WILMINGTON– Sean Matthews, the new executive director of the Delaware Contractors Association, brings multiple skillsets to his new job.
That includes an interest in home improvement and experience as a Brandywine School District teacher. At the end of last year, he ended a 10-year tenure in the Delaware House, where he served as the representative for north Wilmington.
Matthews, who started his role over the past year, replaces Bryon Short, who became state director for U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride. Short was “was a friend and mentor,” Matthews wrote in his first blog post on the association’s site.
“I’m just trying to use my experience as a legislator to help promote a good overall climate in Delaware for business,” he said.
For example, in March, the DCA hosted a breakfast with government officials “so that they can build connections and learn from each other.”
“In my short time here, I’ve seen policies change in the moment when two people connect,” Matthews said. “We recently had our DelDOT liaison committee, and some of the road contractors were discussing a way that would be mutually beneficial for DelDOT to manage bid submissions to help both the agency and contractors better manage their workflow.”
“That’s been a really cool part, bringing people together to find solutions,” he added.
Matthews started the job on Jan. 20. The DCA convened a search committee where members interviewed final candidates before appointing Matthews to the job.
The search committee was impressed with Matthew’s “professionalism and his experience serving as a state legislator on committees that are vital to our members and the construction industry as a whole,” said John Everhart, association president and a vice president at Merit Construction Engineers.
“Additionally, his passion for advocacy and his desire to help our membership stay engaged with policy makers is extremely important to our mission,” Everhart said.
In fact, Matthews’ passion for construction projects may be traced back to his work in the legislative hall. During his time there, he wKenorked with the Delaware Department of Transportation “to create a system to better fund neighborhood road projects.”
That’s key for his North Wilmington district, which exploded in growth starting in the 1950s, he said.
“I always joke that I might have the record for the most calls to the Transportation Management Center, where you can call for potholes, signs down or a light out,” he said. He called the center impressive and noted how it was staffed around the clock.
The DCA represents more than 160 companies, with more than half contractors and the rest associate members, like banks, insurers and others looking to connect with the construction industry.
Matthews has been devoting time to researching the association’s history and meeting members, and that knowledge and perspective has already inspired several changes. That includes:
- Creating space in the association’s building on Stanton Christiana Road free for members to use.
- Working with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to re-establish an alliance for training.
- Starting a partnership for transportation training with the Delaware Transportation Center, a University of Delaware office also known as the T²/LTAP
- A spotlight of DCA members and employees in the association’s newsletter.
- Started a staff book study on customer service to “double-down” in a service-first approach.”
Looking ahead, Matthews said he’s identified a looming issue: whether the transition to electric vehicles will mean a drop in the gas tax – which is provides funding for the state’s road projects.
Delaware is part of the Eastern Transportation Coalition, which since 2018 has been studying mileage-based user fee, DelawareLive reported in 2022.
“We have to educate the public on the need to invest in our roads,” he said.
When asked how he explains his job to his three children, he referred to how the association represents a wide variety of stakeholders and sometimes viewpoints. An obvious difference is that the DCA represents both union and open-shop construction companies.
“Ninety percent of the time they agree, but I’m the therapist keeping the different sides together,” he said.
