While the nation eagerly follows Delaware’s 2010 congressional election dramas, a 2012 race with plenty of potential for drama got underway this morning as state Senator Robert Marshall (D-Wilmington West) became the first to enter the contest for mayor of Wilmington.
“I want you to know I’m ready for the fight,” Marshall said in a soggy ceremony along the Wilmington Riverfront.
The Democratic legislator says he’s willing to “put his money where his mouth is,” committing $100,000 of his own money to the effort, along with cash on hand from his state senate campaign fund. Marshall hopes to raise an additional $50,000 to fund his campaign.
Marshall believes announcing his candidacy so early sends a message.
“I think it clearly tells any candidates that are considering running—it tells the people of the city of Wilmington—that I’m prepared, ready, and very serious. And I want to be mayor and I’ll have a plan to move this city forward,” he said.
Marshall says job creation and public safety are the two biggest issues facing whoever replaces Mayor James M. Baker, who is in his third and final term.
“I have a great deal of confidence and trust in Mayor Baker and all the members of City Council as they deal with the issues of the meltdown in the economy and revenue problems. They have an eye on public safety, they have an eye on job creation, but I think we need to come up with some new thinking,” said Marshall. “The next mayor needs to have an aggressive plan ready—to roll up his sleeves with his new administration team effective January of 2013, and roll.”
Marshall says he’s been considering a run for mayor since 2008, but only recently made his decision. He says he’ll run a low-key campaign for the next 18 months, focusing on meeting with community organizations and going into neighborhoods to meet with voters informally, and begin intensive campaigning in May 2012.
A member of the Delaware Senate since 1978, Marshall intends to leave his seat in Legislative Hall at the end of the 2012 session. Before he leaves the State Senate, Marshall will pursue an expansion of the “Blue Collar Jobs Act” he and House Speaker Robert Gilligan (D -Sherwood Park) cosponsored 25 years ago creating tax incentives for businesses that create blue collar jobs in Delaware. He also plans to reintroduce legislation that would make Delaware’s minimum wage a dollar higher than the federal minimum wage.
