B LU EP RI NT

FOR A B ETTER D E LAWAR E

State Treasurer Jack A. Markell

 Acknowledgements

I had lots of help in writing this book.

Dozens of Delawareans sent me ideas, edited my words and greatly improved the final product. I’m grateful
to all of them.

There are four in particular who deserve special mention, because the project started with them many
months ago, seated around my kitchen table.

Susan Swan, Ann Marie Johnson Ianni, Nancy Charron and Stephanie McClellan were simply amazing in
terms of their wisdom, tenacity and patience with me. Any mistakes in these pages are, of course, mine
alone. But the four of them rightfully get credit for that which is good. I simply can’t thank them enough.

I’m also grateful to the folks at Brain Storm, a firm focused on developing policy ideas for public servants.
They were very helpful in terms of making sure I was up to speed on initiatives across the country – for
better and for worse.

I would also like to thank Joe Rogalsky, Molly Keresztury, Jed Weeks, Douglas Marshall-Steele, and Sheila
Grant amongst others who made important editorial contributions at different times in the process.

Finally, I thank my family for their love and support, not just during the writing of this book, but during my
entire career serving the people of Delaware. My kids, Molly and Michael, as well as my wife, Carla, remind
me all the time that government and policy are not supposed to be about fancy speeches and ideas, but
rather about actions that make a difference in the lives of real people. I love them and am grateful for their
love in return.

BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008 3

 Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7

Energy, Climate Change, and Delaware’s Future ..................................................................... 10

A Plan for Enhancing Our Quality of Life in Delaware............................................................ 18

Turning Ideas into Meaningful Employment (TIME) ............................................................... 28

Enhancing Delaware’s Safety and Security............................................................................... 38

In Sickness and in Health: Health Care for All Delawareans .................................................. 47

Delaware’s Education Future: World Class Public Schools ...................................................... 59

