There’s still no date set for the special election to fill the vacancy of New Castle County Council president, but there is now one candidate. The New Castle County Republican Committee named former 6th District State Representative Tom Kovach as its nominee for the post Wednesday.
“We are extraordinarily fortunate to have Tom Kovach as the candidate for the Republican Party in this critical campaign,” said Michael Fleming, chairman of the New Castle County Republican Committee in a statement. ”Tom has the energy, the experience and the know-how to win this race and bring desperately needed balance to our county government. Tom’s background as an effective state representative, his knowledge of state and county issues, and his winning record in special elections made him a clear consensus choice.”
Kovach is available to run in this race after losing his bid to retain the 6th District seat in the State House earlier this month. He was defeated by Democrat Debra Heffernan 52-47 percent. (You can read a DFM News profile of Kovach from that race here). Kovach says the positive feedback following the loss convinced him to look for another opportunity to run.
“It made me realize that public service is something I feel very strongly about, and if I could find a position that I thought I could make a difference in, I wanted to pursue it,” said Kovach, who adds he was first contacted about running the Wednesday after his loss to Heffernan.
The special election for New Castle County Council president is necessary after former council president Paul Clark took over as New Castle County executive earlier this week. Clark replaced fellow Democrat Chris Coons, who resigned as county executive to become Delaware’s junior U.S. Senator following his election victory over Republican Christine O’Donnell on November 2.
Kovach is familiar with special elections. He won the 6th District state representative seat in a special election in December 2008, defeating Democrat Michael Migliore 51-49 percent to replace Democrat Diana McWilliams. Kovach believes that experience will help him in this special election.
“I like a special election because the responsibility and accountability is all on the candidate,” said Kovach. “This is a race where I’m the only game in town. There’s no fingers pointing anywhere else. Sure, there’s a registration disadvantage, but I think the message of smart government, of checks and balances in our government, can resonate well across party lines.”
Fleming would not say specifically how many candidates were considered to run on the GOP side. He says the New Castle County Republican Executive Committee interviewed several people interested in running and consulted with GOP elected officials, party leaders and volunteers in New Castle County before settling on Kovach.
The Democratic nominee for New Castle County Council president will be determined at a special convention this Monday night, November 22nd at William Penn High School in New Castle.
The special election for New Castle County Council president will be scheduled within 45 days after the Department of Elections is officially notified of the vacancy. That official notification has not come yet from County Council President Pro-Tempore Penrose Hollins. Hollins has until next Thursday, Thanksgiving, to do so.
DFM News sat down with Kovach Wednesday to discuss his decision to run and the issues he considers critical to New Castle County voters:
