Democratic Party

Representative District 20 Committee

2023 Policy and Position Statements
On Specific Area Interests

Of The

Representative District 20
Democratic Committee

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6-8-23

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INTRODUCTION

The Representative District 20 (RD 20) Democratic Party Committee developed these position and policy statements as an ongoing educational and party-building effort. At monthly meetings, speakers are invited to make presentations and answer questions on
matters of interest to the committee and guests. At the discretion and direction of the RD20 president, position and policy statements are created by an appointed working group, and later presented to the full committee for review and comments. Final position and policy statements are then developed from those membership and committee member comments. The resulting position and policy statements hopefully then reflect what the concerns are of the Democrats in the RD 20 district.

The following position statements represents the best thinking of the RD 20 Democratic Committee to be useful for potential candidates from RD 20 and intend to reflect the priorities of our local communities. This document is a living offering that will evolve as important issues come to the forefront.

The 20th Representative District is a strong advocate that promotes issues that improve the common good. Improving the lives of all of the residents, encouraging community involvement, promoting the best candidates in elections, always supporting democratic causes, and keeping government responsive to the people is of the utmost priority.

This document is not intended as the completed comprehensive list of policy and position statements for RD20. Rather, it is intended as a living growing document that will require ongoing changes as existing issues evolve and new issues emerge.

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RD 20 Core Values and Beliefs that guide

Policy and Positions

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We believe the government and public funds belong to all of the people, and the state must provide wise stewardship that recognizes the unique needs of the working class, our children, youth, and families, our most vulnerable citizens, and the elderly.

We believe in the dignity of all human beings, and that diversity and inclusiveness is critical to our collective successful future. Opportunities for success must support people who have historically been left behind, and the same opportunities must be available no matter your gender, race, class, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability.

We believe that the “best ideas win” no matter the source, and we will continue to seek out, encourage, and listen to fresh ideas from all Delaware people who operate in good faith and have a sincere interest in improving the common good for everyone.

We believe in a growing economy that supports everyone creating a better life for all Delaware people and that includes a strong working class and equal opportunities for all workers to benefit.

We believe that as a coastal state, we should strive to be a national best practices example of how to care for our oceans, bays, wetlands, water, air, and public lands.

We believe that the highest form of decision making is consensus, that rigorous debate and discussion is better than ongoing conflict, win-win is better than win-lose, and coming together is better than continuous division.

We believe that statewide educational efforts must strive to develop lifelong learners with education that begins at birth with early childhood education and continues throughout adulthood striving to develop the best educated population and workforce in the nation. This educational program is a fundamental right of all Delawareans.

We believe that global climate change is a current threat to our way of life as we know it, and that everyone must work to protect our environment by tackling climate change with every means possible.

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We believe that modern health care focuses too heavily on an outdated medical illness model that begins treatment after diagnosis. We must shift the medical model to an emphasis on health promotion and prevention.

We believe the over development of Sussex County will continue to negatively impact the quality of life for its residents. Relating to the future of building development directed by the Sussex County Council 10-year Comprehensive Plan, we support legislation that requires any mid cycle changes to be subject to review and approval by the State Office of Planning and Zoning. Further, we support local and
regional codes that require developers to include at least 10% of affordable housing in their plans.