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 75

BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008 5

 Introduction
This is a policy book. It comes from years of studying,
talking with experts, creating successful government
initiatives—and lots of listening to the concerns of
Delaware citizens. The result is an in-depth analysis of the
health of our state that identifies short-term and long-term
opportunities and challenges and lays out creative ideas to
secure increased prosperity for all Delawareans.
But government “of the people” doesn't exist in some sort
of policy vacuum. It reflects the experiences, motives, and
aspirations of the people who craft it. So, as I campaign for
governor of Delaware, I want you to know not only what
I will do as chief executive, but why. My policy ideas are
driven by who I am, and I'm driven by those who informed
my life and work.
I begin, then, with one of the wisest people I've known:
my grandmother.
Grandma Mollie lived in a small one-bedroom apartment
on a busy intersection in Brooklyn—a lot busier than my
little street in Windy Hills, off Kirkwood Highway in
Newark. The sensory thrill of Brooklyn lingers in my
memory: the ambulance sirens, the traffic, the rumble of
the old elevator, the smell of the cookies that were always
waiting when we arrived every six weeks or so—my
parents, Leni and Bill, my brother, David, my sister, Judy,
and me.
There was something else besides cookies I could count
on from Grandma: straight talk, unvarnished and
unapologetic.
It is one of our last conversations, when she was already
past 90 years of age and I was around 30, that I remember
best. I was an early and senior executive at Nextel, on the
ground floor of the wireless telecommunications
revolution. I was excited by this little upstart company and
how we were changing the way America communicated. I
wanted Grandma to share my excitement.
As I described the new technologies—faxes, cell phones,
pagers—she simply sat and listened. When I finished, her
words were clear, her voice strong: “So what? So what you
can send a piece of paper over a phone line? So what that
somebody can send you a message through the air? When
BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008
people are still killing each other, when people are hurting
each other, when people still starve, when babies have
babies, when the homeless freeze outside, so what?”
That was my grandmother’s way. Grandma never lost sight
of the priorities in life, and by her example she conveyed
them to me. She taught me to look critically at the world
around me. Her guidance, her sense of right and wrong,
and her conviction that people and community must
come first have inspired much of my life and work.
Grandma’s blunt admonition forced me to recall promises
I had made to myself as a younger man.
During my senior year at Newark High School, my father
taught overseas. My mom and I accompanied him.
Growing up in a modest but comfortable middle-class
home, I was unprepared for the wrenching sights I would
see as we stepped off the plane in New Delhi, India: men,
women, and children so poor they wouldn’t know what a
“poverty line” was. I looked in horror as travelers walked
briskly around and over homeless beggars.
Ironically, India today is fast becoming an icon for
educational achievement and a dynamic work ethic,
threatening our economic competitiveness. But for me,
India will always be that jolt of reality, the place where I
made that promise to myself: I would do something to
make it possible for more people to achieve their
economic potential. After getting a degree in economics
and development studies from Brown University, I
wrestled with how to fulfill that promise to myself.
Tempted to join the Peace Corps, I decided instead to
pursue an MBA, reasoning that those who control the
levers of economic power have the greatest ability to
effect social change. So I went to Chicago and worked to
put myself through graduate school at the University of
Chicago, where I earned an MBA. From there I set out on
the amazing path that led to a career in business and
technology.
Years later, when I told my business colleagues I was going
to run for state treasurer, they asked me why. I answered
that deep in my heart I believe that government can make
things a little easier for the average family, and a little
brighter for Delaware’s future.
When I began my campaign to become treasurer in 1998,
7
I trailed the incumbent by 27 points. Relentless work and
a great team brought me to victory by 16 points, an
achievement I owe in large measure to my wife, Carla,
whom I have known since childhood. Our wonderful
children—Grandma’s namesake, Molly, now 15, and
Michael, 12—have joined me on campaigns that led to
two subsequent reelections.
When I began my tenure, I discovered that the treasurer’s
office was antiquated. Ten years later the office employs
21st-century technology and efficient financial practices.
Moreover, I broadly interpret the mission of Treasurer to
create programs that promote prosperity in society. I instill
in my co-workers the importance of new ideas, diligent
individual and collaborative work, and the drive to do
whatever it takes to make a positive and measurable
difference for Delaware’s families and for our state.
I recount these personal stories to give you a sense of why
I turned the corner from business into government, and
why I’m pursuing the office of governor at this moment in
Delaware’s history.
I’m running now because delay is not an option. This is a
wonderful state, with a proud past and potentially a very
bright future. But that bright future is not assured. I’m
convinced that changes in our own economy, as well as
forces around the globe, represent both a significant risk
and, if we are smart about it, a huge opportunity.
In some ways, Delaware is thriving. We are one of only
seven states in the country with the top AAA rating from
all three agencies that rate state bonds. We have a low
unemployment rate. We are recognized around the world
for the strength of our legal system. There is much to be
proud of.
Yet pride should not make us blind to looming problems
that we have never before had to face as a state. For
example, Delaware ranks among the worst in the
country for new business creation, a canary-in-the-coal-
mine statistic that should snap us to attention. Moreover,
Delaware’s traditional revenue streams and job sources
are under siege. Where will new jobs come from as
industries flee to less expensive human-resource-rich
countries in Asia? How will we pay for government
services as revenue bounty from gaming and other
sources dwindles?
8 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
We can easily see frayed edges in the social fabric as well. “curse”—an urgent, restless impulse to do more, to never
Today half of all black and Hispanic students in the state be satisfied, to bear down on the work at hand. To fulfill
drop out of high school. More than 100,000 Delawareans our state’s potential and to hold to Grandma’s
have no health insurance. Many of the risks that families uncompromising vision. Of course, it’s not a curse at all.
used to share with their employers and their It’s the passion that motivates me every single day.
government–health care, retirement benefits and
As Governor, I will turn my clear vision for Delaware into
college education–are now being shifted onto us to bear
bold, responsible policies. From my own deep well of
alone. No family is immune to these greater pressures,
ideas, and from the extensive network of innovative
and so many Delawareans are feeling squeezed.
people nationwide whom I’ve come to know in my
We have immense potential to make life more secure. In careers, I’ll continue to develop new models for how to
this book, and in my campaign for governor, I begin by achieve prosperity—for our children, and for generations
asking questions: Is our state government as smart, we will never meet. The ideas in this book are merely a
forward-thinking, lean, vigorous, and effective as it should sampling of what I know to be possible.
be? No. Are we doing enough—and enough of the right
More than 200 years ago, Delaware earned its moniker,
things—to become a jewel in the global economic
“The First State.” We need to make that true once again. I
marketplace? No. Are we educating and attracting a 21st-
ask that you join me in this great enterprise.
century workforce that’s fully up and running for the stiff
competition ahead? Not yet. Can we do more, much more,
to identify and create the conditions in which to grow a
new generation of robust, clean, responsible enterprises in
Delaware? Yes. Can we make society fairer and more
prosperous, so that our interlaced futures all will be
improved? Absolutely.
We’ve barely begun to put our imaginations to the new
tasks ahead. And what better place to be imaginative than
our small state, which can and should be a laboratory for
innovation?
Somebody once said the average speed of trains today is
about what it was 100 years ago—not because of the
trains, but because of the tracks. We still have 19th- and
20th-century tracks, but we can’t afford 19th- and 20th-
century thinking. Even Grandma Mollie would agree with
that, so long as we continue to remember what’s really
important in life. It’s time to lay those new tracks and get
moving.
I’ve traveled the state from Delmar to Claymont for almost
10 years as an elected official, and our citizens have told
me that we must make bold changes if we are going to
make a measurable difference in the lives of real people. I
am running for governor because I will not shy away from
making bold changes, and I’ll never stop pushing myself
for better solutions.
This brings me to what Carla and I jokingly refer to as my
DELAWARE 2008 9
Energy, Climate Change, and
Delaware’s Future
How Delaware chooses to produce and use energy will
help determine whether the state flourishes or loses its
status as an outstanding place to live and do business in
the 21st century.
Why energy, when Delaware historically has not been a
leading energy producer or consumer?
First, the emergence of the renewable energy, alternative
fuel and other clean technology industries is one of the
most dynamic areas of the economy. Second, energy is
one of the most fundamental issues shaping our national
and economic security in the United States. Third, energy
issues directly impact the production of greenhouse gas
emissions, the leading contributor to global warming and
climate change.
We do not have much in the way of traditional,
homegrown fossil fuel energy supplies in Delaware. We
have no oil to drill, no vast coal resources, and no natural
gas supplies. All of these come from somewhere else in
the country or the world, and we pay for every bit of it –
it’s money that leaves the state. Understanding how all of
these economic development, national security, economic
security, and environmental issues interact and then
acting in a decisive way that benefits Delaware’s citizens,
businesses, and government will rank among the most
important leadership challenges for our next governor.
Many states, large and small, have been taking aggressive
action to improve their energy situations – viewing clean
energy as an economic development issue and investing
in the production of renewable energy like biodiesel, wind
and solar power as part of a job creation and economic
growth strategy. Not only are these booming industries –
wind power is the fastest growing source of energy in
Texas, the heart of America’s oil and natural gas industries
– they create high-paying manufacturing and labor jobs to
build the equipment, install it, and maintain it.
As we plan for a cleaner, smarter energy future, Delaware
should invest in four areas to protect consumers and
businesses from future energy price increases and
environmental risks.
10 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
New Ideas, New Energy
Like the rest of the United States, Delaware is addicted to oil
and other fossil fuels. According to the federal Energy
Information Administration, Delaware ranks 19th in per
capita energy consumption – driving vehicles, heating
homes, and fueling our industries and manufacturing base.1
As of June 2007, Delaware’s cost of electricity was 14th
highest in the country out of the 50 states and the District
of Columbia.2 Very little of the electricity we use – less than
one-half of one percent of the State’s total – currently is
generated in Delaware through renewable sources, ranking
us with Alaska, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia as
the only states in the country with little to no renewable
energy generation.
Because Delaware is so heavily dependent on fossil
fuels, Delaware’s economy and consumers are
particularly susceptible to price increases due to
problems that are well beyond their control, such as
Middle East political crises or instability and natural gas
shortages. In short, Delaware does not come close to
controlling its own energy future. We must change that.
Our heavy reliance on fossil fuels also puts Delaware at a
competitive and environmental disadvantage. The
combustion of fossil fuels, both to drive our vehicles and
to generate electricity in power plants, also is a leading
contributor of harmful greenhouse gas emissions that are
helping to produce global warming and climate change.
And unlike states in the Midwest, we have virtually no
alternative transportation fuel supply or infrastructure.
Delaware should be working proactively to reduce our
reliance on oil and other fossil fuels by developing cleaner,
renewable sources of Delaware-grown energy. We have a
variety of potential renewable resources – wind power,
solar power and biofuels made from home-grown crops
are just a few. By taking action now, we can create jobs,
reduce our reliance on foreign oil, make our businesses
more competitive and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
all at the same time. We should look at energy and climate
change problems as economic and environmental
opportunities – and I have a plan for doing just that.
DELAWARE 2008
Clean Renewable Energy here: according to the U.S. Department of Energy,
Delaware has excellent wind resources just off its coast. A
Delaware enacted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS),
which requires the state’s retail electricity suppliers to use
few other states, such as Texas and California, have been
successful in carefully crafting regulatory rules and
renewable energy to generate at least 20 percent of the incentives to attract the major wind power developers and
electricity they sell in Delaware by 2019. This is a good enable them to install significant capacity.
start for Delaware because states that have invested
heavily in renewable energy have been finding that not
only are they meeting their RPS renewable energy goals,
Making Delaware More Attractive to
Renewable Energy
they are exceeding them.
Delaware can pursue other strategies to increase the
As a result, states like California, Texas, New Mexico, and
development of renewable energy. We want to ensure that
New York, along with others, have sought to establish high
Delaware is and is perceived to be a state that is friendly to
renewable energy goals. Although Delaware’s renewable
renewable energy and renewable energy developers. For
energy sector is in its infancy, we ought to be doing
instance, the state could offer green building tax credits to
everything possible to learn from the experience of these
companies that incorporate renewable energy sources, like
leading states, adopt incentives and regulations that have
wind power, as part of the design of new commercial
worked effectively to bolster the rapid development and
buildings and include other environmentally friendly or
deployment of renewable energy, and aggressively seek
“green” design features.
out opportunities to expand Delaware’s sources of
renewable power. From the days of the solar demonstration house in
Newark to the recently-formed Sustainable Energy Utility,
Some people think that renewable technologies are years
solar power has been an area of attention in Delaware.
away from being “practical” or “cost competitive” with
Studies indicate that solar power could be deployed cost-
traditional power sources. Wind is an exception to that
effectively in Delaware, especially by some larger
rule and I believe we should act now to deploy wind
commercial or industrial customers. For example, a study
power facilities in Delaware. Wind power is the fastest
that was released by the Delaware Million Solar Roofs
growing source of power in the U.S. and the main reason
Coalition found opportunities to integrate solar thermal
is simple – its cost is fixed and attractive.
applications cost-effectively in Delaware’s poultry industry.
For example, in November 2005 the 35,000 customers of
The preheating of water in poultry processing plants was
Excel Energy in Colorado who had signed up to purchase
found to be a particularly cost-effective application of solar
“green power” fueled by wind farms began paying less
thermal technologies, with paybacks of less than five
than Excel’s other customers. Natural gas shortages had
years. Demonstration projects like the new solar powered
forced Excel to impose a 27% price increase on traditional
poultry house that was installed this year by Allen Family
power customers, while the 35,000 wind power
Foods in Laurel potentially opens the way to significant
customers paid an average of $10 less per month.3 Wind is
funding from the USDA, and could ultimately help get the
no longer an environmentalist’s pipe dream and with
poultry houses off the grid – thereby reducing the risk to
more U.S. and European wind power companies building
the poultry growers from blackouts/brownouts in the
manufacturing plants in the U.S., I believe it is time for
summer.
Delaware to get on board.
We will provide all of the same incentives for the
We are all aware of the potential for the first off-shore wind
deployment of solar panels that were discussed above
farm in the U.S. to be developed here in Delaware,
with wind power. By establishing a pilot program to
because it has been a dominant story in the news over the
deploy more solar panels on the roofs of office buildings
last year. Currently we await the outcome of a lengthy
and homes in Delaware, we can help reduce the cost of
process involving four state agencies, Delmarva Power and
solar power which remains much higher than wind
Bluewater Wind. It is no accident that Delaware is a leader
11
power. This pilot program will seek to build upon the
successes of the Delaware Million Solar Roofs Coalition,
which is currently attempting to leverage federal funds to
deploy 500 solar energy systems in Delaware.4 Carla and I
already took one step into more energy efficient living by
installing solar panels on our own home. As governor I will
aggressively pursue our fair share of federal funds for
programs like these.
Fighting for Federal Dollars and
Research
The promise of solar power is exciting in the long term
and much publicly and privately funded research is going
on right now on how best to reduce the cost of solar
power. My administration will be active in attracting
additional research dollars to Delaware’s colleges and
universities and making sure that research can be
commercialized as soon as possible.
For example, one of the critical issues in making solar
power more economical is increasing the conversion
efficiency of solar panels. Right now, solar panels convert
approximately 15% of the sunlight hitting its surface into
electricity. In October 2006, one solar panel designer, Sun
Power, announced it had achieved a 22% efficiency level in
its laboratories. Interestingly, the U.S. military is at the
forefront of research in this area and Delaware is well-
positioned to be a national leader in this important area of
research.
In summer 2007, the Department of Defense awarded
$12.2 million to DuPont to lead the DuPont-University of
Delaware Very High Efficiency Solar Cell (VHESC)
program. This would allow soldiers to recharge their
laptops, night goggles and other electronic gear on the
battlefield, rather than having to fly in and/or carry heavy
battery packs. Overall, this program could bring $100
million in investment to Delaware.5 My administration will
support the involvement of our colleges and universities
in high-profile, cutting-edge research projects like the
VHESC program.
Leading by Example
Delaware state government should lead by example when
it comes to renewable energy. We should examine our
portfolio of state buildings and real estate and use them to
12 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
demonstrate how renewable energy can be integrated
into those facilities. For example, every large roof space on
a state building or facility ought to be considered as a mini-
power plant in waiting. We ought to install photovoltaic
solar panels and technologies on the roofs of state
buildings, prisons and the like and generate electricity to
offset some of those buildings’ energy loads. We should
explore the possibility of installing wind turbines on larger
state parcels of land and prisons. By demonstrating the
feasibility of these sorts of renewable systems, the state
can encourage commercial and industrial customers to
follow suit.
Using the Power of Delaware’s
Pension and Investment Funds to
Support Clean Energy
As state treasurer, I am certain that climate change,
increased energy demand, and other global
environmental and political trends pose significant risks to
investors, corporations and other segments of the global
economy. But the businessman in me recognizes that
these risks also point to a number of readily identifiable
investment opportunities. Trustees of large public pension
funds and managers of investment portfolios have a
fiduciary responsibility to take appropriate steps to
measure, manage, and reduce risk. But they also have the
opportunity to encourage the leveraging of their
investment power to create sustained, long-term positive
value, while contributing to the development of new jobs
in environmentally responsible, clean technology-related
industries within their borders.
Recognizing these risks and investment opportunities,
some state pension and investment funds are beginning
to invest in alternative energy, renewable energy, and
“clean technologies.” For example, two of the largest
public pension funds in the nation, the California Public
Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the
California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)
have committed to:
• Invest $450 million ($200 million by CalPERS, $250
million by CalSTRS) in clean energy technologies,
such as renewable energy, fuel cells, and waste
recycling.
• Invest more than $500 million of their stock
DELAWARE 2008
portfolios into environmentally screened funds
through leading investment managers with proven
track records.
• Invest an estimated $200 million combined to
retrofit their real estate holdings to reduce energy
consumption by 20 percent within five years. The
retrofit investment would allow the funds to
capture an estimated $40 million annually in
energy savings, while creating approximately
4,300 jobs and reducing annual energy demand by
72 megawatts – enough power to supply an
estimated 50,000 homes annually.
Delaware should consider similar initiatives. Delaware’s
Public Employees’ Retirement System alone has assets in
excess of $6.5 billion. I will encourage the trustees of
Delaware PERS to develop a “Green Wave” investment
plan for Delaware consistent with their fiduciary
responsibility to pensioners. I believe such investments
can be good for the bottom line of our public pension and
investment funds, as well as ultimately good for our
energy and economic security.
Similarly, I will challenge the trustees of other large
pension and investment funds in Delaware, including
union and corporate-based funds, to follow suit. All of
these investments – public and private – can serve to
create jobs and stimulate clean technology and clean
energy industries here in Delaware.
Conservation
How can we, as individuals and as a state, have a positive
impact on the environment, reduce the greenhouse gases
we generate, and save money at the same time? The
answer is simple and basic: energy conservation and
efficiency—we do not pay for energy we do not use,
whether it is in the form of electricity, oil or gas. Using less
energy makes sense and saves money – conservation is the
most effective energy investment with the highest return.
Energy conservation and efficiency will save money and
energy in the short term, and with a little effort, in the long
run it will eliminate load growth. If we take energy
efficiency seriously, we will reduce the need for power
companies to build new electricity generating plants and
transmission lines. With a reduced need, we can be
choosier about the type of plants that are used or built.
In recent years, our state has begun to take steps to bring
about increased energy efficiency. There are programs and
information available through the Delaware Energy Office,
including the Energy An$wers program. Energy An$wers
provides incentives to residential and non-residential
electric customers. The Energy An$wers for Business
program offers funding to help businesses assess and
improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. The
Energy An$wers for Home Appliances program provides
grants to Delaware residents who retire inefficient
appliances and replace them with select high-efficiency
products such as refrigerators, freezers, washing
machines, electric water heaters, central A/C and air
conditioning window units.
This program is a good start, but we can and must do
better—much better. According to the American Council
for an Energy Efficient Economy, Delaware ranks 30th out
of the 50 states on key measures of energy efficiency.
Delaware needs to substantially ramp up its energy
conservation and efficiency programs. To do this, the state
should, among other things:
• Offer energy efficiency tax incentives that reward
investments in energy efficiency by consumers or
businesses. For example, homeowners could deduct
the interest paid on loans used to purchase energy
efficient equipment or products, such as efficient
heating or air conditioning systems, windows or
insulation, solar electrical and hot water heating, and
geothermal heating and cooling.
• Adopt the latest energy efficiency building codes.
The state currently utilizes the 2000 International
Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for residential
construction and ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 for
commercial construction. Our state must catch up
and upgrade the state building codes, ensuring that
Delaware architects and builders incorporate higher
levels of energy efficiency into homes and
commercial buildings.
• Adopt appliance efficiency standards to ensure that
products sold in Delaware meet higher levels of
energy efficiency. The American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy calls appliance efficiency
13
 standards “one of America’s most effective energy
saving policies.” The Appliance Standards Awareness
Project has estimated that Delaware could
significantly cut its energy use by the year 2020 just
by following in the footsteps of our neighbors in
Maryland and New Jersey, and adopting a range of
current appliance efficiency standards.
• Adopt industrial efficiency standards for industrial and
commercial equipment. The industrial sector is the
largest user of electricity, and even modest efficiency
gains in this area will have a significant impact.
• Ensure that construction policies and requests for
proposals for all public buildings incorporate energy
efficiency and sustainable design. For example,
school construction may be slightly more expensive
up front but will save districts considerable money,
energy, and water in the long run. The state
government itself must lead the effort in building
energy efficiency, for both our new construction, and
retrofitting our existing buildings. The U.S. Green
Building Council has established their LEED
standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) as a benchmark for the design, construction
and operation of green buildings, and all buildings
and design professionals should be LEED certified.
Following these standards will help us improve the
quality of our buildings and reduce their impact on
the environment.
• Partner with construction trades and sponsor
training in construction, operations, and
maintenance of solar, wind, geothermal, and other
energy efficient systems.
• Expand low-income home weatherization funding,
which helps improve the energy efficiency of homes
and makes energy assistance dollars go further.
Many people believe that focusing on weatherization
assistance is the best bang for the buck, particularly
in helping people with low incomes, because it will
reduce expenses over the long term and also
generate economic activity for local business people
who actually do the work.
• Adopt commercial and industrial weatherization
standards. Large facilities have large energy bills and
14 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
are costly to heat and cool because of their size.
Addition of passive solar heat can save significant
heating expense and quickly pay for itself.
• Develop programs to help commercial and
industrial customers install co-generation
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems. On
average, two-thirds of the fuel energy burned to
generate electricity is wasted—dumped into rivers
or vented into the outside air by “cooling towers.”
More is wasted in long distance power
transmission. Much of this wasted heat can be
recovered and used to heat and cool buildings. The
state ought to develop programs to encourage
more industrial, commercial, and governmental
facilities to incorporate co-gen/CHP designs for
new or retrofitted facilities that utilize the energy
they are producing. The state, however, needs to
be careful not to allow cogeneration systems to
burn high emission solid fuels.
• Make full use of the new Sustainable Energy Utility.
The Sustainable Energy Utility will encompass not
only energy conservation and efficiency programs,
but also the development of renewable energy like
solar power. This approach is working in Vermont,
which has created Efficiency Vermont, a first-of-its-
kind energy efficiency utility that provides technical
assistance and financial incentives to help
Vermonters identify and pay for cost-effective
approaches to energy-efficient building design,
construction, renovation, equipment, lighting, and
appliances.
The governor's office must also play an important
leadership role in increasing energy efficiency statewide.
First, the governor leads by example, implementing
energy conservation and efficiency goals and programs
throughout state government operations. Second, the
governor must work creatively with the private sector to
develop partnerships that lead to more efficient uses of
energy.
For example, as governor, I will work with banks and other
lending institutions throughout Delaware to develop
“Green Car” and "Green Mortgage" lending programs.
These programs would offer discounted lending rates for
the purchase of hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles, and
DELAWARE 2008
homes that have received an "Energy Star" rating. Even a
loan rate discount of one-half of one percent would be
meaningful and will lead to an overall reduction in energy
use.
And, I will work with the state's Public Service Commission
to follow the lead of California and other state utility
regulators and adopt energy efficiency-first polices. That
is, before electric utilities spend a dollar to buy power in
the market or build a new power plant, they first would be
required to invest in ways to help consumers use energy
more efficiently. This will be better for everyone's bottom
line and better for our environment.
Helping those who need it most
For low-income residents and families, the rising cost of
electricity may be too overwhelming for an efficient
freezer to fix. Exploring avenues to increase energy
efficiency is only part of the answer. Rising energy prices
are forcing some households, particularly low-income
families, to cut back on essentials like food and healthcare
to absorb rising energy costs. For example, a Nov. 3, 2007
News Journal article indicated that fuel oil used to heat
homes has increased in price by 56 cents per gallon in the
last year and 28% in just the last two months. That is why
the state must couple plans for reducing energy usage
with financial assistance programs targeted at helping low-
income residents confront present energy concerns.
While initial programs are already in place, funding
limitations remain an obstacle. An estimated 15,400
Delaware households received assistance through federal
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding in
FY 2006. Although families with incomes of up to 200
percent of the poverty rate are eligible for LIHEAP
assistance – roughly $40,000 for a family of four – only a
fraction of those who are eligible receive this help due to
funding limitations. The state tries to supplement those
federal funds by collecting about $800,000 annually from
public goods charges on electric bills to fund low-income
fuel assistance and weatherization programs.
The state can provide additional help by increasing
funding of low-income energy assistance programs. To
ensure such funds go further, the state also should
develop programs to increase the energy efficiency of low-
income homes and housing, as I mentioned earlier. The
state should make home energy audits and low-cost
retrofits available to all families receiving low-income
energy assistance. These audits and retrofits also should
be available to landlords who provide low-income
housing. Adopting the more energy efficient building
codes will ensure that all Delaware residents in newly
constructed housing reap the benefits of energy efficiency.
These small investments will allow federal and state
energy assistance dollars to go further and help more
citizens, while simultaneously creating jobs in the
construction and trade markets.
To tackle our energy concerns, we must target every side
of the problem. From energy efficiency and providing
assistance for needy families currently choosing between
energy and other commodities, to educating consumers
on ways to use less energy around times of peak electricity,
both the consumption of energy and the impact our
energy use has on the earth will be significantly reduced in
Delaware. As governor, I will take the necessary steps to
ensure that every Delawarean can afford current energy
prices in addition to confidently looking toward a brighter
and more energy-efficient future.
Embracing the Solutions to Global
Warming and Climate Change
Heightened media coverage and books and movies like
former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth
have helped educate people that global warming and
climate change are real and threaten our economy and
our quality of life. Moreover, drastic changes in the
world’s ecosystem are not only possible, but are very
difficult to predict. Species die-off, desertification, rising
sea level, and forced human migration as a result of
abandonment of coastal cities are all among the alarming
possibilities.
It is clear that global warming caused by the rapid buildup
of greenhouse gases is changing climates. Not only has
global warming increased the temperature of the earth
and oceans, it is contributing to increasingly severe
weather. We watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina
nearly wiped New Orleans and parts of Mississippi off the
map in 2005, but that was just one of a record 27
15
hurricanes that year. There has been a significant increase
in violent storms like hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons
around the world in recent decades, fueled in part by the
impact of global warming on our planet.
The impact of these climate changes on Delaware may be
severe. Projections by the Union of Concerned Scientists,
for example, show that we likely will experience average
temperature increases of two to three degrees Fahrenheit
through the first third of this century due to emissions
that already are in the atmosphere. By the middle part of
the century, average temperatures may rise by three to five
degrees if we act to curb emissions or by four to seven
degrees if we continue on the same path.
If we fail to act, by the latter part of the century, Delaware
will be baking, with average temperatures that are seven
to 12 degrees higher than today. Our summer will feel like
southern Georgia. But worse, the number of days of
dangerous heat will skyrocket. Cities like Philadelphia and
Wilmington will likely experience an average of 19 days of
temperatures exceeding 90 degrees in a summer. If we fail
to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the number of days
with temperatures above 90 degrees is projected to
quadruple to 82 by the end of the century. The number of
dangerously hot days – those above 100 degrees – is
projected to rise from about two a year to 28 days – almost
an entire month’s worth of days topping 100 degrees.
This poses a basic threat to the health and safety of our
citizens. In 2003, a record heat wave killed nearly 35,000
people in Europe. The kinds of temperatures that are
being projected for our region go far beyond anything we
have experienced before.
But global warming and climate change have the potential
of affecting Delaware in other important areas. We are, of
course, a coastal state. If the world continues to warm at
its current unprecedented pace, and the ice in the Arctic
and Antarctic continue to melt, rising sea levels pose a
threat to our coastline. According to new data, even under
conservative projections of potential sea-levels increases
of 7 to 23 inches, “many areas of the densely populated
Northeast coast face substantial increases in the extent
and frequency of coastal flooding and are at increased risk
of severe storm-related damage.”6 Even under
conservative scenarios, sea-level rise could permanently
16 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
flood low-lying coastal areas. We simply cannot afford any
bad or worst case scenarios.
Delaware has already started to take a pro-active role in
addressing climate change. While the federal government
has failed to move forward, in December 2005 Delaware
joined a group of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states
that have stepped up to the plate to take action. Delaware
is a full participant in the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI), a consortium of nine Northeastern and
Mid-Atlantic states that has agreed to cap emissions by
electric power generators and establish a market-based
emissions trading system.
RGGI sets a cap on emissions of carbon dioxide from
power plants, and allows sources to trade emissions
allowances. The program will begin by capping emissions
at current levels in 2009, and then reducing emissions 10%
by 2019. This type of “cap and trade” approach was
successfully used in the 1990s to dramatically reduce
emissions of sulfur dioxide – one of the main causes of
acid rain in the U.S., so applied appropriately toward
power plants, the “cap and trade” approach should work
for carbon emissions as well. The “cap and trade”
approach puts market mechanisms and incentives in
place to reduce emissions in a cost-effective manner.
This is an excellent start. But as governor, I would like to
see Delaware go further and partner with other states to
take action to curb other sources of greenhouse gas
emissions.
For example, California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger recently issued an executive order that
adopts a Low Carbon Fuel Standard for that state. Once
implemented, that new fuel standard will apply to all
refiners, blenders, producers, or importers of
transportation fuels in California. There is no reason that
Delaware cannot learn from this experience as it moves
forward and works with other states in our region to
require the same. This will impact one of the largest
sources of greenhouse gas emissions – emissions from
vehicles – and help improve air quality in our state.
Delaware should join with other states in our region to
