The House Elections & Government Affairs Committee advanced HB251, which would eliminate the at-large election of New Castle County Council President and create a 13th councilmanic district after the 2030 census, with council members electing a president among themselves beginning in 2032. The bill passed out of committee over the vocal opposition of the sitting County Council President, who argued it strips voters of their democratic voice.
Monique Williams Johns argued the bill is 'stripping the residents of their right to elect a county president, placing that power into the hands of 13 individuals who have shown little interest in meeting the needs of the people,' citing over 186,000 voters in the last county president election. Representative Morrison responded: 'I take umbrage to any suggestion that I would ever introduce any piece of legislation that would disenfranchise any voters, including women or people of color.'
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“I mean, imagine if we decided, hey, from now on, we want the speaker of the House and the House Majority Leader and the House Whip and similar positions over in the Senate. We want to have voters elect them separately. I don't think anybody would support that.”
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Sign in to subscribeBefore we begin the meeting, I want to make sure that members are aware that the microphones at your desk pick up conversations very easily and they are connected to the live stream so that the public may be able to watch and hear the proceedings. So at this time, if you have your cell phones with you, please make sure that your cell phones are on silence or turned off altogether. The House Elections and Government Affairs Committee meeting is called to order. In accordance with the House rules, members of the public can participate either in person or virtually through a Zoom webinar. There's a sign up sheet in the back, so if anyone wants to speak for the public, please make sure you sign up. The public can participate virtually by registering through the meeting link posted on the General Assembly's website. Instructions for providing public comment are available on the website under this committee meeting's notice and also be shared during the public comment portion of the hearing. Written comments may also be submitted to the House Committee commentelaware.gov and any comments received within 24 hours after the hearing will be included in the public record.…
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