New Castle County Executive plans response to abuse of power allegations

NCCo Exec. Tom Gordon delivers his budget proposal to County Council in March. (file/WHYY)
New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon’s office issued a statement Tuesday following allegations that Gordon covered up wrong doing by a county employee who is married to a state lawmaker.
The controversy surrounds allegations that Dana Long, husband of State Senator Bethany Hall-Long, used his position within the county to access a list of low-income housing residents, according to a report on WDEL radio Tuesday morning. Long is accused of using the list to phone the residents and urge them to vote for his wife in 2014.
The WDEL report also claims that County Executive Gordon knew about the alleged misuse of the phone list, but didn’t fire Long because of his wife’s position and the need for her support in Gordon’s re-election campaign.
New Castle County Chief Administrative Officer Timothy Mullaney said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon that the issue involves a personnel matter. “Before any statement, we are researching what can be said publicly without violating the sanctity of personnel confidentiality guaranteed by Delaware state law,” Mullaney said.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.