establish a goal of reducing the carbon intensity of
transportation fuels by 10 percent by 2020 and adopt
regulations that mirror California’s, and give refiners,
DELAWARE 2008
blenders, producers, or importers of these fuels the credits. By choosing an Energy Star-certified home
flexibility to best produce fuels that meet this goal here. appliance such as a refrigerator, clothes washer,
This market-based flexibility is one of the main reasons dishwasher, or computer rather than one that is less
that California’s new fuel standard has been supported by efficient, consumers can reduce their energy
an unusual partnership of oil companies, utilities, consumption and carbon emissions by 10 percent or
alternative fuel producers, and environmental groups. more.
We should explore ways to cap all greenhouse emissions, Delawareans want to do the right thing. One of the things
not just those from power plants and vehicles. I favor that we treasure most about our state is its environment –
market-based approaches that will enable companies, and from our beautiful and accessible seacoast to our open
even consumers, to trade emissions credits so that those spaces. By arming Delawareans with basic information
with low emissions can profit from their efficiency while about how they can contribute to solutions to global
those with higher emissions have to pay for their warming and climate change, as well as energy efficiency,
inefficiency and contribution to environmental problems. we can help protect these resources and leave something
Companies throughout the world are joining efforts to better behind for future generations.
measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and large
governmental bodies, from whole countries to the
European Union, are adopting greenhouse gas emissions
caps. Delaware should do the same. We can start by
joining existing climate exchange programs, such as the
Chicago Climate Exchange, as New Mexico recently did.
But we also should reach out to other states, perhaps by
expanding the reach of the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative to cap other greenhouse gases beyond carbon
dioxide and other sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
One other important thing that I would do as governor is
educate Delawareans about what they can do to reduce
their own greenhouse gas emissions. While there has
been lots of discussion in the media of the scary potential
of global warming, there has not been an equal amount of
discussion of what all of us can do to reduce emissions.
Some strategies are simple and inexpensive, but effective
– recycling more, replacing incandescent light bulbs with
compact fluorescent light bulbs, and planting trees.
Some strategies involve upfront costs but can prove
cost-effective over time. The vehicle you drive may well
be the most important climate change choice you make.
And different options are available to help you reduce
your carbon emissions. For example, if you need to buy
a new vehicle, purchasing and driving a vehicle that gets
just two miles per gallon better fuel efficiency would
reduce carbon emissions by 1,540 pounds each year. Or
better yet, you could purchase a hybrid electric vehicle,
which will save hundreds of dollars on gas and cut
emissions substantially and may qualify you for tax
17
A Plan for Enhancing Our
Quality of Life in Delaware
When I was a kid, we spent virtually every summer
vacation at the Delaware beaches. We’d always camp at
Sandy Cove in Ocean View. And while I always wondered
what it might be like to stay in a hotel, I did develop an
appreciation for the outdoors that I still have today and
that Carla and I try to pass on to Molly and Michael.
For the last two years, I’ve taken a different route to enjoy
Delaware’s amazing beauty. Along with a group of other
bicyclists, I’ve ridden hundreds of miles, covering
Delaware’s back roads and small towns from one end of
the state to the other.
Even with all of the development we’ve seen, this is still a
gorgeous state with mile after mile of farmland, forests,
wetlands, and protected areas. We really are a “Small
Wonder.” And we’ve got to keep much of the state exactly
that way.
But Delaware’s natural beauty doesn’t help those who are
stuck in traffic, trying to get home to their families after
work. And it is harder for our kids to develop an
appreciation for the outdoors when we have to worry
constantly about whether they can safely walk or ride their
bikes near busy roads. So, where Delaware is growing, we
need to make sure we can reap the benefits of growth
while maintaining those qualities we most enjoy.
Delawareans have a lot to be thankful for. We have miles of
coastline, areas of natural beauty and wildlife, livable cities
with lots of arts and culture, and a lower cost of living than
places like Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C.,
but easy access to them. This affords us a quality of life that
people in other parts of the country envy and appreciate.
In recent years, the growth of our economy – largely
based on our four “Cs” of chicken, chemicals, cars, and
credit cards – has given Delawareans wealth and abundant
opportunities for economic success. That success,
coupled with our natural resources and more livable
lifestyle, also contributes to a positive quality of life.
Where do we go from here? How do we make sure the
quality of life in Delaware is even better for future
generations?
18 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
A couple months ago, I released my economic
development plan, setting forth some ideas to keep our
economy growing and create more jobs. Clearly we want
an economy that continues to grow and thrive, but all of
our development efforts should meet not just economic,
but also environmental and community goals that
contribute to our long-term wellbeing.
Perhaps more importantly, we need to protect our way of
life, which in many respects revolves around how we
develop and use our land. From the continued
development of our urban areas, to our established and
emerging suburbs and to the rural parts of the state, we
need to meet the challenges and opportunities that
economic and population growth create.
The choices we make during the next 10 years will
determine whether Delaware grows in a smart,
manageable fashion for the next 100.
In short, now is the time to plan carefully for the future
and the Delaware we wish to leave behind for our children
and grandchildren.
We need to explore that future and choose a forward-
thinking course together. Our choices are to continue on
the state’s current course, or to move in the direction of a
better one. Development need not engulf the countryside
we would like to preserve. We can have strong economic
development in many areas while protecting our rural
heritage, natural landscapes and outdoor resources that
so many of us enjoy and that we all too often take for
granted.
If we truly wish to preserve the quality of life that makes
Delaware a great place to live and work, we will have to
make tough choices about where to grow and develop, as
well as where not to develop – and of course we have to
make those choices recognizing the system of property
rights on which our country has been built. But every
Delawarean I have met wants a better future for our state
and our children, and I’m confident that Delawareans
support efforts to secure that future by viewing local
opportunities as part of a broader, forward-looking
perspective.
Time is of the essence. These decisions are becoming
urgent, as more and more of our natural landscape
DELAWARE 2008
irreversibly is being lost each and every day. expensive, and all of us end up paying the price. Paving
over our farmland and green areas for new development
Demographics in part are driving the choices we need to
make. A report recently published by my office, “Delaware
inevitably requires more public investment in services like
new road construction and maintenance, new sewer lines,
Facing Forward: A Look at Delaware’s Demographic
and expanded water facilities. It places additional burdens
Future,” highlights the changes our population will face by
on first responders such as paramedics, police, and fire
2030, and the changes our state will need to make to
departments, and often requires the construction of new
prepare for these changes. For example, Delaware’s
schools. Unfortunately these investments in newly
population will grow by about one-third between 2000
developed areas often must be paid for through higher
and 2030. Consider the implications of adding more than
taxes. One national study found that, on average, the
220,000 people to Delaware. That is more than 220,000
public infrastructure for a new home located 10 miles
people who will need a place to live. That is more than
from a city center costs taxpayers twice as much as one
220,000 people who will be on our roadways, need clean
near the downtown area.7
water and electricity, and places to relax.
And other expenses also are associated with sprawl. Our
To preserve our quality of life and accommodate the
families incur higher transportation costs since we must
economic and population growth that is occurring all
drive greater distances when traveling to work, to shop, or
around us, we must plan wisely for the future, using our
to go to school. Studies have found that residents of
resources efficiently. The following are some ideas in key
sprawling communities drive three to four times as much
areas that affect our quality of life. By pursuing these and
as those living in compact, well-planned areas.8 In many
other ideas, we can manage our growth while not stifling
cases, families need a second car to get through their daily
our economy or reducing the quality of life we hold dear.
routines and have to budget more and more to pay for gas.
Specifically, we will:
But it does not have to be this way. Many states have
• Encourage Smarter Growth and Better Land Use partnered with cities and towns to do a better job of
• Invest in Transportation Solutions to Get Delaware planning for and managing growth. Smart growth
Moving decisions – like mixed land use, clustered development
and multiple transportation choices – help minimize all of
these costs. Better use of existing infrastructure keeps
Encouraging Smarter Growth and taxes down, reduces traffic congestion, saves energy,
Better Land Use preserves open spaces, and helps families become less
dependent on cars.9 Naturally, those who wish to drive
As I commute to Dover from my home near Wilmington,
should be able to, but those who want or need other
I am always amazed by the traffic sitting on Route 1, trying
choices should have them available.
to get onto I-95 at the Christiana Mall. I am also struck by
the huge increase in congestion as I drive on Route 1 Smart growth also builds healthier and safer communities.
toward Rehoboth Beach. When homes, work, and shopping are closer together,
Most Delawareans need a car to get to where they want to residents have more opportunity to walk and bike as a
part of everyday life. Sedentary lifestyles contribute to
go, and the way that housing developments, shopping
obesity and put us at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes,
centers, and worksites have been created over time only
and some forms of cancer. According to a 2007 report
exacerbates our reliance on cars and trucks. The more our
from the Trust for America’s Health, nearly 1 in 4 Delaware
housing, shopping, commerce, and places of employment
adults are obese and even worse, 15 percent of Delaware’s
are separated geographically, farther and farther away
children are overweight. Nemours Health Preventive
from town centers and public transportation, the more
sprawl we experience. Services estimates that another 21 percent of our children
are at risk of becoming obese.
If sitting in traffic were not bad enough, sprawl is
19
Studies have also found that well-designed compact
neighborhoods can reduce crime rates.10 Communities
where people are outside and have common gathering
places like parks, playgrounds, and coffee shops have
lower crime rates regardless of income level or location.
With adequate foresight and planning we can encourage
transportation, school construction, open space
preservation, and other capital investments in areas that
are cost-effective and responsible. We can do all of this and
still respect the rights of property owners. I am well aware
that respect for property rights was a founding principle of
our great nation.
We can stimulate housing development in areas close to
business centers and transit hubs, thereby reducing
commute times, energy demand, and pollution. By
responsibly planning for our state’s development, we can
reduce these costs and maintain our quality of life.
During the past few years, the legislature has enacted laws
that call for comprehensive growth plans, provide funding
for open space acquisition and farmland preservation,
improve cooperation between the state and developers,
and increase matching grants for brownfields assessment
and cleanup. Our state still can do more to encourage
smarter growth and better land use through such
initiatives as:
Making Growth Planning a
Responsibility throughout State
Government
All too often state agencies are stuck in their silos, focusing
on their narrow policy areas, without stopping to consider
the bigger picture and their small but potentially
important contribution to broader state issues like
growth. In the mid-1990s the Delaware General Assembly
passed legislation creating a Cabinet Committee on State
Planning Issues. The purpose of the committee is to
advise the governor on orderly growth and development
of the state, but I believe this committee has been
tremendously underutilized.
To better coordinate growth issues at the state level, I will
ensure that the Cabinet Committee on State Planning is an
active, forward-thinking body which coordinates efforts to
20 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
create a dashboard of activities from potential impacts of
development of our open space to transportation. To
underscore the importance of this effort, I also will move
the State Planning Office out of the Office of Management
and Budget and into the governor’s office.
I will also direct state agencies to use their permitting
authority to encourage better growth-related outcomes.
Some agencies have applied a narrow interpretation of
their permitting authority, routinely agreeing to approve
proposals if the project is technically feasible, regardless of
whether it is the right thing to do. In such instances, those
agencies do not consider the larger community concern
of what impact the proposal might have on traffic
congestion, loss of forest and wildlife habitat, air quality, or
state taxpayers’ wallets. While zoning issues are and will
always be a local government prerogative, state agencies
ought to think more expansively, work in a cross-cutting
manner and use their permitting powers more effectively.
Helping Delaware’s Communities
with Smart Growth Planning
One way to reduce sprawl is to encourage the design and
creation of walkable, transit-friendly, mixed-use
communities. These well-designed communities
integrate housing, retail businesses and workplaces
within smaller, pedestrian-friendly areas. The designs can
be less costly for taxpayers than development that
requires growth in new areas and buildings because
fewer investments in infrastructure like new roads,
sewers and electricity are needed. Yet local zoning
regulations and building codes can hinder the
development of these communities because developers
find that buying land outside of designated growth zones
is cheaper and comes with fewer strings attached than
property inside designated growth zones, which is where
we should be encouraging new construction.
The state can encourage compact community
development, as well as give Delawareans more diverse
housing choices, by encouraging local governments to
promote infill development and adopt parallel zoning
regulations and building codes that level the regulatory
playing field.
Recent studies have found that these efficient
DELAWARE 2008
developments can save an average of 31.8 percent in
infrastructure costs,11 so Delaware has a lot to gain by
adopting more compact growth planning. The State’s
Livable Delaware’s Community Design Subcommittee
includes compact communities as one of its “core
values.”12 But we can do more to encourage the adoption
of this smart growth approach by local governments by:
• Developing rational, reasonable and
predictable zoning regulations.
Builders have told me many times that their biggest
concern when state officials begin rewriting growth
policies is maintaining predictability. Developers need
predictability as they weigh the risk of investing in
various projects.
• Offering local planning assistance regarding
statewide environmental issues.
Some environmental issues with statewide
implications, such as riparian buffers and most
freshwater wetlands, currently are managed only
under local development codes, in a hodge-podge
of different ways with different code requirements.
And yet, virtually no local government in the state
has an environmental scientist, biologist, or
landscape ecologist on staff. Given the abundant
state expertise in these issues, the Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control
should provide direct assistance to local
governments grappling with these issues. This not
only is a matter of more effective environmental
protection, but also is cost-effective for the state in
the long run. Working with local governments to
protect these areas now can save millions of dollars
for water quality improvements later and provide
the aesthetic and recreational benefits of clean
water.
• Developing a model statewide approach to
developing new schools.
It is time for the state and developers to create a
partnership and agree upon the financing of new
schools. Rather than continue with an approach
that relies on different developer fees in different
areas throughout Delaware, the state ought to
work with the counties and local governments to
develop one formula for financing new schools in
new planned communities. The state already has
approved New Castle County’s approach to
recouping costs from developers, so that may offer
a good starting point for the development of a
mutually agreed upon system that makes
compliance easier for homebuilders while
ensuring adequate revenues to local jurisdictions.
A unified formula will not differentiate between
development in unincorporated areas and
development in municipalities. The uniformed
approach will also provide a predictable system
that homebuilders want.
Encouraging the Redevelopment of
Brownfields and Grayfields
For many years, states had to contend with the legal,
regulatory and financial barriers to cleaning up and
reusing old industrial sites (so-called brownfields), while
most financial and legal incentives all but directed
developers to build new commercial building and housing
on open farms or green areas (so-called greenfields or
greenspaces). In recent years, state and federal policies
have begun to encourage the re-use or “recycling” of older
buildings and sites, a critical tool to prevent sprawl. In
2001, our legislature passed a law that allowed the
Delaware Economic Development Office’s Strategic Fund
to be used for brownfield assessment and cleanup.13
However, many communities in Delaware still struggle to
master the many funding sources and programs involved
with community revitalization efforts.
Brownfields ought to be considered within the broader
context of how our communities wish to use and preserve
land, and not simply as an isolated program, as often is the
case. To protect public health while maximizing
opportunities for effective land use and beneficial
economic and community development, Delaware
should pursue the following strategies concerning
brownfields:
• Develop a brownfield redevelopment
inventory.
An inventory of this sort was pilot tested in South
Wilmington, and would be a useful tool statewide.
Such an inventory would allow redevelopment to be
21
 considered at the regional, or at least the landscape,
scale. This is vital for things like transportation
planning, school planning and other infrastructure
and services. It would allow prioritization of sites for
redevelopment, and identification of areas where
investors and developers may get the best return on
investment for any needed upgrades in
infrastructure and services to support
redevelopment. This helps invest taxpayer money
wisely. An inventory also would allow the analysis of
clusters of potential redevelopment sites of various
sizes in a manner that can create synergistic
opportunities. For examples, lands near the Port of
Wilmington may be best targeted for port
expansion/longshoreman job creation, while areas
isolated from communities may be best used for
light industrial development and industrial job
creation – both of which are needed in Delaware.
This helps fit the redevelopment use into the
existing community character and may fill an
identified need of the community. Finally, the
process of developing an inventory provides the
opportunity for stakeholders to participate in
identification of potential opportunities as well as
any problems. With this early vetting of potential
sites and opportunities, we can build a strong
redevelopment-marketing tool that outlines the
business opportunities in various local settings, with
a range of potential sites suitable for many uses.
• Provide one-stop-shopping for local
governments and redevelopment agencies
that are attempting to revitalize older
contaminated properties.
For example, as governor, I will make a member of my
staff responsible for serving as an advocate and single
point of contact for local governments, coordinate
funding sources and help navigate state and local
bureaucracies to get other permits related to
development.
• Provide funding for neighborhood groups’
legal expenses to encourage acquisition of
brownfields.
The current state brownfield grants programs will not
provide funds to pay the legal fees of neighborhood
groups during the purchase of a brownfield site. The
22 B L U E P RQI N
UTA L FI O
T YR O
A F B LE IT FT EE RI ND ED LE AL W
state ought to create more partnerships between
government and nonprofit organizations, as doing so
will increase purchase, mitigation, and re-use of these
lands. The funds could be provided with the caveat
that the groups redevelop the land within a certain
time frame.
• Streamline permitting.
The state needs to streamline certain permits for
brownfield sites. One example is the requirement to
get a permit to de-water a trench on a construction
site. The state Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control’s Division of Air & Waste
Management requires a plan for this as part of the
investigation or a remediation work plan, while the
same department’s Division of Water Resources also
requires a permit. The state should review each and
every step of the brownfield redevelopment process
and seek out ways to streamline the process, ensuring
public safety and health and adequate oversight, but
reducing unnecessary and redundant bureaucracy
that may be slowing down abatement and cleanups of
brownfields. I will direct the Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control and the
Delaware Economic Development Office to work
together to develop reasonable operations that are
less onerous and bureaucratic than attempts that have
failed in the past.
• Ensure that brownfield tax incentives focus
on redevelopment.
The state needs to ensure that its various tax and
business incentives that deal with brownfields provide
incentives that encourage cleanup and redevelopment
of the land, not other goals. For example, the State’s
Blue Collar Tax Credit for brownfields has been
underutilized because it rewards job creation, not
redevelopment. Job creation is certainly critical, and so
is brownfield redevelopment.
• Buy down environmental insurance premiums to
facilitate brownfield redevelopment by limiting
or capping liability and cleanup costs.
States like Massachusetts have been able to encourage
the redevelopment of brownfield sites through such a
program. Environmental insurance policies can
protect the redeveloper of a brownfield site against
AWA RA ER E 2008
risks of liability for a variety of unexpected claims. For
example, cost cap coverage protects against cleanup
cost overruns. A different kind of insurance coverage,
pollution liability coverage, protects against future
third-party claims for on-site and off-site personal
injury and property damage, including both known
and unknown contamination. By helping to purchase
these sorts of insurance policies, the state can further
encourage the cleanup and development of
brownfields.
• Facilitate the rehabilitation of “grayfields.”
Not all developable land is contaminated like
brownfields. Grayfields – areas that often contain
blighted or obsolete buildings sitting on land that
may not be contaminated and could be re-used –
ought to be developed before greenspaces.
Sometimes grayfields exist because a building has
outlived its usefulness, often because it no longer
meets building codes, or because old fuel tanks or
septic fields remain on site. Because these typically
were sites of active commerce, grayfields often
already are served by existing infrastructure and
transit and can offer new possibilities for use, either
as commercial, retail, or industrial space, or even for
housing or school sites. I will challenge the state’s
environmental and economic development agencies
to prioritize these sites for redevelopment and
develop incentives and policies to encourage this.
Linking Smart Growth Criteria to
State Funding
The State’s “power of the purse” can be used to reward
desired kinds of smart growth. Several states have begun to
re-examine how historical funding practices inadvertently
have encouraged the development of sprawl. Maryland, for
example, used its Smart Growth and Neighborhood
Conservation Act to reduce sprawl by putting into place a
funding preference for existing older communities when
new investments in public infrastructure, services, schools
and other state investments coincide with the following
sorts of desirable criteria:
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Transit access to the site
• Water and sewer lines already on site
• Building designs incorporating environmentally
sustainable features
• Buildings or projects conforming to the local
comprehensive smart growth plan
• Bike routes and walking paths planned in a
proposed subdivision or neighborhood
Delaware should define spending priorities that state
agencies must follow before approving expenditures for
projects. This can help stop projects that are likely to
contribute to sprawl and the loss of critical farmland and
green spaces. In the longer term, these criteria should be
incorporated into legislation that will guide each agency’s
budget and spending processes.
Virtually all major state agencies, in one form or another,
can play a meaningful role in this. All state agencies
should think more broadly about the role they play in
development issues. For example, the Department of
Education is involved in school construction, which is a
huge driver for land development. And yet the focus
there is on administrative issues regarding school
construction – the number of classrooms, the number
of acres around the school facility, and the like. But
should not the Department of Education also be asking
questions like, “Is this the right site for a school,
notwithstanding what the developers are telling us? Are
there better uses for the land? Is it possible to create
joint use facilities that are shared by the school and
other higher education, community, or private sector
companies and organizations? Can we do more to
renovate and expand existing schools instead of
building new ones?” I want all state agencies thinking
broadly and creatively about the best ways to encourage
smarter growth.
An even stronger way to make the connections between
housing, transportation, quality of life, and economic
development much more concrete is to tie future state
funding to efficiency and quality growth. In other words,
plans for development that will generate more traffic than
the nearby roads can handle would not qualify for state
funds. My administration will be certain that new
development projects that are not located within
targeted growth zones will have to pay for all necessary
23
roads, sewers, parks, schools, and other infrastructure on
their own.
Locating State Government Offices in
Downtown Areas
Our state government should lead by example when it
comes to making forward-thinking growth management
decisions. Since our government controls the leasing and
construction of its own office space, it should abide by the
same Smart Growth principles that it encourages local
governments and the private sector to adopt.
Delaware should select new state office leases and
building construction based on responsible growth
criteria that include: access to downtown areas, access to
public transportation, use of redeveloped brownfield
properties, and potential job creation through
neighborhood revitalization.
Other states already have taken similar action. In 2000,
for example, former Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania
signed the Downtown Location Law, which encourages
state agencies to locate new offices in central business
districts. The law requires the Pennsylvania Department
of General Services to establish guidelines for state
agencies that facilitate downtown location. The law
allows flexibility in considering factors such as the
availability of public transportation, public safety, and
local economic impact. California also has enacted
similar state building location guidelines through
executive order.
Preserving Farmland and Open
Spaces
As a member of the state’s Agricultural Land Preservation
Foundation Board, I have seen firsthand the value of our
state’s efforts to protect our farms. The state’s Agricultural
Lands Preservation Program has permanently protected
more than 80,000 acres.14 We must continue to fight
sprawl by purchasing as many preservation easements
from additional landowners as possible. Recent decreases
in real estate values may provide a good opportunity to
acquire additional easements at reasonable prices.
But there is more we can do to preserve farmland and
24 B L U E P RQI N
UTA L FI O
T YR O
A F B LE IT FT EE RI ND ED LE AL W
open spaces, including:
• Enhancing the conservation options for
Delaware landowners who want to protect
their land, especially those in designated
rural areas.
This starts with improving the financial literacy of
landowners about their options and how best to
structure their estate for the most financial gain and
best conservation of land. Just as I helped
champion the development of Delaware’s
nationally-recognized Money School, I will support
the development of a similar financial literacy and
land conservation program to help Delaware’s
farmers and landowners benefit from and preserve
the land they love.
• Encouraging the use of Transfer of
Development Rights (TDR) to protect
greenspaces while allowing for future
development.
TDR programs allow for future growth within
designated areas of a community, while maintaining
rural greenspaces. This helps avert residential
sprawl by directing development to areas that are
more appropriate, such as near urban areas where
infrastructure is readily accessible. TDRs protect
open space at no expense to taxpayers and ensure
that landowners do not suffer a reduction in
property value that can accompany other zoning
mechanisms. They also provide conservation-
minded landowners with a financial alternative to
development. And TDRs also can facilitate the
construction of more affordable housing because
they promote compact development. As governor I
would work to establish a statewide TDR program,
which would provide more opportunities statewide
while overcoming the challenges posed by the
limitations of local governments for land
acquisition and transfers. My administration’s TDR
program will coordinate with county officials so
that development rights from a farm in Sussex or
Kent can be used in a high-growth area of New
Castle County.
AWA RA ER E 2008
• Transitioning farms to produce high
demand agricultural products.
The most obvious way to preserve farmland is to
preserve farms by helping to make farming
profitable. Commodity crops such as corn and
soybeans may not always be profitable to produce,
although the recent use of corn and soybeans in
the production of ethanol and biodiesel fuel
around the country may prove otherwise. But the
state also ought to work with farmers to consider
growing consumer-oriented crops. For example,
barley and hops can supply microbreweries up and
down the East Coast, while organic vegetables
increasingly are in demand in restaurants and
grocery stores. Education and outreach regarding
these market opportunities and investments by the
state will be important. But if today’s commodity
farmers choose to transition to these sorts of
emerging agricultural opportunities, or at least to
sell out to smaller value-added growers, horse
farmers, and other agriculture-related farmers
instead of developers, this could diversify our
agricultural base in Delaware while preserving the
land.
Transportation Ideas to Get
Delaware Moving
In large part, migration trends over the past several
decades within Delaware have reflected those throughout
the United States. While Delawareans were concentrated
in Wilmington for much of our state’s history, the post-
World War II boom in automobile sales – along with the
development of the interstate highway system –
contributed to the rise of suburbs and outward expansion.
That trend continues today. Delawareans continue to
move away from the city centers and spread out to less
dense areas. However, most of our jobs remain in the
cities – Wilmington, Newark, and Dover – and along the
major corridors like U.S.13, 40, and Delaware 1, 2, and
141.15
As you would expect, this increases both the distance and
time of our commutes. Between 2000 and 2025, the
average trip length in Delaware is projected to increase by
9 percent, while the amount of time we spend in our cars
will grow by almost half (48 percent).16
By the year 2025 our elderly population will have grown
three times faster than the non-elderly.17 Many of these
older Delawareans will prefer not to drive but to use
public transportation.
With increases in travel distances and in the number of
elderly, the demands upon our transportation
infrastructure will be significant. Most of the responsibility
will fall upon our state government. While states on
average maintain about 20 percent of the roadways within
their borders, Delaware’s Department of Transportation
(DelDOT) is responsible for about 90 percent of the
state’s 12,000 lane miles.18
Most metropolitan areas across the country are
experiencing the same congestion we are in Delaware.19
We can learn from other states and communities that are
beginning to implement new approaches to
transportation planning: increasing the availability of high
quality transit service, and ensuring connectivity between
pedestrian, bike, transit, and road facilities. In short, our
peers across the country are using a multi-model
approach to transportation to create a variety of
transportation options and take pressure off our
congested roadways. It is incumbent upon state
government to plan wisely for our future transportation
needs, particularly in the following areas:
Reducing Congestion
To reduce congestion on our roads, I believe Delaware
should:
• Make congestion reduction the primary goal of
state investments in our transportation
infrastructure.
Congestion impacts our quality of life and harms
the bottom line of our businesses. Small
improvements in reducing traffic congestion
improve worker productivity and make businesses
more apt to remain in an area because they can
operate more efficiently. As part of a broader effort
to make DelDOT work more effectively, I believe
the state ought to make congestion reduction the
primary goal of state investments in transportation.
25
 In doing so, DelDOT would be required to invest in
strategies to reduce congestion on our highways
and roads, focusing on such major sources of
congestion as identifying and removing accidents
more quickly, eliminating known bottlenecks,
coordinating traffic signals to improve traffic flow,
and designating truck- and bus-only lanes.
• Invest in Integrated Transportation
Management Systems.
It is extremely costly to build new roads or add
lanes to existing roads. But a more cost-effective
way to reduce congestion is to invest in Integrated
Transportation Management Systems. These
systems rely on diverse technologies to improve
traffic flow, communicate traffic conditions in real
time to drivers to enable them to plan their routes
to avoid congestion, adjust traffic signals, and
coordinate incident management to identify,
respond to, and clear accidents more quickly,
among other strategies. Due to budget limitations,
the state has implemented ITMS technologies
covering only 250 out of the state’s 4,000 miles of
roadways, focusing on the I-95 corridor, Dover, and
Sussex County resort areas. I would propose
funding the deployment of ITMS technologies that
reduce congestion on the next highest priority 250
miles of roadways, based on DelDOT assessments
of congestion, traffic volumes, commercial
importance, and other factors.
Promoting Alternatives to Driving
• Improve DART bus routes to ensure that
people can get to where they work.
We need to systematically and continuously evaluate
whether DART bus routes are serving their ridership
adequately. The state needs to use rider surveys and
gather feedback from employers and community
organizations to ensure that DART routes are getting
workers to their places of employment as directly as
possible. As needs evolve and are identified, the state
may need to invest in new buses and routes and re-
adjust routes that no longer are meeting the needs of
riders. (For example, I recently announced my
support for implementing bus service on Sundays.)
26 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
Similarly, the state needs to look for more efficient Delaware’s state government is a large consumer of
ways to streamline school and public transportation. energy and one of the biggest customers for new cars and
With school buses visiting nearly every area of the trucks. Our state government should lead by example in
state twice a day, we should be looking at ways to use the way it consumes energy and foreign imported oil.
this important resource to help more Delawareans
Within six years, every car in Delaware’s fleet should be a
get where they need to go.
hybrid or an alternative fuel vehicle. State government
• Explore improvements to Delaware’s rail also should continue to champion the installation of
systems. alternative fuel pumps (like E-85 ethanol) by encouraging
Rail is one of the best ways to get Delawareans the purchase of fuel from suppliers that install alternative
moving and encourage smarter development. fuel pumps at their service stations. By leveraging the
Delaware should explore options like speeding the state’s fuel purchasing power, we can increase the
connection of the Septa and MARC systems to allow availability of alternative fuels in Delaware and encourage
more people to travel by rail and bring workers and Delawareans to help reduce our dependence on oil.
businesses into Delaware. We must focus on
extending rail service where it makes the most
economic sense. Northern New Castle County
could benefit, for example, from new rail service
connecting it to Aberdeen, Md., where thousands
of new federal jobs are going to be placed in the
coming years as part of the military’s base-
realignment process.
• Encourage infrastructure development for
walking and biking.
We should be doing everything we can as a state to
encourage pedestrians and cyclists. Getting more
people out of their cars not only benefits the
environment and reduces traffic, it is great exercise.
As governor, I will make it a priority for Delaware to
enhance existing trails and walkways and to
encourage developers to include cycling and
