By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — As Delaware prepares to usher in a new generation of leadership into the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, the latter post will be taken over by one of two candidates: Democratic state Sen. Kyle Evans Gay and longtime former state Rep. Ruth Briggs King, a Republican.

The office of lieutenant governor is a unique one in the First State.

Aside from serving as the second-highest ranking executive in the state, its primary responsibilities are to preside over the state Senate — and in the rare occasion, cast a tiebreaking vote on legislation — as well as chairing the Board of Pardons.

The role of lieutenant governor

Lieutenant governors of years past have also used the office to advocate and focus on a variety of policy issues impacting Delaware and its three counties.

Currently, the office is held by term-limited Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who throughout her tenure, focused on behavioral and mental health care, as well as tackling substance abuse amid the nationwide opioid crisis.

Her predecessor, former Lt. Gov. and Attorney General Matt Denn used his time in office to address children’s issues, such as bullying in Delaware schools, disability services and mental health supports.

In separate conversations with the Daily State News, Sen. Gay and Ms. Briggs King offered insight into what their goals would be should they be the state’s next lieutenant governor.

Ms. Briggs King is a Georgetown Republican who represented the 37th House District from 2009 until her resignation in 2023. Aside from legislative work, she taught for six years at Polytech High School and has served as a financial executive and CEO of the Sussex County Association of Realtors.

She advocates for a more holistic approach to the lieutenant governor’s office, considering many issues facing the state do not fall into just one category that can be addressed by a given state agency, in addition to continuing focus on behavioral health as the state divvies out its $250 million opioid settlement funding.

“For me, it’s on educational issues, having been that former teacher, and a (Delaware) Teacher of the Year nominee, really focusing us better on education, having some work groups so we can have authentic discussions about high rates of absenteeism, low student performance and disruptive classroom environment,” Ms. Briggs King said.

“It’s also public safety … There’s many groups that are working on criminal justice, correctional, reentry reform and a united front. I think there’s too many different silos. There’s a lot of conversations, but it’s important to pull those conversations together rather than just introduce legislation.”

Sen. Gay has represented the 7th Senate District in the General Assembly since 2020, chairing the chamber’s judicial committee while being a leader on issues like child care, voter expansion and reproductive freedom. A former deputy attorney general, she also worked as an attorney in private practice where she represented foster children pro bono.

Should she be the state’s next lieutenant governor, Sen. Gay said she hopes to also focus on children’s issues, but from a lens where she can “really push back on this idea that education issues and economic issues are different buckets.”

“We need comprehensive early childhood education in order to make sure that parents can get back to work. Right now, in Delaware, we have thousands more job openings than Delawareans looking for jobs. We know that child care is a huge piece of our workforce puzzle — our economic puzzle — but we also know that it’s the best tool we have to set kids up for great success in their K-12 careers,” she said.

“I’d like to focus on ways that our educational goals can pair well with our economic opportunities, and that we can lift up kids and create a next generation of workforce that will benefit the state.”

Pardon process

The five-member Board of Pardons is presided over by the lieutenant governor, and the body is responsible for considering petitions for pardons, reprieves, commutations of sentences and executive clemency.

For Sen. Gay, she said her background in law and experience chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee has given her a chance to understand the issues facing Delaware in terms of creating post-incarceration opportunities for justice-involved individuals.

While she acknowledged the state has made progress in expediting the pardons process for these people, Sen. Gay said the next administration should rethink how the Board of Pardons fits into a larger goal of creating opportunity for those Delawareans.

“We can offer a second chance, but I don’t believe that that second chance means as much if we do not invest in economic opportunities for individuals post incarceration and if we’re not understanding what it means to have a restorative and rehabilitative correction system that supports people through the journey,” Sen. Gay said.

“(We) need to think about how the Board of Pardons fits into a more holistic system of reentry and opportunity, because once you have served your debt to society, we should work on making you an integral part of that society again.”

Should Ms. Briggs King be the next Delaware lieutenant governor, she emphasized the principal of protecting and serving the public and preserving the peace in her role as Board of Pardons chair.

The Georgetown Republican advocated for a new mindset toward the pardons structure, noting that, in the state, much of the violence being perpetrated is by repeat offenders and juveniles involved in group violence. Ms. Briggs King also stated that, since its impetus in 2019, she has advocated for Wilmington’s Group Violence Intervention Project to be implemented statewide.

“We’re introducing new laws for gun safety, and we’re not enforcing current laws that are on the books. There’s no accountability for a person that’s prohibited from having a firearm and committing another crime ... (We) need to enforce the laws on the books and protect the public,” Ms. Briggs King said.

“The minute a convicted felon becomes an inmate, there should be a plan for them for rehabilitation, whether that’s to get them off drugs, to get them in some courses for education … We’re continually in this vicious cycle of: If we have funding, we’ll do this, we’ll hire these people, and (the state is) relying on not-for-profits to do a lot of the work. But yet (the state is) not reimbursing those not-for-profits to do the work.”

Bridging the gap

The lieutenant governor is a vital role to bridge the gap between the legislative and executive branches, given the executive office’s role in presiding over the Senate.

The chamber currently holds a 15 -6 supermajority that favors Democrats, and for Ms. Briggs King, the role is an opportunity to bring her expertise from the state House to encourage an expedited process in which legislation can be heard in a timely manner.

“(I’d like to) clarify that process… for transparency, expediency, fairness that you would expect from good governance. We’ll (focus) on good governance and having a process,” she said. “I’m going to be that ambassador, if you will, between the executive branch and the legislative branch to be able to give feedback and inclusion in a discussion.”

Considering recent disagreements between the two branches in recent years – such as marijuana legalization and regulation, state employee benefits reform and medical-aid-in-dying – Sen. Gay said she hopes to foster a new generation of leadership that can work together on issues to deliver for Delawareans.

“The opportunity that I have as lieutenant governor is to really solidify that foundation (of connections I’ve made) and make sure that at the top levels of the administration, the legislative and constituent concerns are being heard,” Sen. Gay said.

“I view the opportunity to preside over the Senate, not just as a figure position; I view the opportunity to preside over the Senate as the start of a greater relationship, building greater coordination and the opportunity to put both branches behind goals and strategies that we can work on together on. Because I believe fewer conflicts amongst us is what’s going to benefit the constituents that we represent.”

Though early voting began in the state Friday, Nov. 5 will give Delawareans an opportunity to elect a new team of executive leadership that includes Ms. Briggs King and Sen. Gay for lieutenant governor and Democratic New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and Republican House Minority Leader Mike Ramone for governor.

Department of Elections