware Journalism Collaborative debate will take place Aug. 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wilmington Public Library.

It will feature candidates for Delaware’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives: Democrats Earl Cooper, state Sen. Sarah McBride and Elias Weir; and Republicans Donyale Hall and John J. Whalen III.