walking paths in new developments. It is my goal to
make Delaware the friendliest state in the country
for pedestrians and cyclists.
Demonstrate Leadership by Using
Alternative Fuel State Vehicles
The days of cheap gasoline are over. In my chapter on
energy, I discuss why it is important for Delaware’s
economic and environmental security to reduce our
dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. State
government can and should do its part and lead the way
by transitioning its fleet of vehicles to hybrids and
alternative fuel vehicles.
DELAWARE 2008 27
Turning Ideas into
Meaningful Employment
(TIME)
Thirty years ago if someone had said that over the next
three decades DuPont, Chrysler, and GM would lay off
more than half their employees, but that Delaware would
emerge in relatively good economic health, we’d have
thought it was crazy. But we survived and even gained
strength. We did it in part by adding to our “3 Cs”
(chemicals, cars, and chickens) a fourth “C”: credit cards.
This just goes to show that the only law of life is change.
Today our economy is changing again. Even in the
financial services industry, which represented the progress
of the last 20 years, employment has dropped during this
decade.20 Our population is growing and aging as so many
retirees are moving here in search of low property taxes
and the Delaware quality of life; and the ratio of workers
to retirees is declining, which means we will need to
dramatically increase workforce productivity to maintain
the lifestyle that all these Delawareans, new and old, have
come to expect. Meanwhile, companies can and do shift
jobs all over the world. We clearly cannot rely just on our
traditional industries. We need to create a Delaware that
helps our existing companies grow and that develops new
jobs, in new fields.
One thing I know how to do is build a business. And I
know what it takes to help entrepreneurs be successful –
more venture capital, more networking opportunities,
and stronger ties between our colleges and universities
and industry. But most importantly, in a time of change
and global competition, more-of-the-same won’t cut it.
Timid steps forward, or spending a little more money here
and there on approaches that have worked before, will
not work in the new world economy. Doing more of what
we have been doing is not enough – it is time for change
and bold leadership.
What does that change look like?
That is a complex question involving macroeconomic
trends, corporate policies, unions, investors,
demographics of the workforce, politics, and countless
28 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
other factors. But I offer this proposal: even as we
continue to value and work with our traditional
businesses, we also must make our state more attractive to
a class of businesspeople who will help usher in a new
economic era in Delaware – entrepreneurs.
Expert analysis and my own conversations with business
owners confirm that Delaware is not considered
supportive to entrepreneurship. In fact Delaware ranks in
the bottom 10 percent of states in the Kauffman Index of
Entrepreneurial Activity.21 This means that fewer new
businesses are started per 100,000 residents here than in
almost any other state. The Council on Competitiveness
also found Delaware lacking as a place attractive to
entrepreneurs. We need to do better.
Clearly we value the immense contributions of our large
employers. They have been mainstays of employment,
civic involvement, and charitable giving for decades. They
will continue to be major assets and, if we work with
them effectively, potential sources of additional growth.
However, some of our major employers have announced
that they are unlikely to add significant jobs here, so we
would be courting danger to rely on them primarily as
major generators of big job growth in the future.
Instead, let us talk about what we should be doing to
make Delaware more attractive than ever for the kinds of
employers who will promote job growth and be good
corporate citizens.
Creating the Right Climate
The most effective role government can play in economic
development is to create an environment in which
economic activity can be vibrant. Understand that is a
different role from picking specific companies or
industries to bet on. A very different role.
Here is what I mean. As I travel around the state, I am
often asked what I believe will be the “next big thing”—
the industry or piece of legislation that will provide the
same sort of jumpstart the Financial Center Development
Act did more than two decades ago. I think that is the
wrong question to ask. Delaware should not be in the
business of picking new industries to bet on, although we
should be working closely with the ones already here, to
help make them stronger.
DELAWARE 2008
Now why is that? What is wrong with
picking industries?
Let me put it this way. Earlier in my career I was fortunate
enough to work at some great companies, including
Nextel and Comcast. As an executive responsible for
mergers, acquisitions, corporate strategy, and finance, I
worked with some very talented financial professionals,
including top-notch venture capitalists — people who
make bets on specific industries and companies by
providing startup funds to young businesses.
Even the best venture capitalists — those who make
millions of dollars a year — make plenty of bad
investments. Some people say that of every 10
investments made by good venture capitalists, seven will
fail, two will do reasonably well, and one will be a grand
slam. Those aren’t very good odds, especially if deciding
who to fund is in the hands of government officials or
others who are not highly trained and experienced.
There is another reason too: the dangers of the “follow
the herd” mentality. Take biotech, for example. The
biotechnology industry has huge potential. We have some
terrific companies in Delaware that are likely to be very
successful. Plus the state has done some good work to
enhance their prospects of success — like creating the
Delaware Biotech Institute and attracting groups like the
Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology. We
should continue to nurture these types of enterprises.
But we need to be careful about placing too many eggs in
the biotechnology basket, unless we find a unique niche
where Delaware has a great chance of being more
successful than other states. That is because other states
also have biotech strategies and are pouring hundreds of
millions of dollars into them. Some will be successful and
some will not. The key for Delaware is to figure out our
strengths, play aggressively to them, and avoid being a
second-rate player in areas where others have a strong
advantage.
If we are not picking specific industries, what specifically
should we do? Let us start by identifying the kinds of
companies we want to retain, grow, and attract.
Let’s face it., this is not the corporate world of The
Organization Man, the book that described the loyalty
displayed in the mid-20th century by both employers and
employees. Those days are long gone. Most employees
these days can expect to have several employers during
their careers. Employee turnover is high. Employer-
worker loyalty is no longer a foregone conclusion.
The best employers today are those who pay decent
wages, treat their employees with respect, and make every
effort to provide them with chances to improve their skills
so they will be able to take advantage of new opportunities
as they come along. Those are the companies we seek. We
also want good corporate citizens who will provide
financial and time resources to the community and who
are respectful of our environment. Companies who
support “green” technologies will be increasingly valuable
members of our corporate community.
So how do we attract, grow, and retain these types of
terrific employers? To answer that question, we must put
ourselves in their shoes. What do they care about most?
Honestly, it’s not that complicated.
An educated workforce is at the top of the list. The best
companies choose locations with great education systems
and skilled workers – even over those with low taxes22 (not
that the two are mutually exclusive and in fact, we must
make sure that they are not). It is clear that in addition to
investing in businesses, we must invest in the human
capital needed to support the industries we want to grow.
Within the next 10 to 15 years, nearly two-thirds of all jobs
will require some post-secondary education. Delaware will
need to increase the number of four-year degree and
associate’s degree holders and certificate holders simply
to keep pace with changing knowledge and skill demands
required by employers. In order to attract companies and
grow our economy we must focus workforce
development on industries that represent our future,
increase education and training opportunities, and
modernize our approach to develop a skilled workforce.
Delaware must work with businesses to design curricula
that reflect the basic skills and requirements of the kinds
of knowledge-based businesses we want to attract. Our
neighboring state, Maryland, took on the challenge over a
decade ago to align its economy and workforce
development efforts. Maryland identified 10 broad career
clusters linked to that state’s “key economic sectors.” They
29
then incorporated substantive contributions from
industry advisors to create the “knowledge and skills”
components of these career clusters. States like Kentucky
and Virginia have instituted programs to gauge the skill
levels of their workforce. Career readiness certificates
confirm to employers that an individual possesses basic
skills in reading, math and finding information – skills
which all businesses need. And here in Delaware,
Delaware Tech has worked closely with companies and
trade groups to align its curriculum with the needs of
employers. State government, working in partnership
with industries and businesses, can offer integrated
workforce training programs to retool workers and equip
our children with the skills to compete in the future.
We also must continue to focus on our quality of life so
we can be, as Bill Gates describes it, “a place where
talent really enjoys coming there, and working there,
and raising their kids in that location.”23 Delaware has
done a lot in this regard — from the redevelopment of
the Wilmington Riverfront, to the preservation of our
Coastal Zone and farmland from overdevelopment, to
the Livable Delaware initiative, to strengthening arts
organizations and other cultural treasures. Of course
we need to do more. That includes making our health
care system available to more Delawareans and
accelerating the improvement of our transportation
and broadband communications networks.
Playing to Our Strengths
We must also play to our strengths. Delaware has long
been known as a “corporate capital” with streamlined
business practices and low taxes — the third lowest in the
nation, according to the Tax Foundation.24 Delaware has a
concentration of corporations in the automobile,
chemistry, financial services and insurance, and corporate
legal services markets. Our strong legal services industry is
a prime example of how industries with high paying jobs
can grow given the right climate. Protecting our franchise
as the best legal environment in the country and, in fact,
building on it, is a crucial economic development goal.
Delaware’s intellectual and economic firepower is
recognized worldwide. The Wilmington region produces
patents at more than three times the national average.25
Delaware companies are leaders in some very exciting
30 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
areas. In addition, Delawareans are more productive
than workers across the country. While our wages are
close to the national average, our cost of living and cost
of doing business are below the national average.26 Our
proximity to major markets is a big plus for our region as
well.
Entrepreneurship and “Growing Our
Own”
Just as government is not well suited to picking future
blockbuster industries, government also is not the ideal
provider of entrepreneurship support services, which we
shall examine in a moment.
Instead, state officials must make a vigorous effort to
promote and value a culture of entrepreneurship in the
private sector. As a report of the National Governors
Association suggests, “This means that we must adopt
policy changes aimed at meeting the most compelling
needs of entrepreneurs.”27
A comprehensive study done for the National Governors
Association (NGA) identified five steps governments can
take to become an “entrepreneur friendly” state:28
• Integrate entrepreneurship into economic
development efforts.
• Use the education system to nurture future
entrepreneurs.
• Facilitate the incubation of entrepreneurial
companies.
• Facilitate the investment in diverse sources of
risk capital for entrepreneurs and growth
companies.
• “Get out of the way” through regulatory reform.
The state of Delaware already is pursuing some of these
excellent recommendations. With leadership from the
private sector and state encouragement, we could create
an explosion of entrepreneurial growth that future
generations will look back upon with gratitude.
Such a model may be emerging in Delaware.
Since 2004 I’ve been part of an exciting effort to create
more entrepreneurial activity in Delaware: the Delaware
DELAWARE 2008
Entrepreneurial Action Group. Chaired by my friend
Ernie Dianastasis, this group of highly successful
entrepreneurs and venture capitalists recently launched
a nonprofit entity called First State Innovation. Its
mission is to “connect entrepreneurs with traditional
seed capital, access to alternative funding, skilled
human capital, commercial capitalization assistance,
entrepreneurial resources, and intellectual capital.” 29
In 2003, the Council on Competitiveness conducted an
assessment of the competitiveness of the Wilmington
region. Besides identifying the need to make Delaware
more attractive to entrepreneurs that I just discussed,
the assessment also suggested that we improve linkages
among academic institutions and the corporate sector in
Delaware.
Improving Our Economy Through
Our Academic Institutions
To create the strong academic-corporate links that can
produce future entrepreneurs, states such as Maryland
and Iowa have developed entrepreneurship certificate
programs in fields as diverse as engineering and liberal
arts.30 The program at the University of Maryland is a great
example. More than half the spots in the program are
reserved for students from outside the business school.
Students take four courses in entrepreneurship and then
develop in-depth business plans in the final semester.
Entrepreneurship education initiatives at the University of
Delaware have achieved recognition. In both 2003 and
2004, the university’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and
Economics was named one of the Nation’s top 100
entrepreneurial colleges and universities by Entrepreneur
magazine. The college offers a variety of entrepreneurship
courses and programs, including a program for teachers in
the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship,
a new concentration in venture creation for MBA students,
undergraduate courses in small business management, and
the opportunity for students to work on real-life projects
with the Delaware Small Business Development Center.31
We need to applaud these important and timely efforts.
We also need to broaden and increase them.
Another important way to use our higher education
resources is to support faculty entrepreneurship. While
government should not try to turn professors into
entrepreneurs, it should be prepared to leverage
commercially viable research and ensure institutional
support for those faculty who are interested in
entrepreneurship.32 To do this, the National Governors
Association’s “Guide to Strengthening State
Entrepreneurship Policy” recommends questions we
need to be asking:
• “Are faculty members encouraged by the
administration to pursue entrepreneurial ventures
and/or to collaborate with private industry and
entrepreneurial companies?
• Do university intellectual property policies
discourage entrepreneurship or the
commercialization of research results?
• What sorts of resources, such as sabbatical leaves,
do our institutions provide to assist faculty
entrepreneurs?
• Do faculty union contracts have supportive
provisions such as adequate time for outside
consulting?
• Would faculty entrepreneurs be encouraged by
their peers if they pursued an entrepreneurial
business venture?
• Can universities become equity partners in such
ventures?”33
Such collaboration is not meant to change the
fundamental goal of our educational institutions — that is,
teaching, and scholarship — but offers many win/win
possibilities for education and commercialization. Dave
Roselle, the highly regarded former president of the
University of Delaware, has outlined a series of ideas to
leverage resources and encourage faculty
entrepreneurship. Professors often aim to attract grants
from corporations and organizations like the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science
Foundation (NSF) in order to finance their own research
projects. Roselle has suggested that state government offer
matching funds for such grants. So a $2 million NSF grant
might include $400,000 from the state. Roselle believes
that funders would find such matches highly attractive,
bringing more outside funds into Delaware institutions.
31
Finally, we should explore the idea of a university venture
fund as a means of spurring economic development.
Michigan’s successful university venture fund is the most
active such program in the nation. The University of
Michigan’s Wolverine Venture Fund (WVF) has been
making strategic investments in early-stage, technology-
oriented companies since it began in 1997.
The WVF is run as a collaborative effort among the private
sector, the faculty and the students at the University of
Michigan. When an entrepreneur submits a funding
request, the largely student-run WVF creates an
investment proposal the students eventually will defend
to a senior advisory board of venture-capital professionals.
If the board approves, the WVF invests in the company.
The investment typically totals between $50,000 and
$200,000 for seed and first-round expenditures in the
project. Among the most noteworthy aspects of the WVF
is its innovative funding method. “Seeded” with a one-
time endowment from the university, the fund’s proceeds
funnel directly back into its own reserves.34
Increasing the Availability of Risk
Capital
Google. Amazon. Many of America’s most successful
companies have developed thanks to the financial and
intellectual resources provided by venture capitalists. In
Delaware, the old Juniper Bank (now part of Barclay’s)
and the growing Finestationary.com are two examples of
venture-backed organizations. And there are a few small
local venture capitalists, including the Delaware
Innovation Fund (DIF) and Inflection Point ventures. But
generally, Delaware lacks venture capital resources.
Without local venture capitalists pounding the pavements,
looking for deals and connecting entrepreneurs, we’re not
making the most of our potential for economic
development and job creation.
Why does all this really matter? According to the National
Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, risk
capital serves five basic functions:35
• It is used for research and development (R&D).
In certain fields such as biotech, R&D is critical.
• It is used as “innovation capital,” which funds
32 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
applied research to develop new products.
• It is used as “seed capital,” which underwrites the
entrepreneurs and other new and young
companies that do not have fully established
commercial operations. These firms may not be
eligible to obtain traditional funding and the seed
funds help them continue research and product
development and to launch new products.
• It is used as “venture capital,” an institutional
means of financing high-growth, risk-oriented,
innovative businesses that cannot get funding
through traditional bank routes.
• It is used as “mezzanine capital,” which finances
profitable, established companies, generally in
the form of subordinated debt.
I collaborated with David J. Freschman, president and
CEO of the Delaware Innovation Fund (DIF), on a 2001
study and report to the Strategic Economic Council of the
State of Delaware on the impact of venture capital in
Delaware. David knows firsthand about the role of venture
capital in business. The DIF is a $10 million private
nonprofit venture capital firm established in 1995. It
provides investment funding and other help to encourage
the growth of startup and early-stage high-tech companies
in Delaware and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The
other help comes in the form of technical assistance
through business counseling, entrepreneurial seminars
and the DIF’s wide network of professional resources.
In our report, we identified the role other state
governments have played in the development of venture
capital:
Venture capital has become such an important
component in the creation of economic development that
many states see this financing tool as a critical component
to their economic development initiative. In fact, 31 states
have allocated state funds to venture capital; 17 provide
tax incentives to encourage venture capital investing; 19
direct state pension funds to venture capital; and 10 use
other state fiduciary funds.36
According to the Progressive Policy Institute,
Massachusetts and California led the nation in 2002 for
venture capital as a percentage of gross state product
DELAWARE 2008
(GSP). Delaware ranked 26th, with just 0.3 percent of its
GSP devoted to venture capital. (The national average in
2002 was 1.1 percent.)37 As David and I pointed out in our
report, there simply isn’t enough resident venture capital
available in Delaware to make meaningful investments.
A Capital Idea for Delaware
Delaware must do more than put its toe into the water
when it comes to venture capital. It is unlikely we will be
able to attract the quality of investors and level of interest
that is necessary to promote meaningful economic activity
with an investment of less than $50 million.
Of course, that does not necessarily mean the state
needs to provide the money itself. In fact, state general
operating funds are a poor choice as a source of these
funds. There are other ways that states can generate
venture capital, as I will outline below. And in no case
should the investing decisions be made by state
employees, elected officials, or anybody other than
experienced investors with a strong track record of
investing.
Creating the right venture capital environment is also
about more than the money. That is why a strong
support mechanism like that proposed by First State
Innovations is important, because it can provide some of
the services and networking opportunities that
entrepreneurs need to be successful.
Some states offer handsome incentives to angel investors
whose monies are most often used to provide seed capital
for newly formed businesses. Typically, tax credits are 20 to
30 percent of the amount invested. Virginia, Maine,
Vermont and West Virginia offer credits of up to 50
percent, subject to some limitations. Hawaii offers a tax
credit of up to 100 percent over five years in qualifying
high-technology businesses.38
Iowa adopted an “angel investor” law as part of a
comprehensive program to establish infrastructure for
venture capital development. The law allows a tax credit of
20 percent of the amount of a cash investment made to
purchase equity in qualifying businesses and community-
based seed capital funds. Tax credits can be used against
personal and corporate income taxes, financial
institutions’ franchise taxes, insurance premium taxes, or
the credit union moneys and credits tax. An individual
investor can claim up to $250,000 in a single year (five
individual investments in five separate qualifying
businesses). The maximum amount of tax credits
authorized under the legislation is $10 million.39
Utah, Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina have all availed
themselves of a new form of financing venture capital
activities. They have borrowed funds from major financial
institutions and have used the funds to invest in venture
capital firms which commit to search for local venture
capital deals. The states commit to issue tax credits if the
loan is not repaid.
Closer to home, Pennsylvania invested $2 million in Ben
Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern
Pennsylvania. The grant was designed to insure angel
investors for up to 25 percent of their investments, to a
maximum of $200,000. Investors pay an annual fee of 1.5
percent of the total invested for this coverage. According
to an independent analysis, this investment has created
tens of thousand of jobs, more than $400 million in state
tax revenues, and a stunning 23:1 return on the
Commonwealth’s money.40
Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, and Massachusetts
have made investments in a non-traditional venture firm,
which invests in successful small local businesses with the
potential for nationwide and global expansion but lacking
resources and expertise. The states make investments into
a venture fund. The venture fund in turn raises matching
capital and then finds small businesses in underserved
areas in which to invest. The venture fund forms a board
of directors for the small business and provides
experienced entrepreneurs who add value to the
management and direction of the small company, allowing
it to grow. State investments yield a double bottom-line –
they grow companies and jobs in their state and receive a
return on their investment. Small businesses which
receive capital have the option of buying out the venture
shares in their business, or shares are sold at a profit and
returned to the state.
We should all take a lesson in financing from Muhammad
Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Yunus won
the prize in recognition of the practice of microlending in
Bangladesh. Yunus built a successful bank by providing
33
affordable business loans to those who ordinarily would
not have access to start-up capital through traditional
lending institutions. Ironically, small businesses in this
country usually list as their number one impediment the
lack of access to capital. Traditional lenders look for
businesses with an established track record and credit
history. Many first-time entrepreneurs find it almost
impossible to borrow the money they need to start a
business.
States can invest in and support micro-lenders. These
lenders traditionally provide loans to businesses with less
than five employees who have been turned down by a
traditional bank. The federal government has programs to
make capital available to micro-lenders which can be
matched by states to create a larger loan pool. For
example, New Mexico has invested a million dollars in
existing micro-lenders. While the State gets a return on
their investment money, they also fuel the growth of small
businesses in New Mexico.
We should not be reluctant to emulate other states’
successes. We should look into how business capital
programs that have benefited other states could benefit
Delaware if we adopted something similar here.
Promoting Exports for Delaware
Companies
If we are smart about it, we can turn some of today’s
global economic changes into real opportunity. Hundreds
of millions of new middle-class families are emerging
around the world. That means Delaware companies can
grow by selling more of their goods and services overseas.
In February 2006, I invited Jim Lambright, president of the
U.S. Export-Import Bank, to Delaware to join me, along
with Judy McKinney-Cherry of the Delaware Economic
Development Office and officials from the World Trade
Center Delaware, to kick off a new partnership between
our state and the Ex-Im Bank. The bank, which has been
operating for more than 70 years, is an independent U.S.
government agency that helps finance the sale of U.S.
exports primarily to emerging markets throughout the
world by providing loans, guarantees and insurance.
Our partnership, which is aimed at helping Delaware
34 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
companies expand their exports, represents a
commitment on the part of the Ex-Im Bank to promote a
range of their products and services. So for example,
Delaware exporters can be confident that they will be paid
when shipping their goods to other countries. This new
partnership represents an important advance in helping
small businesses in Delaware become competitive in the
global economy.
“Small businesses offer the greatest potential for
export and job growth within the U.S. economy. Our
partners ensure that these small firms have access to
the same expertise and export opportunities as large
companies and foreign competitors.”
—James H. Lambright, president,
Export-Import Bank of the United States, 200641
An important role of the governor is to seek out and open
up markets for trade. This effort has to be a partnership
with the business community, which can help identify
opportunities abroad and lead to the development of trade
missions, bilateral trade agreements and other business-
specific relationships.
But Delaware should be doing much more to broaden its
appeal internationally. In addition, to plant other seeds of
future economic opportunity, the state should build on our
“sister state” relationships with cities and state-like
subdivisions of other countries. We should be developing
grant programs for our universities and even community
groups to create different forums for international activity
and interaction, ranging from the recruitment of students
from abroad to attend our colleges to sending Delaware
performing arts groups abroad. Some of these talented
students might decide to stay in Delaware and do great
things. But even if they return to their home countries, they
may start up their own companies and become
entrepreneurs and be more favorably inclined to do
business in Delaware. And we should market Delaware as a
tourist destination for international visitors – a gorgeous
place to visit and relax.
DELAWARE 2008
Promoting Economic Development
in Rural Delaware
As I travel across the state I hear a common refrain from
parents, especially in Kent and Sussex Counties. They tell me,
“I want my kids to be able to come home after college, get a
great job and settle down. We know they love the quality of
life here, but they’ll only come back if they can work at
something they love and get paid what they’re worth.”
This is a huge issue for Delaware. Certainly, Kent and
Sussex Counties are booming — and this boom will create
plenty of job opportunities. But so far, most of those jobs
have been relatively low-paying ones in the hospitality and
tourism industries and in health care.
Delawareans want more. So what
do we do?
Over the last few years, I’ve spoken extensively with
friends who have focused significant time and attention —
with terrific results — on rural economic development.
One of them is Mark Warner, the former governor of
Virginia and one of the founders of Nextel. We met back in
1989, when I joined the company as its 13th employee.
Gov. Warner’s Virginia Works initiative represented a
series of targeted investments designed to create new jobs
in rural Virginia. Its main features included:
• Aggressive recruitment of new employers to rural
and small-city areas of the state;
• Investment in a network of rails-to-trails (turning
unused railroad rights of way into hiking and bike
rails) to promote tourism;
• An initiative to promote the sale and marketing of
handmade Virginia arts and crafts through Artisan
Centers and cooperatives of artisans (a strategy
that also has been aggressively followed in
Kentucky42);
• A program well-received by employers to launch
an advanced manufacturing or packaging
program at a community college;
• Export assistance for small manufacturers in
distressed areas to stem the flow of
manufacturing jobs overseas;
• Support for specialty agriculture through
additional research at local academic institutions
and the development and marketing of high-
value specialty agricultural production;
• Creation of a Virginia Community Development
Bank to provide capital to new and expanding
businesses in rural Virginia; and
• Support for rural high-speed broadband
connecting schools, hospitals, businesses and
industrial parks, and allowing commercial carriers
to connect homes at a lower cost.
Another example is Iowa, a highly rural state. Iowa has
done a fine job of transforming its economy by finding the
intersection of agriculture, university research, and
industry. Thanks to major investments in venture capital,
energy regulation reform, export assistance, and other
initiatives, it is on a real roll in terms of increases in jobs,
exports, and income.43
The Iowa story is an interesting one for Delaware, given
the importance of agriculture to our state. A significant
number of Delawareans work in agriculture, food and
related industries. Production agriculture alone
contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the state’s
economy. Beyond that, agricultural industries are top
multipliers in our economy. This means that every time
agriculture grows, it generates an even bigger increase in
Delaware’s overall economy. 44
Preserving farmland not only contributes to our quality of
life, it helps attract desirable new agribusiness to our state.
A good example is Picsweet Frozen Foods, which came to
Sussex County to process vegetables and thereby
generated millions of dollars for local farmers. By
preserving our farmland, we ensure that such industries
will continue to prosper and generate jobs and revenue
for Delaware.45 Conversely, the loss of farmland leads to
other economic losses such as the loss of processing
plants, machinery sales, transportation, and more.46
Farmland also provides an equitable tax base for our
citizens. For every $1 paid in taxes, farms require just 50
cents in public services. For that same $1 in taxes,
residential land demands $1.20 in services such as police,
schools, and roads.47
35
Given our strength in biotech, it seems only logical that our
rich agricultural heritage and our regional expertise should
dovetail. An example of the kind of business synergy I’m
thinking of is Pioneer Hi-Bred. The company was founded
in Iowa in 1926 to meet a need that arose in the cornfields
of that state — the challenge of producing disease-resistant
corn in order to increase the crop’s annual yield.
Determined to create a hybrid seed, founder Henry Wallace
and his associates planted small plots again and again,
tested and retested their results, and convinced thousands
of farmers to try something new. The company was so
successful that it caught the eye of DuPont, which acquired
it in 1999.
What made Pioneer so successful? For one thing, it has
always had a philosophy of responding to change in
markets and taking what it calls “the long look.”48 One
Pioneer leader attributes its success to its proximity to great
research resources in Iowa, along with the market for corn
products and the labs for testing. In his view, Delaware has
many of the components necessary to achieve similar
agricultural/biotech success.
There are several ways we can capitalize on our strong
heritage in agriculture to promote economic growth and
development. Pioneer provides one. Iowa’s investment in
bio-based fuels offers another. Although ethanol
production may not be a wise investment here – while it
would increase the demand and price of home-grown corn,
it also likely would divert corn from our poultry industry
and drive up industry costs – there are likely ample
opportunities in other areas. And in Delaware, the work of
several local companies and institutions represent
innovative approaches to applying plant science technology
to research and development in lieu of developing
products in much more expensive laboratories.
Also, we could diversify some of our agricultural
production towards specialty niche markets that are
growing increasingly popular among consumers. For
example, organic produce no longer is confined to
weekend farmer’s markets and expensive health food
stores. Nowadays, most supermarket chains include
organic produce and products as part of their regular
offerings. And if anything, as New Castle County’s new
initiative suggests, we should be linking farmers providing
the healthiest, freshest produce with our school districts,
36 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
which not only gives farmers a large, ongoing market for
their produce but obviously benefits the children who
consume it.
If it can be grown or raised, Delaware farmers can do it
with the best in the country. The state simply has to listen
to the agricultural community, support its efforts to take
advantage of these opportunities as they emerge and help
develop and market the Delaware agricultural brand.
Finally, with respect to our rural economic development
strategy, we can learn from what other states have done to
attract high-tech businesses to remote areas with a great
quality of life. Thirty years ago, when the nation’s focus
was on growing our industrial base, rural economic
development policy was geared toward creating
infrastructure that would provide utilities, water, and
roads to attract large facilities. In the 21st century the
infrastructure most important for a rural area to be
competitive is broadband capacity.
Making our Economic Development
System Work for Delaware
I firmly believe, not just as a former businessman but as
someone who oversees the state treasury, that the state
should not be in the business of betting on the next great
industry. Instead, the state’s economic development
strategies most certainly should focus on creating the type
of business climate that good employers want. In my
experience and in listening to what business leaders tell
me they are seeking, a healthy business climate includes:
• Creating an educated, skilled workforce. The
state should be investing in order to intensify our
efforts to make our schools world-class as well as
in programs that help current workers receive
training in the skills and knowledge that
employers desire most;
• Enhancing our superb quality of life to further
attract educated, skilled employees and the
businesses that seek them. The state should invest
in programs and policies that protect our natural
resources, strengthen our local communities,
develop arts and culture, highlight our lifestyle,
and provide ample opportunities for professional,
social, and personal enrichment and enjoyment;
DELAWARE 2008
• Playing to Delaware’s many strengths, not only as
a favorable place to incorporate and do business,
but building on the wide varieties of industries,
facilities, and areas of expertise that are found
here, from financial services to biotech to
agriculture to manufacturing.
In addition, there are a few other things Delaware should
do to improve its business climate. First, it should re-
examine its business tax incentives to be sure that they are
doing what they are intended to do – attract, support, and
retain the kinds of businesses and industries that will
enable the state’s economy to grow and prosper. I am less
interested in tax incentives that just give away the store in
order to attract any business to Delaware. In my view, that
simply puts Delaware in a race to the bottom with other
states. If we have done everything possible to develop an
educated and skilled workforce, enhance our quality of
life, and build upon our strengths, businesses will come to
Delaware, create jobs and stay here.
But there are certain business activities we should
encourage, and tax incentive programs should be geared
to do just that. Obviously, we want businesses to create
jobs. But I do not think we should reward businesses for
creating jobs they would have created anyway. Instead,
our job creation incentives need to focus on creating jobs
with above average wages in any given industry sector,
jobs with employee benefits and jobs in industries that will
grow our future economy. Similarly, we should provide
incentives that encourage business investment in research
and development, in part because they lead to the
creation of higher wage, higher skilled jobs, but also in
