Lt. Governor candidate creates think tank

New Castle County Register of Wills Ciro Poppiti III, a candidate for lieutenant governor, is creating a policy think tank that will focus on older citizens and their caregivers.

“We have seniors who call 911 and say, ‘I’m lonely.’ We have seniors who call 911 and say, ‘I can’t get dressed.’ What’s being lost as the state is aging is the strain put on first responders. There is a tremendous strain because of people who need social services, not emergency services,” Poppiti said.

He said the misdirected 911 calls are not restricted to senior citizens, but seniors do comprise most of them.

Poppiti’s all-volunteer group will collect data and address aging in place, jobs for older citizens and estate planning. It will also create a senior citizens’ bill of rights for New Castle County.

As register of wills, Poppiti said he found people in the Hispanic community often ignore estate planning, so the wealth they accumulate dissipates and is not passed to their heirs. His plan is to emphasize estate planning to all residents, with a strong outreach to the Hispanic community.

Poppiti said he plans to help older citizens who need jobs find them. “It’s not that easy for those who are older to get back into the workforce,” he said.

The members of the commission are Derrick Fuller, Arisa Howze, Laura Kaplan, Givvel Marrero and Mihir Patel.