Matt Meyer
County Executive of New Castle
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byThomas P. Gordon
Personal details
BornBay City, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBrown University (BA)
University of Michigan (JD)

Matthew S. Meyer is an American politician and attorney who is currently serving his second term as New Castle county executive. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected New Castle county executive in 2016 and again in 2020. He has been described as a progressive.[1]

Meyer is a candidate in the 2024 Delaware gubernatorial election to replace term-limited incumbent governor John Carney.

Early life and education

Meyer was born in Bay City, Michigan, and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated from Wilmington Friends School, Brown University (cum laude in political science and computer science), and the University of Michigan Law School (member, Michigan Law Review).[2]

Meyer worked on then-U.S. senator Joe Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1988 while in high school at the Wilmington Friends School.[3] He then worked on the upstart, successful, 1990 gubernatorial campaign of Bruce Sundlun while attending Brown University.

Career

Meyer joined Teach for America, and taught public school in Washington, D.C. for three years.[4] He also taught at Prestige Academy in Wilmington. He won a Skadden Fellowship upon graduation from law school and used it to work for Community Legal Aid in Wilmington. He then became an attorney working in mergers and acquisitions with Simpson Thatcher and Bartlett. He served in Iraq as a diplomat for the U.S. State Department, as a senior economic adviser on the ground in Mosul, Iraq, working with military and economic aid leaders to assist the Iraqi people. Later, he worked as an economic advisor to Delaware governor Jack Markell and was a partner at Potomac Law Group.[5] In 2003 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Meyer was awarded the Sam Beard Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years and Under; at that same ceremony Condoleezza Rice received a Jefferson Award.[6]

New Castle County Executive

Elections

2016

In the Democratic primary for New Castle county executive, Meyer's campaign focused on integrity and economic policy.[7] On September 13, Meyer upset three-term incumbent Tom Gordon by a margin of 4.66% in the primary, winning 21,487 votes (52.33%) to Gordon's 19,678 votes (47.67%).[8] Meyer defeated Republican Mark Blake in the general election in November with 67% of the vote. He took office on January 3, 2017.

2020

Meyer, who has been described as a progressive, faced a primary challenge in 2020 from Maggie Jones. Jones was criticized for her previous support for Donald Trump and the Republican Party, with one liberal outlet nicknaming her "MAGA Jones".[1] She was also criticized for being funded by police unions, while Jones claimed Meyer's county government was not "transparent".[9][10] In July 2020, Meyer faced allegations he made "belligerent" calls to two mayors who were supporting his opponent, Maggie Jones, in the 2020 Democratic primary for New Castle county executive. Both Elsmere mayor Eric Scott Thompson and Newark mayor Jerry Clifton said Meyer's phone conversations with them were heated, and they felt the county executive made threats toward their communities by telling them that he "will remember this." Meyer refused to specifically address the accusations.[11] On September 15, Meyer won the Democratic nomination again for county executive, defeating centrist challenger Maggie Jones in the Democratic primary. Meyer won 43,833 votes (56.51%), while Jones received 33,735 votes (43.49%).[12] Meyer won the general election unopposed.[13]

Tenure

Appointments

Meyer selected the first African-American police chief and chief administrative officer in the 106-year history of the New Castle County Police Department.[14][15]

COVID-19 response

A joint report by National Association of Counties and National Academy of Public Administration on the use of federal CARES Act funds recognized New Castle County for using “innovative strategies in deploying Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, with special attention to programs focusing on inclusive economic recovery and on assisting vulnerable and underserved populations.” [16][17]

In a July 2020 editorial for The News Journal, Meyer advocated for sending all teachers and students back to school in the fall during the coronavirus pandemic.[18]

In October 2020, New Castle County purchased the former Sheraton South Hotel at auction with a winning bid of $19.5 million, also using CARES funds.[19] The hotel can house more than 350 residents. The facility officially opened its doors in December 2020.[20]

2022 regional Emmy win

Meyer was awarded a regional Emmy in the Societal Concerns, Long-Form category at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as an executive producer on the short film "The Pathway Home" which chronicles the origins and first year of The Hope Center, a hotel-turn-homeless shelter New Castle County opened to house the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.[21]

2024 gubernatorial election

Meyer, as a second-term county executive, is limited to serving two consecutive terms in office. He was widely considered a front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor of Delaware in 2024,[22] and announced his campaign on June 6, 2023.[23]

Political positions

Meyer is generally seen as a member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.[1]

