Delaware GOP makes a stand at Legislative Hall

Standing on the steps of Legislative Hall in Dover, Delaware Republicans issued a manifesto of the party’s ideals and things the GOP hopes to accomplish in the coming legislative session.

Nearly two dozen incumbent and new candidates gathered to make a stand for what they believe.  State GOP chairman John Sigler called the plan “a Republican road map to restoring our great state.”  

The effort is part legislative agenda and part campaign tactic.  “For years our state capital has been a one-party town where special interest and arrogance have become the law of the land, driving our taxes and the cost of government through the roof while delivering very little return on the investment of your hard earned tax dollars,” Sigler said.  

The Republican plan calls for a amending the state constitution by limiting the growth of state spending.  Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, (R-Milford), says, “That would limit the growth of state spending to no more than would be justified based on inflation and increases in the state’s population.”  He says the plan also calls for the elimination of the state’s Gross Receipts Tax, which he calls “the state’s hidden sales tax.”

The plan also calls for reforms in the way the General Assembly does business.  House Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, (R- Sharpley), says one reform is to prohibit lawmakers from getting state jobs after they are elected.  “Is that outrageous?  I’ll tell you what is outrageous,” Lavelle said.  “That bill got stopped by the Democratic House majority from going to floor for a vote.  That’s outrageous.”  Another reform touted by the group would prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office. 

The legislative agenda is not the GOP platform, per se, but it is certainly designed to help voters see Republican candidates as reformers in a state where Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly and the Governor’s office.  “This election is without question the most important in our lifetime, and these men and women have stepped forward to run for public office because they care about our future,” Sigler said.