part because research and development usually is the
precursor to business growth.
Second, where the state does step in and provide
incentives, there should be mechanisms in place to
ensure that the promised outcomes occur, whether it is
the creation of good jobs, investments in research and
development, redevelopment of brownfields, or whatever
the focus of the incentive is. And in those instances where
the results did not pan out, there should be clawbacks and
other mechanisms that can be used to hold corporations
accountable and require them to return Delaware’s
investment.
Third, we need to be sure that the state’s economic
development agencies are best organized to identify
economic opportunities and challenges and make it
easier to assist Delaware businesses. Delaware’s
economic development officials should not only have
access to real-time databases of available land and
facilities for business attraction or expansion, information
regarding all available financing and incentive programs,
and workforce development programs, but they should
also be thoroughly up to date with respect to the
competitive offerings of other states. And Delaware
should establish early warning systems to ensure that we
can identify businesses that might be heading for financial
trouble or may consider leaving the state long before
those things occur.
Finally, the state needs to be aggressive about making
investments in the kinds of infrastructure that may help
attract and retain businesses — from broadband and
telecommunications to water and energy to efficient
transportation arteries which help move goods and
services to market. With each of these, the state needs to
work closely with the county and municipal governments
throughout Delaware to prioritize needs and funding.
Even as workers around the globe aspire to our jobs, even
as governments in other states and countries try to
convince our companies to relocate, even as our own
employers struggle with managing costs in a hyper-
competitive business environment, Delaware can thrive.
We have what it takes — a great workforce, improving
schools, a community-minded spirit, and a terrific history
of public-private partnerships. Those all represent a great
foundation on which to build.
Now is not the time to relax and take our eyes off the ball.
In fact, now is the time to recommit ourselves to investing
in our future — in innovative education and economic
development — for our own sake and for the generations
of Delawareans who will follow.
37
Enhancing Delaware’s Safety
and Security
When compared to other states or the nation as a whole,
Delaware’s crime statistics paint two different pictures. On
the one hand, we have less property crime than the rest of
the country and other states in our region. But sadly, we also
have higher rates of violent crime than the rest of the country.
While a low property crime rate is something to feel good
about, it does not mean an absence of crime, and it is no
consolation to those who are victimized by crime. Violent
crime is one of the most pressing concerns of any society,
and certainly violence against another person never
should be condoned or tolerated.
Our property crime rates in 2005 were lower than both the national and regional average in all categories. Our murder rate
also was lower than both the national and regional averages. But for all other violent crimes, including rape, aggravated
assaults, and overall levels of violence, our crime rate exceeded both the regional and national averages.
38 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
One of the most fundamental responsibilities of
government is to protect the safety and security of its
citizens. As governor, I will work tirelessly to do so and will
make combating crimes of all sorts a priority. Here is how:
Where We Are
The actual number of crimes in Delaware seems low
because our population is smaller than most states. But if
you stack our rate of crime per 100,000 residents up
against the crime rates found in the U.S. as a whole or
other states in our region, it becomes clear that certain
serious crimes jump out as particular problems in
Delaware and must be addressed.
DELAWARE 2008
In looking at Delaware’s crime levels over the past 40
years, in general there are lots of good things to report.
The overall rate of property crime in Delaware has
dropped in all but one year since 1998 and is at the
lowest levels experienced since the late 1960s. Our
property crime rate is about half the rate of property
crime rates experienced in 1980, when property
crimes generally peaked in the United States.
What is not good these days is the rate of violent crime
in Delaware. Although the violent crime rate is 17.1
percent lower than the highest annual rate of violence
recorded in Delaware (1998), this rate is still much
higher than it was prior to 1990, when the annual rate
of violent crime ranged from 430 to 560 violent crimes
per 100,000 people. But since 1990 the rate of violent
crime has never fallen below 600 violent crimes per
100,000 people. I think this is simply not acceptable.
In short, for the public to feel safer, we must continue
to do everything possible to continue to maintain
reductions in property crimes, but we must get
smarter and more proactive about how we address
violent crimes.
More Law Enforcement vs. More Social
Services: We shouldn’t have to choose
For decades, there have been two primary schools of
thought about the most effective way to fight crime.
Some experts contend that the most effective way to fight
crime is to crack down on criminals and crime itself. The
focus of this approach is to provide more police, better
crime-fighting technology and tools, and tougher
sentences to take criminals off the street for longer
durations and deter would-be criminals from criminal
behavior.
Other experts view crime as the end result of failed social
policies, poor education, poverty, inadequate support
services, and racial prejudice. As such, a society cannot jail
itself out of crime problems. These experts argue that to
make meaningful in-roads into stopping crime and
violence, government and the community should invest
more in the education of children, job training skills for
young adults, and programs to eliminate or minimize the
harms caused by poverty and prejudice.
Great wisdom can be found in both approaches, but
neither, tried to the exclusion of the other, is going to be
particularly successful for long. In addition, crime and
criminals evolve and adapt, and no one strategy is going to
work well indefinitely. Further, both approaches tend to
downplay personal responsibility for one’s own behavior.
The law enforcement-dominated approach presumes that
people will fail and stands ready to pounce and put them
into the system. By the same token, the “root causes”
approach all but suggests that society is to blame for a
given individual’s failure to abide by the law.
An effective crime strategy for Delaware should involve
all of these elements, and some new, creative thinking.
Our state must start with good, tough law enforcement
that can and will protect the safety and property of all
Delawareans. At times this can mean more law
enforcement personnel. Given the gutting of the
successful Federal COPS program, which helped put
well over 100,000 more police officers onto American
streets during the 1990s, more officers are needed. But
more often than not, it means smarter law enforcement
— that is deploying officers in a targeted manner to
identify and apprehend those criminals who are causing
the most crime.
Our law enforcement officers must be backed up by a
criminal justice system that works effectively. If jails do not
have enough space and arrestees cycle immediately back
onto the street, this undermines the work of law
enforcement. If sentences are not harsh enough, or are
consistently plea bargained down to lesser offenses,
offenders will be quickly released and likely to commit
crimes again. And if resources are insufficient to address
some of the root problems that underlie certain criminal
behavior — alcohol and drug addiction, a lack of job skills
or employment opportunity — the chances that an
offender will return to doing what he knows — crime —
is higher.
Law enforcement and the criminal justice system cannot
fix all of the serious problems of society and individuals.
They are a last ditch effort to control behavior and protect
others. Furthermore, the “system” is costly. But the
taxpayers of our state will be better off and will save money
39
if more people are educated, learn job skills, have the
opportunity to work, use less alcohol and other drugs,
and develop a sense of personal responsibility and
attachment to their families, friends, and communities.
What follows are my ideas to improve public safety. But
these ideas only deal with part of the problem. In some
respects, much of the rest of this book, offering ideas to
create jobs and opportunity, improve education and
enhance the quality of life in our communities, is as
important to ensuring public safety as the ideas that follow
here. So where do we begin?
First Things First: Developing a
Comprehensive Statewide Public
Safety Plan
Despite all of the public’s concern about public safety,
state government agencies are not necessarily required to
work together according to any agreed upon plan or
strategy. Without basic goals or objectives or a plan for
accomplishing them, it is difficult to get things done. As a
first order of business, I would instruct my trained law
enforcement professionals to develop a comprehensive
state criminal justice plan. This plan would:
• Include up-to-date statistics regarding crime in
Delaware;
• Establish annual goals and objectives;
• Provide a plan for sharing resources and
developing partnerships to achieve those goals
and objectives.
For example, if the goal for a coming year were to reduce
incidents of domestic violence by 5 percent, the plan
might include commitments from the State Police, local
law enforcement departments, state-funded victim service
programs, the courts, the Department of Correction and
the state probation program to fund and implement joint
programs that target repeat offenders and assist victims, as
well as outreach programs to educate at-risk individuals.
Similarly, a goal of reducing prescription drug abuse
among school-aged teens by 10 percent could lead to
partnerships among law enforcement, the Board of
Pharmacy, and the Department of Education to develop
40 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
and fund education, outreach and treatment programs to
help meet that goal.
Establish a Delaware COPS Program
Nearly 10 percent of Delaware’s law enforcement officers
— about 220 — were hired as the result of increased
federal funding from Sen. Joe Biden’s revolutionary 1994
Crime Bill, which established the Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) program49, putting more than
100,000 police officers on streets nationwide. An October
2005 General Accountability Office study attributed a 10
percent decline in America’s crime rate during the 1990s
to the hiring and deployment of these additional police
officers. Clearly this program was working.
But during the Bush administration, federal funding of
local law enforcement has been cut by about $2 billion. At
the same time, more federal FBI and DEA agents have
been taken off traditional crime-fighting responsibilities
and re-assigned to terrorism-related duties. Therefore
state and local law enforcement has to try to pick up the
slack. And our local law enforcement officers now have
increased homeland security responsibilities as well.
Given federal deficits and the costs of the ongoing war in
Iraq, it seems unlikely that the federal government is
going to come up with significant funding for local law
enforcement in the near future. But I do not think
Delaware can or should wait around for federal help. Nor
can we continue to expect significantly better public safety
results from our law enforcement agencies without giving
them the proper support. As governor, working in
consultation with the Delaware Police Chiefs Council and
the League of Local Governments, I would establish a
Delaware COPS grant program to help fund the hiring and
equipping of 200 new police officers over a four-year
period. These funds would give local police departments
flexibility to staff up as they deem appropriate, either by
hiring new police officers or by hiring civilians who can
relieve sworn officers of administrative duties so that they
can be redeployed to much-needed crime-fighting
responsibilities.
Under this program, the state would pay 80 percent of the
salary of a new police officer for two years, the remaining
20 percent of which would be matched by the city or town
DELAWARE 2008
where the officer was employed. Similarly, the state would
pay 80 percent of the salary of a new civilian hire for two
years, if that hiring directly led to returning a sworn officer
to patrol duty. In addition, the state would provide up to
$10,000 per year to help train and equip the officer.
Sheer numbers of officers are just one part of the
equation. I will also see to it that Delaware invests in
smarter law enforcement by:
• Partnering with local law enforcement. The
state can provide grants to help local law
enforcement agencies beef up their intelligence
gathering capabilities, which in turn can help
focus police resources where they need to be.
The state can help local agencies obtain new
crime-fighting technologies and train them in
their use. True problem-solving policing needs to
have the right data and information to correctly
identify crime problems in as close to real time as
possible and to help pinpoint police strategies to
solve them. This is the basic approach used by the
most successful law enforcement agencies in the
country, such as the New York City Police
Department, which has produced an incredibly
sustained reduction in that city’s crime, violence,
and disorder during the last 15 years. Effective
problem-solving law enforcement agencies do not
focus on any particular traditional benchmark,
such as arrests, but rather on answering the most
relevant question of all: “Have we solved the
problem?”
• Funding coordinated training and
assistance programs to help establish local
community crime-fighting councils. The councils
would bring together local health departments,
housing and zoning agencies, public works
departments, and other local agencies to work
with police departments to address particular
problems. With this knowledge, law enforcement
agencies can target and close down criminal hot
spots using civil and criminal sanctions, assisted
by the resources and expertise of the task force
members.
• Establishing a specially-trained State Police
Task Force unit of experienced state officers
who will be available to serve, upon request, in
coordination with local police departments. The
Delaware State Police may have the expertise or
the resources that may not be available to local
jurisdictions, in such areas as gang violence, car
thefts, and gun crimes. These officers will be
available to assist local departments to address
particular crime problems that temporarily
overwhelm local agencies and resources. The
Delaware State Police also has a highly specialized
high-tech crimes unit that can assist local law
enforcement in addressing the complex and ever
growing world of cyber-crimes, including internet
child predators and a unit that targets career
criminals.
Keeping Children and Families Safe
Nothing is more important to me than being a good
husband and a good father. And being a good husband
and father means looking out for the safety and wellbeing
of my family. I want to be sure that the state is doing
everything possible to keep children and families safe.
Here are some things that we can and must do.
Domestic Violence.
According to the State Bureau of Identification there were
16,310 criminal instances of domestic violence in
Delaware in 2006, about 250 more than 2005. This is the
first time incidents have increased since 2001—we are
moving in the wrong direction. About 15 percent, or
2,509, of these incidents in 2006 resulted in injury. Family
Court issued 1,711 Final Protection from Abuse orders,
while the statewide domestic violence hotline received
almost 3,100 calls in 2006. Crime victim advocates
throughout the state helped nearly 1,500 domestic
violence victims navigate their way through the criminal
justice system. And 581 women and children received
shelter services in 200650.
We must remember that behind these statistics — behind
each and every number — are real people, mostly women
and children, who have been impacted by violence, abuse,
41
and fear. Delaware has a good network of services
available for victims of domestic violence. It has strong
laws in place to punish offenders. But there is more that
we can do.
• First, the state must continuously reinforce the
message that family violence is never acceptable
and will not be tolerated in our state. Every state
agency has a role to play in getting that message
out. The state can include information on
domestic violence, resources for victims, and put
the statewide domestic violence hotline number
on state websites, on lottery tickets, in
newsletters, even in mailings from the
Department of Motor Vehicles, among other
places.
• Second, in order to give victims more peace of mind
and to remind perpetrators how serious Delaware is
about protecting victims, the duration of a long-term
order of protection from abuse should be extended
from one year to two years, and victims should be
allowed to renew those orders on an annual basis
after that if they choose.
• Third, the state must continue to support efforts to
cross-train law enforcement and other allied
professionals about family violence — what to look for,
how to help victims, and where to refer them for other
needed services. Our state has made great strides in
this area through the work of the Domestic Violence
Coordinating Council, but more can and should be
done. So many professionals come into contact with
family violence victims, often unknowingly — doctors,
nurses, dentists, teachers, attorneys, mental health
professionals and clergy, to name just a few. The more
we can do to reach out to and train allied professionals,
the better the chance that we can intervene in the
cycle of violence and stop it.
Curbing Driving Under the Influence
More than 40 percent of the fatalities in Delaware motor
vehicle accidents in 2007 involved alcohol (51 alcohol-
related fatalities out of 118 traffic deaths).51 Lest anyone
think that driving under the influence is not that big of a
deal, the number of alcohol-related driving deaths nearly
42 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
doubled the number of people murdered in Delaware
(37) in 2005. We can do much more to strengthen our
drunk driving laws to reduce those numbers. For
example, Delaware should:
• Prohibit plea bargaining or reducing an alcohol-
related offense to a non-alcohol related offense.
At least 33 other states have enacted this sort of
law.
• Lower the Blood Alcohol Concentration levels for
repeat offenders. Offenders who have had one or
more prior DUI/DWI convictions should not be
allowed to get behind the wheel if their BAC
exceeds half the legal limit, or .04. Prior offenders
who are caught driving with a BAC that exceeds
.04 should be subject to a range of sanctions,
including license revocation, vehicle sanctions,
fines, and/or imprisonment.
• Require mandatory BAC testing for drivers
involved in fatal crashes. Delaware is one of only
14 states that does not require this testing.
• Seize the vehicle of a driver convicted of three or
more incidents of drunk driving.
Any or all of these measures could change alcoholics’ lives
by enabling them to get help and save the lives of
countless innocent victims of drunk-driving crashes.
A Delaware Office for Victims of Crime:
Protecting the Rights of Crime Victims
As governor, I will work to enhance the rights of crime
victims. I will ensure that the Victims’ Bill of Rights is
enforced and available to every victim in Delaware and
provides real rights and remedies for victims. Most
importantly, we should protect the rights of a crime victim
to be notified of and present at all critical stages of the
criminal justice process, the right to confer with
prosecutors prior to the disposition of a case, the right to
provide a victim impact statement at sentencing, the right
to receive victim compensation and restitution, and an
ability to enforce their rights if violated. I will increase
awareness efforts to make sure that victims have the
opportunity to seek the compensation they deserve from
the Violent Crimes Compensation Board.
DELAWARE 2008
Crime victims should also have an advocate in state
government, a “one-stop shop” for victims’ rights and
services. Although crime victim assistance programs are
funded through the Delaware Criminal Justice Council,
this agency provides few direct services to crime victims.
Meanwhile, the state’s victim compensation program
operates in an entirely different branch of government —
the judiciary — while the Attorney General’s Office, a
number of law enforcement agencies, courts, and
correctional agencies operate victim-witness programs.
Just as the federal government and numerous other states
have done, I would seek to develop a Delaware Office
for Victims of Crime. This centralized office not only
would be responsible for the administration of state victim
assistance and victim compensation funding and violence
against women grant funds, it also would develop policies
and programs to aid crime victims and support the work
of victim advocates throughout the state.
Both of these measures — stronger victims’ rights and the
creation of a crime victims’ office — combined with better
efforts to reduce crime and victimization, will help
Delaware have a criminal justice system that is fairer, more
balanced, and able to improve services to crime victims.
Reducing Gun Violence
Any death due to gun violence is tragic, but it is even more
horrific when children are involved. Anything we do to
limit the access to weapons from the people we already
know should not have them is a no-brainer. It makes our
kids safer, it makes our schools and colleges safer, and it
makes our streets safer. Delaware can do more to prevent
gun violence, and as governor, I will make sure we do all
we can to keep guns out of the hands of people
prohibited from owning weapons.
Some of the things that my administration will do to
combat gun violence are:
• Improving Delaware’s reporting to the National
Instant Criminal Background Check system. For
almost 40 years, federal law has banned “mentally
ill” individuals from owning firearms, but many
states, including Delaware, have provided little or
no information to the database. This is extremely
troubling — and is something I would quickly
rectify as governor — because this is the database
licensed gun dealers use when conducting
background checks. Had Virginia properly
reported its information, the deranged gunman
at Virginia Tech would not have been able to
legally purchase the two handguns he used in his
massacre. As governor, I will make it a priority to
turn Delaware into a national leader in reporting
information to this system. It is important to note
that increasing Delaware’s reporting will not
harm law-abiding citizens who are eligible to own
weapons. Improvement will only ensure weapons
are kept out of dangerous hands.
• Utilizing gunshot detection technology to help
police quickly catch criminals. Technology, such as
ShotStopper, uses sensors to send immediate
signals to a city’s police department when shots are
fired. The technology can detect shots fired up to
two miles away and can pinpoint the gunman’s
location to within a few feet. A growing number of
jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C. and Prince
George’s County, Md., have implemented this
system and used it to quickly arrest individuals
linked to shootings. I will help the City of
Wilmington obtain funding for this important crime-
fighting technology.
Increasing Access to Drug Treatment
In FY 2005, Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and
Mental Health funded 8,480 admissions to treatment
programs throughout the state, down from nearly 8,900
admissions to treatment in FY 2004. By far, the drugs for
which treatment has been sought most are alcohol and
heroin, with alcohol comprising up to one-third of
treatment admissions while heroin made up slightly more
than one-quarter of all treatment admissions.
Unfortunately, existing drug treatment services only reach
a fraction of those who actually need help controlling their
addictions. According to estimates from the 2003-2004
National Surveys on Drug Use and Health that were
released last year, approximately 18,000 Delawareans
(more than 2.6 percent of the entire state population)
reported needing but not receiving treatment for illicit
drug use during the previous year.
43
It will be difficult to make significant headway against
crime, family violence, driving under the influence, and a
host of other social problems unless we can get more
alcoholics and other addicts into programs that help them
sober up and treat their addictions. But we are only
making a false promise to addicts if we encourage them to
get help but there are not sufficient residential or
outpatient treatment slots and other resources available.
Delaware can take pride in being one of the first states in
the country to enact a substance abuse parity law that
requires health insurance coverage for the disease of
alcoholism and other substance-abuse treatment equal
with the coverage offered for other chronic health
problems. Now the state can play an important role by
funding an expansion of residential and outpatient alcohol
and other drug treatment slots. This fiscal year our state is
providing about $11 million in substance abuse funding
through the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental
Health. In order to begin meeting the rest of the state’s
significant needs in this area, I would increase that budget
by as much as 50 percent, or $5.5 million, over four years,
so that existing or new treatment programs could create
sufficient treatment slots.
At least 44 drug treatment programs operate in Delaware
— 33 outpatient treatment programs and 11 residential
programs. The state should do a rigorous analysis of these
facilities’ services, waiting lists and requirements to
identify steps that can be taken to improve drug treatment
in Delaware. For example, despite Delaware’s significant
heroin problems only six opium treatment programs are
available in the state.
In addition, the state could use its existing workforce
development system to build the substance abuse
treatment workforce. Just as the state has begun to
respond to anticipated shortages in various medical and
social service professions by developing recruitment,
retention, and training strategies, so too can the state help
create programs, initiatives, education, and incentives that
could educate, train, and grow Delaware’s substance
abuse workforce.
44 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
Alternatives to Sentencing
In essence, prisons are roughly 20 times more costly per
person, per day than regular probation.
Clearly, huge costs are associated with imprisoning
offenders, and those costs are only going to increase as
our prisons exceed capacity. But we certainly cannot
simply release offenders just because our prisons are filled
and hope that they suddenly turn away from crime and
become productive model citizens.
The question is how to protect public safety and best
use tax dollars to ensure the highest levels of safety and
the best outcomes for offenders, 97 percent of whom
eventually will be released and returned to our
communities.
As with a need for smarter law enforcement, we need a
smarter corrections system. We need to pursue workable
alternatives to prison sentencing, in part to alleviate prison
overcrowding and the need to build more prisons, but
also in part to produce better outcomes for offenders we
need to rehabilitate. Fortunately, Delaware has a good
track record of alternative sentencing and the state should
build upon this experience and these successes.
To begin with, the state should do a vigorous job of
identifying drug-addicted offenders and channel
appropriate offenders into treatment programs. More
than three-quarters of those who are incarcerated in
Delaware have some sort of underlying substance
addiction. To the extent that Delaware can help intervene
and disrupt this cycle of addiction among offenders, the
better the chance that an offender can turn from criminal
behavior and focus on more positive employment and
activities. The spillover effect will be a better quality of life
for the offender’s family and less demand on social
services.
After a successful pilot program, Delaware established the
first statewide drug courts program in 1997. Our drug
courts operate on two tracks, not only dealing with
offenders who violate terms of probation but also those
arrested for certain drug offenses. Both have been
effective in diverting offenders into residential and
outpatient treatment programs, and data indicates
much lower rates of recidivism among those who have
DELAWARE 2008
successfully completed their treatment requirements.
As governor, I will make three investments in this
critical area:
• I will work to find resources to increase drug
assessments at the time of arrest, not just after
conviction and incarceration, because the sooner
we can identify alcohol and other drug-addicted
offenders and direct them to appropriate
treatment programs, the better the chance that
we can reduce the offender’s drug-related
criminal behavior.
• I will ensure that the Department of Correction’s
three-part drug treatment program — the KEY
program, a prison-based therapeutic community;
the CREST program, which provides ongoing
residential treatment and transitional services;
and an after-care treatment and monitoring
component that includes group counseling, drug
testing, and other services — is available to
rehabilitate more offenders. This approach has
proven to be a cost-effective investment in
reducing crime. A University of Delaware study of
the DOC's drug treatment continuum found that
of those completing the three programs, 76
percent remained drug-free and 71 percent
remained arrest-free after 18 months. By
comparison, among a control group that did not
receive the continuum treatment services, only
19 percent remained drug-free and 30 percent
were arrest-free after 18 months. Increasing the
Department of Correction’s alcohol and drug
treatment budget by 50 percent ($2.25 million)
would pay for these expanded services. This
would represent an increase of less than 1
percent of the department’s overall General Fund
annual budget. But the potential payoff, as
measured by reduced crime, recidivism, and
incarceration costs, could provide significant
payback to the taxpayers of Delaware. For every
offender who does not re-enter the system, the
State would save $24,000 per year in
incarceration costs. As the statistics above show,
this could result in thousands of inmates not
going back to prison and savings of millions of
dollars.
• I will work with Delaware’s drug courts to assess
whether additional resources could expand
treatment services and other oversight and
monitoring to a greater number of offenders. If
more funding, increased staffing, or other state
resources could enable these courts to divert more
offenders into appropriate treatment and
monitoring programs and produce better outcomes
than simply sending them to prison, I will find the
funds to expand these court services, up to an
additional $1 million annually.
Reaching High-Risk Youth
Delaware funds literally hundreds of programs to help
youth and provide youth services, but does not have an
overall strategy that focuses the state’s policies, funding,
and programs on successful outcomes. Delaware’s
significant investment in our children and youth should
make strategic sense and improve their opportunities.
Consistent with best practices and research on the
effectiveness of youth intervention, crime prevention and
crime reduction programs, I want to create a system
where the state’s education, children, youth, and families
programs, workforce development, and law enforcement
agencies will work together to develop a comprehensive
youth funding strategy. This strategy should address the
continuum of youth issues and needs, from school
performance to after-school activities to skills
development to recreation. In particular, we must be sure
that the state relies upon the best research and funds
programs with a proven track record of effectiveness.
Schools should be encouraged to teach anti-violence life
skills, especially conflict resolution. While it is important
that schools provide the kinds of education and training
that will enable them to become productive, successful
adults, it is also important that young people be equipped
with skills and information that will help them navigate
potentially explosive situations and people. Schools can
be an outstanding and safe forum in which those sorts of
skills can be discussed, practiced and learned.
I also want to ensure that state law enforcement agencies
rigorously analyze juvenile arrest data. It is important to
distinguish between juveniles who make bad, isolated
decisions and get in trouble versus those who are on their
45
way to becoming career criminals. More than 7,700
juveniles are arrested each year in our state, and every one
of these incidents is an opportunity to intervene in the life
of that young person. In many instances, with appropriate
intervention and follow-up, we can ensure that the youth
stays clear of trouble in the future.
But we also must ensure that those juveniles who are
responsible for a disproportionate amount of crimes and
violence are identified and punished. A number of studies
have demonstrated that a small number of offenders
commit a disproportionate amount of serious crime and
violence. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, chronic offenders make up less
than 10 percent of the offender population but commit
two-thirds of violent offenses. Other studies have echoed
these findings, ranging from Orange County, California’s
Probation Department, which found that 8 percent of
repeat juvenile offenders committed more than half of the
repeat offenses, to an analysis of juvenile homicides in
Boston, which found that about a dozen offenders
involved in those homicides accounted for more than 360
arraignments.
By analyzing juvenile arrest data and matching that
information with other known risk factors, such as school
behavior or performance problems, family problems,
substance abuse issues, and delinquency problems
(including running away from home, stealing, or gang
involvement), the state can help identify those who are
most likely to become seriously involved with crime and
intervene.
Preparing ex-Offenders for a
Productive Life
Given that 97 percent of offenders eventually will return to
our communities, our state can and should do more to
prepare these offenders for release and take steps to
encourage their successful re-entry back into society. If we
fail to do so, we will all pay for it in terms of crime,
crowded prisons, and ruined lives.
Similar to drug courts, Delaware has used a case
management approach in two pilot court programs to
help ensure the successful re-entry of an offender from
Delaware’s prisons into their communities, without gaps
46 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
in their treatment or supervision. These programs
improve the tracking and supervision of offenders upon
release, prepare communities to address public safety
concerns, and provide services that will help offenders
reconnect with their families and the community,
including employment, counseling, education, physical
health, mental health, and other essential services that
support successful reintegration.
New Castle County’s re-entry pilot program targets repeat
offenders who have been incarcerated at least one year
and have a community service obligation as a condition of
their release. Sussex County’s program focuses on
domestic violence offenders who are at risk for re-
offending, and also have community service obligations as
a condition of their release.
Both court programs partner with the Department of
Correction and the Treatment Access Services Center of
the State Department of Health and Social Services, which
supplies case managers to the court to support the
program. Re-entry court officials work closely with social
service advisory and planning bodies, including the state
agency that receives federal criminal justice grant
programs on behalf of the state, to ensure that the re-
entry initiatives have access to an array of community-
based services.
These re-entry programs should be expanded as part of a
statewide re-entry initiative. Every offender should have a
release plan that identifies individual problems, likely
difficulties once released, and state, local, and community
agencies that can help that offender get back on his feet as
a productive and self-sufficient member of society. I want
state agencies working together and coordinating services
and resources to ensure that this occurs, and would invest
up to $1 million in additional funds annually to do so.
DELAWARE 2008
In Sickness and in Health:
Health Care for All
Delawareans
One of the great things about serving in public office is
I get to meet the people who benefit from the work I
do. And one of my very proudest stories is Curt Cole.
Curt is a 58-year-old employee of Delaware’s
Department of Transportation. And about three years
ago, he felt like he might be a bit overweight.
Right around that time, he read about the Health
Rewards Initiative I helped create. This program
provided 1,500 state employees with comprehensive
physical assessments, as well as detailed statistics about
how their health compared with their peers across the
country and recommendations about how they could
improve their health.
Part of the assessment was a stress test — and Curt
failed it. He was referred to his cardiologist — and he
failed another stress test.
Curt learned he had severe blockages in his arteries
and was likely just days away from a devastating heart
attack. Instead, he had bypass surgery — and today, he
is enjoying life with his family. I’m proud to have Curt
as a poster child for my work in health care.
Delaware families should not have to wonder whether
they can afford to visit the doctor if their kids become
sick or injured. Our businesses should not have to
worry about losing their company health plan because
one employee becomes seriously ill. And Delaware’s
taxpayers should be assured that the money they spend
on health care is buying the best possible value.
Unfortunately, Delaware still has a long way to go
before achieving this ideal. Too many Delaware families
and businesses are caught in a vicious cycle of rising
health care costs and loss of coverage. The spiraling
costs of health care threaten the profitability of
companies, which have responded by shifting more
and more health care costs to their employees. And the
rise in health care costs has caused health insurance
carriers to raise premiums, which has priced some
employers and consumers out of the market, adding to
the ranks of the uninsured. As fewer employees receive
health care coverage through their employers, and as
fewer consumers can afford paying for health coverage
on their own, the number of those without health
coverage rises. And as the number of uninsured people
increases, the health care system that treats the
uninsured absorbs higher levels of uncompensated
costs, which ultimately are paid by taxpayers or through
increased costs and premiums paid by those who still
have health coverage.
Without action, the vicious cycle of rising costs and less
affordable coverage will continue to threaten the
competitiveness of Delaware businesses and the
financial stability of our families. And most importantly,
it will keep thousands of Delawareans from enjoying
the benefits of good health — which is too important
to wait on. It is time to act now.
The Need for Affordable, Quality
