A Claymont-area man, and former Marine, has thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for the Governor’s office.
According to the Delaware Department of Elections, Neil Shea registered on Thursday, May 21, 2020.
According to his website, Shea grew up in Claymont, went to Salesianum, worked in the trades, served in the Marine Corps, all before going into banking. After that, Shea helped to open a brewery and a cleaning company.
Shea says Delaware doesn’t need more of the same. “We don’t need the status quo. We need young and energetic folks that have a future goal and not a weekly game plan.”
On his website, Shea lays out his platform.
Economy & Jobs
It’s understandable that the economy shut down for a period of time to prevent our health care facilities from being overloaded. But that time has passed. Promises for assistance were made to all but never materialized for many. Many sectors of the economy have been sidelined watching multinationals operate with impunity and earn market share while local businesses crumble and jobs disappear. It’s not the government’s place to say you can’t earn a livelihood. It is, however, the government’s responsibility to provide guidance and tools to assist you with reopening in a meaningful manner, whether it be loans and grants for facility modifications or guidance on social distancing. The current administration’s plans lack the necessary substance to permit many businesses from reopening in a meaningful manner. We think the current administration is out of ideas. That’s okay. We’re Americans. We’re innovative. We’re resilient. We always find a way to survive. All we ask is that you get out of our way while we do what is necessary to earn a paycheck.
Education
Education is the silver bullet. It’s the most successful tool for improving economic mobility of the next generation. But it needs to work. We have world-class institutions of higher education. We have world-class educators. We have bright students. But we have bloated district administrations and 20th-century policies that aren’t applicable to preparing our students for the 21st-century digital economy. As Governor, I plan to take steps to streamline district administrations, improve fiscal transparency (specifically around the referendum process), and ensure that students from across the State are prepared for success.
Health Care
Everyone deserves timely access to high-quality health care providers at an affordable price. Health consumers shouldn’t have to choose between putting food on the table or getting treatment for an illness. We live in a global economy yet insurance networks are artificially diced up at state lines. Our economy doesn’t work that way. It’s not uncommon for an individual to work multiple jobs but never qualilfy for health care coverage from the employer or as a freelancer. Small businesses wishing to offer competitive health care coverage to employees find that their business is too small to qualify for wholesale rates. Quite frankly, the current regulatory structure adds complexity to health care delivery rather than simplifying it. Health care is an important issue with many stakeholders. We can do better and we should do better. Single payer is not the answer, if only because the cost of care in Newark, DE is different than the cost of care in New York City, but there is an opportunity for the Federal government to take a leadership role. An individual should be able to purchase a reasonably priced plan independent of an employer, that plan should cover a provider network in multiple states (ideally nationwide), and insurers should compete for your business. Furthermore, insurers should structure payment plans with care providers on a pay for performance basis rather than a fee for service basis as it improves health outcomes for patients.
We have reached out to Shea and will have more about the candidate and his plans for Delaware