Steve Newton to Run For State Rep!
A true friend of Delaware Liberal, Steve Newton, will run for the 22nd Representative District seat currently held by Republican Joe Miro. Miro, BTW, is one of those legislators who has basically retired, but never bothered to tell anybody. If any third party candidate has a real shot, Steve is at the top of the list. He is consistently one of the most thoughtful and on-point analysts of public policy in our state. Here is the press release in its entirety:
It’s official! I’m running for 22nd District State Representative.Here’s the press release:
DSU Professor Steve Newton announces candidacy for 22nd District State Representative
Citing an atmosphere of “politics as usual rather than public service” currently afflicting the Delaware General Assembly Dr. Steve Newton today announced his candidacy for 22nd District (Pike Creek) State Representative. “Over the past few years our legislature has spent tens of millions on corporate welfare and casino bail-outs, while cutting State funding for transporting homeless students to school,” Newton said. “The priorities are clearly wrong.”
Newton, a Professor of History and Political Science at Delaware State University, believes he will bring critical public service experience to the General Assembly. “I’ve spent twenty years in the military, six years as a union president, and more than two decades working to improve public and higher education. I’ve served on task forces and commissions, and I’m tired of seeing that hard work watered down or ignored by State government.”
Fighting for a return to local control and pulling back from high-stakes testing in Delaware schools will be a priority, Newton explained. “We need to support students, parents, and teachers with resources, not new tests or punitive assessment models.” He also cited increased transparency and campaign spending reform as essential steps toward a better functioning government. “We’ve had an illegal charter school task force, secret Attorney General’s Office opinions, and a bipartisan atmosphere of ‘pay to play’ accepted as the status quo,” Newton asserted. “That’s got to change.”
Newton has lived in Limestone Hills in Pike Creek since 1997; his wife Faith is also a DSU Professor. They have three children and one grandchild. He is running as a Libertarian: “I won’t waste your money, I won’t try to run your private life, and I’ll be answering to voters, not party bosses.”
We’re assembling a campaign team, a presence on Facebook, and all the other usual trimmings, but the most critical ingredient to bringing some real change to Dover is . . . YOU.
Look right, and you’ll find the opportunity to sign up for the campaign newsletter. That’s where you’ll find out about events and opportunities to volunteer.
There’s also the ominous (we’ll decorate it soon) Donation button. In 2012 the incumbent raised over $26K to win this seat–a good percentage of which came from PAC and special interest money that, frankly, I’m not courting. We’re going to do this the grassroots way, with lots of shoe-leather and conversation, but it still costs money. We’ll make the pennies bleed before we spend them, but whatever you can contribute at the outset will be critical to getting the ball rolling.
I, for one, am psyched. The Delaware General Assembly would be a better place with Steve Newton as a member. From Day One, Steve would be a leading voice for true public education for all students. I’ll be sending along a few bucks. Hope you’ll consider doing the same. Just click on the link here to let Steve know that you support him with your $$’s. I do.
This is intriguing. I’ve grown to have a lot of respect for Steve, but have the Dems begged off the race?
I don’t agree with Steve on everything, but I’d still vote for him. He is a proven voice in education – and I’m taking some credit for that! 😉
John Mackenzie is running as the D
Jason,
I can understand how you might believe that the Dems won’t be running in the 22nd this year. This district is about as Republican as you can get north of the ditch. We’ve never sent a Democrat to Dover. But, we have a wonderful candidate who has filed already. Professor John MacKenzie will be running against Representative Miro. John is an economics professor at UD and has been very active in our community and with school issues. He moved from the 23rd to the 22nd district about two years ago. You may recall that he ran against Lianne Sorenson for the old 4th Senate seat before redistricting and he made an impressive showing, although he did lose. He’s not afraid to take on the Republicans around here. He’s smart, energetic, and has his ducks in a row.
So, before the DL gang gets locked in on a third party candidate you might want to step back and take a look at John MacKenzie-D for the 22nd rep seat. I believe you will find him worthy of your support.
That’s right. He looks like an experienced campaigner. If I read this blog I guess I would have known that.
Libertarian when it suits him. According to his blog.
Good luck.
From Day One, Steve would be a leading voice for true public education for all students.
Isn’t he supposed to be a Libertarian? Those people don’t like public schools, highways, the USPS, etc.
Please explain how he’d be both a “leading voice for true public education for all students” and a Libertarian.
There are Libertarians, and there are Libertarians.
Pay attention to what he says. You may not agree with him, but, then again, you might.
@LeBay: Isn’t he supposed to be a Libertarian? Those people don’t like public schools, highways, the USPS, etc.
Here’s my answer, in two parts:
1) If you demand that all libertarians demonstrate a particular ideological consistency, please explain to me the common thread that places Jack Markell, Chip Flowers, John Atkins, and John Kowalko in the same Delaware Democratic Party.
2) I can make my case for my bona fides in public education not on what I’ve said, but on what I’ve done.
I was appointed by Governors Castle and Carper to co-chair the State Social Studies Curriculum Frameworks Commission from 1992-1995.
In 1996 I sat on the State Superintendent of Education’s committee on revising graduation requirements.
In 1998 I co-chaired the DOE committee that created Social Studies benchmarks.
In 2000 I sat on the leadership team of the Sec Ed’s task force for validating DE content standards for the National Council of Chief School Officers.
I directed the Social Studies Education program at DSU for ten years and trained dozens of individuals who teach today in DE and the region.
I have been an instructional trainer in 11 DE school districts and 34 other districts in 13 states over the past decade.
I have been a parent advocate for Special Needs students in Delaware and six other states for over five years. There’s more, but hopefully you get the idea.
I didn’t just pick up the issue of public education for a campaign; I’ve been working at it for over twenty years.