FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | January 30, 2025
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
DOVER — Four nominees to the Diamond State Port Corporation sat before the Senate Executive Committee on Thursday morning and shared their vision for the future of the Port of Wilmington, one of Delaware’s largest economic development drivers.
The four nominees include:
- James V. Ascione, Business Representative, IUOE Local 542
- William B. Ashe, Jr., Vice President, International Longshoremen’s Association
- Hon. Jeffrey W. Bullock, Chair of the Diamond State Port Corporation, former Secretary of State
- Curtis D. Linton, Business Manager, Laborers Local 199
Nominees answered questions from members of the Executive Committee about their professional backgrounds, related experiences, and vision for the future of the Port of Wilmington and its expansion project.
“I represent the working class. This Port expansion is important to the working class,” Linton told the Committee. “I know what it’s like to graduate high school and go to college to find that college isn’t for you. I know what it’s like to bounce around looking for a job or working two jobs trying to make ends meet and provide for your family. This Port is what the working class has been looking for for a long time and it will give them opportunities to make a decent living, to take care of Delawareans. I know what it’s like to negotiate contracts, I know what it takes to make sure a job of this magnitude is filled by Delaware people.”
“I know what this [the Port] can do for Delaware as far as taxable income,” Linton continued. “Delaware hasn’t seen something like this since Chrysler and GM. I don’t think we’ve had any company come to Delaware since then to replace that.”
“I’m here for a very simple reason — I’ve been around the Port for a while…what is important to me is what we have been doing, and what we are capable of doing at the Port of Wilmington and with the expansion of Edgemoor,” Bullock told the Committee. “What’s important here are the jobs that are at stake. Jobs that we can have if we continue to fight to build the facility at Edgemoor. The kinds of jobs that don’t exist anywhere else in our state. Jobs that pay $100,000 per year for people who may have interaction with law enforcement or may not have a degree. These stories would bring you to tears of families that have been saved because of the work that is provided at this Port.”
The Senate has followed the authority provided by the General Assembly’s legal counsel in considering these nominees. Late yesterday afternoon, well after today’s Executive Committee hearing was publicly noticed by the Senate, the Governor’s office conveyed its own legal citations that at first glance seems to conflict with the Senate’s legal findings.
“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 his cabinet nominees,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola. “The contradiction in case law suggests that further analysis is warranted, but the delay in the Governor’s outreach until after the nominees were scheduled for their hearing is deeply unfortunate. We do not take issue with Governor Meyer bringing forward his own legal analysis that runs counter to the Senate’s; we take issue with his office’s delay in sharing it with the General Assembly. Moreover, we also know that there are existing contracts and deadlines in place at the Port that must be met and are agnostic to changes in political leadership at both the Legislative and Executive levels.”
In light of the contradictory legal analyses offered on this issue, Sen. Sokola brought forward Senate Concurrent Resolution 16, which requests an advisory opinion of the Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court regarding whether a Delaware Governor can withdraw nominations submitted by the preceding Governor that otherwise are properly before the State Senate.
“Several of Governor Meyer’s cabinet members are automatically appointed to the Port Board as part of their positions,” Sokola added. “His 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.”
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