Pike Creek Councilman Timothy Sheldon is running for a second term on New Castle Council, but not before first considering a run for the General Assembly.
Sheldon was asked by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner and others to run for in the 21st Representative District, a seat that recently became open when Republican Pam Maier announced she would not seek re-election.
“I strongly considered it,” Sheldon said. “But in the end, there was more I wanted to do with the county.”
Sheldon said he has big plans for a second term. He said he has ideas about how the county can free up more cash and improve its budget problems. He said the county should look into scrapping its rainy day fund, and look into purchasing a catastrophic insurance policy to protect the county against a crippling storm or terrorist attack.
While that’s studied, Sheldon said the county needs new secure revenue sources from the state. He said he’s optimistic the county will be allowed to create a lodging tax and cell phone tax on 911 calls next year. In the end, though, the public has to have a reasonable expectation of the services the county can afford.
“We can only raise property taxes so much,” Sheldon said in reference to a 22.5 percent increase spanning two years. “We’ve got to get out to the civics and say very clearly ‘we need this amount of money in order for you to get this amount of police’.”
Sheldon said he brings a unique perspective to council because of his years as a union bricklayer. He said his idea to create an apprenticeship program for county paramedics stemmed directly from the apprenticeships in the trades.
“A lot of the new recruits decide they don’t like it once they get in, so why not have them work their way up through the process, go to school and training one night a week, and then pay for it at the end of the process, once we know we’re going to keep them,” he said.
He also said his labor background was useful when it comes to reviewing building projects, allowing him to evaluate whether contracts are priced properly and whether the work is being done correctly.
Sheldon, who is running unopposed in the 9th Council District, said he was proud of the way he was able to serve his constituents over the last 4 years, and was proud of accomplishments -- like putting together $17 million for flooding relief shortly after taking office.
“We were able to pool money from different sources and actually help people who had been devastated,” he said. “That’s what government is all about.”
Sheldon, 49, is a single father to two daughters, Kyle 18 and Jaime 20. He lives in Roosevelt Park.
