Democrats have dominated the landscape of New Castle County politics over the last two decades. Each of the last three county executives have been Democrats, and today, 11 of 13 council members hail from the party. Last Sunday, the Community News reported that the Republican Party is renewing its efforts to make inroads here starting with the 2010 elections. This week, we sat down with NCCo Democratic Party Chairman Erik Schramm about how his party plans to meet that GOP challenge.
Q The GOP recently released a revamped platform and is dedicated to being competitive in county races in 2010. How do you as a party respond to that challenge?
A What we've realized, especially at the county level over the last three or four cycles, is that our message and our strategy has worked. It's worked in terms of getting our candidates elected, but then we deliver on campaign promises and make them action items in the off years.
Q What do GOP gains in three General Assembly special elections this year signal to your party?
A Elections are going to be tough next year. It's a mid-term election. There's going to be a lot on the line in terms of the economy, both locally and nationally. You hope that we can deliver and I think you'll start to see the tide break in that direction. Last week was a good example that when Democrats work together, we win. From the VP's office all the way down to the county level with [County Executive] Chris Coons working to make sure we could secure the Fisker Automotive deal.
But when you have a big top of the ticket item that's attractive to voters like we have with the senate and house races, it's usually a good thing for Democrats. In the off years, we don't always have that, but this year I think those races will definitely help us.
Q What have you been doing to prepare for 2010?
A We use the off year to committee build. We hold regional committee meetings where we invite people out who might have gotten involved in the political cycle before: people who might have been involved in the Clinton campaign or the Obama campaign, but haven't typically been engaged in the local party.
Q What has been the focus of the Democratic Party platform at the county level?
A Definitely the fiscal responsibility piece. Unfortunately, Democrats have been labeled as the tax and spend party over the years, but when things were looking good with the economy there were tax cuts. Now the message we've been laying out with the county council folks has been, okay, now it's time to get the house in order. Last year, unfortunately, the county executive had to have the [25 percent] property tax increase, a last resort after they stripped county government to the bare bones.
