POLICY
Public Safety & Justice Reform
Continuing to Be Smart on Crime
Throughout my time as a legislator and attorney, I studied and advocated for innovative ways to make our communities safer. I do not believe more police are necessary, rather I have long-advocated for more diversion programs, better neighborhood watch groups, more cameras in high risk areas, body cams for police, and a community oversight board to help rebuild the tattered relationship between police and residents. I also believe that reforms are essential to cash bail and the fines and fees structure. As the system stands, the poor find themselves trapped in modern day debtors’ prisons. Our current strategy of mass incarceration and mistreatment of prisoners is making us all less safe. The more children who grow up without fathers, the more destabilized the city will be for the next generation. We must be smarter if we are to end the cycles of violence in Wilmington. With bold progressive reforms, we can bring down crime and build a safer and happier community.
Health & Housing
We Can Stabilize Families
I have been working alongside the Mayor and the City Council President as a member of Wilmington’s working group that evaluates strategies to rebuild Wilmington during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the City does not have nearly enough resources to dramatically improve healthcare or bail businesses out of financial hardship, we have ample capacity to combat public health threats by diminishing housing insecurity. This crisis has taught us that health is strongly linked to unstable housing. For that reason, I continue to fight to prioritize affordable housing in Wilmington. I will build stronger neighborhoods by increasing access to affordable housing, truly addressing blighted and abandoned property in the City, and adding safeguards to ensure that both homeowners and renters are safe and stable in their communities.
Economic Development
It's Time for the 7th to Rise
At the heart of my campaign is the idea that change comes from empowering others. My economic development strategy is no different- it is community centered, rooted in the understanding that we are all interconnected, and that we cannot rise as a city until the least of us is improved. Development is fueled by investment, so I am taking bold action to make Wilmington more attractive to investors. I am attacking vacant and blighted property, throwing support behind revitalization projects, and advocating for the 7th District to be a business improvement district (BID). As a BID, the City would devote more resources to cleaning and securing our neighborhood, and our district’s businesses would receive more marketing.
In the 7th District, we have a relatively strong commercial district, but there is a still lot of room for growth. With innovative economic policies, we will attract more investment and populate the neighborhood with more businesses. We will revitalize the city block by block, replacing our vacant properties with offices, housing and grocery stores.
Education
A Quality Public Education is a Right
The government built the public education system because our democracy and economy would need educated minds in order to prosper. I am committed to making education stronger than ever for all of Wilmington’s residents. Delaware is one of only four states that does not provide additional resources for English language learners or low-income at-risk students in its funding formula. I recognize the value and necessity of funding reform, and will fight for it. In the long run, government investment in our children will be more cost-effective than continuing with a system that allows them to fall through the cracks.
Schools are a safe haven for many underserved youth, providing them with meals, structure, and role models. Our children are too important to not give them every opportunity to spend more time in school. According to Summer Collab, a summer learning program for Wilmington youth, “low-income children in Wilmington lose up to 3 months of learning in the summer while high-income children gain up to 2 months of learning. This dichotomy, repeated year after year, accounts for two-thirds of the academic achievement gap.” I will continue utilizing my relationships in the Governor’s Office and Wilmington's Parks and Recreation Department to increase funding for after-school activities and summer youth programs.
What Chris has done in a short amount of time:
