Poppiti says he’s the candidate for seniors

At one point in his life, Ciro Poppiti, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, had aspirations of being a professional actor until a dramatic weight loss meant he stopped getting roles.

A 31-year-member of the Screen Actors Guild, Poppiti said he had been type cast as the overweight and funny smart alec.

“In the mold of John Candy or Chris Farley,” he said.

The mold got a lot smaller when he lost 75 pounds after college, dropping from 250 to 175 pounds.

Still Poppiti said without hesitation he doesn’t regret the weight loss, because, he said, it opened so many other doors. From there he went to law school, met his wife and joined the Army.

“I took charge of my body and my life,” he said, proud to have kept the weight off for 20 years.

Poppiti is one of six Democratic candidates running for the state’s vacant lieutenant governor’s seat. He has served as the New Castle County register of wills since 2010, is a Delaware National Guard captain, a founding member of the Saint Francis Hospital LIFE program for seniors, and is chair of Delaware All-State Theater.

Poppiti’s campaign message centers on improving the quality of life for Delaware’s seniors and how that improvement will benefit everybody. He said he wants to make sure all the oars of government are running in the right direction.

Poppiti said he’s created a Senior’s Bill of Rights, which includes making sure seniors have a choice of aging at home if they want to. The state needs to have a way to deliver better mobility, medical specialists and nutritional needs for seniors who do not want to live in assisted living.

As an example, he said, the Saint Francis program, which he described as CHEER Plus, has already saved New Castle countians money. He said the average cost of a nursing home bed is $10,000 a month, while care for a senior living at home is half that. He said programs like the Greater Lewes Community Village, a volunteer-driven program of seniors helping seniors, is an approach that should be expanded.

Poppiti said he’s also a big supporter of the arts. He commended Gov. Jack Markell and his wife Carla on their support of the arts, and he said he would continue that support.

“There’s been an explosion of the arts in Sussex County,” he said “We can’t go back.”

The winner of this primary will face off against Republican La Mar Gunn, a resident of Dover, in the Tuesday, Nov. 13 general election.