I believe in open government and ensuring government transparency and accountability. I have seen first-hand how the powerful interests get their voices heard in Dover. I am dedicated to changing that system, and I will continue to work to engage the public and make your voices heard in every aspect of policy making.
My vision for Delaware calls for a sea change in attitude by elected officials and government agencies regarding open and transparent government. The current system, often cloaked in secrecy and diminished access, has caused a disconcerting drop in public confidence and trust in government. We must transform the realities of the status quo, which currently provides that those in power are allowed to dictate terms rather than engage in meaningful public dialogue on policies and issues. It is also important to challenge leadership that seeks to retain an almost dictatorial control over policies and issues preventing and obstructing legislative votes on important policies.
I have consistently and aggressively supported transparency and open government in Delaware. The only legitimate way to secure the trust and confidence of the public is with laws that allow that public to view all aspects of the inner workings of governments and taxpayer supported public institutions.
- I have fought against abuse of the annual Budget process where each year millions of dollars of taxpayer money is appropriated without any accountability or specificity of use via “epilogue language,” which when inserted into the Budget contravenes existing laws that explicitly prohibit that type of fiscal irresponsibility. I sponsored legislation (HB 209) to stop abuses of the “epilogue language” process.
- I challenged the Attorney General Matt Denn’s allocation of $8 million to be used by the Department of Justice without the vote of the General Assembly. I sponsored legislation (HB 323) to clarify the constitutional requirement that all State money must be appropriated by the General Assembly.
- I have worked to overturn exemptions to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws. I have fought against the exemption for legislators’ emails, introducing proposals that would open them to public scrutiny of policy discussions while preserving the privacy of private citizens. I have also authored and sponsored legislation over the past eight years to repeal the FOIA exemption of the University of Delaware and Delaware State University to make them subject to the same requirements of all taxpayer-funded public institutions.
- I have challenged Governor Carney’s unwillingness to abide by the FOIA laws that govern his office. I question his unannounced, closed-door meetings with private business executives that excluded public participation, and I oppose his unjustifiable use of executive privilege to refuse to release emails regarding the Rodney Square bus hub dismantling in accordance with lawful FOIA requests.
- I proposed and sponsored legislation (HB 71, passed unanimously in the House) that would require members of the Cash Management Board, which manages investment of over $2 billion in State assets, to file annual financial disclosures with the Public Integrity Commission. This would bring the Board under the same personal financial disclosure requirements as more than 27 different government entities, including all elected officials, agency heads, and cabinet members.
- I supported legislation to mandate that the duties of the currently independently elected State Auditor includes the auditing of all government agencies, including both traditional public schools and charter schools.
Open and transparent campaign finance rules are the only means to move toward fair and honest elections. I have sponsored and supported legislation to bring transparency to all campaign financing, including the disclosure of all monies donated to campaigns and third-party organizations, and I hope to ultimately witness a requirement for all elections to be publicly funded with absolutely no outside money allowed.
The current situation in Delaware allows unfettered access, by well-heeled lobbyists, to Legislative Hall and the willingness of some elected officials to openly solicit those paid professionals’ opinion in supporting or opposing legislation without the slightest consideration for the true facts or the stakeholders it might harm or impede. This disgraceful situation must be controlled. We must expose who the lobbyists work for and hold accountable those public officers who have forgotten that the public interest supersedes any special interests. All lobbying activity must be publicly disclosed.
We must have stronger laws, stronger enforcement, and stronger penalties for public officials, agencies, and institutions that violate our open government laws.