Matt Meyer wins New Castle County Executive race (video)

Democrat Matt Meyer is Delaware’s New Castle County Executive, after winning the race with a 33 percent lead over his Republican opponent Mark Blake.

Meyer, a lawyer and former teacher with no political experience, spoke to his supporters in Wilmington following the win. He said he’s devoted to reducing crime, and working in collaboration with city and state government.

“Local elections do matter. Our city here in Wilmington, our county, is facing some serious challenges. We’re at risk of losing a whole generation of kids to violence, crime and drugs,” Meyer said.

“We’re ready to work together, because we believe if we work together we can look at things with a new set of eyes, and bring new ideas.”

In September Meyer won the primary election with a 5 percent lead over incumbent Tom Gordon.

“We worked really hard, we had some core beliefs about doing the right thing the right way, and we stuck to that in the campaign and that got us to where we are today and that’s going to get us moving forward starting tomorrow,” Meyer said.

He said criticism about his lack of experience and relatively young age made him stronger throughout his campaign.

“I always knew who I was,” Meyer said. “If there are things you believe in this world and you stick to them—I learned at an early age, if you’re self-critical, you put people around you who criticize you and not just nod and say yes to whatever you say, you can go far—so we stuck to that, and things worked out.”

He said he will work hard to eliminate crime, and create jobs for those most in need. Meyer said he will use his background in education and law and his experiences as a diplomat in Iraq to bring a new perspective to county government.

“I think the most important thing is I build a team…turn this from a county executive office that’s just me right now to a county executive office of we—and establish a culture of transparency, honesty and efficiency that’s going to pay all the taxpayers in New Castle County,” he said.