FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | January 30, 2025
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
President Pro Tempore David P. Sokola offered the following remarks at the outset of today’s Senate Executive Committee Hearing, during which nominees for the Diamond State Port Corporation are being considered:
As we begin today’s hearing on the four Diamond State Port Corporations Board nominees before us, I want to be crystal clear about why we are here and what we are seeking to accomplish today.
We are here today because the Port project is one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the history of our State. It is a project that has spanned the terms of multiple governors, and certainly multiple members of this Chamber. It is a project that – if executed well – has the potential to transform Delaware’s economy and lift up Delaware’s working class.
We are NOT here today to play politics, to relitigate old political feuds, or to take sides in a Gubernatorial primary that ended months ago.
For nine days now, the Senate has had nominees to the Port Board before it. For eight of them, we left the door open for the Governor to offer his own nominations or a legal citations that suggest us holding this hearing today is somehow out of step with our rights as an independent and co-equal branch of Government.
Instead, the Governor used the intervening period to meet with multiple nominees to the Port Board, urging them to withdraw their own names, including at least one to whom he promised to support as his own nominee down the road. That maneuvering suggests two things to the Senate: that Governor Meyer believe those nominees are qualified, and that they remain viable nominees before the Senate. Otherwise, they would not be asked to revoke their own candidacy.
It was only yesterday afternoon, well after we noticed today’s hearing, that any legal citations were provided by the Governor’s office to the Senate. At first glance, the Governor’s analysis at best conflicts with our own counsel’s findings, and further analysis may well be warranted. But the delay in the Governor’s outreach to us until after the nominees were scheduled for their hearing is regrettable and manipulative.
That is why the Senate intends to proceed with its hearing today. We believe these highly qualified nominees offer critical perspectives and a shared vision for how the Port project can and should benefit Delaware’s working families and economy for generations to come. They deserve to have their scheduled hearing proceed regardless of any last-minute maneuverings.
Our support for these nominees will be solely predicated on their qualifications and public testimony, not on which Governors’ name appears on the nomination backer.
After today’s hearing, Delawareans will have a strong sense of these nominees’ collective vision for the Port. What we will not have is any sense of Governor Meyer’s vision for one of the most critical infrastructure investments in recent Delaware history. That silence and lack of engagement is troubling.
The Legislature is an independent branch of Government, and the Senate plays a critical role in the confirmation process. We are finishing a two-week period in which we worked very closely with the Meyer Administration to hold hearings for all 16 of the Governor’s cabinet nominees, four of whom automatically are appointed to the Port Board due to their positions. The Meyer Administration’s interests will be well represented on the Board of Directors. The Senate has a responsibility to ensure that Delaware’s working families have their interests represented, too.
There is so much that we all agree on, that we can work together on productively in the coming months and years. We are bullish on our collective ability to work with Governor Meyer to deliver progress and prosperity for the Delawareans who have elected us to represent them. The Senate is moving forward with the working people of Delaware centered in our hearts and minds, and we will continue to be communicative with the Executive Branch about our efforts.
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