Hall-Long ready to take experience to next level

Bethany Hall-Long, one of six Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial candidates, said she is concerned about the health of Delaware – the state’s economic health, and the mental and physical health of Delawareans.

Hall-Long, a senator from Middletown, said during a recent interview in her Lewes campaign office, the state needs to make sure agriculture remains huge and at the same time continue to look at ways to grow a new economy, she said.

Hall-Long may be a legislator from New Castle County now, but she grew up on a farm in Sussex County, attended Lord Baltimore Elementary School in Ocean View and graduated from Indian River High School.

“People know me as Bethany from Bethany Beach. I surfed and swam on these beaches growing up,” she said. “My local roots run deep.”

From both parents to her brother, Hall-Long grew up around people with health issues. She said she knew from a young age that she wanted to take care of people, which is why she went into nursing – in addition to being a senator, she is also a professor of nursing at the University of Delaware. She said she got into politics after she saw that to get things done a person had to be involved with the political process.

Healthcare can be frustrating, she said of her turn to politics. “I was a community advocate long before I was in public service,” she said.

Hall-Long has been a member of the state’s General Assembly since 2003, serving as a representative until 2008 and as senator since then. She estimates she’s sponsored or co-sponsored over 1,000 pieces of legislation.

Not all, but many of the bills Hall-Long has sponsored have been related to individual health. In the past session, for example, Hall-Long was the primary sponsor of Senate Bills 52, 226 and 238.

SB 52, also known as the CARE Act, implements a framework for patients to designate a lay caregiver during a hospital stay in Delaware.

SB 226 cleared the way for a 90-bed inpatient and outpatient facility in Georgetown to meet the needs of the Sussex County community.

SB 238 establishes the Delaware Health Care Claims Database to maintain pricing data within the state’s network of healthcare providers.

From budget issues to upgrading technology availability, Hall-Long said the state’s next governor is going to face unprecedented challenges, and it’s going to be important there’s a lieutenant governor with a record of results.

“I’m ready to work with the next administration,” she said. “Now, more than ever, proven leadership is more important.”

In Sussex County specifically, she’s aware issues that need to be addressed include the care of an aging senior population, substance abuse, infrastructure problems and coastal environmental problems.

It’s going to take some outside-the-box thinking, she said.

Other lieutenant governor candidates are Kathy McGuiness, a Rehoboth resident and Rehoboth Beach commissioner; Greg Fuller, Lincoln resident and former Sussex County register of wills; Kent County Levy Court Vice President Brad Eaby; New Castle County Register of Wills Ciro Poppiti III; and Wilmington City Councilwoman Sherry Dorsey Walker.

The winner of this primary will face off against Republican La Mar Gunn, a resident of Dover, in the general election.

The deadline to register to vote for the Tuesday, Sept. 13, primary is Saturday, Aug. 20. Military and overseas citizens have until Monday, Aug. 29, to register.

The deadline to register to vote for the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election is Saturday, Oct. 15. Uniformed service members and overseas citizens have until Monday, Oct. 24, to register.