Voters have real choices in the District 20 race

In Tuesday’s column I mentioned the stark choices open to voters in the District 6 and 20 races.

But while incumbent Republican Ernie Lopez and Democrat Claire Snyder-Hall have their differences in the Senate District 6 race, they don’t match the abyss that exists between incumbent Republican Steve Smyk and Democratic challenger Marie Mayor in Representative District 20.

The Smyk-Mayor contest is a rerun of the 2012 race, except this year it also includes a wild card: Donald Ayotte, who ran as a Republican against County Councilwoman Joan Deaver in 2012 and is now running as a member of the Independent Party.

I’ll be going over the candidates’ responses to some of the questions from last week’s forum, but here’s a refresher from a question posed in the Oct. 17 issue of the Cape Gazette: What’s the single biggest issue facing District 20?

Ayotte said that the biggest issue was the increased use of hard drugs, especially heroin. He proposed a two-pronged solution: a special unit to take down drug dealers, and a highly trained team of professionals to counsel addicts and their families.

Mayor talked about the need for improved infrastructure: roads and bridges, but also stormwater and septic issues; water quality; and education.

For Smyk, the biggest single issue was “how all the bills introduced in Dover are approached … The fundamental responsibility of your elected representative is the protection of the individual citizen and groups from unnecessary intrusions by the government.”

It’s hard to imagine a greater difference in philosophy, especially between the latter two candidates. Mayor’s main concern is what the state government can do to improve infrastructure; Smyk’s leading issue is protecting citizens from that same government.

Voters can’t complain they don’t have a choice. Here’s a look at how they responded to questions submitted by the audience.

Would you support a living wage?

Some background: During this past session the General Assembly passed a minimum wage bill setting the standard at $8.25, effective Jan. 1, 2015. Smyk voted for this bill. (Lopez voted against.) House Republicans offered an amendment that would have allowed employers to pay workers 75 percent of the minimum wage if they were under 18 or seasonal workers. Smyk also voted for this measure. It was defeated. In addition, Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10, a level sometimes called a “living wage.” That bill is still in committee.

Mayor said she would have voted to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. She said she would “never have voted” to reduce it for seasonal workers or those below a certain age.

“They don’t need a ‘training wage,’” Mayor said. “They need the money.” She said nobody at her business, Lavender Fields, earns less than $10 an hour.

Smyk did acknowledge, “whatever you pay them [people earning minimum wage] does go, almost immediately, back to your system.”

But he also expressed reservations. “Not everyone does deserve minimum wage,” he said. Later, he said he disagreed with the minimum wage, but voted for it after contacting “over 50 businesses” and deciding that’s what the district wanted.

Ayotte said, “Minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage.” His first job, baling hay, was for the minimum wage, as was his first job out of the Navy.

“They are meant to be entry-level jobs,” he said. After that early work experience, he said, it’s up to the person to define their wage by their education.

What action would you take to reduce traffic congestion?

Mayor said, “If we want to reduce our traffic congestion, we put money in the infrastructure fund for good straight roads, good safe roads. We don’t divert that money to bail out casinos.”

Smyk took exception to the comment about the casinos. “Casinos,” he said, “have also been raped by the state of Delaware, to the tune of forty-three and a half percent of their earnings.” According to Smyk, the state needs to reduce the amount it takes from casinos so they can remain competitive.

As for road projects, Smyk said the Transportation Trust Fund, designed to pay for capital projects, “has not been managed correctly.” He suggested moving the trust fund back into general fund “and to make the tough decisions that are necessary.”

(Background: In January, Gov. Jack Markell proposed a 10-cent-a-gallon increase in the gas tax to help pay for transportation projects. The plan was DOA. Republicans proposed moving DelDOT’s operating budget back into the general fund over the next seven years. The idea was that this would free up trust fund money for road projects. The plan, however, specified no additional revenue or spending cuts to make the move possible.)

Ayotte found fault with the decision-making process that DelDOT  uses to upgrade our roads. “I would call for a comprehensive review of the DelDOT prioritization program,” he said.

What is your vision to increase economic growth in Sussex County?

Ayotte cited what he said are the two biggest problems: the “massive amounts of regulations” that businesses face and labor unions.

Right-to-work laws are very important to large corporations, he said, mentioning a business that opened a plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.

Mayor took a different approach. “We need to look at the richness of our environment,” she said. She talked about eco-tourism and the recently opened Gordons Pond Trail, which is already attracting tourists.

Smyk talked about small business. “We have not done very well for our small businesses. We have hampered their growth.”

“We need to reduce regulations,” he said. “We need to be business-friendly.”

The candidates forum was held Oct. 22 at Cape Henlopen High School. It was cosponsored by the League of Women Voters Sussex County, the Lewes Homeowners Association and the Coastal-Georgetown Branch AAUW.