Parker Selby remains absent from legislature in final days

Questions about Rep. Stell Parker Selby’s absence this entire legislative year are ramping up as the session comes to a close. With only seven days remaining, the Milton representative has not attended a single day of the 2025 legislative session.

Parker Selby, a Democrat, was elected in a closely contested race in November to represent the 20th District, which covers Milton and greater Lewes. She was sworn in to her seat in March in a private ceremony attended by a few at her Milton home.

At the time, Speaker of the House Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, said in a statement that she looked forward to seeing Parker Selby back at Legislative Hall as soon as possible.

Since then, House leadership has provided no new information on Parker Selby’s status. Recent in-person attempts by a local TV news team to get answers directly from Minor-Brown – the top leader in the House and among the top leadership in the General Assembly – revealed no new details on Parker Selby’s absence.

Jenevieve Worley, director of communications for the House Democrats, said she does not believe House leadership has any updates to share on Parker Selby’s health.

“We haven't received any updates on when Stell will return,” she said.

Under Delaware law, the only mechanism to remove an elected official from office is impeachment. But for that to happen, maladministration would have to be proved. In this case, Parker Selby is not accused of any wrongdoing, and she would have to resign in order for House leadership to call for a special election to fill the seat.

Parker Selby’s November race was close. She beat Republican challenger Nikki Miller by just 245 votes.

In the past, legislators have resigned when confronted with wrongdoing or charged with a crime, the last being Rep. Gerald Brady, a Wilmington Democrat who was charged with shoplifting in 2022.

The last time a representative was absent for a lengthy period of time for health reasons was 2015, when then-Rep. Jack Peterman, a Republican who represented southern Kent County, missed the last quarter because of back surgery. His health deteriorated in 2016, when he suffered prostate cancer, a disease that took his life by August of that year. Peterman only attended four legislative days in 2016, but was in contact with his caucus throughout his absence.

“Rep. Peterman was generally available by phone at home,” said Joseph Fulgham, chief of policy and communications for House Republicans, who was also a constituent of Peterman’s.

Rep. Danny Short, R-Seaford, was House minority leader at the time. He said when Peterman was unavailable to constituents by phone, he made sure other legislators were available to address constituent concerns.

“We had people paired up to help him with that,” Short said. “The difference was there was a time frame for him to come back.”

Short said he spoke with Peterman frequently about what votes would be taken and discussing when he would be back.

“We never pressed that issue. We never needed to have him come in for a deciding vote. We thought it might happen a couple of times, but it didn’t,” he said.

When Peterman required a wheelchair to get around, Short said, then-Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, was very accommodating, allowing Peterman’s desk to be moved for easy access.

“The discussion was more open between the caucuses,” Short said. 

Although both parties at the time understood that Peterman would return to the legislative session, Short said, no one knows for sure if Parker Selby will.

“If they know that she’s not, then there is an obligation to maybe consider resignation and move on,” he said. “I don’t think anyone wishes [Parker Selby] ill will, and we hope she does recover and come back.”

Her absence has left many of the more than 23,000 registered voters in her district wondering what’s going on.

Rep. Bryan Shupe, whose 36th District runs down Union Street Extended and abuts Parker Selby’s district line, said people started calling him three months ago to ask what was going on with Parker Selby, but calls from her constituents have picked up over the past 45 days.

“Constituents have called and asked if I could help them with an issue because they say they haven’t been able to get through to her office,” Shupe said.

Recently, two serious crashes at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Route 16 have prompted many to call with concerns, he said. The intersection is close to Parker Selby’s Milton home.

Shupe said he responded with a video posted on Facebook from the intersection because of its close proximity to his district.

“A lot of my residents in the 36th District use those roads as well,” he said. 

Shupe said he commonly gets calls from Milford residents in the 33rd District since it is part of the Milford area, but this is the first time residents in the 20th District have reached out to him with concerns.

Parker Selby’s legislative aide Salvador Alarcon said he has no news regarding the representative’s return to session.

“We are here to help with any constituent needs in the 20th District,” he said.

Democrat leadership in the House insists that Parker Selby’s constituents can continue to reach out to her office at Legislative Hall for help. Calls to Parker Selby’s home were not returned.

Parker Selby was first elected as the 20th District representative in 2022 and was re-elected for a two-year term in 2024. Her annual salary is $50,678.