DOVER – Governor-elect Matt Meyer has already nominated three members of his cabinet, including two top officials that served in his New Castle County administration.
On Wednesday, Meyer announced Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, the current general manager of New Castle County’s Department of Land Use, as his nominee for Secretary of State. That position oversees more than two dozen agencies, ranging from the Division of Small Business to the Division of Arts.
But most critically, the Secretary of State manages the state’s most lucrative revenue stream – the $2 billion corporate franchise tax. In the fall of 2023, Delaware surpassed more than 2 million business entities incorporated in the First State.
“Delawareans deserve a government ready to listen and respond to their needs,” Meyer said in a prepared statement. “In Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, they will have a Secretary of State poised to do exactly that, and she will deliver for all Delawareans.”
Patibanda-Sanchez is a Delaware native and a graduate of the Tower Hill School in Wilmington, but spent years working in land use and regulatory practices at Los Angeles law firms like Sheppard Mullin and Glaser Weil. She also started a boutique consulting firm, The McOsker Group, which focused on developing political strategies for hospitality, health care and development clients.
She returned to Delaware after Meyer chose her as New Castle County’s economic development director in 2021 following a nationwide search. In 2023, Patibanda-Sanchez was tapped to become the county’s land use director, where she shaped new proposals to streamline developments in Delaware’s largest counties.
Patibanda-Sanchez also led other legislative efforts, like protections for residents living next door to large warehouses and incentives for mixed-use housing projects in commercial areas.
“I am honored to be nominated to serve my home state as Delaware’s next Secretary of State,” Patibanda-Sanchez said. “I thank Governor-elect Meyer for the opportunity, and I am eager to begin working with the talented staff at the Department of State to further strengthen Delaware families and create more economic development opportunities for everyone as well as promote and preserve Delaware’s history and cultural vibrancy for generations to come.”
Meyer also named Michael Smith, the current New Castle County chief financial officer, as his nominee for Secretary of Finance. Smith is a veteran of government finance, spending 18 years in various roles within state and county governments and advising elected officials on tax and money matters.
In his role as New Castle County’s chief financial officer, Smith has overseen the county’s collection of county property tax and impact fees, financial reporting and audits, debt management, pensions and more.
Smith’s resume also includes stops as the Deputy Director of the Delaware Division of Revenue where he was responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Delaware tax code. If confirmed by the state Senate, Smith will succeed current Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger who held the job since 2017 and now plans to retire.
“Serving as secretary of finance in Gov. Carney’s Cabinet has been an honor and a privilege,” Geisenberger said. “[He] Carney took office facing a $400 million budget deficit. Under his leadership in collaboration with the General Assembly, the State has experienced a record 7 straight budget surpluses and increased operating reserves more than $595 million.”
With the current Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Cerron Cade departing to join Carney in Wilmington’s city hall as chief of staff, Meyer will also need to fill that position. He has named former OMB Director Brian Maxwell as his pick.
Maxwell served as the OMB director under both then-Gov. Jack Markell and Carney, but he also worked with Meyer in the past to draft a long-term plan to balance the New Castle County budget as well as increasing transparency for government spending.
After his time in the cabinet, Maxwell served in the Delaware Treasurer’s office and later became the top finance head for St. Andrew’s School in Middletown and the nonprofit Children & Families First.
“The future financial success of Delaware will require steady hands at the helm. With their decades of experience in state and local government and the private sector, Brian and Michael will be invaluable members of my Cabinet,” Meyer said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to working with the two of them to build a prosperous future for all of Delawareans.”
All three nominations will be subject to confirmation hearings and votes by the Delaware Senate.
With these nominations, Meyer has signaled that he is committed to the proclamation of “a new day for Delaware” that he made on election night in November. Both Bullock and Geisenberger have served in the cabinet for years with Bullock notably holding the position longer than any Delaware Secretary of State in more than two centuries.
It also opens the land use general manager and finance chief positions for incoming New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry.
