The County Council is the legislative arm of New Castle County government. The council includes 13 members, one elected from each of 12 districts plus the council president, who is elected at-large. Council members must be citizens of the United States, residents of their district for at least one year, and over 24 years of age when elected. The County Council studies issues that affect the operation of the government and the citizens it represents. Council writes and passes laws and resolutions that improve the operation and protect the health and welfare of the citizens of New Castle County. County Council determines tax rates, oversees county services, and authorizes issuance of bonds to finance county projects. Council members serve staggered four-year terms.
Salary: $55,217/year
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Party: Democrat
Campaign Email: brownmp700@comcast.net
Campaign Phone: (302) 544-5750
Neighborhood/area of residence: Buckley
Campaign Website: friendsofmikebrown.com
Additional Information: Former Vice President of NAACP-Newark Branch
Work Experience: City of Wilmington Councilman At-Large 3 Four-year terms
Education: Bachelor’s Human Services
Community Involvement: Jefferson Award-Outstanding Community Services-1995, Former Board Member-State Drug & Alcohol Task Force, Board Member -National Organization Black Law Enforcement Executive
Q: What are your qualifications for office, and (if challenged) what differentiates you from the other candidate(s)?
A: 388 Hours Law Enforcement Training, Youth Intervention Specialist working with at promising youth (at risk youth). Bachelor’s Degree Human Services, Received Jefferson Award for Outstanding Community Services 1995, Former appointed member of the State Drug and Alcohol Task Force appointed by the Former Speaker of the House of State Representative Terry Spence. Veteran Honorable Discharge.
Q: What do you see as the most urgent issues in your County at this time?
A: The most urgent issues as I see it is Public Safety, Land Use, Affordable Housing
Q: Do you think any strategic changes are needed in the county’s approach to growth & development, land use or transportation planning for the coming decade? (Yes or No). Please explain.
A: Yes. My vision and approach to growth and development in regard to land use is more transparency and Public Notice. Public participation and transparency and inclusiveness build public trust.
Q: How will you ensure that your county has land use measures that allow for the development of affordable housing?
A: Set clear objectives (measurable benchmarks.) Make Affordable Housing Providers a priority which will allow them to have “first look” Hud, State and Federal Providers. Lastly an Income Criteria. Implementing policies that require a percentage of units to be reserved for low Income households.
Q: How will you engage with residents, especially minorities, to ensure their voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes?
A: I will make sure they are included in the process. Keeping them informed and up to date on Public Meeting and hearings, forums and ask for their participations. Everyone is included I will be the voice of everyone regardless of race, creed or religion. This is not my seat it’s the people’s seat.
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Party: Democrat
Campaign Email: gsmiley326@verizon.net
Campaign Phone: (302) 463-4250
Neighborhood/area of residence: Swanwyck Estates
Work Experience: Restaurant and take out work starting at 12 years old., Various Teamster Union jobs and elected offices, County Council
Education: High School Graduate (William Penn HS)
Community Involvement: Served on Civic Association and performed whatever needed to be done
Q: What are your qualifications for office, and (if challenged) what differentiates you from the other candidate(s)?
A: I have proved myself to be honest, attentive to detail and constituent issues, fiscally responsible and above all my priority is to serve those in need of assistance.
Q: What do you see as the most urgent issues in your County at this time?
A: Maintaining fiscal responsibility and maintaining an open and ethical government. While Public Safety, Libraries, Parks, Open Space, sewer service, etc. are all important, none can be property achieved and maintained without fiscal restraint and responsibility.
Q: Do you think any strategic changes are needed in the county’s approach to growth & development, land use or transportation planning for the coming decade? (Yes or No). Please explain.
A: Yes. I believe we always to better by adjusting our code.
Q: How will you ensure that your county has land use measures that allow for the development of affordable housing?
A: We must improve the County incentives so developers can build affordable housing and still maintain a financially stable business.
Q: How will you engage with residents, especially minorities, to ensure their voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes?
A: The same way I do now. I am constantly walking in their communities and attending their events and meetings. Not to mention every telephone number I have is published on everything coming from the seventh district office as well as the answering service.
Democratic Candidates: Kevin Caneco, George M. Dudlek.
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Party: Democrat
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@KevinCaneco
Neighborhood/area of residence: Middletown
Campaign Phone: (302) 844-8872
Campaign Website: www.canecoforncc.com
Campaign Email: kevincaneco@gmail.com
Work Experience: Attorney
Education: B.A. SUNY Albany, JD Delaware Law School
Additional Information: Prior to becoming an attorney, Kevin served 8 years as an Active Duty Army Officer.
Community Involvement: Townsend VFW Member, MOT Alliance board member, 9th RD Democratic Committee Chair, MOT NAACP member, AFSCME Local 423, Delaware National Guard Officer
Campaign Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Canecoaroundthe12th/
Q: What are your qualifications for office, and (if challenged) what differentiates you from the other candidate(s)?
A: As a veteran, an attorney, husband, and dedicated father to a child in elementary school I know the challenges New Castle County faces moving forward. I have served in leadership positions my entire life, leading Soldiers in Afghanistan, organizing my neighbors against massive warehouse construction in residential areas, and standing up to the government for the underprivileged in the courtroom. Simply put, I have dedicated my life to public service. I have been proud to help communities and HOA’s navigate complex county zoning policies or regulations and will be ready to serve on day one in the County Council. Finally, I have been a faithful and strong advocate of supporting diversity in all my endeavors.