Coverage for All Delawareans
Why does Delaware need a bold plan of action when it
comes to health care? It comes down to this:
1. Health care costs are threatening to overwhelm
families, businesses and state government.
2. Affordable, quality health care is beyond the
reach of many Delawareans, with over 100,000
having no coverage at all and many more worried
that a job change or sudden illness could mean
losing coverage or being faced with catastrophic
medical bills. These are hard-working people.
Over 80 percent of uninsured Delawareans are in
working families.52 People who work hard and do
their fair share should not be left wondering
whether they’ll be able to pay their bills if an
illness or accident strikes.
3. We are spending too much at the back end and
not enough on front-end coverage and
preventive care. Delaware should invest the $91
million currently spent in our state on
uncompensated care into a system of affordable,
quality health care for everybody in Delaware.
47
The Rising Cost of Health Care
Hard-working Delawareans need look no further than
their own pocketbooks to know that health care costs
are rising. Personal health care spending increased 9.8
percent a year in Delaware between 1980 and 2004 —
faster than the national rate of 8.6 percent a year.53
Personal health care spending accounted for 9.7
percent of our annual gross state product in 2004, up
from 6.8 percent in 1980. And nationally, we spend $2
trillion on health care, or roughly $6,700 per person.54
Although no longer increasing at double-digit annual
rates as they did in the late 1990s and early this decade,
health insurance premiums still increased by 6.6
percent nationally in 2005. Some employers — who
are also feeling the burden of increasingly high health
care costs — have tried to contain their health care
costs by shifting some of those costs to workers. This
trend has contributed to a rise in consumer out-of-
pocket health care spending of 5.8 percent in 2005.55
More consumers are paying higher deductibles and
higher insurance co-payments and are receiving less
comprehensive coverage of treatments and drugs.
The Lack of Secure, Affordable
Health Care Coverage
As in most states, thousands of Delawareans lack secure,
affordable, high-quality health coverage. According to
the Delaware Health Care Commission, an estimated
105,000 Delawareans have no health care coverage.56
And although our percentage of uninsured is a little
lower than the national average, it is growing rapidly.
Between 2005 and 2006, Delaware’s uninsured
population grew by over 10 percent, from 95,000 to
105,000 people.57 And between 2000 and 2005, Delaware
experienced the fourth-highest increase of uninsured
residents in the country.58
It’s easy to get bogged down in dollar figures and
statistics when one discusses health care and its impact
on Delaware’s families. The numbers are important. But
we must also remember that those without health
coverage live in uncertainty and fear, knowing that a
minor, treatable illness could become a major problem.
For them, an accident or a serious disease not only
48 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
threatens their physical health, but their financial health
as well.
This problem does not just affect people who are
unemployed. Almost three-quarters (74%) of Delaware’s
uninsured belong to families with at least one full-time
worker.59 Many uninsured Delawareans are not offered
benefits through their jobs or cannot afford employer-
sponsored or individual health coverage. This is despite
the fact that Delaware’s businesses are slightly more
likely to offer health coverage than the national average
(61% vs. 56%).60
We’re Not Getting What We Pay For
You might think that with all these trillions of dollars going
to pay for health care, compensated or uncompensated,
at least Delaware and the rest of America would have a
healthier population. Unfortunately, higher health care
spending does not inevitably lead to healthier people. The
U.S. spends more money on health care both per person
($6,711) and as a percentage of GDP (16 percent) than all
other countries,61 but Americans score worse than other
industrialized nations on important health outcomes like
infant mortality and life expectancy.62
Why are we paying more for our health care but getting
less in return? Part of the reason for this is that we pay for
health care very inefficiently. When we pay for
uncompensated care for the uninsured in hospitals or
emergency rooms, it is the equivalent of paying for a new
engine instead of an oil change.
Uninsured Delawareans are less likely to seek necessary
medical care when they need it, leading to the
development of more severe and expensive illnesses,
overuse of emergency rooms, decreased productivity, and
even premature death. Even those with coverage may
delay treatment of minor issues in the hopes of avoiding
costlier doctor visits and crowded health facilities. And
there are other spillover effects. For example, emergency
rooms that are overcrowded due to increasing numbers of
uninsured patients may mean that ambulances get turned
away and have to spend precious minutes traveling to a
different hospital. Also, untreated infections may put
everybody at risk, whether or not they have coverage. In
addition, the hospital emergency department is the most
DELAWARE 2008
expensive and least efficient way to deliver care —
especially if access to primary care could have prevented
the illness in the first place.
The lack of affordable, quality health coverage for all
Delawareans has a profound impact on those with
coverage and on the state’s economy as a whole.63
Hospitals and other health care providers treat some
patients even if they lack health coverage. In Delaware,
the cost of health care for the uninsured that was not
paid for out-of-pocket by the uninsured themselves
amounted to over $91 million in 2005.64 Some of these
costs are paid for by the state and federal governments
(that is, by taxpayers), but much of this
“uncompensated care” is absorbed by providers such as
hospitals and these costs are shifted to privately-insured
individuals in the form of higher bills — which
ultimately translates to higher premiums. In addition to
the tax dollars going to cover uncompensated health
care, the private coverage “cost shift” added an
estimated $724 to Delaware family health insurance
policies in 2005.65 By 2010, this “hidden” expense of
caring for the uninsured will cost every Delaware family
an additional $1,083 in insurance costs every year.66
Insuring Delawareans up-front could save Delaware
families hundreds of dollars a year, while keeping more
people out of the hospital.
Having all Delawareans covered is also in our state’s
economic interest. Nationally the lack of health insurance
costs our economy up to $130 billion per year due to lost
productivity.67 Delawareans may be afraid to move to a job
that suits them better — and where they would be more
productive — if it does not offer health insurance.
Because it is so much harder to obtain insurance in the
individual market than through an employer, the lack of
secure, affordable, and portable coverage can stifle
entrepreneurship. Finally, those Delaware employers who
do offer coverage are forced to compete with those that
do not. On average, Delaware businesses with fewer than
50 employees pay for 87 percent of their employees’
health care costs.68 Delaware deserves a conversation
about whether it is time to level the competitive playing
field among businesses.
Finally, we are not paying enough attention to chronic
disease prevention and management — and we should,
because preventable chronic diseases like diabetes, heart
disease and asthma account for over 75 percent of
national health care spending. Quality, affordable health
care coverage — along with strong public health measures
to promote healthy lifestyles — will help us move toward
a more affordable health care system.
A Bold Vision for Delaware
Delaware certainly is not alone in grappling with these
concerns. Every state has been challenged by these issues
of rising health care costs and insufficient coverage, just as
many businesses have. Clearly, the status quo is
unacceptable, but what alternatives do we have?
As it turns out, there are some options. None will be easy,
but other states have taken bold steps to address their
health coverage problems head-on. With the number of
uninsured Delawareans rising and health care costs
imposing an ever-increasing burden on our residents and
businesses, Delaware is long overdue for some bold and
innovative leadership.
Access to Health Care for All:
Guiding Principles
In order to control costs and increase coverage, health
care reform in Delaware ought to meet five basic
principles:
I. Everyone ultimately should have access to
affordable, quality coverage in Delaware. It is the
right thing to do, and it is a long-term
investment in our people, our businesses, and
our future.
II. No one should lose current coverage due to any
reform efforts. But everyone should be able to
obtain decent health care coverage at a price
she or he can afford in partnership with
employers and state government.
III. We must ensure that all children have coverage.
IV. To make health coverage more affordable to
employers, consumers, and the government,
health care coverage must emphasize proven
preventive care.
49
 V. To keep health care costs sustainable in the
long run, all Delawareans should take
individual responsibility for their own health,
and the state should work to help people make
healthier choices. Everybody can take simple
steps to achieve a healthier lifestyle, like
turning off the television and going for a walk.
The good news is that Delaware does not have to start
from scratch in reforming its health care system. We can
learn from other states that have made significant
progress in health care reform. While these reforms may
not be perfect, the question we must ask ourselves is
whether we will continue to accept the status quo or
whether we will work toward a better health care system
for Delaware.
A Partnership to Cover All
Delawareans
Here is how I would propose to reform Delaware’s health
care system as governor. None of these steps will be easy,
but simply tinkering around the edges, or worse — doing
nothing — are not responsible or effective options either.
First, we will focus on enrolling Delawareans who are
already eligible for health coverage programs. An
estimated 24 percent of uninsured Delawareans — more
than 25,000 people — already are eligible for coverage
through Medicaid or the Delaware Healthy Children
Program.69 For example, almost 13,400 uninsured
Delaware children are eligible for Medicaid or the
Delaware Healthy Children Program.70
My friend Mark Warner was able to make Virginia a
national leader in insuring eligible children in low-income
households by aggressively reaching out to uninsured
families, making it easier to sign up. We can do the same
thing here in Delaware. To ensure that these individuals
are enrolled and receive health coverage, Delaware will
improve its Medicaid and Delaware Healthy Children
Program outreach by:
• Providing premium assistance to help low-
income workers who are eligible for public
programs to enroll in coverage offered by their
employers. Compared to enrolling these
50 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
individuals directly in Medicaid, this approach
can save the state money. For example, Rhode
Island’s premium assistance program, RIte Share,
has saved an estimated $4.7 million since the
program began, or $1 million in savings for every
1,000 people enrolled in the program.71
• Allowing Delaware hospitals to directly enroll
eligible newborns and their siblings in Medicaid
or the Delaware Healthy Children Program.
Nearly half of all births in Delaware are financed
by Medicaid (approximately 5,000 births a year),
and this requirement could help ensure coverage
of thousands more children a year.72
• Allowing schools and preschools obtaining state
funding to screen children for Medicaid or
Delaware Healthy Children Program eligibility
and enroll them if applicable.
• Reducing the red tape that needy families must
contend with to apply for Medicaid or the
Delaware Healthy Children Program. For
example, by allowing presumptive eligibility,
which would cover medical care for kids when
they need it, not months later when their
application is complete.73
• Implementing “Express Lane Eligibility,” which
would facilitate health insurance enrollment for
children who are already eligible for other types
of public programs, such as food stamps or the
free and reduced school lunch program.74
• The estimated state cost of covering adults in this
manner would be up to $20 million a year, while
the state costs of enrolling uninsured but eligible
children would be up to $13 million.
Second, we will provide all Delaware families with the
opportunity to purchase affordable coverage for their
children. I will make the state’s health insurance
program for children in low-income families — the
Delaware Healthy Children Program — available to all
children with sliding scale premiums based on family
income. Currently, families of four with incomes under
roughly $40,000 are eligible for Delaware Healthy
Children Program health coverage. This proposed
change would provide the opportunity for coverage
DELAWARE 2008
for nearly 9,300 additional uninsured children in
Delaware.75 The estimated state cost to cover these
additional children would be up to $8 million annually.
Third, I will establish a Diamond State Health
Marketplace for comprehensive, affordable, and
portable health insurance. This Marketplace will serve as
a private health insurance one-stop shop and will be
available to all small businesses, sole proprietors,
uninsured individuals and families. All Delawareans
who like their current health coverage will have the
option to keep it, but for those who are not satisfied, or
those with no coverage at all, the Marketplace will be a
source to purchase affordable coverage. Since the
Marketplace will serve as a one-stop shop for health
plans, it will also reduce administrative hassles for small
businesses, sole proprietors, and individuals searching
for health coverage. Furthermore, the Marketplace
would provide an option for purchasing coverage on a
pre-tax basis for workers in the nearly 40% of businesses
that currently do not offer coverage to their workers.
The framework for the Marketplace will include the
following elements:
• Choice of Plans:
The Diamond State Marketplace would put
choices of coverage back in the hands of
individuals, instead of employers choosing a
single health care plan for their workers.
Delawareans purchasing coverage through the
Diamond State Marketplace would be able to
choose from a range of plans, from basic to
comprehensive. Standards for health care plans
offered through the Marketplace would be set by
a Delaware Diamond Board. There would be a
benchmark comprehensive plan that would cover
primary, preventive, acute, and hospital care, with
an emphasis on preventive care and disease
management. Health care plans would vary in the
level of benefits offered and out-of-pocket costs.
The out-of-pocket costs for the benchmark plan
would be capped to ensure affordability and
designed to encourage smart preventive health
practices and treatment. The Delaware Diamond
Board, in addition to setting standards for the
plans offered through the Marketplace, will obtain
bids from private insurance companies for a
variety of other health coverage options to be
included in the Diamond State Marketplace.
• Pre-tax savings for employers and
employees:
Currently, employed individuals who have
employer-based coverage are able to purchase that
coverage on a pre-tax basis. However, those
Delawareans who work for the nearly 40% of
Delaware businesses that do not provide coverage
are left to either be uninsured or buy coverage on
their own, through the individual market, with after-
tax dollars. My plan would require all businesses to
set up Section 125 Cafeteria plans for their
employees, whether or not they contribute to
premiums, so that these individuals can purchase
coverage on a pre-tax basis. Massachusetts has used
this tool to help level the playing field between
people who currently have employer-sponsored
coverage and those who do not. On average,
obtaining coverage on a pre-tax basis through a
Section 125 Cafeteria plan can result in tax savings
that equal up to 40 percent off the cost of
purchasing health coverage on an after-tax basis.76
• Simplified Payment of Premiums:
Premium payments to the Marketplace will be a
shared responsibility between businesses,
employees and the state. Employers purchasing
insurance for their employees would only have to
send their premium payments to a single entity, the
Diamond State Marketplace, which would
distribute premium dollars among plans chosen by
employees. Workers with multiple jobs would be
able to pool contributions from each employer, and
would be responsible for covering a minimum
percentage of the benchmark plan premium
amount, or a higher percentage if they chose a
more expensive private plan. The state would
subsidize premiums for low-income uninsured
individuals on a sliding-scale basis. The estimated
cost of subsidizing these premiums would be up to
$60 million annually.
• Additional affordability measures:
Competition between plans, negotiation by the state
51
 and subsidies for low-income individuals and families
would help to ensure affordability of coverage in the
Diamond State Marketplace. For example,
Massachusetts has already been able to use the
negotiating power of the Commonwealth to obtain
more affordable premiums for plans offered through
its connector.77 The Diamond State Marketplace
would provide Delaware with this same negotiating
power.
Fourth, employers should contribute to the cost of
coverage for their workers, or pay the public for the
coverage we must pick up for them. Currently, only 61
percent of private sector firms in Delaware offer health
insurance to their employees.78 But everyone in
Delaware ought to pay their fair share. Businesses that
provide health insurance are at a competitive
disadvantage with those that do not help cover their
employees — and the rest of us pay for this through
taxes for uncompensated care and higher premiums. In
fact on average, Delaware businesses with fewer than 50
employees already pay for 87% of their workers’
premiums.79
To level the playing field, employers with 10 or more
employees will be required to pay a fair share fee for
each full-time-equivalent employee who is not covered
through the employer or through another insurer.
These business health care assessments will be collected
and used to support health coverage offered through
the Diamond State Health Marketplace. I would seek to
phase in the imposition of this fair share fee by requiring
it of large employers first — those with 100 full-time
equivalent employees or more — before imposing it on
smaller businesses.
Fifth, Delawareans who can afford coverage will be
required to obtain a minimum level of health insurance.
As with other states, a key problem with Delaware’s
health care system is that those with insurance end up
paying the cost of services for the 105,000 who are
uninsured, so it is essential that those who can afford to
do so pay their fair share as well. Individuals who can
afford insurance but do not purchase it in effect are
taxing everybody who is insured. It will be difficult for
Delaware to begin to drive down costs until more
Delawareans have a minimum level of coverage.
52 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
Finally, to ensure access to and continuity of health care
coverage, I will require insurers to guarantee coverage
for individuals. Delawareans should not ever fear being
unable to get health coverage or to hold on to coverage
that they have. Unfortunately, health insurers in
Delaware are allowed to deny coverage to individuals if
they have been or are currently sick — just when they
need coverage the most.
To protect the ability of Delawareans to obtain health
insurance, I will propose legislation that prohibits
insurers from denying coverage to individuals based on
health status. That legislation also will place limits on the
amount premiums can vary based on health condition
and age. About 20 other states have guaranteed issue for
individuals in some form and Delawareans deserve the
same protections as residents of other states. With an
individual requirement to purchase coverage, insurance
companies will be protected from having only the
sickest individuals purchase coverage — so these two
reforms must be instituted together.
Some will object to requirements that employers
contribute to coverage and individuals purchase
coverage. But here is the way I see it: research shows
that without these requirements, states can at best hope
to cover 20 percent of the uninsured — even with
generous subsidies to individuals.80 Of course, that
would be a good start — but it would not be the kind of
bold reform that will truly bring all Delawareans the
security of health coverage.
Remember, the cost of care for the uninsured in Delaware it. Or we can work together to change our health care
Through the reforms I have just described, we can came to $91.2 million in 2005 and is predicted to reach an system for the better by spending this money more wisely
provide all Delawareans with the opportunity to estimated $127.6 million by 2010.81 Taxpayers largely bear to extend health insurance to all Delawareans, helping
purchase more affordable health insurance coverage. the cost of this care in one form or another, but all too everybody to stay healthy, improving our productivity as a
Here is how all of these elements would work together often this money is spent to treat expensive illnesses that state, making Delaware more attractive for investment,
to cover Delaware’s uninsured, along with their could have been prevented by better access to health care and lowering health care costs for those who are already
estimated costs: in the first place. But by investing about the same amount insured.
— up to $111 million — we can provide health insurance
coverage to virtually every Delawarean and in the process, How to Pay for These Reforms
improve the delivery of health care throughout our state.
This effort to reform Delaware’s health care system
That is the choice we face. We can continue with the status recognizes that all Delawareans — individuals, families,
quo, which leaves more than 105,000 Delawareans employers and the state government — have a
without health insurance, costs us $91 million to pay for responsibility to enroll in and pay for health care, and all
health care for those uninsured people, and only serves to of us will.
drive up health care costs for those lucky enough to have
DELAWARE 2008 53
The federal government, not state taxpayers, is financing a
large portion of reforms in states like Massachusetts and
Vermont. Delaware should seek comparable funding from
the federal government. For example, the federal
government will match 50 percent of all Medicaid
expenditures paid by the state of Delaware. As governor, I
will direct state health agencies to seek funding from the
federal government to support these reforms, as other
states are doing to support theirs. And individuals and
businesses will be paying into this health care system as
well, through sliding scale fees and assessments.
I also will ensure that state government does its part.
Savings that are realized through reductions in
uncompensated hospital and health care system costs will
be dedicated to support these health care reforms. We can
examine the potential for increasing taxes on activities that
contribute to poor health, such as tobacco use. Even with
the recent tax increase, Delaware still will have a lower
tobacco tax than some nearby states, such as New Jersey
($2.58 per pack) and Pennsylvania ($1.35 per pack).82 We
still rank 21st among states in our tobacco tax.83 An
additional 50-cent increase in the tobacco tax would raise
nearly $38 million in additional revenue, result in over $85
million in long-term health care savings, and save 1,200
Delaware kids from an early smoking-related death.84
Other Health Care Reform Initiatives
to Improve Patient Care, Health Care
Quality, and Reduce System Costs
In addition to championing a steady transition of our
health care market toward greater access and affordability,
as governor I also would push for the following types of
initiatives to improve the state of health care in Delaware
and to reduce overall health care costs.
Focusing on Health Care Education
and Prevention
Remarkably, less than 5% of our national health care
budget is spent on prevention efforts.85 Preventable
injuries and diseases are not only a health care problem,
but an economic problem as well. As governor, I will
intensify efforts to encourage healthy behaviors through
high-impact education, awareness, and outreach
54 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
campaigns. We should strive to make Delaware one of the
nation’s healthiest states, and the only way to do this is to
emphasize and encourage healthy living. Some examples
of areas of emphasis will include:
• Curbing Obesity.
Obesity has reached epidemic levels nationally and
in our state, impacting the lives of adults and
children everywhere. We must work across all
settings — work, schools, and community — to
help Delawareans maintain a healthy weight. As
governor, I will be committed to building on and
strengthening efforts to curb both childhood and
adult obesity in Delaware, for example by using
school facilities to provide safe indoor and outdoor
space for physical activity during and after school
and encouraging schools to serve healthier meals in
schools.
• Promoting Healthy Living through
Businesses.
Given the amount of time we all spend at work, it is an
obvious place to promote healthy living. Businesses
across the country are beginning to recognize the
potential rewards of investing in their workers’ health.
For example, each dollar invested in worksite health
promotion programs can save an average of $3.48 in
reduced health care costs and $5.82 in reduced
absenteeism costs.86 (As state treasurer and a member
of the State Employee Benefits Committee, I certainly
know this to be true. A few years ago, I championed a
program called “Health Rewards,” which offered
Delaware state government employees comprehensive
physical assessments, detailed statistics about how their
health compares with their peers across the country
and recommendations about how they can improve
their health. This pilot program improved employee
health and reduced the cost of their health care and
received an Innovation Reward from the Council of
State Governments in 2004. As governor, I will continue
to support efforts to improve worksite wellness.)
Promoting Widespread Health
Information Technology
Anybody who has ever had to take an extra medical test
because their last lab results were not on record, or who
DELAWARE 2008
has been to the emergency room, or even just switched
doctors, can imagine how much more efficient health care
would be if medical records could be quickly and securely
transmitted between health care providers. Indeed,
electronic medical records and other health information
technology, such as electronic reminders about when to
get a test, can improve the quality of care, reduce health
care costs, and even save lives. The Delaware Health
Information Network is a public-private partnership that
aims to “save lives, reduce medical errors and manage
health care costs to bring Delaware's health care system
into the twenty-first century.”87 As governor, I will make the
implementation of health information technology a
priority, to improve health care quality now and for future
generations of Delawareans.
Containing Pharmaceutical Costs
In 2004, Delaware spent $676 million on prescription
drugs.88 While prescription drugs are an essential part of
modern health care, too many patients are struggling to
pay for prescription drugs and pharmaceutical spending is
eating up a larger and larger share of state and national
health care budgets. States have used the following tools
to reduce spending on prescription drugs and Delaware
can continue to learn from these examples and undertake
similar efforts:
• Continuing to use the purchasing power of
the state to negotiate lower drug prices.
Pharmaceutical costs can be reduced by using the
purchasing power of multiple agencies to lower
drug costs, for example by combining the
purchases of state employee health plans,
Medicaid, and corrections departments. In
addition, public-private partnerships should be
explored such as pooling drug purchases with large
employers and insurance companies.
• Further exploring opportunities to better
manage prescriptions.
States can save millions of dollars by using
technology to manage the use of prescriptions in
state health programs. For example, Florida’s
Medicaid program provides doctors with handheld
devices that provide them with the real-time
medication history of their patients. This tool has
enabled physicians to make more informed
prescribing decisions, resulting in fewer drug
interactions, fewer prescriptions written and a net
two-year savings of $50 million. By ensuring that
Delaware’s health care providers have the tools they
need to better manage their patients’ prescriptions,
our state can improve the quality of care, reduce
prescription drug costs and even help avert serious
problems like prescription drug abuse.
• E-prescribing.
Electronic prescribing has the promise to hold
down drug costs by as much as $20 to $44 billion
each year nationally by reducing prescribing errors
and helping prevent duplicate prescriptions. In
addition, e-prescribing could help avert up to two
million incidents of patient harm from medication
errors that occur each year in the United States.89 As
governor, I will support efforts by Delaware’s
physician community to implement e-prescribing,
and will set a goal that all physicians will be using e-
prescribing by 2010.
Enacting Common-Sense Medical
Malpractice Reform
Medical malpractice lawsuits often arise out of a culture of
fear and mistrust — and often end without addressing
what should be a top priority — patient safety and quality
of care. But new, creative solutions for health care reform
— solutions that began at the Veteran’s Administration
and are being implemented by hospitals around the
country — are reducing the need for medical malpractice
lawsuits and showing real savings in litigation costs.90 At
one hospital in Minneapolis, medical malpractice lawsuits
decreased by 50 percent after this program was
implemented. As governor, I would support the
implementation of these solutions — known broadly as
medical error disclosure programs — in Delaware.
These and other reform initiatives will contribute to our
overall goals of improving health care coverage, reducing
costs, eliminating health care disparities and improving
quality. In particular, efforts to control health care costs
will be key to our success. The primary reason so many
employers, families, and individuals struggle with health
55
care is cost. Unless we do a better job of containing health
care costs by emphasizing preventive care, eliminating
fraud, and reducing the costs of prescription drugs, all we
will wind up doing through efforts to insure more
Delawareans is shift the responsibility for high health care
costs from one entity, usually businesses or individuals, to
another, most likely state government. Through these and
other reform efforts to reduce health care costs while
improving the quality of health care, we can, and we will,
do better than that.
None of these reforms will be easy to accomplish. But the
costs of not trying to change the way our health care
system operates will far exceed the costs of bold and
innovative leadership. Shouldn’t we strive to do it right?
Golden Years Guarantee
Delaware is home to more than 114,000 adults aged 65
and older.91 Older Delawareans are a vibrant part of
Delaware society, contributing to our economy, learning
new skills and hobbies, and enriching our communities
with countless hours of volunteer work, such as
mentoring young Delawareans. But as we age, we all grow
increasingly vulnerable to pressures such as the rising
costs of health care, the financial impact of retirement, and
the fear of becoming ill or losing our ability to live
independently. Indeed, a shocking 11% of Delaware’s
seniors — more than 12,000 people — are currently living
in poverty.92
As treasurer, I have taken on initiatives to help Delaware’s
seniors improve their financial security. For example, my
office created a Consumer Tool Chest of financial security
tools for seniors, which the AARP endorsed. The tool
chest includes how to create a retirement plan and live off
a fixed monthly retirement income, spot hospital billing
mistakes and avoid injuries at home.93 We partnered with
the U.S. Department of the Treasury to launch the “Go
Direct!” campaign, which helps seniors avoid financial
crimes by direct-depositing their Social Security
payments.94 And earlier this year, we launched a First State
Saves program to help Delawareans save for retirement
and other important needs.95
One of my top priorities as governor will be ensuring that
Delaware’s older residents can afford the health care they
56 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
need, live more securely in retirement, and live the
healthy, active and independent lives they want to live.
My Helping Older Delawareans plan will focus on:
• Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable for
Seniors
• Ensuring High-Quality, Safe Patient Care for Seniors
• Helping Senior Citizens Live Active Lives
Making Prescription Drugs More
Affordable for Seniors
Prescription drugs are helping seniors maintain their good
health and are becoming increasingly important for
treating illnesses including chronic diseases.
Unfortunately, the price of prescription drugs has
continued to rise. And while the new Medicare drug
benefit has helped many seniors afford their prescriptions,
seniors can still be financially overwhelmed by
prescription drug plan premiums, co-pays, and
deductibles — not to mention the infamous “donut hole,”
which in 2008 will mean that seniors with high drug
expenses could end up spending more than $3,200 in the
coverage gap. It is no wonder that many seniors are still
concerned about how they will afford their prescription
drugs.
Affordable prescription drugs are not just a matter of
keeping family finances secure and maintaining good
health. They may also play an important role in reducing
health disparities. For example, a recent national survey
found that more than 60% of African-Americans and
Hispanics are concerned about their ability to pay for
prescription medications over the next two years, and
nearly 40% had a problem paying for prescribed drugs.96
Unaffordable drugs mean that seniors may delay getting a
prescription filled, skip a dose or take less medicine.97
As governor, I will strengthen the Delaware Prescription
Assistance Program (DPAP), a critical program that helps
fill in the gaps in prescription drug coverage for thousands
of low-income older Delawareans and individuals with
disabilities. DPAP provides up to $3,000 per year in
prescription benefits to eligible Delawareans.98 During
2006, DPAP provided 139,271 prescriptions to
Delawareans.99 Currently, Delawareans are eligible for
DELAWARE 2008
DPAP if they have incomes less than 200% of the Federal
Poverty Level, or $1,702 per month. They may also qualify
if they have higher incomes and their prescription costs
exceed 40% of their income.100
However, research indicates that many older Delawareans
are having trouble affording their prescription drugs, but
are not eligible for DPAP assistance under current
guidelines. For example, a Delaware senior who makes
$2,553 per month (300% of the Federal Poverty Level)
would have to spend a full $1,021 on prescription drugs
each month — or 40% of income — in order to qualify for
assistance under DPAP.101 This means that DPAP may not
be reaching enough seniors who need help affording their
prescriptions. As governor, I will help make prescriptions
a more affordable part of seniors’ budgets by extending
the Delaware Prescription Assistance Program to more
seniors and persons with disabilities who are having
trouble with their prescription drug costs.
Ensuring High-Quality, Safe Patient
Care for Seniors
While Delaware is fortunate to have many dedicated,
caring health care professionals, comparisons of
Delaware’s performance to other states show that our
state still has some work to do when it comes to creating
a high-quality health care system, especially for seniors.
Hospital-acquired infections, medical errors, and other
poor-quality health care costs our society in terms of lives
lost or harmed, and millions of dollars wasted. Because
seniors are more likely than other age groups to be
admitted to hospitals and nursing homes, they are more
likely to be affected by poor-quality care and are more
likely to benefit from improvements in the quality of care.
For example, while Delaware’s health care system ranks
14th overall among states, we rank 31st when it comes to
avoidable hospital use and costs. Delaware ranks near or
below the middle of states on quality measures relevant to
seniors, such as preventable hospital admissions for
Medicare beneficiaries, percentage of nursing home
residents with hospital readmission within 30 days, and
percentage of high-risk nursing home residents with
pressure sores.102 Improving the quality of care would not
only improve health outcomes and quality of life for
thousands of seniors — it would also save an estimated
$23.3 million per year in reduced preventable
hospitalizations, readmissions, and hospitalizations of
nursing home residents.103
Other states and studies have made health care quality
improvements such as reducing hospital-acquired
infections and medical errors a part of health reform
initiatives. For example, Pennsylvania’s Health Care Cost
Containment Council, one of the only organizations in the
country to report on the number and cost of hospital-
acquired infections, estimates that these infections cost an
extra $2.9 billion in unnecessary hospitalizations and led
to 2,500 deaths in 2005 alone. Although hospital acquired
infections are not reported in Delaware, reducing these
infections could yield substantial savings. For example, a
collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins University and
all of the intensive care units in Michigan to reduce certain
types of infections saved an estimated 1,500 lives and $175
million during an 18-month span.104
To improve the quality of health care for Delaware’s
seniors, I will direct Delaware’s health-related agencies to
study and pursue such strategies as:
• Establishing quality and pay-for-performance
initiatives in state-funded health programs that
reward quality of care and improved health
outcomes;
• Creating a Delaware Center for Patient Safety,
similar to the New Jersey Quality Institute and the
Maryland Patient Safety Center.105 This Center
would serve as an essential resource to hospitals
in the state by providing technical assistance and
opportunities for collaboration among health
care facilities to implement proven patient safety
practices. For example, representatives from
more than 50 Maryland hospitals that joined
together in a Safety Culture Collaborative
succeeded in reducing the rate of bloodstream
infections in their hospitals by 36 percent in only
eight months;
• Supporting efforts by hospitals and nursing homes
to report infections acquired in their facilities,
providing feedback to health care providers on their
performance and publishing reports to help
57
 patients make decisions on the best place to receive
care; and
• Continuing to implement electronic health records
and e-prescribing.
Helping Senior Citizens Live Active
Lives
Delaware’s seniors are one of our state’s most vibrant
resources. Older Delawareans have a wealth of experience
to offer — at work, in the community, and as family
members and friends. As Delaware’s population ages, our
state must focus on promoting good health and helping
seniors stay engaged in work, volunteerism, and the
