Matt Meyer wins New Castle County Executive race over Tom Gordon

New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon lost his bid for re-election during Delaware’s Tuesday democratic primary election against newcomer Matt Meyer.

 

Meyer, a lawyer and former teacher with no political experience, spoke to his supporters in Wilmington following his more than 5 percent lead.

“Tonight’s just the beginning,” he said. “I want us to build from this to something bigger, stronger that will work for all corners of our county to build a government of public service and not self-service.”

Incumbent Gordon was elected in 2012. He had served two previous terms before deciding not to run in 2004. His victory four years ago made him the first three-term New Castle County Executive. He previously served as New Castle County Chief of Police.

The fresh-faced Meyer acknowledged Gordon for his years of service.

“I think anyone that gives services to the county needs to be saluted,” he said. “I never have had any personal issues with my Gordon. My issue is that I believe our county can be run better and I still believe that today.”

Meyer attributes his success to his team’s hard work, using math and listening to potential constituents.

“We look at, what do people want? What do they believe in? And how can we as their leaders provide that to them or explain why we can’t provide that to them? And that’s what we did, and we did it door to door to door,” he said.

In November Meyer will face republican Mark Blake, who lost to Gordon four years ago. Meyer said if elected he will focus on reducing violence in the county.

“Every single shooting matters in this county,” he said. “It matters to all of us. And we’re going to work together to address root causes of violence and root causes of these other problems.”