If you are to know just one thing about Bob Venables, it’s this: He was a tremendously empathetic human being. Whenever anyone needed help, he tried, and often succeeded. Didn’t matter one’s station in life, didn’t matter how someone could help him, he just wanted to help. He was a good person, without malice, without guile.
Oh, sure, he was a conservative Democrat from Sussex County. But, he wasn’t doctrinaire. I especially appreciated how, as chair of the Bond Committee, he set off the alarms about the draconian drug laws that the Tom Sharps, Jim Vaughns, and Jane Bradys were imposing with impunity. He warned that excessive spending on more prison space imperiled spending on schools and other vital projects.
As Sen. Sokola pointed out, “Whether it was fighting to protect Delaware’s vital family farms, our beautiful state parks, our thriving wildlife areas, or expanding our network of bike trails, nobody worked harder to preserve our natural resources and enhance our quality of life than Bob during his 26 years of public service.”
I hope that he had much to savor in his post-Senate years. My deepest sympathies to those who knew and loved him.