activities they enjoy. It is time to model our state policies
around a new view of aging — one that recognizes the
vitality and experience of older adults and ensures they are
fully connected to work and community. As governor, I
will make sure that Delaware is doing everything possible
as a state to help older workers stay in or re-enter the
workforce through training, incentives to businesses, and
other initiatives. I will also ensure that the younger and
older generations are connected through additional
mentorship and volunteer opportunities.
When it comes to seniors’ health and well-being, I also
believe that we must help seniors maintain independent
lives in their homes and communities as much as possible.
Meeting this goal will require Delaware to bring together
innovations in such areas as health, transportation,
efficient government services, and economic
development. As governor, I will support a coordinated,
statewide effort to help seniors lead healthier lifestyles,
manage chronic diseases, and make homes and
communities more livable. As a first step, I will convene
stakeholders from the public and private sectors across
the state, identify best practices for promoting healthy
aging, and coordinate action on those best practices in all
sectors — through senior centers, faith-based
organizations, businesses, and in the clinical setting.
As governor, I will also help seniors who want to make
their homes more livable by establishing a statewide
clearinghouse where seniors and persons with disabilities
can find information on how to modify their homes for
independent living, and I’ll provide incentives to
58 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
developers who incorporate universal design principles
into new construction. Promoting livable homes and
communities will help not only seniors, but also other
citizens living with disabilities, including severely
wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,
who may need modifications to their housing.106
DELAWARE 2008
Delaware’s Education
Future: World Class Public
Schools
As a kid growing up in Newark, my life revolved pretty
much around a three-mile radius from Newark High
School. I figured that what I saw most days was basically
what the world was all about.
But at the age of 17, I went on a trip with my parents,
including a few days in India. And amidst the poverty and
misery I experienced there, all of the things I was
otherwise thinking about – the prom and calculus to
name a couple – kind of melted away. I had a new sense
of the world around me and I returned home in time for
graduation and spoke about what I had seen.
At that time – 1978 – a strong public education was one of
the biggest differentiators between our nations. That is
just not so true anymore.
India learned the value of investments in education. And if
I were to take Molly and Michael on that same trip that I
took with my parents, they would find kids their own age
in good schools doing advanced work. Surely they would
not find it in every Indian town or village, but they would
find it.
It is a new world. It gives us much to think about.
Leading the First State into the 21st
Century
As a former executive in the technology industry, I have
had a lot of occasion to think about the lessons I learned
on that trip to India long ago, the very different world we
live in today, and the importance of education as a way to
succeed in that world. Obviously, from the technology
perspective, improved science and math education must
be a crucial element in the 21st century.
But I am also convinced that the need for a broader
education is just as important.
The world has changed for us and for our children and in
the future our children will increasingly have to ask
themselves tough questions as they enter the job market.
As Daniel Pink asked in his book A Whole New Mind, “Can
someone overseas do it cheaper? Can a computer do it
faster? Does what I’m producing meet the needs of
today’s consumers – who desire ever-more customized,
meaningful and well-designed products and services?”107
And, they will need to be equipped with a set of skills that
will allow them to compete in this environment. What are
these skills? What are the skills of the successful worker of
the future?
Everybody has a theory about the skills that our children
most need to be competitive. And while there is no
consensus, I have developed at least a starting point for
identifying these skills:
• “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and
math) skills
• Thinking skills
• Workplace skills
• Citizenship skills
First of all, economic prosperity is strongly linked to
innovation, especially in science and technology.
Content knowledge in math, engineering, physics and
computer science has fueled high-tech innovation in the
past. Furthermore, in an information economy the
majority of jobs – not just those designated high-tech –
require some grounding in math and science.
Unfortunately, by most measures, American students fare
poorly in these areas when compared with their peers
around the developed world. As time goes by, the number
of experts concerned about U.S. students’ lack of
knowledge in these areas continues to grow.
There exist many excellent methods in Delaware and
across the country for improving math and science
education. In fact, our state’s use of the Smithsonian
curriculum is already paying dividends. But let us be very
clear. Even if our students were as expert in math and
science as students in other countries, that would not be
good enough, simply because skilled employees in other
countries will work for far less. That is why a focus on
math and science skills alone is insufficient.
Second, the strength of our economy has long been
rooted in our ability to innovate and be creative. While
59
these skills certainly require a solid foundation in the
substance of math and science, they also require more,
which one can describe as “thinking skills.”
Innovating, creating, designing, initiating, and
implementing require a wide range of skills, in addition to
the science, technology, engineering, and math content
students attain in school. At a minimum, students must
learn how to synthesize, detect patterns and see
relationships among seemingly unrelated items, combine
ideas to create new ones and challenge assumptions. The
point is this: knowing the facts and being purely logical
will not be nearly enough for many people to be
successful in this new world. Our students must also
possess strong thinking skills and the power of creativity
in order to yield positive results.
Even with improved STEM content and with high-level
thinking skills, our children would still not be completely
prepared to meet the challenges of today’s economy.
According to the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills (SCANS), students will also need to self-
direct their own learning, initiate and persevere,
communicate effectively, practice ethical behavior, work
independently and in teams, and be able to work across
cultural and national borders. Delaware parents and
educators agree that these so-called “soft skills” are
increasingly important. Parents’ frustration with
standardized test scores and No Child Left Behind is a
result of their strong desire to raise healthy, happy kids
and life-long learners who can adapt to difficult situations
– and not just good test-takers. That is why soft skills are
so important.
Third, our children’s future success depends not just
upon their academic proficiency but their ability to
translate that mastery into the workplace. Many
successful Delaware workers of the future will be
recognized for technical mastery of academic subjects and
for their ability to critically analyze problems — but they
also will have an understanding of the world at large, and
be proficient in foreign languages. They will be well-
educated, empowered, and able to use what they know to
work with others in innovating and creating new and
better services and products. It is this type of worker who
will prosper and who will enable Delaware to continue to
thrive, despite the competition of new, educated workers
60 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
around the globe. And it is this type of citizen who will be
prepared to participate in a functioning democracy.
Finally, we must always remember that our schools must
prepare the next generation to be responsible citizens and
adults. Our children do need the skills to compete in a
global economy, but the manner in which they deploy that
skill depends on their sense of civic responsibility and
respect for others, which are the definition of citizenship.
Policymakers from all parts of the political spectrum
recognize the importance of this goal. On Sept. 5, 2007,
Chester Finn and Diane Ravitch wrote in Education Week,
“Liberal learning is critical to young people because it
prepares them for ‘public life’ — not just politics and
government, but civic life in which we should all
partake…For such engagements to succeed, one need
not have a college degree, much less a Ph.D. But it’s close
to essential to have a broad basic education…Once upon
a time, most U.S. schools sought a balanced education for
their students…One could fairly say they were being
groomed for leadership or at least for responsible
citizenship…Even those not so ‘groomed,’ however, still
learned the great stories of democracy…And they were
taught that they could, with learning and hard work, rise
above their circumstances. So great are the numbers of
those who transcended their origins and upbringing that
the story has a name – the ‘American dream.’ The
American dream has a strong basis in reality.”
This kind of approach is more important today than it has
ever been, because the expectations of our young people
are higher than ever. And that certainly includes the very
practical issue of how we can ensure that the next
generation has opportunities bigger than ours.
So how are we doing now? And why is this so important?
In the 21st century economy, greater prosperity for many
means post-secondary education, be it community
college, trade or technical school, four-year college or
graduate level education. In 2004, adults with a bachelor’s
degree earned on average more than $20,000 per year
more than those with a high school diploma and $30,000
more per year than high school dropouts.108 This contrasts
with 1979, when a college degree meant only about
$5,000 more per year.109
DELAWARE 2008
Public education in Delaware has improved considerably
in the past decade — Delaware is the only state in the
country that improved student reading and math scores
more than the national average since 1992, for example—
but we have more work to do to live up to our promise.
We have plenty of challenges in formulating a world-class
educational system in Delaware that both produces future
leaders of a civil society and can respond to the demands
of the 21st century:
• Our labor force is not as highly educated as it
should be to respond to our state’s changing
economic opportunities. The 2007 New Economy
Index, for example, rates Delaware’s workforce
education at about average — 20th in the
nation.110 Results from the national think-tank
Achieve.org also show that Delaware scores just
about at the national average on myriad
benchmarks, from the number of young adults
who receive college-level training to the success
of our students on national academic proficiency
tests.111
• According to Measuring Up, the national report
card on higher education, Delaware has an
“underperforming” workforce that is on a
downward trend. Specifically the report cites our
inability to graduate ninth-graders from high
school on time (in four years), and our state
performance in this area has “dropped by double
digits since the early 1990s.” 112 Delaware
outperforms the nation, and even top states, on
certain academic indicators, but high scores
among white and Asian students inflate these
figures. Our overall performance is middling,
which means that there is a significant
achievement gap among students, with Latinos
and African Americans faring poorly compared
with other groups.
• Per pupil spending in Delaware is the eighth-
highest in the nation113 but our outcomes must
continue to improve. Delaware spends almost as
much on K-12 education as states like New Jersey
and Massachusetts.114 But these states have much
higher student achievement and are getting
better returns on their educational investments.
New Jersey ranks fourth and Massachusetts fifth
on the 2007 Quality Counts “Chance for Success
Index” while Delaware ranks 18th.
• The 2006 Education Report Card gives
Massachusetts an “A” and New Jersey an “A-,” but
gives Delaware a “C” overall.115
• Delaware ranks 27th among the states in the
percentage of eighth-grade students meeting
national standards in reading and mathematics.116
• At the same time, Delaware students improved
their scores on National Assessment of
Educational Progress tests in fourth-grade math
at a better rate than students from other states
between 1996 and 2007.117
• Similarly, Delaware students made the fifth-highest
gain in the nation in Advanced Placement Scores
according to a recent report. 118
How will a struggling education system, built in and for a
different era, rise to meet the extraordinary challenge of
educating all of Delaware’s students to compete in a
global job market, to become productive citizens, and to
learn to be lifelong learners?
An Education Policy for the 21st
Century
For nine years now I have traveled up and down the state
of Delaware, talking with parents, students, teachers and
others who work in our schools to get a sense of their
priorities.
Unfortunately, Delawareans are not often asked what they
want from their schools. Too often, they feel like they have
little say. But when asked, they are quite clear.
First they want every child to arrive at school ready to
learn — and that starts with parental involvement: parents
are their children’s first teachers. We need to ensure that
as many parents as possible have the ability — and the
opportunity — to fulfill that role and participate positively
in their child’s educational progress starting from the
earliest years and continuing throughout their schooling.
Not every parent and child has this opportunity, especially
those living in poverty. But if our state and our nation are
61
truly to compete in the 21st century, and be a rich,
productive and empowered populace, all children,
regardless of their family’s station in life, must come to
school ready to learn. This means that we must invest in
early childhood education to ensure that each and every
child receives adequate attention and mental stimulation
during the years of greatest brain development, the years
prior to entering grade school. (We also must ensure that
our children’s schools are safe places for teachers to teach
and for students to learn. This issue is so important in its
own right that I will be releasing a separate plan
specifically addressing my intention that every student in
Delaware attend a safe school with proper discipline.)
Second, parents want schools that challenge and interest
their children and prepare them to compete in a rapidly
changing world economy. That includes not just the broad
education I discussed earlier — the STEM skills, thinking
skills, workplace skills, and citizenship skills necessary in
the 21st century — but also the special programs that will
help ensure that every child learns them. This starts with
caring, qualified teachers, and staff for their children. To
make sure that these teachers are as effective as possible,
we must lower student-teacher ratios in the youngest
grades — and we must augment the school-day program
with after-school enrichment programs that are accessible
for all kids. Even as we improve education across-the-
board, some children will come to school with special
needs and we must do a better job of meeting them with
the best possible special education programs.
Third, they want schools with the resources they need to
ensure their children have the tools and facilities they
need to learn. But parents know that resources must
come with accountability. They want an accountability
system that they can understand and can make clear
whether or not students are achieving at high levels. More
importantly, the accountability system must enable both
teachers and students to understand if the appropriate
amount of learning is being achieved. Our accountability
system must empower parents by giving them the choices
necessary to make sure that their children are achieving
their greatest potential.
Fourth, they want to ensure that their children are
learning the full range of skills necessary to compete in the
21st century. Research has shown that kids learn better
62 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
when academic material is related to real-world
experiences — and that preparation for their adult work
experiences needs to start early. It is critical that curricula
reflect career opportunities and workforce preparation at
least by high school — for both college-bound young
people and those who will go directly into the workforce.
We need to build upon our already excellent vocational
workforce preparation with cutting-edge career &
technical programs for those seeking such education in
high school. And we need to invest in our terrific
community college so it can continue to connect grads to
good jobs – and help them improve their skills to advance
their careers.
Finally, parents want their children to be able to go as far
as their abilities will take them. In the 21st century
economy, the vast majority of workers will need at least
some college-level education. Every child should be able
to get that, regardless of family wealth. That is why we
need Early College/Middle College programs, so kids can
get a jump-start on the higher education they will need —
and to make college more affordable. We need expanded
scholarship opportunities, so that every child who can get
into college can afford to go. And we need a state “higher
education strategy” to make sure a world-class college
education is available in Delaware.
In summary, Delaware must insist that every child arrives
at his or her first day of kindergarten ready to learn and
every teenager who graduates from high school and who
has the desire and ability to succeed in college has the
opportunity to do so.
We have made much progress in the past fifty years, but
we have still got a long way to go. With the right leadership
and by empowering parents, students, and teachers, we
can get there.
Starting Out on the Right Foot
Increasing Parental Engagement.
Delawareans believe strongly that “increasing parental
involvement” is one of the foremost solutions to our
public education woes119 — and they are right. But at the
same time Delaware lags the nation in parental
engagement, particularly in the formative middle school
years. The findings of the Opportunity Knocks report
DELAWARE 2008
issued by the Rodel Foundation on this topic are sobering:
“91 percent of school officials surveyed say that Delaware
parents participate in elementary school parent-teacher
conferences (90 percent nationally), but only 28 percent
report that parents participate in middle school
conferences (61 percent nationally).”120
In fact, as I have met with teachers in most of the state’s
districts, I have heard over and over again how changes in
the culture negatively impact learning. What exactly do I
mean?
Teachers tell me about conversations with students that
go something like this:
Teacher: “I need to see some improvement in your
performance or I’ll need to call your parents.”
Student: “Go ahead and try. See if you can get them on
the phone.”
I also heard about conversations like this one:
Teacher calls parent by phone: “Your son, David, is
having some issues at school that I’d like to talk to you
about.”
Parent: “David is your issue between 8 a.m. and 3
p.m.”
There are a number of national initiatives to give parents
the tools to be more effective participants in schooling,
including greatschools.net and Project Appleseed. We
have a state treasure here at home in the Delaware Parent
Leadership Institute (DPLI), which has been recognized
nationally for its approach, including by the Education
Leadership Action Network (ELAN).
DPLI is one of the only statewide parental leadership
programs in the nation — it trains parents to help improve
their schools in a rigorous 60-hour training session that
begins each fall. As governor, I will introduce legislation to
provide state matching funds up to $1 million for the DPLI
to strengthen its reach. I will follow the recommendations
of Vision 2015 to use those funds to support:
• Offering leadership and advocacy training to
families and instituting school-based family
liaisons to strengthen school-family ties; and
• Strengthening online tools and outreach
programs to inform parents about their children's
progress and their school's academic standards
and to help families reinforce classroom learning
at home.
We must make the necessary investments to ensure safe,
productive schools, particularly at the middle and
secondary school level and this can be done partially by
fully engaging parents. We will have parent education
classes up and down Delaware that teach parents tangible
ways to act as stewards for their children’s education.
Eliminating the Achievement Gap
and Addressing its Primary Culprit,
Children’s Poverty.
The educational outcome for many children is
preordained before they even set foot inside a classroom.
Poverty has many attendant challenges, including
inadequate health care and nutrition, especially in the
early years when healthy brains undergo their most rapid
development. Another result of poverty can be exposure
to violence, which studies show can retard emotional and
intellectual development even as it endangers their
physical wellbeing. Such challenges cause too many
children to arrive at school unprepared to learn. They also
often lack other resources, such as parental time and
attention or even a safe, quiet place to study. Children
need to overcome these initial handicaps and make
progress throughout their schooling.
This is a tragedy not just for the individual children but for
all of us as well, regardless of where we live. These
challenges and our failure to address and overcome them
affect not just individual students’ ability to learn, but also
the ability of the school to teach, and thus it affects all
other students in that school and all taxpayers in our state.
And ultimately it affects all of us as citizens, as participants
in the global economy and as a society.
David Berliner describes poverty as the 600-pound gorilla
in the classroom and writes, “We have to face it.” A decade
ago, fewer of Delaware’s children lived in poverty than
anywhere in the country. Today, we have fallen to 18th in
child poverty, with our present rate at 14.2%, up sharply
even from the prior year’s 13%.121 African-Americans and
Hispanics are much more likely than other Delawareans
63
to be poor and to drop out of school. We have to do
everything in our power to reduce childhood poverty and
its terrible effects on the ability of our children to learn.
Delaware earned high marks in some indicators of the
2006 Quality Counts national public education report
card, but it is criticized for low academic achievement
among minority and low-income students. We can
eradicate the achievement gap between racial groups by
taking several important steps. First, we must expand
access to high-quality early-childhood education, offering
full-day kindergarten and lowering class sizes in
elementary school. Offering additional learning time to
those who need it the most, via after-school enrichment,
is also very important. Finally, we must improve and
expand those effective programs aimed at low-performing
students.122 I plan to employ all of these tactics in tackling
this difficult problem.
But beyond the specific tactics of how we eliminate the
achievement gap, I have a bigger sense of what we must
do strategically to improve education for those students
most in need. And this sense has been developed over
many years visiting successful schools that serve high risk
populations in and out of Delaware. Some are public and
some are not. But they tend to have three major features
in common.
First, they have very high expectations of their children.
Middle school students know, for example, that they will
have two hours of homework every night — 30 minutes
in each of four academic subjects. The slogan in some of
these schools says it all: “There are no shortcuts; there are
no excuses.”
Second, these students often spend more time at school
than other students. In some cases, students go home at
5 p.m. for dinner and return to school at 7 p.m. for two
hours of homework. Along these lines, I believe we should
take a very serious look at building an urban boarding
school in Wilmington. The fact is, far too many urban kids
drop out of school before graduating, setting them on a
path to dysfunction and failure. An urban boarding school
would be expensive but it may well be worth the
investment.
Third, the students learn that there is something special
about their schools. I sometimes ask students, “What’s
64 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
different about your school?” And in every school they give
me some variation on the same answer: “This place is more
than a school. It’s more like a family. If something is
bothering me, a teacher will stop me as I walk down the
hallway, because they can see it in my eyes.”
When students feel cared about by people who believe in
them and expect much of them and who can effectively
teach them, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.
Ultimately, of course, we will only eliminate the
discrepancies and obstacles that poverty creates for too
many children and young people by eliminating poverty
itself. That is a daunting challenge — but one to which I
have applied myself as treasurer and on which I believe we
can make demonstrable progress if we apply concerted
effort. I want to build on the steps I have taken over the
last decade as treasurer to make our state one of the first
to comprehensively address — and defeat — the
problems of poverty. I have a plan for doing so and will be
releasing that soon as part of my gubernatorial campaign.
Early Childhood Education:
All Delaware children should have an equal chance for
success in life. Right now they do not. We need to
concentrate more of our public education investments in
the formative years so that our children receive the head
start on learning that stimulates natural confidence,
curiosity, and communications skills that they will carry
with them throughout their lifetimes. We must provide
our children the same opportunities for prosperity and
security as their peers here at home, in other states, and
around the world.
A child’s education begins right away. There is no waiting
for kindergarten. If we wait to begin quality education
until a child enters kindergarten, we will have lost
precious time. Business leaders, who are extremely
interested in having the highest quality education system
in Delaware, strongly support enhancing preschool
programs in Delaware because of the long-term benefits
children derive from a strong education at an early age.
Delaware must have a strong pre-school system that
helps ensure that our kids enter kindergarten ready to
learn.
DELAWARE 2008
As governor, I will strengthen efforts to link private pre-
school programs with the local districts, so that
curriculum for 3- and 4-year-olds is tied to what they will
be taught in kindergarten as 5-year-olds. I will also
establish a statewide preschool program that puts services
already available under one roof. Right now, three state
agencies deal with pre-school programs. I will consolidate
those efforts and make them more efficient. This
consolidated system will be of great benefit to families and
children from birth to kindergarten.
No improvement to the quality of pre-school programs
will do any good if the children do not attend. Our pre-
school educational programs must be available for far
more students than those at the federal poverty level. I am
endorsing, and will push as governor to enact, the
recommendation of Vision 2015 to expand pre-
kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds whose families are
within 200% of poverty. This represents a commitment to
our kids of up to $20 million annually.
Many other states are doing this, and it is easy to know
why — it works. Since 2005, state funding for pre-
kindergarten education has exploded, as more governors
recognize that it is one of their most important tools for
building a better workforce and a stronger economy. As of
2005, at least 39 states offered state-funded pre-
kindergarten.123 Sixty percent of all 3- and 4-year olds are
enrolled in pre-school, up from 6% in 1964. Stateline.org
reports that in 2006 “24 governors — the most ever —
proposed boosting pre-school funding this year by a total
of $250 million.”124 This is no surprise. Researchers at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota suggest that
investments in early childhood education are among the
most effective economic development initiatives a state
can take.125
The Opportunity Knocks study confirms national data that
“students… living in poverty perform better in school
after quality early care programs than do similar
youngsters who do not participate in early care
programs.”126 But Delaware’s Early Childhood Assistance
Program, while boosting the achievement of the children
it does serve,127 does not reach enough of Delaware’s
children.128 For example, in 2005 there were 12,910
children between the ages of 3 and 5 in Delaware families
up to 200% of the federal poverty level, but only 8,337
receive subsidized services of any kind and only 843 were
in state-funded pre-K.129
While plenty of kids have access to preschool there is
often a discrepancy in the quality of those programs.
That’s why a rating system like the Delaware Stars
program is so important.130 Moreover, pay and benefits for
many of the state’s child care providers are incredibly low,
so turnover of staff is very high. This must be changed. In
particular, state subsidies for care for children from low-
income families must be increased and, in particular, tied
to performance on the ratings scale.
Finally, I will propose that the General Assembly increase
the amount of state funding to train highly qualified early-
education teachers, including pre-kindergarten teachers.
The FY 2008 budget includes $300,000 to enhance career
training and education opportunities for early childhood
workers, as outlined in Early Success, Delaware’s early
childhood plan.
Building on the Basics: Making
Schools Work Better
Reducing Student-Teacher Ratios in Early Grades.
According to the University of Delaware Education
Research and Development Center, Delawareans join a
majority of people nationwide in believing that “reducing
class size is the best way to improve K-12 education in the
U.S. today.”131 Delaware State Law 1705A already requires
districts to limit English, math, science, and social studies
classes in kindergarten through third grade to 22
students.132 The experience of a state like Florida, however,
which has instituted sweeping reductions in all public
school classrooms, shows that one of the biggest hurdles
for states to reduce student-teacher ratios is finding
sufficient numbers of qualified teachers.
I believe that it is important to give very young children as
much individualized attention as possible, and I agree that
our pre-kindergarten through third-grade classes should
be small. But I also credit the research, like the study by
the Program on Education Policy and Governance at
Harvard University, that concludes that, above all, we need
to “employ… capable teachers.”133
I will ensure that we have highly qualified teachers to staff
65
our smaller classes by creating the “Teaching 21st Century
Loan Forgiveness Program,” which will re-pay college
loans for students majoring in designated teacher
shortage areas. We will conduct an inventory of
anticipated shortages in teacher subject-areas and grades.
“Teaching 21st Century” loans will target these need areas,
and be re-evaluated every two years. Students selected to
the program would receive loan funds in the form of a
voucher, paid each semester, which could be used for
tuition, fees, books, and on-campus room and board.
Educational institutions would accept the voucher for
qualified expenses so that students would not have to
front these costs. For each year of successful teaching
service, we would forgive one year’s stipend.
I am proposing that we dedicate $1.2 million a year to the
program for the next four years, enough to provide 400
loans each year of $3,000 per loan.
Changing the Way We Think About Teacher
Recruitment, Training and Compensation.
The single most important factor in determining a
student’s success and which is within the control of a
school is the presence of a caring, effective teacher in the
classroom. Delaware faces a challenge in the next decade
as so many teachers in the “baby-boomer” generation
retire. So we have a great opportunity to attract and retain
the next generation of high quality teachers.
I propose we do the following:
• Recruit students with high academic potential
into teacher preparation programs.
• Offer scholarships (or equivalent) that require a
one-for-one year payback for each year of
scholarship once they are employed as teachers
in Delaware public schools.
• Create economic incentives for teachers to make
long-term commitments, including additional
salary stipends and/or contributions to deferred
compensation accounts. These are especially
important in hard-to-staff schools in order to attract
skilled, veteran teachers to difficult teaching
environments.
• Evaluate the idea of developing a statewide salary
schedule that would reduce the “poaching” of
teachers between districts.
• Create housing incentives for educators, in
partnership with private developers, financial
institutions and/or the Delaware State Housing
Authority to combat the challenges many
teachers face in finding affordable housing.
• Reduce and eliminate, if possible, the 90-day
waiting period for health insurance benefits (and
a similar change should be made for other state
employees as well).
• Create mid-and late-career roles that provide
additional compensation for different types of
non-management work within the schools (e.g.,
new teacher training, academic leadership,
curriculum development, peer mentoring).
• Work to create positive work conditions for
educators including the very tangible (a safe
environment, appropriate class sizes, a school with
good heat, air conditioning, plumbing, etc., and with
the essential educational materials) as well as the less
tangible, like a principal and administrative staff who
provide strong, sound educational leadership in a
collaborative environment. From my own
experience in the private sector, I know that the
whole issue of working conditions is key, and
propose that the state, in conjunction with the
Delaware State Education Association, survey
education professionals in Delaware to determine
exactly how they regard conditions in Delaware.
And finally we ought to develop new models for teacher
compensation. Surely any suggestion of changing the way
we compensate teachers will generate plenty of
controversy. But good models exist and we can learn from
them. Consider what Brad Jupp, a former teacher in
Denver’s public schools had to say about why he worked
so hard to move that city’s Pro-Comp model of teacher
compensation forward: “We are in an exceptional
moment, one where the single salary schedule can no
longer support the pressures placed on it by the
expectations of a 21st century public education system.”
The Pro-Comp model uses a range of different
measurements to reward professional practice.
Specifically, there are four major components built into
this program: market incentives (attracting teachers to
challenging work environments or hard-to-fill specialties),
student growth, knowledge and skills, and professional
evaluations.
The Denver contract, reached after years of careful trial
and error, is a delicate balance of many new ideas. The
element that recognizes student growth does so based on
a choice of evaluation tools that is agreed upon by the
professional educator and her/his principal. Any
disagreement is mediated immediately by a peer team
comprised of a school administrator and a union
representative. The Denver model also has a dedicated
stream of funding to ensure that the funding necessary to
implement the contract will actually be there.
After-School Enrichment:
After-school programs are effective in raising student skills
because they feature educational and experiential
activities that are critical for student development. These
programs also combine fun with learning and provide the
one-on-one instruction and hands-on learning that many
children need to excel. School facilities are safe indoor and
outdoor venues that can be used for after-school activities
during afternoons, evenings, weekends, and vacation
periods. Working with private-sector and community
groups and using their own facilities as much as possible,
schools can create and participate in low-cost after-school
and extramural programs that pique student interest and
achievement.
A bounty of public and private resources, including federal
grants, corporate foundations, local companies, and
private foundations support these programs. In 2007, for
example, Indiana received over $7 million in federal grant
funds to improve academic achievement in math, science,
and reading for students from high-poverty schools.
As governor, I will ask the General Assembly to join me in
asking for an audit of (1) our existing after-school
programs and (2) sources of public and private funds for
after-school enrichment for which Delaware would be
eligible. We must better understand how effectively we are
tapping into available federal, foundation, and corporate
funding. And we must re-examine our state investments,
making sure we support those programs that are meeting
measurable goals, that are used throughout the country
and have a track record of success, and that have a sound
business model. Following the audit we will consider
appropriate state funding levels for a variety of after-school
programs that meet national-best practices, targeting the
state’s investments in those programs that work best and
reach those in need.
Creating a First-Rate Special
Education System.
Throughout Delaware special education is an issue
fraught with intense emotion. Parents, teachers and the
community at large appropriately emphasize the need to
make sure that all of our children get the tools and
resources they need to succeed in school.
From my conversations with parents and professionals,
there seems to be agreement on the following points. First,
there needs to be additional teacher training for addressing
the needs of special-education students and the
techniques that teachers can use to support students
based on their specific diagnoses. In addition, we need to
improve parental training so that parents can provide the
necessary supports at home. Similarly, we should provide
additional technical support in schools (professionals in
educational psychology or with related in-depth training)
to provide appropriate support to the classroom teachers
and to provide the oversight, training, and follow-up to
ensure that Individualized Education Plans are being
implemented successfully.
Let’s face it, children have wildly different learning styles
and many face particular challenges. Providing accurate
diagnosis and evaluation, teacher and parent training and
support, and real-time assessment of progress are the key
structural supports regardless of school or home
environment.
As Congress moves forward on whatever form
reauthorization of No Child Left Behind takes, the federal
government’s policies on special education, which form
the framework for all that states undertake in this area, will
necessarily be reshaped for the 21st century. I will
advocate during this process for the improvements
discussed above — and will work with Delaware’s
congressional delegation and others at the national level

