New Castle County Councilman John Cartier is running for a second term in his Eastern Brandywine Hundred district and so far, is unopposed.
Cartier, first elected four years ago when the County Council was expanded to thirteen members, said he is looking forward to ramping up his efforts to improve the quality of life of his constituents.
“These first four years there’s been a lot of constituent work, dealing with problems of blight, code enforcement and substandard housing,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to having the chance to be more proactive – to work hard to help brand my communities and give them an identity they can be proud of.”
Cartier said his district was the most diverse in the county, both in terms of racial and socio-economic makeup, but also in terms of architecture and housing type.
“It’s a highly unique place he said, we’ve got apartments right down the street from big single family homes, but they’re all sustainable communities,” he said. “It’s a great area with a great future, but it has some problem areas and I want to focus on solving those problems.”
Like the redevelopment efforts at the former Brookview site in Claymont, where a mixed-use 1,226-unit community is planned, Cartier says he sees similar opportunities at places like the blighted Merchant’s Square shopping center on Gov. Printz Boulevard or the Tri-State Mall on Naamans Road. He said redevelopment is ideal at those sites, because sewer infrastructure and roadways already exist.
“That’s going to be my big focus in the next four years,” he said. “We have to create a vision for what we want there as a community, and as a government we have to create policy and a legal framework that can make it happen.”
He said he was proud of the county’s efforts to encourage redevelopment, but said he thinks more is needed. He said he’d especially like to see more incentives for smaller land owners that want to develop one- and two-acre parcels to open a small business or build a new home.
Cartier said he is increasingly hearing cries from residents about wanting more police and code enforcement officials, and said the county’s budget woes must be addressed so additional personnel can be hired.
He said the county has made deep cuts over the last few years and now needs authorization from the state to collect new revenues. He said either a 911 tax on cell phones or a lodging tax at the county’s hotels could bring much needed revenue into the county. He also said he’d like to see properties reassessed.
“We desperately need a reassessment,” Cartier. “Right now we’re running our government on 1983 dollars.”
Cartier, 48, lives in Penny Hill with his wife Linda.