Q: What do you see as the most urgent issues in your County at this time?
A: We must work to curb overdevelopment, preserve our open spaces, increase park space, and ensure we do all we can to protect our environment. The county we live in 10-20-30 years from now will be dictated by the decisions we make in the next few years. We need to ensure we bring more diverse and unique voices into the room to compete with powerful voices of developers or special interests. I will work to ensure developers pay more of their fair share, we will increase new development open space requirements, and fight to bring more transparency to government. We must also work to protect and promote our fire services, support retention among our NCC Police, and work to promote small business opportunities for those in the 12th District.
Q: Do you think any strategic changes are needed in the county’s approach to growth & development, land use or transportation planning for the coming decade? (Yes or No). Please explain.
A: Yes. The county must revisit the NCC Comp plan to ensure the vision aligns with the wants and needs of those in surrounding communities. There has been massive opposition to zoning for industry near communities in Delaware City and the Route 13 corridor. Moreover, south of the canal we have seen great community organizing against massive warehouses by residential communities. Zoning must make sense for everyone effected not just powerful business interests. We can create jobs in responsible ways, not by clogging our roads with truck traffic and congestion. Our current development process does not keep up with the pace of our schools, often causing overcrowding and a strain on our teachers. We need to pump the brakes and reimagine zoning.
Q: How will you ensure that your county has land use measures that allow for the development of affordable housing?
A: Housing costs have skyrocketed over the last few years pricing out too many of our hardworking citizens. The ability to buy a home should not be a pipe dream for so many as it is today. Here in New Castle County, we can work with developers to ensure we create housing that is accessible, equitable, and near vital services. The county should be working with the state to increase incentives for vouchers and tax credits to ensure housing prices can be brought down and those seeking new homes can achieve their dreams. Moreover, lets increase transportation options with DART and others along main corridors to make these housing options more desirable.
Q: How will you engage with residents, especially minorities, to ensure their voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes?
A: Diversity has been something I have valued my entire life. I’m a strong believer that regardless of race, socio economic status, gender, or who you chose to love, everyone should have a voice in government. My office will be one of the most engaging and constituent focused in the County Council. We will dialogue with constituents through social media, mail, internet services, your local church, and via monthly coffees. Our office will attend your local HOA/Maintenance Corporation meeting and be accessible at local fairs and other community events. Finally, I will form a taskforce of diverse neighbors from all the different areas of the 12th that will help guide me in my decision-making process. My office will bring the voiceless a voice.
Party: Democrat
Neighborhood/area of residence: District 12
Campaign Phone: (302) 893-4952
Campaign Website: www.georgedudlekforncc.com
Campaign Email: georgedudlekforncc@gmail.com
Work Experience: Has worked the same career through multiple owners for over 35 years- currently the owner is Linde
Additional Information: George Dudlek plans on retiring once elected councilman to show his dedication to this position.
Community Involvement: Councilman for Delaware City, Commissioner for Dragon Run Community Park District, Chairman of local Food Closet, Lions Club member, Knights of Columbus, Santa for Community Events
Campaign Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560591983663
Q: What are your qualifications for office, and (if challenged) what differentiates you from the other candidate(s)?
A: I am currently on town council for Delaware city and I am a commissioner for Dragon Run Community Park District. By being on these boards I have gained the experience and knowledge to go over budgets and planning and take those things and come up with ideas to make the community a better place. District 12 is a big district and fortunately I have lived in every section of the district. This gives me the unique perspective on all the ongoing issues throughout each part of the district which in turn will allow me to help them in ways other candidates cant. My motto is for the people and with my experience Im able to be just that- For The People!
Q: What do you see as the most urgent issues in your County at this time?
A: I have two things I would like to work on in office- Adding a new paramedic unit below the St.Georges Bridge and working on county police recruitment and retention. We need an additional paramedic unit below the canal at Boyds Corner until the new Southern Public Safety Building is constructed. This is important as the area below the canal is vulnerable with only one unit available. The next two closest units are located in Glasgow or Churchman’s Road which can result in emergency services taking over 20 minutes to arrive to the scene. As a community, we rely on our police force to keep us safe and secure. The recruitment and retention of officers have become a significant challenge in our state. I have a few ideas to help with this issue.
Q: Do you think any strategic changes are needed in the county’s approach to growth & development, land use or transportation planning for the coming decade? (Yes or No). Please explain.
A: Yes I do believe there can be some changes to make responsible improvements to the district. I am committed to preserving the character of our district and ensuring that development aligns with our comprehensive plan. To achieve this, we are considering implementing a special use permit for any large buildings over 20,000 sq ft. as well as other ideas to ensure we are not over developing our land and over crowding surrounding areas.
Q: How will you ensure that your county has land use measures that allow for the development of affordable housing?
A: To ensure the our county has measures in place to allow for affordable housing, I believe we should stick to the current comprehensive plan in place. It goes into detail about how to prevent over development in our areas. By regularly reviewing the effectiveness of land use measures we can then be prepared to adjust policies based on outcomes and changing needs of the communities.
Q: How will you engage with residents, especially minorities, to ensure their voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes?
A: My campaign motto is FOR THE PEOPLE , so the opinion of the people mean the most to me. If elected I plan on retiring from my current job and committing to this role as a full time representative. This will allow me to have more availability to interact with everyone in the district. I also have plans in place to set up morning coffee chats and evening socials once a month to give everyone access to meet with me and ask any questions they have.
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