- John Marino (R-9th District)
A local real estate agent hopes to keep Delaware’s 9th Representative District in Republican hands on Election Day. John Marino is making his first run for elected office, attempting to succeed retiring House Minority Leader Richard Cathcart, who has endorsed Marino.
A Delaware resident for 14 years, Marino is a retired New York City police officer, a former forensics examiner with Delaware State Police, and a former deputy medical examiner.
The GOP candidate trounced his Republican primary opponent in September, receiving more than 75 percent of the vote. He faces Democrat Rebecca Walker, a nurse and attorney from Townsend.
If elected, Marino plans to focus on state spending, which he says is tied to many other concerns, such as job creation.
“In a time where everyone else is cutting spending, our government continues to spend, and I think that it’s critical that we eliminate some of the wasteful spending at the state level,” Marino said. He says the state could go further in reducing its workforce through attrition and retirement to save money. Marino supports legislation sponsored by state Senator Colin Bonini, the Republican candidate for state treasurer, to offer an early retirement incentive to pension-eligible state workers. “It never even made it on to the Senate floor for debate, which in my opinion is very irresponsible during these difficult economic times,” Marino said.
Cost savings also could be attained by curtailing the offer of prevailing wage for state capital projects—a process Marino says costs the state $1oo million a year. Marino calls the system “unrealistic” given the current economic climate and favors negotiating lower wages for workers on state capital projects.
Marino called for a reduction in the gross receipts tax with the goal of putting more money in the hands of small business, so they in turn can invest in their businesses and put more people to work.
The GOP candidate would consider consolidating administrative positions in school districts and examining purchasing procedures. Marino wants to weigh various measures to improve Delaware’s school dropout rate, including support of charter schools and better use of education dollars. “We need to focus on getting more money into the classrooms and having more input from the school teachers themselves on better methods of learning.”
Marino also sees the effects of growth in the Middletown area, which is among the fastest-growing regions of the state. He said Middletown has been on pace to open a new school every two years for the past five or six years. “You know we can’t continue to go down the path we are going, just building residential development without taking into consideration the impact that it is going to have on our community.”
Citing anti-incumbent sentiment, Marino senses a “great deal of concern [about] the direction our country is heading. We need responsive, open, accountable government, and we need our government to be conservative with spending.”