Policing

Meyer faced protests from police unions in 2017 and 2019 due to disagreement over contract negotiations.[24] Meyer responded, "I'm not going to give double or triple the salary increases to senior union leadership over the union membership. That's the line I'm drawing on behalf of the taxpayers of the county."[25] Meyer supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and spoke of his support for the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a police officer who murdered an unarmed black man, George Floyd.[26]

Following the 2021 police killing of 30-year old Lymond Moses, Meyer ordered the release of body camera footage of the incident against the request of police unions, saying that New Castle County residents have a "right to transparency". Moses's family supported Meyer's decision.[27]

Immigration

In May 2017, Meyer issued an executive order forbidding New Castle County law enforcement from stopping, questioning, searching, or arresting an individual because of their immigration status, and forbidding county officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement operations, effectively making New Castle County a sanctuary county. Speaking on the executive order, Meyer stated, "Our county police, their job is to keep us all safe. Their job is not to execute and implement the immigration laws of the United States. Nor is the job of librarians or other people working for county government."[28]

Minimum wage

Meyer supports a $15 an hour minimum wage, and raised the minimum wage for county workers to $15 an hour.[29]

Marijuana

Meyer is an advocate for the legalization of marijuana, and wrote an opinion piece in 2022 criticizing Governor John Carney's decision vetoing the bill to legalize marijuana in Delaware and encouraged the state legislature to override Carney's veto.[30]

Personal life

Meyer speaks fluent Swahili and conversational Spanish. He has also studied Hebrew, Arabic, French and Wolof.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "MAGA Jones". Blue Delaware. August 30, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ http://michiganlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Vol.-100-Masthead.pdf
  3. ↑ "In the C-Suite: Matt Meyer, New Castle County Executive - DBT". Delaware Business Times. December 7, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  4. ↑ Owens, Jake (December 7, 2020). "C-Suite with Matt Meyer". delawarebusinesstimes.com.
  5. ↑ "Matthew Meyer - Potomac Law Group". Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Jefferson Awards Foundation Past Winners". Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Meyer for New Castle County". YouTube. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ "State of Delaware - Department of Elections · Office of the State Election Commissioner". elections.delaware.gov. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ McAneny, D. J. (July 20, 2020). "'We need to work together' | Maggie Jones challenging Meyer for New Caste County Executive seat". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  10. ↑ Cherry, Amy (September 16, 2020). "'The people won' | Meyer wins another 4 years as New Castle County Executive". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  11. ↑ Parra, Esteban (July 24, 2020). "Was Matt Meyer 'belligerent' to those supporting his opponent?". Delaware Online. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  12. ↑ "2020 State Primary Election Report". Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Delaware Election Results". Department of Elections. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Bond named NCCo's first black police chief". delawareonline. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  15. ↑ Staff Writer (March 21, 2017). "Vaughn Bond Named As First Black Chief of Police For New Castle County". First State Update. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Coronavirus Relief Fund: Review of Federal Fiscal Assistance and of Innovative County Response Strategies". NACO.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  17. ↑ Rocheleau, Mike (March 26, 2021). "New Castle Co. nationally recognized for its use of CARES Act dollars". Delaware Business Times. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  18. ↑ Hockstein, Neil; Meyer, Matt (July 11, 2020). "Test every K-12 student: Delaware's schools must reopen". The News Journal. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ Owens, Jacob (October 28, 2020). "New Castle County wins Sheraton South auction for $19.5M". Delaware Business Times. Today Media. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  20. ↑ Cherry, Amy (December 16, 2020). "New Castle County hotel-turned-homeless shelter opens just in time for winter storm". wdel.com. Forever Media.
  21. ↑ "Hope Wins an Emmy". WDEL. October 5, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Why wait to speculate on Carney's eventual successor?". Delaware Business Times. January 22, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  23. ↑ Newman, Meredith (June 6, 2023). "New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer becomes first to enter 2024 governor's race". The News Journal.
  24. ↑ Wilson, Xerxes. "New Castle County police officers protest Matt Meyer outside breakfast event". The News Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  25. ↑ Wilson, Xerxes. "Police union sues New Castle County government". The News Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  26. ↑ "County Executive Meyer's statement on the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict". New Castle County, DE. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Police body cam footage shows officers' January killing of Delaware man". WHYY. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  28. ↑ Duvernay, Adam. "NCCo won't use citizenship status as grounds for arrest". The News Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  29. ↑ McAneny, D. J. (March 23, 2021). "Meyer proposes New Castle County FY '22 budget with no tax increases". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  30. ↑ Meyer, Matt. "It's time for Delaware to legalize and tax marijuana | Opinion". The News Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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