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Lewes resident Nancy Targett, dean of the University of Delaware College of Marine and Earth Studies, has been tapped for Governor-elect Jack Markell’s new transition team.
Targett will be in charge of helping place leaders and staff in the new government’s infrastructure departments, which include environment, agriculture and transportation.
Markell named Targett and four other transition team co-chairs Monday, Nov. 10.
With 70 days left before he’s sworn in, Delaware’s 73rd governor has assembled the team to help him fill hundreds of soon-to-be vacant positions, including some of the 16 cabinet secretary posts. Targett directs the university’s Sea Grant program, a partnership between the federal government, the state, and the university.
“When Governor-elect Markell called me to ask if I would be one of his transition co-chairs, it took a nanosecond to say ‘yes.’ I’ve read quite a few of his position papers. He’s a person who thinks outside the standard boundaries,” Targett said, referring, in part, to Markell’s book, “Blueprint for a Better Delaware.”
The co-chairs will oversee a transition team that will focus on key public policy areas, including economic growth, education, health care and the environment.
Among names that came up for consideration for cabinet secretary include popular Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, and former Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Nick DiPasquale.
From the State Treasurer’s Office in Wilmington, Markell announced his first advisors and said he would focus on efficiency in government.
“My administration is going to be totally focused on protecting taxpayers and ensuring their dollars are spent as efficiently as possible,” Markell said.
“Especially in these tight economic times, it is critical we explore every opportunity to spend tax dollars wisely,” Markell said.
Targett, a resident of Wolfe Runne near Lewes, said she looks forward to being a part of Markell’s “broad base of stake holders.” “We are in challenging times. Governor-elect Markell acknowledges that we’re in challenging times, but, he also says you can find opportunity. He also calls this the greatest time for opportunity. He sees the cup half full – that’s why I’m really excited,” Targett said.
Joe Rogalsky, communications director for Markell, said the transition team is the first part of a long and careful process.
“You need to determine the transition team first. The cabinet part is more time-intensive,” Rogalsky said.
Also named to the new transition team are:
Dr. Wayne Holden, who is a Dover-based financial consultant and a Wesley College board director. Holden has been active with charities and nonprofits and has served as co-chair of the United Way of Delaware. Holden, who was also a U.S. Army captain during the Vietnam War, owns a home in Lewes.
Dr. David Roselle, who was president from 1990-2007 of the University of Delaware. Roselle served as University of Kentucky president from 1987-1990 and is a trustee of Christiana Care Corporation and the Delaware Public Policy Institute. Roselle serves as interim director for Winterthur Museum and Country Estate.
Raye Jones Avery, who is the executive director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center. Avery is former director of planning and community needs assessment research for the United Way of Delaware. Avery is also vice president for community relations at the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.
Lolita A. Lopez is president and CEO of Westside Family Healthcare, a nonprofit healthcare system that serves low-income and uninsured residents. The nonprofit has three primary care facilities in New Castle County that employ 22 full-time medical providers and 130 total employees.
Office of Management and Budget Director Jennifer W. “JJ” Davis of Camden, who will soon serve as a University of Delaware vice president, and Rehoboth Beach’s Scott A. Green, former MBNA and Bank of America executive, will also participate in the cabinet secretary selection process. Wilmington Mayor James Baker Chief of Staff William S. Montgomery will also help with selecting cabinet secretaries.
Other Cape Region leaders?
Some have speculated that two other Cape Region residents will be named as cabinet leaders in Markell’s administration. Popular local representative Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, could be tapped to head Markell’s Safety and Homeland Security Department, and Nick DiPasquale, who works in Georgetown, could be named director of the Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).
Schwartzkopf says he would be more useful in the General Assembly, where Democrats will control the state’s House of Representatives. Schwartzkopf said that on Thursday, Nov. 13, the Democratic Caucus would meet in Dover and nominate him for the post. He said Minority Whip Helene Keeley of Wilmington also wants the job. In January, when the General Assembly reconvenes, members will vote for a new majority leader.
Dover resident DiPasquale, who works at Georgetown’s Duffield Associates, served as DNREC secretary from April 1999 to October 2002.
“I think it’s idle speculation to be honest with you. I think Jack probably has higher priorities than naming cabinet positions right now,” DiPasquale said.
DiPasquale did say DNREC’s role needs to be clarified. “I think the agency’s role in term of land use and development has always been kind of in question. DNREC has approved individual and community septic systems, but local government – in the case of Sussex County – has also reviewed these projects. They have some unclear authority,” DiPasquale said.
DiPasquale, who supported Markell, said he would happily serve under the new governor. “It’s probably the best job I’ve ever had. If I was asked, I would do it,” DiPasquale said.
Targett said Markell will soon make committee appointments. No meeting date has yet been set for the transition team, she said.
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