At the final debate before Monday’s special election, all four candidates for the 19th District Senate seat touched on topics ranging from education to the state budget and the Del Pointe racino proposal.
This third forum, sponsored by the Sussex League of Women Voters, was the first full debate for Democrat candidate Polly Adams Mervine, and was the most accessible, broadcast live on Sussex County’s Web site and “Twittered” by several area bloggers and media outlets.
Education
Mervine has touted her background as an educator and her desire to better the state’s schools. Independent candidate Matthew Opaliski agreed that changes were in order, “but I think we do the state a disservice by simply throwing money at the problem.
“I have three kids in school, and around a certain time of year, the focus is DSTP, DSTP, DSTP.”
While all four candidates felt the DSTP (Delaware State Testing Program) was in need of replacement, Opaliski stressed that, even with a new assessment system in place, the emphasis should not be “teaching to the test.”
State budget
Booth has touted his experience, serving in a wide range of positions from school board to Georgetown mayor to his current seat in the House, particularly his tenure on the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC). One of the audience-submitted cards, however, called that experience into question, asking Booth to “rationalize [his] experience on the JFC when the state budget doubled during his time on the committee.”
“Last year, I certainly would have loved to go line-item by line-item, but we were stopped when we tried,” Booth said. “This past year, we did do that.”
“We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” he said. “The state has gone on a spending binge, but I think the last few years, we’ve reversed that course.”
Both Opaliski and Libertarian candidate Gwendolyn Jones felt a major part of the state-budget solution was shrinking government’s size.
“We ARE cutting the budget, but I think we need to trim the size of government,” Opaliski said.
“We need to shrink it and get back to our Constitutional roots,” Jones said.
Some of the other questions included:
What is the best opportunity for creating business and jobs in Sussex County?
Opaliski: “Cutting taxes and regulation.”
Jones: “Downsizing the government… jobs that are currently being taken by state workers could be opened up to private, sealed-bid contracts for local, Delaware companies.”
Booth: Pointed to PATS Aircraft, of Georgetown, as an example of government working to expand business and create jobs. “When PATS was looking to expand, they needed to make sure the workforce was here... working with [former Lt. Gov.] John Carney we were able to help Delaware [Technical & Community College] provide the needed training for those workers."
Mervine: “The government’s role is to create a climate where business can thrive.” Mervine also stressed a need to streamline the regulatory process for small businesses.
