NEW CASTLE — In many ways, Marcus Henry is as much a product of the Delaware Way as he is a man who stands outside of it.
He grew up in Brandywine Hills, a middle-to-upper-class minority-based neighborhood that sprung up due to housing discrimination in the 1950s. In his teenage years, he attended the Catholic and predominantly white Saint Mark’s High School.
But he was introduced to a different life perspective when he followed his mother at work while she was employed as the director of two different organizations in the 1970s – Girls Incorporated of Delaware and Delaware Guidance Services.
That perspective shift gave him a new picture of New Castle County, one that showcased the community that could be found outside of the “mostly white environment” he came to know in the suburbs and through his schooling. Henry went on to attend one of the most prolific Historically Black higher educational institutions, Howard University, spending his college days in Washington, D.C.
“That was something different I celebrated. But the funny thing was, I found so many middle-class Black kids with similar backgrounds, all having a great mindset,” Henry said. “My mom thought education was important, but I would see at work she has this southern sensibility about her. It taught me a perspective on things.”
Shortly after graduation, Henry interned at Fox News and Black Entertainment Television while he tried to find his path. He did not see a lot of opportunities in his home state, so he went to live with his father and stepmother in Chicago in the early 1990s.
He was introduced to local politics and government service around this time while working for an alderman who represented Chicago’s northside.
“I just loved it,” the now county executive said. “That was the best lesson in local government structure and how things worked.”
The hands-on education was enough to sustain Henry for two years, but he realized that if he wanted to go further, he’d need to get a master’s degree. He opted to come back to the University of Delaware to study public administration.
Outside of meeting his wife Diliana there, the college experience supercharged Henry’s career. He started as an aide in the Delaware State Housing Authority, then moved into a new role as the coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Brownfields redevelopment program. Right ahead of the subprime mortgage crisis, Henry went to the Wilmington Housing Authority where he worked with private developers to see projects through like the Lincoln Towers.
By the time Chris Coons was elevated to county executive, prior to his eventual election as a United States Senator for Delaware, Henry was appointed to the county Historic Commission and later moved to the New Castle County Department of Community Services. He became an economic director under the Gordon administration. During his time in county government, he and his wife were struggling to find quality care for their autistic son which, by their research, could cost up to $40,000 per year.
It inspired Henry to open BrightBloom, an applied behavior analysis center, in Wilmington. Now, it’s grown to three locations in Delaware, one in each county, as well as in Maryland and New Jersey.
“We started with a rented out trailer with four or five therapists and we had four kids when we started out. We bootstrapped the whole thing,” he said. “My wife runs everything now. It was hard to give up. Yes, it’s a for-profit enterprise, but we’re helping out so many kids and that’s what helps me sleep at night.”
With the next administration change, Henry returned back to the community services department where he oversaw the completion of three libraries in New Castle County, as well as the Hope Center. All of those experiences have shown him that each aspect of the government, from economic development to public safety, is all interconnected to form a larger picture.
“People don’t realize it but when you need to call an ambulance, you get a 10-second response time. That’s been nationally recognized. We’re dealing with a sustainability issue for volunteer firefighters where there’s some reimbursement, as well as Medicaid. But it’s not enough to deal with the growth and demand in services in unincorporated areas,” he said.
The New Castle County budget is just one issue Henry has to help tackle as the new county executive, but it’s a big one at that. The county typically draws down reserves to balance the budget and this first budget for Henry will be no exception. But while he’s facing a $32.2 million budget shortfall, he’s also working in a time when federal funds have been thrown into question at the drop of a hat and when the county’s unprecedented growth is coming to a head with necessary services.
Henry also inherited the countywide property tax reassessment which he calls “not fun but it’s necessary” for a more regular cycle. In the long run, the Henry administration may mean exploring in terms of where the county can increase fees or find new revenues, but he said not this year.
“I’m an optimistic person by nature. I also understand budgets very well, and I’m going to take the next year to go through everything extremely carefully. But on the same side, we may have a big commercial real estate transfer that brings in a lot [in transfer tax]. We won’t know what the future holds,” he said.
When it comes to economic development policy, Henry’s budget plan has no new surprises in terms of programs and initiatives, just a bigger push to market existing resources while understanding the existing roadblocks. It’s a priority to support small businesses and start-ups in the county, knowing what a growth multiplier that is from first-hand experience.
“I’ve seen the impact [a small business] has on the local economy. If you bring in 150 people, that’s a tax base and more opportunities for the local bakery and the Mom and Pop shop. I do think that helps just as much, if not more,” Henry said.
As the chief executive of Delaware’s most populous county in an uncertain time, Henry hopes to remind residents of what local government was and could be again – an outstretched hand offered to the citizens.
“You control what you can control. In my view, [I have to focus on] what’s best for New Castle County,” Henry added. “People want certainty in the markets. We’re being very conservative on some of the things we’re doing and that’s why we’re taking the action we’re taking.”