66 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008 67

to help ensure their passage, so that we can build the best
possible special education program here in Delaware.
Resources We Need, Accountability
We Can Utilize with Confidence
Ensuring Education Dollars Go As Far As
Possible.
All of the foregoing badly needed efforts mean we will
need to invest in our education system and our children’s
futures. I pledge to lead the fight to do so. But public
resources must come with meaningful public
accountability. Taxpayers, parents — and, ultimately, our
children — have a right to expect that every dollar we
spend on education is being used as effectively and
efficiently as possible to produce results. There are many
ways we can move in this direction, freeing up dollars for
our schools while protecting taxpayers, and I intend to
pursue these aggressively.
A recent study by the “Leadership for Education
Achievement in Delaware” Committee, established by
Gov. Minner, identified between $86 million and $158
million in potential savings opportunities. Some of these
are relatively low-hanging fruit, including streamlined
transportation planning and coordinated purchasing
across school districts. Others are more controversial. But
when it comes to ensuring that our tax dollars are being
spent wisely, we must agree to consider all proposals and
evaluate them based on a single criterion: what is in the
best interest of our students?
Specifically, we ought to put more discretion over
spending closer to the student — in other words in the
school building. Currently, decisions over staffing,
equipment and the like are made at the state or district
level. Strong leadership at the school building level
obviously requires excellent, properly trained principals
who know how to create a strong team-oriented working
environment. Moreover, we are too heavily tied to
inflexible formulas — the number of assistant principals,
guidance counselors, teachers and other staff is tied
directly to the number of students, without sufficient
regard to the challenges each student confronts (e.g.
special education, English as a second language, and
high poverty).
68 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
There are some relatively mundane features of our
education funding system which also must be changed.
For example, we have to change the “September 30” date
which dictates staffing levels. Currently, schools and
districts are required to use the number of students as of
September 30 to determine how many teachers and other
staff they are entitled to. So in some cases, a school may
learn on that date that it has enough students to hire an
additional teacher. If the job is posted on October 1 and a
new teacher is in the classroom on November 15, that
means some students have to adjust to a new teacher 10
weeks into the school year. That does not make any sense
and should be changed.
Finally, taxpayers deserve a straight answer on how funds
are being spent and the results they are generating. The
next three sections discuss ways we can do that.
Creating a Balanced Financial Accountability
System for Delaware.
Detailed uniform measures of accountability, comparing
districts across the state, and where appropriate, in other
states, are critical to generating the public trust that a change
in the funding system requires. I will make that happen.
In response to the challenges of No Child Left Behind,
several states are employing a comprehensive audit
methodology that was developed in Kentucky, with similar
standardized school improvement programs in use in
Tennessee (Tennessee School Improvement Planning
Process-TSIPP), Colorado (Colorado System of School
Support-CS3), and North Carolina (Closing the
Achievement Gap). The audit process is based on
statewide Standards and Indicators for School
Improvement (SISS). There are nine standards for school
operations in three categories:
• Academic performance (which comprises
curriculum; classroom assessment and
evaluation; instruction);
• Learning environment (school culture; student,
family, and community support; professional
growth, development, and evaluation); and
• Efficiency (leadership; organizational structure
and resources; comprehensive and effective
planning).
DELAWARE 2008
Within these categories the audit considers 88 specific
performance measures.
I am recommending that we study these audit models.
Under our present system, progress on school evaluation
and improvement may be uneven because it relies too
much on individual judgments and recommendations. By
describing standard performance benchmarks for each
school function as well as a standard audit protocol, as
Kentucky has done, Delaware would be assured of having
meaningful, uniform measures on which to assess both
school performance and improvement. And that is a
critical part of giving taxpayers the information they need
to make informed judgments about the bang for the buck
we Delawareans are getting for our schools.
Introducing a Far Better System of Student
Evaluation.
A truly useful method for measuring accountability is one
that both teachers and students can understand, and one
that reveals whether the correct amount of student
learning is occurring. Unfortunately, there are multiple
problems with our current method for measuring
accountability, the Delaware State Testing Program. It is
possible that the Congress will, through the upcoming
reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, address a
major concern by converting to the use of a growth model
to measure accountability. However, whether or not
Congress takes this step, we must take the lead in
Delaware. We must change to an adaptive testing method
that provides our teachers and students more frequent
and discrete information about learning gains — or the
lack thereof. In addition, we must work with other states
to build a testing regimen that allows for comparability
beyond our own borders. Not only does the system of 50
different testing systems make interstate comparison
difficult and invalid, it significantly increases expenses for
the states that must develop their own standardized tests.
Certainly, we must also modify our accountability practices
to accommodate special-education students and English
language learners.
Finally, a more solid and accurate measurement of
accountability would result were we to add a qualitative
component to the measurement system, and student
portfolios would be an excellent tool to use in this
approach. Not only would portfolios present a more
three-dimensional view of student performance, they
would also increase student enthusiasm and interest in
the accountability process.
These changes are necessary both because they are in the
best interest of the students and because they are the only
realistic foundation for any plan that pays the teacher
based in part on student performance. Dr. David Berliner
of Arizona State University writes that the current system
of high stakes testing across the country is actually
corrupting the teaching profession.134
Effective Choice and Charter Program that
Strengthen All of our Students.
Delaware has one of the only comprehensive public
school choice programs in the country: Delaware’s
students and families can choose to attend any public
school in the State. We have moved early and fast to offer
parents and their children an array of choices through our
inter-district public school enrollment and the charter
school programs. Our public school choice and charter
school laws are considered “strong” by national
researchers, and we rank third in the nation in the
percentage of children who attend charter schools.135 As of
2006, Delaware had 17 charter schools serving 7,576
students.136
After more than a decade of operation for both programs,
it is time to evaluate these policies and make the necessary
adjustments. Are the programs working as originally
desired or not? How do we know that? What measures are
we using to determine this? Are school choices and
charter schools helping or hurting the ability of existing
public school districts to offer parents and students quality
programs?
While clearly offering parents and students increased
educational options, we must also determine if these
policy initiatives are producing positive changes. For
example, the three consecutive years of evaluation reports
prepared for the Delaware Department of Education
regarding charter schools revealed some successes and
also brought to light issues of major public policy concern
regarding the ‘new’ segregation of public schools.
Certainly, one of the issues that must be addressed
includes construction financing for charter schools, an
69
issue which received considerable publicity in connection
with the pursuit of conduit bond financing by the
Delaware Military Academy. But that issue must be
considered in the context of a host of issues, including
those highlighted in the evaluation report prepared by
researchers from Western Michigan University on behalf
of the Delaware Department of Education.
We do need to review how well charter schools and inter-
district transfers are serving the needs of all Delaware
families, regardless of race or socioeconomic standing.
And we need parents to understand their options for
utilizing charter schools — a deficit identified in
Opportunity Knocks.
Opening a Career Fastlane: SAGE
“Support, Accelerate, Graduate,
Employ”
Today more than ever, our students will not succeed in the
outside world if we do not forge strong connections
between the classroom and the workplace. Ensuring this
successful partnership means strengthening graduates’
science and technology, thinking and leadership skills;
increasing graduation rates and college readiness
statewide; promoting our community colleges; improving
vocational or “career and technical” education in our
secondary schools; and pursuing a Workforce 21st
Century marketing campaign.
“Next Generation” Vocational Education
Programs.
As governor, I will ensure that vocational education in
Delaware remains strong by fostering next-generation
career and technical education (CTE) programs called
“career pathways.” Career pathways, which exist in some
Delaware schools today, offer students the opportunity to
begin training for a high-wage career in high school by
taking a series of progressively more advanced courses in
a particular technical area like electronics, computer
programming, allied health care or engineering.
Rising Above the Gathering Storm, the report by the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine,137 cites “creating opportunities and incentives
for middle-school and high-school students to pursue
70 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
advanced work in science and mathematics” as one of the
most important goals for the country. Career pathways
provide that incentive because they blend academic STEM
coursework with cutting-edge vocational training to give
students both the knowledge and the know-how to
compete in the new economy. Career pathways students
complete the regular high school curriculum, but they
also have the opportunity to take specialized college
courses in their “career path” or professional discipline.
To facilitate career pathways, states must ensure that
community colleges collaborate with their local high
schools to offer “dual-credit” — or joint high school and
college credit — for students who complete college-level
work while still in high school. Delaware has a law that
requires high schools and colleges to offer these
programs,138 but we must do more to make sure that dual
credit options are easily available, and that parents and
children know about the ways they can get an early start
on college. States that have aggressively expanded dual-
credit programs see both social and financial benefits. The
Commonwealth of Virginia, for example, estimates that
participation in college credit while in high school
“save[d] students and their families up to $5,000 in
reduced college-tuition costs.”139
In addition to the array of state funds that support public
school and higher education opportunities, we can use
large federal grants, like Carl Perkins funding, to support
these high quality CTE programs, and as governor I will
ensure that we do.
“Workforce 21st Century” Marketing Campaign:
We know from national studies that Delaware does not do
an adequate job of graduating students from high school
in four years and, then, getting these high school
graduates into college-level education and training. The
career pathways public school/college partnership
program that I have outlined will produce better
outcomes, but only if they are widely utilized.
As governor, I will launch the “Workforce 21st Century”
campaign to make sure our young people, parents and
working adults understand the benefits of getting
education beyond high school. Texas has devoted $10
million to its “Education—Go Get It” campaign. Delaware
is a much smaller state, but no less important. I will work
DELAWARE 2008
with the General Assembly to make $1 million available
over four years to market the “Workforce 21st Century”
campaign statewide, and I will personally meet with
students and parents in town hall sessions about the
Delaware’s menu of “Workforce 21st Century” career
resources.
The “Workforce 21st Century” initiative will include a
website that provides our hard-working Delaware families
easy-to-understand information about preparing for and
paying for college. I expect it will build on the
www.collegesavingstoolkit.com website I introduced last
year in my capacity as Chair of the Delaware College
Investment Plan board.
Community Colleges:
A larger share of Delaware’s adults than the national
average are enrolled in college, which means our
community colleges are doing a good job of meeting the
needs of this critical segment of the workforce. Delaware
Tech, the state community college system, was created in
1966, but has undergone a boom in the past decade. In
2006 there were nearly 41,000 enrolled in the college, and
there are now 46 nationally accredited programs to meet
the needs of Delaware’s citizens and employers —
compared to just 15 in 1995. We have 66 articulation
agreements allowing credits from Delaware Tech to
transfer to other institutions, a 560% increase since 1995.140
Delaware Tech administrators have launched an effort to
make policymakers aware of a critical issue facing the
institution. Space at Delaware Tech is at a real premium.
Because of a shortage of specialized labs, science labs and
computer classrooms, students in 32 programs (18 of
them related to health care) are either on waiting lists to
get into their major or have been denied access to courses
they need. In fact, during the fall of 2007, there were 646
students who could not access one or more of the science
courses needed to make progress toward their degree.
By 2012 Delaware Tech expects that number to more than
double. The overriding factor driving this increase in
enrollment is the economy we live in, an economy which
requires people to get additional education beyond the
high school level in order to qualify for the good-paying
jobs that are available in our community. For example,
Christiana Care recently announced a major expansion,
which will create 750 job openings in nursing and allied
health care per year between now and 2012 with starting
salaries between $50,000 and $65,000. Without funding to
expand, administrators at Delaware Tech project that they
will be unable to provide the number of job-ready
graduates Christiana and the other health care agencies
will need.
Despite the outstanding efforts at Delaware Tech,
Delaware still has among the lowest rates in the country
of workers with associate’s degrees.141 This is
unacceptable. Delaware Tech is one of our lead economic
drivers. Unlike in many states, 90% of DTCC graduates
work in Delaware after receiving education and training,
and over 500 companies benefit from that skilled
workforce. It cannot fulfill that role unless it continues to
innovate as well and fortunately, Delaware Tech has
innovated in a number of key areas.
Delaware must have a two-pronged approach to
improving higher education opportunities, targeting both
young people for two-year and four-year college degrees
and adults already in the workforce who are underskilled
for today’s jobs. It has the mechanism to achieve this
coordination through its P-20 Council, which the
Opportunity Knocks report rightly characterizes as one of
our needed “first steps” in transforming Delaware’s
education and training system.142
As part of my platform for producing Delaware’s 21st
century workforce, I will work through the P-20 Council to
introduce the following workforce enhancement
programs.
Broadening the Reach of Higher
Education
High School Graduation Rates and College
Readiness.
One of the most serious signs of the weaknesses that
remain in our educational system is our low graduation
rate, which at 39th is in the bottom quartile nationally and
far below that of our neighboring states of Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.143 There is a
tremendous cost to our low graduation rates. Not only do
the young people who fail to graduate from high school
71
stand to personally lose so much in lifetime earnings; but
the state of Delaware also loses. According to one report,
if Delaware could increase the high school graduation rate
from just over 60 percent to 90 percent for all students,
while maintaining college graduation rates, then an
additional 2,900 students each year would have the
opportunity for a better life, and an additional $2.6 billion
could be invested in Delaware’s economy as a result of
their higher earnings.144
The Opportunity Knocks study also demonstrates that
“our average performance on the SAT is substantially
lower than that of our peers.” New York City, along with a
number of states, has begun offering the PSAT free of
charge to 10th and 11th graders. As a result of this policy
shift, “[i]n just one year, [New York City was] able to
increase the number of students taking that test by nearly
10,000. That's 10,000 more kids who are now thinking
seriously about college and their futures.”145
In Delaware, some districts already offer some of these
programs. As governor, I will ensure that we use simple
tools like this one to motivate all of our children to stay in
school, to strive for college, to believe that they can be
successful in college, and to hone the skills that can make
them so.
Early College/Middle College.
Updating the school curriculum is among the most
important changes in improving school quality.146 Early
College/Middle College programs are perhaps the most
groundbreaking of new educational reforms to do just
that. These schools are collaborations between school
districts and colleges that allow students to complete two
years of college or an associate's degree during the four
years of high school.
The Early College/Middle College approach is particularly
effective for students who have already dropped out of
school or are at risk of doing so. By allowing students to
take college and high school courses at the same time, we
more effectively challenge “at risk” students and help
them get through school faster. Dropouts often are not
necessarily unable to learn, nor are they even poor
students. Research shows that poor-performing students
often do better when given a more challenging
curriculum than they do in a dumbed-down environment.
72 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
Therefore, this approach eliminates duplication in the
curriculum and the need for costly and demoralizing
remediation of high school graduates in college, eases
transition into college, and reduces the number of years
required to degree completion, thereby reducing barriers
to college for many students.
The Knowledge Works Foundation, in collaboration with
the Kellogg Foundation, the Gates Foundation and Jobs
for the Future, has started eight Early College high schools
in Ohio. According to Knowledge Works, students in all
eight pilot projects are taking and passing college-level
courses, beginning as early as the freshman year of high
school, and according to an early evaluation of the
program by Harvard University’s Graduate School of
Education, Ohio’s Early College students are preparing to
go to college in far greater numbers than their peers in
urban public schools.147
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided
more than $120 million to support the development of
Early College schools across the nation. Since 2002, the
partner organizations of the Early College High School
Initiative have started or redesigned over 130 schools in 24
states. None are in Delaware.148 Through the Initiative’s
continued efforts, the partners will ultimately open about
250 small schools, serving over 100,000 students annually.
As governor, I will make sure that we take a closer look at
the successes the program has had in other states and
experiment with this new model in Delaware.
Scholarships for Students With Solid Citizenship.
When it comes to higher education, Delaware is a state of
haves and have-nots. We know that Delaware’s economy
depends on more two-year and four-year college
graduates. But compared to other states overall, relatively
few Delaware high school graduates enroll in college
immediately after high school,149 and cost may be one
reason why. The 2006 national Measuring Up higher
education report card gives Delaware an F for college
affordability: In the past decade, state college aid per
student has decreased 37%, from $62 to $39.150 Other
states devote more of state resources to need-based
financial aid. I will make college more affordable.
Currently, students in Delaware who meet certain
qualifications may qualify for what we call a SEED
DELAWARE 2008
scholarship. These scholarships are for “Delaware
students who stay in school, work hard, and stay out of
trouble.”151 While this program provides excellent
opportunities, it is only a beginning. We must expand the
program beyond its two-year, associate’s degree
limitations so that we can provide qualified Delaware
students with a four-year college education and a
bachelor’s degree.
University Research and Development:
Delaware’s two public universities—the University of
Delaware and Delaware State University—are institutions
to be proud of. The University of Delaware, one of the
oldest public universities in America, is recognized among
the 100 best universities in the country.152 Delaware State,
an honored historically black university for more than 100
years, was ranked in 2006 as the 13th best university in the
United States for graduating black students.153
But despite our success in producing a high-quality,
homegrown workforce, Delaware has not done enough
to develop its universities as engines of economic growth.
In the past 50 years, technological change has been
responsible for as much as 85% of income growth and
more than half of the nation’s economic growth. To
maintain its preeminence in the rapidly evolving
knowledge economy, the United States must continue to
excel in basic research — 60% of which is supported by
federal funding.
Delaware’s immediate neighbors, including Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia, are among the highest recipients of
federal research funding and venture capital investment,
much of which is attributable to the unique assets of the
University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia and
the University of Maryland, which rank fifth, 23rd, and
54th respectively compared to the University of
Delaware’s 71st place in the 2008 ranking of the best U.S.
colleges.154 Delaware has the capacity to rival its sister
states along the Eastern Seaboard for venture capital
investment, R&D, and business activity in the industries
that will dominate the future — bio- and nano-
engineering, information technology, and renewable and
advanced energy — but it must have a comprehensive,
strategic plan for doing so.
I am proposing the following four interrelated programs
to increase the economic impact of our universities, each
of which leverages the state’s investment with federal and
private funding.
We know from the experiences of states like North
Carolina, California and Kentucky that world-class
universities attract capital. This is true for several reasons:
businesses partner with universities to develop new
technologies, commercialize technologies, share facilities
and talent, and recruit workers. They have an economic
incentive to locate in proximity to their university
partners, where they can benefit from innovations
spinning out of federal and academic research and access
the best scientific minds.
I am proposing to create an investment fund over the next
three years to raise the quality of research projects and
research faculty at the University of Delaware and
Delaware State. To tap into the state fund, the universities
will have to raise private matching dollars. Over the past
decade Kentucky has invested over $350 million (matched
by private donations for a total investment fund of $700
million) to stimulate research and innovation in its
universities. Delaware has the highest per capita real gross
domestic product (GDP) in the United States, compared
to Kentucky, which ranks 43rd.155 I am challenging all
Delawareans to join me in demanding that we invest in
making the University of Delaware a top-tier research
institution by 2025 and begin immediately to strengthen
our capacities for innovation, intellectual leadership and
technology commercialization, and to generate jobs in
emerging high-tech, high-wage industries.
Second, we will create additional incentives and support
statewide to increase grant funding. We will match
additional grant resources that the universities and
colleges raise from the federal government. We also will
form the Governor’s Grants Office to help our State better
maximize federal and foundation support for its major
initiatives. Maryland established a Governor’s Grants
Office with a full-time staff devoted to identifying federal
grant opportunities, with the result of growing federal
grant funding from $5.5 billion in 2005 to $7.5 billion in
2007.
Finally, I am proposing that we establish the Delaware
Technology Partnership at Delaware State University as a
73
public-private venture. The partnership would link
students from Delaware State with summer internships in
high-tech companies. We would provide Delaware State
$150,000 per year to cover the costs of promoting the
program and hosting “job fairs” to introduce prospective
students to employers. Employers would contribute
internships and mentoring. In addition to this annual
funding, I will seek $100,000 in seed funding to put an
organizational structure in place and recruit partners and
stakeholders to the enterprise.
Conclusion.
It is time for Delaware to take our education system to the
next level – by providing opportunities for all children to
become future leaders, ensuring a high quality public
school experience that opens the door to college and the
world of work, and preparing collegians with the skills to
succeed in the real-world workforce.
74 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
Conclusion
I’m running for governor for a simple reason: I believe
Delaware can do better.
All over the state, I hear the same thing again and again:
Delawareans love it here, but they also know we can do
better. There is a thirst for change – not for more of the
same, with perhaps a slight tweak here or there, but for
truly changing Delaware for the better. For making
Delaware a place of opportunity for our kids and their
generation, as it has been for so many of us.
And while that bright future is certainly possible, it’s not
assured.
We have some wonderful businesses in Delaware. But
many of the major employers of my childhood – Dupont,
General Motors, Chrysler, Hercules and NVF – have
downsized or moved away.
We have some terrific hospitals and one is even building a
$200 million expansion – but we also have more than
100,000 people in Delaware, including 20,000 children,
with no health insurance. And even more are struggling to
keep up with rising insurance costs.
We have some great institutions of higher learning and the
University of Delaware even has a $1 billion endowment –
but our high school graduation rate ranks about 40th in
the country, and half of our African-American and Hispanic
kids drop out of high school before graduating.
We have a fantastic court system and a wonderful legal
industry – but our state ranks among the very lowest in
creating new businesses.
I’m not satisfied with any of that – and I bet you’re not
either. And that’s what this election is all about.
We can either settle for the way things are – or we can try
to do better. For our state. Our schools. Our families. Our
children.
We can either vote for more of the same – or we can
choose to move forward.
We can either accept that Delaware is good enough – or
we can aim to make it the best.
I believe that we can make the First State first again.
DELAWARE 2008
That’s what I’ve attempted to do as your state treasurer for
the past nine years. Here’s a small example:
Every year, Brown University’s Taubman Center for Public
Policy, in an independent national survey, ranks every state
for its e-government services to citizens. In 2000, the first
year of the study, it ranked Delaware 50th in the nation –
dead last. The next year I was asked to lead an effort to
revamp the way the state manages information
technology. Along with a group of terrific folks on the
Information Technology Task Force, we helped turn
things around. I was able to use my experience in the
private sector – when I helped build from scratch what
became a leader in the cell phone field – to modernize the
state’s use of information technology.
Led by a new team at the Department of Technology and
Information and outstanding public servants in the
Government Information Center, Delaware aggressively
pursued several initiatives to provide enhanced state
services via the internet. They worked to lift Delaware out
of last place – and they did.
Last year, in the same study, as a result of these efforts,
Delaware was ranked first in the nation. From last to first.
I believe that if we can make Delaware Number One in a
category in which it recently ranked dead last, then we can
make Delaware Number One in every category. And we
should.
And that’s why I’ve worked so hard over the last eight
years to reduce the cost of government by tens of millions
of dollars by negotiating better deals from vendors doing
business with the state.
That’s why I worked hard to increase the number of
families participating in the Delaware College Investment
Plan by more than 20,000. Together, those 20,000 families
have saved $300 million.
That’s why I started a nationally-recognized initiative to
help state employees get physicals and learn how to
improve their health. That brought down the cost of their
healthcare – which saved them and the state money – and
improved their health.
That’s why, when I learned that 10% of the people in this
state didn’t have a checking account – and that even more
75
lacked basic financial literacy skills – I started the Delaware
Money School, providing free classes to thousands of
people, teaching them to balance a checkbook, build a
personal budget, and better manage their own money.
These classes have helped more than 25,000 people in
Delaware learn basic financial literacy skills, so they can
have more control of their own lives and stretch their
paychecks further.
And it’s why, along with the incredible folks at the
Nehemiah Gateway Community Development
Corporation, I organized hundreds of volunteers to help
tens of thousands of Delawareans file their taxes: Have
you ever heard about the EITC – the earned income tax
credit? It’s a tax refund that rewards hard work by those
people earning the minimum wage or slightly above it.
But it’s complicated to understand. Most working people
don’t have accountants or financial advisers; too many
don’t even know about the EITC, let alone how to go
about filing for it. But as a result of the effort we put
together, last year alone, these volunteers helped their
neighbors get more than $15 million in refunds they
otherwise wouldn’t have received. They made a real
difference for people like Stacy, a single mother struggling
to raise two kids – our volunteers discovered that she was
eligible for a $1,500 refund, which she used to invest in a
CD for each of her children, saving money for their
futures. She had never had a savings account before. But
now thousands of Delawareans have money they never
had before, their children have brighter futures – and
they need to rely on taxpayer assistance less than they
might have otherwise.
All because these Delawareans share my belief that we
don’t have to settle for more of the same – we can strive
for the best.
That’s the kind of state treasurer I’ve been. And now, it’s
why I’m running for governor – because I believe we can
do better. I believe that we can make Delaware #1 in all
these areas – efficient government, college affordability,
health care, financial opportunity, and more – just as we
did with technology. And my record in the private sector
and in the treasurer’s office proves that: We can become
#1. I believe that we should.
That’s why all the programs and ideas I’ve proposed in
76 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
this book aim for the best. I don’t want to prepare just
some of our kids for the jobs of the 21st Century – I want
to prepare all of them to do their best. I don’t want just to
ensure that some Delawareans get the health care
coverage they need in the next four years – I want to make
affordable, high-quality care available to all our families. I
don’t want to stop crime and violence in some parts of our
state – I want to protect all our citizens. And I don’t want
to see Delaware take another eight years to go part way
toward our goals – I think Delaware deserves a governor
who wants to actually cross the goal line, and has a plan to
get us there. As I said at the outset, as treasurer I have
interpreted my mission broadly, embraced new ideas,
stressed collaboration, and insisted that we do whatever it
takes to make a positive and measurable difference for
Delaware’s families and for our state – and that’s what we
need from a governor, as well:
Jobs:
Our next governor needs to do more to relieve the
burdens of middle-class families. That starts with having
the vision and know-how to attract the good high-paying
jobs that keep our economy vibrant. We must take bold
steps toward improving the economic development
climate here in Delaware if we are going to make sure
that Delaware remains a great place to live and work. My
“TIME” plan – Turning Ideas into Meaningful
Employment – sets the goal of creating 25,000 new jobs
during my first term as governor. The plan combines the
resources of Delaware’s schools, businesses, banks,
agricultural community and government to build new
businesses that will flourish here at home. I’m the only
candidate with a concrete plan to improve our economy
and create 25,000 jobs in the next four years: I will start by
fostering an educated, skilled workforce. And I will invest
in programs that protect our natural resources,
strengthen our local communities, and highlight our
lifestyle to attract high-wage industries.
Health Care:
For too many people, our health care system isn’t
working and we need a change. Unfortunately, our state
has been heading in the wrong direction, with the
percentage of uninsured rising more rapidly in
DELAWARE 2008
Delaware than in most other states. I’m convinced we
can’t tinker around the edges of the problem and
pretend that small solutions will spark major
improvements. As governor, I will make it one of my
top priorities to make Delaware a model for the nation
when it comes to containing costs and to providing
health care that can never be taken away. First, we will
focus on enrolling Delawareans who are already eligible
for health coverage programs. Second, we will provide
all Delaware families with the opportunity to purchase
affordable coverage for their children by making the
Delaware Healthy Children Program available to all kids
with sliding scale premiums based on family income.
Third, I will establish a Diamond State Health
Marketplace to develop a comprehensive, affordable,
and portable health care delivery system available to all
small businesses, sole proprietors, uninsured
individuals, and families. All Delawareans who like
their current health coverage will have the option to
keep it; but for those who are not satisfied, or those
with no coverage at all, my plan will provide affordable
coverage through a large risk pool to open up access
and drive down costs. Fourth, employers should
contribute to the cost of coverage for their workers, or
pay the public for the coverage we must pick up for
them. And to ensure access to and continuity of health
care coverage, I will require insurers to guarantee
coverage for all individuals. Underlying all of these
initiatives will be a deep commitment to containing
health care costs.
Early Childhood:
We must make sure that every child shows up on the first
day of school ready to learn and we must remember that
the first 1000 days of a child’s life play a significant role in
his or her success in school and in life. As governor, I will
introduce legislation to provide state matching funds for
the Delaware Parent Leadership Institute to strengthen
school-family ties and online tools to keep parents
informed about their children’s progress and to help
reinforce classroom learning at home. I will expand access
to high-quality early childhood education, offering full day
kindergarten and lowering class sizes in elementary
school, and offering additional learning time to those who
need it the most, including after-school enrichment. I will
improve and expand those effective programs aimed at
low-performing students, and will push as governor to
expand pre-kindergarten for all 3 - and 4 -year olds whose
families are within 200% of poverty. In particular, state
subsidies for care for children from low-income families
must be increased and tied to performance. And I will
increase the amount of state funding to train highly
qualified early education teachers.
Education:
We need to support our teachers and improve the
quality of our schools. I will ensure that we have highly
qualified teachers by creating the “Teaching 21st Century
Loan Forgiveness Program,” which will re-pay college
loans for students majoring in designated teacher
shortage areas. I will also recruit students with high
academic potential into teacher preparation programs,
create economic incentives for teachers to make long
term commitments, and create mid-and late-career roles
in new teacher training, academic leadership, curriculum
development and peer mentoring. And, while parents
want schools with the resources to ensure their children
have the tools and facilities they need to learn, those
resources must come with accountability. Detailed
uniform measures of accountability, comparing districts
across the state, and, where appropriate, in other states,
are critical to generating the public trust that a change in
the funding system requires. I will make that happen.
Higher Education:
Right now, a college education is out of reach for too many
Delawareans because they cannot afford tuition. I want to
change that. The SEED scholarship program provides
excellent opportunities, but it is only a beginning. I will
create a new program that goes beyond SEED’s two-year,
associate’s degree limitations to provide qualified
Delaware students who have financial need with a four-
year college education and a bachelor’s degree. I want to
reward students who study hard and live right. Every
Delaware child should have the opportunity to earn a
bachelor’s degree and to compete for the best jobs.
Financial hurdles are a huge problem, but they are not the
only thing that keeps a college education from being
accessible to everyone. If we are going to do better we
77
need to be creative about keeping kids focused on and
motivated by getting a college education. One size doesn’t
necessarily fit all, and an early/middle college program will
help us tap into the talents of some kids who aren’t taking
the next steps today. Fostering a vibrant research
atmosphere within our universities is crucial if we want
Delaware to do well in the 21st-century economy and
beyond. It will help attract top researchers, whose
innovations in technology and science will drive economic
growth, and it will give great opportunities to our students
to learn at the highest levels. It’s a win, win, win scenario.
Workforce development:
We’ve all heard about young people who can’t get a job
because they don’t have the right experience – but they
can’t get the right experience until they have a job. My
strategy attacks this problem by making sure students are
gaining the right skills and experience before they enter
the job market. Too many businesses are suffering
because they cannot find workers with advanced
knowledge and skills. My plan also provides businesses
with a pool of talented potential employees they will need
to be successful, by graduating more kids from high
school and doing more to promote community college.
As governor, I will ensure that vocational education in
Delaware remains strong by fostering cutting-edge “career
pathways” programs that allow students to begin training
for a high-wage career in high school. I also will launch the
“Workforce 21st Century” campaign to make sure our
young people, parents and working adults understand the
benefits of getting education beyond high school. And I
will direct Delaware's P-20 Council to work closely with
Delaware businesses to identify education needs for
workers and develop a plan to get these employees into
the classroom and then bring those skills back to their
jobs.
Environment:
We can’t burn our way to energy independence – we have
got to make conservation and renewable energy a reality.
I’ve laid out a detailed plan to make Delaware a leader in
both of these areas. But leadership requires more than
plans. Several months earlier than any other statewide
official, I supported the offshore wind project proposed
78 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R
for Sussex County. I wasn’t very popular at the time, fully engage their skills and interests. They have so much
especially among some powerful special interests. But I to offer and we all benefit when they have opportunities
knew what I believed to be right. I spoke up. And I will to give back.
lead with conviction to make sure that we don’t squander
our opportunity to be a leader in energy. By investing in Civil rights:
clean renewable energy technology as well as in
conservation, and expending our political will and political We absolutely must be a leader in ensuring civil rights for
capital, we can make sure that Delaware remains a great all our citizens. Delaware is small enough to be a state of
place to do business. neighbors and large enough to welcome newcomers.
Everybody in Delaware – African American, white,
Hispanic, Asian, gay or straight – should know that I
Safety: promise to protect your civil rights and expand your
As governor, my goal every day will be to make opportunities.
Delaware an even better place to work, live and raise a
I am the only candidate for governor calling for all this,
family. Making sure our families are safe is a
and providing a detailed plan to get there: very simply, the
fundamental piece of that. I have proposed specific
issue in this campaign is whether we are going to continue
actions we can take to address the causes of crime in an
along the path that we’ve been following, or whether we
effort to reduce the amount of crime, as well as to
are going to take bold steps toward a stronger, healthier
improve the way we fight crime. I will establish a
Delaware. I, for one, will aim high, and I hope that you will
Delaware COPS Program to help fund the hiring and
join me.
equipping of 200 new police officers over a four-year
period. I will also see to it that the state invests in
smarter law enforcement by partnering with local law
enforcement and deploying the latest technology. We
will do more to prepare offenders for release and take
steps to encourage their successful re-entry into society
through a coordinated statewide re-entry initiative. It is
impossible to significantly reduce many types of crime
without addressing drug and alcohol abuse, but we
have to ensure that there are enough treatment
opportunities available. My plan does both. Finally, I will
work to keep children and families safe by doing more
to reduce domestic violence, curb drunk driving, and
assist victims with a Delaware Office for Victims of
Crime.
Seniors:
We need to ensure that Delaware's older residents can
afford the health care they need, live more securely in
retirement, and lead the healthy, active, and independent
lives they want to live. Delaware's seniors want to enjoy
active lives in their own homes and communities.
Unaffordable drugs mean that seniors may delay getting a
prescription filled, skip a dose or take less medicine. And
we should do all we can to give seniors the opportunity to
DELAWARE 2008 79
1 Energy Information Administration, Energy Consumption by Source and Total Consumption per Capita, Ranked by
State, 2004, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/states/sep_sum/plain_html/rank_use_per_cap.html
2 Energy Information Administration, Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
3 Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder. The Clean Tech Revolution. Collins Publishing, 2007 (page 59)
4 Delaware Million Solar Roofs Partners, http://www.delaware-energy.com/million-roofs.html
5 The News Journal, July 24, 2007, DuPont, UD to Partner in Solar Consortium.
6 Union of Concerned Scientists, 2007 Northeast Climate Change Impact Report. www.climatechoices.org
7 NALEP and Smart Growth Leadership Institute. Smart Growth is Smart Business. Pg. 5, 2004.
8 Coalition for Smarter Growth, “The Effects of Sprawl & Poorly Planned Development,” available at:
http://www.smartergrowth.net/issues/landuse/sprawl/effectsofsprawl.htm.
9 Urban Land Institute, Higher Density Development – Myth and Fact, 2005
10 Peter Calthorpe, Michael Corbett, Andres Duany, Elizabeth Moule, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Stefanos Polyzoides, The
Ahwahnee Principles, 1991. http://www.lgc.org/community_design/safety.html
11 Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending: 5 Year Update. July 2004. p. 64.
12 Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending: 5 Year Update. July 2004. p. 72.
13 Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending: 5 Year Update. July 2004. p. 6.
14 State of Delaware, Farmland Preservation Program. (http://www.state.de.us/deptagri/aglands/lndpres.shtml )
15 Delaware Transit Corporation’s 2003-2009 Business Plan, http://www.dartfirststate.com/reports/03-09/
16 Delaware Transit Corporation’s 2003-2009 Business Plan, http://www.dartfirststate.com/reports/03-09/
17 Delaware Transit Corporation, Transitioning to Transit: Delaware’s Long Range Transit Plan for the 21st Century, 2000.
18 Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending: 5 Year Update. July 2004. p. ii.
19 The 2005 Urban Mobility Report, Texas Transportation Institute, D.L. Schrank, T.J. Lomax, May 2005
20 http://www.state.de.us/finance/publications/Bonds/2005D.pdf
21 http://www.kauffman.org/kauffmanindex/resources/KIEA%20by%20State%200506%20-%202006%20Table%209.xls
22 http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches/2005/08-17ncsl.asp
23 http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches/2005/08-17ncsl.asp
24 http://taxfoundation.org/taxdata/topic/18.html
25 “Wilmington Regional Competitiveness Initiative: Regional Innovation Assessment, December 15, 2003,” p. 5 (based on patents
per 10,000 workers)
26 “Wilmington Regional Competitiveness Initiative: Regional Innovation Assessment, December 15, 2003,” pp. 11, 13
27 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” NGA Center for Best Practices, 2004, p.4, at
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0402GOVGUIDEENTREPRENEUR.pdf
28 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” National Governors Association, 2004, p. 4
29 Id. at p. 14. [DMH note: I could not find this quote in the source cited] [note this DMH note!]
30 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” p. 21
31 UDaily Archives
32 National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices. “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,”
p.22.
33 Id. at 22
34 University Venture Funds, DLC Playbook: http://www.dlc.org/print.cfm?contentid=252614
35 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” p. 25
36 Report to the Strategic Economic Council of the State of Delaware, August 2001, David J. Freschman, Honorable Jack Markell, p.
2.
37 2002 State New Economy Index, Progressive Policy Index, pp. 11. 38
38 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” p. 28
39 “A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy,” p. 26
40 Ben Franklin Technology Partners Homepage, http://www.benfranklin.org/our_impact/index.asp.
41 Quoted in Jack’s Blog for Delaware, February 21, 2006
42 http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/index.aspx
43 http://www.governor.state.ia.us/news/2005/november/november1705_1.html
44 AG Land Vital to Delaware’s Prosperity, Jack Markell, Delaware State News, 7/12/2002,
http://www.state.de.us/treasure/ag_land.shtml. See also, Delaware’s Vanishing Farms, Jack Markell, 9/9/2005,
http://www.state.de.us/treasure/documents/2005/09-09-05-Delaware’sVanishingFarms.shtml.
80 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008
45 Id.
46 Id.
47 Id.
48 Pioneer Homepage, http://www.pioneer.com/pioneer_info/llook.htm.
49 Biden.senate.gov
50 “2007 Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council Annual Report,” www.ddvcc.delaware.gov
51 Delaware Office of Highway Safety
52 See Statehealthfacts.org, http://statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=135&cat=3&rgn=9
53 Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Expenditures by State Provider: Summary Tables, May
2006, available at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/nhestatesummary2004.pdf.
54 Julie Appleby, “Health Care Spending Rose at Twice the Rate of Inflation in ‘05,” USA Today, January 9, 2007, available at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2007-01-09-costs-usat_x.htm
55 Id.
56 Delaware Health Care Commission Annual Report and Strategic Plan, 2007, www.state.de.us/dhcc. Note that the Commission’s
estimates of the uninsured in Delaware are based on a 3-year average (2004-2006).
57 Delaware Health Care Commission Annual Report and Strategic Plan, 2007, www.state.de.us/dhcc. Note that the Commission’s
estimates of the uninsured in Delaware are based on a 3-year average (2004-2006).
58 U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. Economic Brief, THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE ROSE
FOR THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW IN 2005, August 2006. http://jec.senate.gov/Documents/Reports/healthinsurance2006.pdf
59 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org, 2003-04 data
60 See www.statehealthfacts.org
61 Kaiser Family Foundation, Health Care Spending in the United States and OECD Countries, January 2007,
http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm010307oth.cfm
62 Commonwealth Fund, Commission on a High-Performance Health System,
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=401577
63 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org, January 17, 2007.
64 Families USA, “Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured” June 2005,
http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/Paying_a_Premium_rev_July_13731e.pdf
65 Id.
66 Id.
67 Institute of Medicine: Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America. 2003.
68 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends. 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) -Insurance Component. Table II.C.3 available at: Medical Expenditure Panel survey (MEPS), July 2006.
69 Delaware Health Care Commission Annual Report and Strategic Plan, 2007, www.state.de.us/dhcc. The Commission’s estimates of
the uninsured are based on a 3-year average (2004-2006).
70 Id.
71 Annual Report On the Department of Human Services’ Implementation of Programs To Address Uninsurance Among Rhode
Islanders. Submitted to Permanent Committee on Health Care Oversight by Gary Alexander, Acting Director, Rhode Island
Department of Human Services. February 15, 2007. p. 26.
72 See www.statehealthfacts.org.
73 Delaware does not currently allow presumptive eligibility or self-declaration of income, two enrollment criteria that could help
enroll more eligible families. (Statehealthfacts.org)
74 The Children’s Partnership, About Express Lane Eligibility,
http://www.expresslaneinfo.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=About_Express_Lane_Eligibility
75 Delaware Health Care Commission Annual Report and Strategic Plan, 2007, www.state.de.us/dhcc.
76 Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, Health Care Reform Answers for Massachusetts Businesses,
www.mass.gov/Qhic/docs/Business_Requirements_pr.doc.
77 Insurers slice rates on health premiums, Boston Globe, March 4, 2007,
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/03/04/insurers_slice_rates_on_health_premiums?mode=PF
78 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org, January 17, 2007.
79 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends. 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) -Insurance Component. Table II.C.3 available at: Medical Expenditure Panel survey (MEPS), July 2006.
80 S. R. Collins, Universal Health Insurance: Why It Is Essential to Achieving a High Performance Health System and Why Design
Matters, Invited Testimony for the Committee on the Budget, United States Senate Hearing on "Health Care and the Budget:
81
 The Healthy Americans Act and Other Options for Reform," June 26, 2007.
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=506778
81 Families USA, Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured,
http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/Paying_a_Premium_rev_July_13731e.pdf
82 Gov. Minner’s proposed tax increase would bring Delaware’s tax to $1/pack, less than surrounding states. Delawareonline.com,
1/19/07, http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070119/NEWS/701190355/1006, and Campaign for Tobacco
Free Kids, 11/17/06, http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0097.pdf
83 Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, July 2007, http://tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0148.pdf.
84 Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, July 2007, http://tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0148.pdf.
85 J Lambrew. A Wellness Trust to Prioritize Disease Prevention. April 2007.
http://www3.brookings.edu/views/papers/200704lambrew.pdf
86 Partnership for Prevention, www.prevent.org
87 Commonwealth Fund, http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=469669&#delaware
88 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org
89 Democratic Leadership Council, Restraining Prescription Drug Costs, 2006, http://www.dlc.org/print.cfm?contentid=253949
90 Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Journal of Quality and Patient Safety, 2006,
http://www.sorryworks.net/pdf/Sorry_Works_White_Paper.pdf.
91 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org
92 Kaiser Family Foundation, www.statehealthfacts.org
93 http://treasurer.delaware.gov/information/toolchest/index.shtml.
94 http://treasurer.delaware.gov/information/toolchest/index.shtml.
95 http://www.firststatesaves.org/ and AARP, http://www.aarp.org/states/de/denews/are_you_saving_enough.html?print=yes
96 Gail Kutner, AARP Knowledge Management. AARP 2006 Prescription Drug Study with Hispanics and African
Americans. (April 2007), http://www.aarp.org/research/health/drugs/hisp_aa_rx.html.
97 Gail Kutner, AARP Knowledge Management. AARP 2006 Prescription Drug Study with Hispanics and African Americans. (April
2007), http://www.aarp.org/research/health/drugs/hisp_aa_rx.html.
98 DPAP annual report http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/files/2006dpapreport.pdf
99 DPAP annual report http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/files/2006dpapreport.pdf
100 DPAP, http://www.delawareuninsured.org/program_information.html
101 DPAP annual report http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/files/2006dpapreport.pdf
102 The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High-Performance Health System, “Aiming Higher: Results from a
State Scorecard on Health System Performance.” (2007)
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/statescorecard/statescorecard_show.htm?doc_id=495417
103 The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High-Performance Health System, “Delaware: Estimated Impact of
Improving State Performance.” (2007)
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/improvementcalcs/improvementcalcs_show.htm?doc_id=496192
104 http://www.mha.org/mha_app/pressreleases/2006/6-29-06%20New%20Keystone%20Funding%20Announcement.pdf
105 For brief descriptions, see http://www.premierinc.com/quality-safety/toolsservices/
safety/topics/bundling/region-state.jsp
106 For example, see Homes for our Troops,
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SgtJasonNeilson.
107 From Pink, Daniel (2005). A whole new mind: moving from the information age to the conceptual age. New York: Riverhead
Books.
108 Frank Levy, Daniel Rose Professor of Urban Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006
109 Frank Levy, 2006.
110 “The 2007 State New Economy Index,” Ewing, Marion, Kauffman Foundation, March 1, 2007.
111 “State Profile: Delaware,” www.achieve.org.
112 “Measuring Up 2006: The State Higher Education Report Card,” National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education,
Washington, DC, 2007.
113 State of Education: Who Makes the Grade?,” Kavan Peterson, Pew Research Center, January 26. 2006.
114 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). Revenues and Expenditures for Public
Elementary and Secondary Education: School year 2002-2003 (NCES 2005-353), Current Expenditures per Student.
115 Measuring Up 2006,
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/reports/stateProfileNet.cfm?myYear=2006&statename=New%20Jersey&cat=LRN
82 BLUEPRINT FOR A B E TT E R DELAWARE 2008
116 Vision 2015, www.vision2015delaware.org
117 http://www.doe.state.de.us/news/2007/0926a.shtml
118 http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802170310
119 University of Delaware 2007.
120 Opportunity Knocks 2005.
121 www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2006/states/Delaware.html
122 “The 36th Annual PhiDeltaKappa/Gallup Poll Of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, Lowell C. Rose and Alec M.
Gallup, September 2004.
123 “State Efforts to Evaluate the Effects of Pre-Kindergarten: 1977-2003,” Walter S. Gilliam and Edward F. Zigler, Yale University Child
Study Center, April 19, 2004.
124 “Governors Push Access to Pre-school,” Kavan Peterson, Stateline.org, May 18, 2006.
125 http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/fedgaz/03-03/earlychild.cfm
126 Opportunity Knocks 2005.
127 Early Childhood Assistance Program, http://www.ecs.org/dbsearches/search_info/PreK_ProgramProfile.asp?state=DE
128 “State-Funded Pre-Kindergarten Programs: Delaware,” Education Commission of the States, www.ecs.org.
129 “Delaware: Early Childhood Care and Education,” National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailan School of Public Health,
Columbia University: http://www.nccp.org/profiles/DE_profile_20.html.
130 http://www.doe.state.de.us/files/pdf/ec_EarlySuccessDelawaresEarlyChildhoodPlan.pdf
131 “Public Opinion of Public Education: Quality of Education,” University of Delaware Education Research and Development
Center, February, 2007.
132 Department of Education (2003). Delaware school laws 2002-2003 edition. Charlottesville, VA: Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.
133 University of Delaware 2007.
134 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/04/30/podcast55-high-stakes-testing-is-the-enemy/
135 Opportunity Knocks 2005.
136 http://www.doe.state.de.us/files/pdf/dedoe_unitctstatsmaps2006.pdf
137 Rising Above the Gathering Storm 2005.
138 ECS State Notes: http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=205.
139 Mark Warner, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Education Week, November 17, 2004.
140 “Keeping the Doors of Access Open,” Office of Management and Budget and Controller General, State of Delaware, Dover, DE,
November 28, 2006.
141 http://www.sreb.org/main/EdData/FactBook/2007StateReports/Delaware07.pdf
142 Opportunity Knocks 2005.
143 Opportunity Knocks 2005.
144 Vision 2015 2006, http://www.vision2015delaware.org/resources/Vision2015report1-26.pdf
145 News Release, March 4, 2007. Nyc.gov.
146 “Public Opinion of Public Education: Quality of Education,” University of Delaware Education Research and Development
Center, February, 2007.
147 Knowledge Works Foundation, High School Initiatives, Early College: http://www.kwfdn.org/high_schools/early_college/
148 http://www.earlycolleges.org/schools.html
149 Measuring Up 2006.
150 “Losing Ground: Appendix: State Trends” The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Washington, DC.
151 SEED Scholarships, http://seedscholarship.delaware.gov/
152 The University of Delaware ranks 71st among the top 124 universities in the United States in “America’s Best Colleges 2008,” U.S.
News and World Report: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php
153 “Black Student College Graduation Rates Inch Higher but a Large Racial Gap Persists,” The Journal of Blacks in Higher
Education: http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html.
154 U.S. News and World Report 2008.
155 “Gross Domestic Product by State, 2006,” Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.
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