WILMINGTON — Candidates for the office of New Castle County Executive made a joint appearance at the Wilmington Rotary Club’s weekly meeting on Thursday.
Matt Meyer, who defeated incumbent County Executive Tom Gordon in the primary, and Republican candidate Mark Blake took turns responding to questions that ranged from core expectations of county government to managing an administration beleaguered by criticisms and bickering among its officials and high ranking employees.
“We need to focus on what the county does different than the state,” said Blake, who said his focus would include public safety and a streamlined land use process. Blake said cutting excess in the county and collecting on the nearly $2 million in outstanding sewer bills, would immediately lead to a leaner and effective county government.
“There’s so much waste,” said Blake.
Meyer, a former teacher at Prestige Academy and diplomat with the State Department, said his administration would be defined by three key components that voters have long asked for: transparency, honesty and efficiency.
“It starts from the ground up,” said Meyer. “It starts with the culture surrounding it – a culture of honesty , transparency and efficiency. We want to develop accurate information that easily is accessible, inclusive, efficient, and work together to develop policies and procedures that benefit us all.”
As for setting the tone for employees and council members, Blake said he doesn’t like drama and would like to make county government “boring and predictable” as well as fair and transparent.
Meyer said county government should fueled by the questions of truth, fairness, and whether decisions are beneficial.
