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John Carney
Age: 52
Key issues: Jobs, education and healthcare
Carney has served as lieutenant governor since 2000, where he has served as chairman of Livable Delaware. From 1997 to 2000, he was the state secretary of finance. He also managed constituent relations from 1987 to 1989 for Sen. Joe Biden.
Total campaign funds raised: $1.75 million
Jack Markell
Age: 47
Key issues: Education, healthcare, jobs
Markell has served as state treasurer since 1999, creating the Money School to improve financial literacy. He also helped grow a small company into what is now Nextel and served as chairman of Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.
Total campaign funds raised: $2.85 million
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1. What is the single most important step you would take to improve education in Delaware?
Jack Markell: As governor, I will make it clear that nothing less than a world-class education system that will allow our children to succeed in a competitive global economy will be acceptable. It starts with ensuring that every child arrives at school ready to learn and doesn’t end until mid-career workers are able to get the job training they need. All of these pieces must fit together. I will focus on early childhood education, scrap the Delaware Student Testing Program and make our funding system more responsive to the needs of students in each school.
John Carney: My education plan focuses on a simple concept – a commitment to the classroom. The first thing I would do is get rid of the Delaware Student Testing Program and replace it with a test that helps teachers teach and students learn. I will also reorganize the Department of Education into regional learning centers that allow teachers to collaborate and plan more, help principals become true instructional leaders and develop incentives to retain the great teachers we have in Delaware and to attract new ones. My top priority as governor will be the economy. We cannot create new jobs without world-class schools.
2. Many Delaware residents work for small companies struggling to pay for health insurance. How does your health insurance plan help small businesses or the people they employ?
Jack Markell: We must provide quality, affordable health insurance to every Delawarean – now. More than 100,000 Delawareans do not have health insurance and thousands more are struggling to afford their premiums. Businesses want to cover their employees, but cannot afford it. My opponent and I have completely different views on this issue. He says we should wait. My plan takes us in a new direction. I am the only Democrat running for governor who has laid out a detailed plan to ensure that all of Delaware’s families will have access to affordable quality healthcare while containing costs.
John Carney: I can’t go anywhere in the state without hearing concerns about the cost of healthcare. My plan addresses the issue of affordability for individuals and small businesses now, and builds on a foundation of affordability to move Delaware toward universal coverage. I would do this with a series of programs, including the creation of a st
We can have universal care in Delaware, but only if we approach it in a smart, affordable way. Prices in Massachusetts have soared since they promised universal healthcare overnight with no plan to lower the costs. With a struggling national economy, now is not the time to place new financial mandates on small businesses and individuals. We need to make healthcare affordable first.
3. Many people feel government in Delaware is broken. After 10 years, pollution control strategies for the Inland Bays have not been adopted, problems with the Indian River bridge project have cost more than $1.6 million and health officials have collected information on cancer clusters but it was not released to the public. What is at the heart of these problems and how would you make government more accountable to the public?
Jack Markell: Delawareans deserve to have as much information about what their government is doing as possible. Sunshine is the best disinfectant, but there has not been enough of it shining on state government during the Minner-Carney administration. That’s why I have released a plan to expand the Freedom of Information Act, ban gifts from lobbyists to all state officials and create a nonpartisan redistricting process.
Delaware has the 11th-highest cancer rate in the country. The Minner-Carney administration should never have blocked the release of the cancer data. As governor, I would have released the data immediately. We need to know all we can as soon as we can about this terrible disease. Delaware also needs to improve its fiscal fitness. In June, I released a plan to cut costs, increase revenues and make smarter budgeting decisions. We need new ideas that look to the long-term and strategic budgeting to ensure the ongoing fiscal health of our state, protect the quality of its services, and promote the overall desirability of Delaware as a place to live and work. As governor, I guarantee that I will provide responsible fiscal leadership and ensure that taxpayers receive the best value for their dollar.
John Carney: We need to fundamentally change the way the government does business to better serve the people, and it starts with leadership from the top.
Change requires more than just talk; a governor has to roll up his sleeves, go to work and bring people together to get things done.
I will implement the Inland Bays pollution controls strategies and enforce buffer zones around the Inland Bays, as well as continue to seek out new clean sources of energy that will not only lead to a healthier environment, but bring jobs to our state. The Bluewater Wind project I worked so hard on will do just that.
I will direct Delaware Department of Transportation to prioritize projects so that the Indian River Bridge and others can be completed in a timely manner while using taxpayer dollars wisely.
Cancer is one area where I’ve already gotten to work. I proposed and helped pass a Cancer-Right-to-Know Law, forcing the state Division of Public Health to release detailed information on cancer clusters.
I believe Delawareans have a right to know about dangers in their communities, and that government must be open and accountable to the people. That’s why I worked so hard to get cancer data around Millsboro released. All this requires we change the way business is done in Dover. I will provide the leadership, energy and vision to make that change happen.
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