Party: Democrat
    Address: Newark
    Employment: Insurance Commissioner
    Past Employment: Delaware Volunteer Legal Services; Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor; Governor’s Legal Counsel
    Education: University of California at Berkeley; Yale Law School
    Past Political Experience: Elected Insurance Commissioner in 2004

    In this election, change is being promised by all candidates. The question is: which candidates have clear plans for change as well as a track record in delivering what they promise? That’s what I think voters should consider as I campaign to be an advocate for kids as Delaware’s lieutenant governor.
    As your insurance commissioner, I have fought against the insurance industry on behalf of Delawareans and have turned what was considered an unresponsive and forgotten agency into an effective voice for consumers. Working with the General Assembly, I wrote and got passed the fifth toughest law in the country restricting on how insurance companies can use credit scores to set rates and a law protecting homeowners from having their homeowner polices canceled simply because they have a made a few claims.
    These are issues the insurance lobbyists fought against and which the Republican House of Representatives initially did not want to pass, and my ability to get them passed demonstrates my ability to work with Democrats and Republicans to get things done. I also worked to hold insurance rates down, penalized insurance companies that weren’t fair to policyholders and personally took on the cases of many, many families and individuals who were denied benefits or mistreated by companies.
    As lieutenant governor, I want to be a voice for children in Dover, especially improving education, which business leader after business leader says is a non-negotiable step toward bringing jobs to Delaware and restoring economic health. Specifically, I want to focus on:
    • Getting more of our state’s school spending into the classroom, reducing the amount spent on bureaucracy;
    • Recruiting the best teachers, including extra pay for teachers that take on tough assignments and tech in tough schools, and also to reward teachers who show improvement in their students;
    • Extending health coverage to all of Delaware’s children, as a benchmark on the road to coverage for all adults as well;
    • Enforcing environmental laws, especially on the toxins that can affect children’s health, such as air emissions and lead paint; and
    • Strengthening the state’s services to children who face special challenges, including those with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, and those who are in foster care.