The Race For The 20th Is On

Vaughn  Meet the Democrat candidate, Barbara Vaughan, who will be challenging Republican incumbent, Steve Smyk for the Representative seat of the 20th District.  Ms. Vaughan says she has worked for the community within the 20th  for twenty-four years, including eight years as a Lewes city council member. Along with working to create after school programs for lower-income students, and work with the historic league of Lewes.

Ms. Vaughan is 86, and so, one does have to ask how she might hold up, to the all night session, that has become the norm, at the end of every General Assembly.

She has stated her focus will be on the 20th District in regards to traffic and transportation infrastructure and safety.  Looking for ways to increase job opportunities in Sussex in general and the 20th in particular. She believes there needs to be more emphasis on rehabilitation instead of incarceration for drug users. Considering her age, not surprisingly, she will focus on the elderly,  and considering the average age of the 20th is increasing due to people retiring here, much like Ms. Vaughan most likely did, this could be a selling point.

And finally, this one I think she got wrong, she states she will work to avoid over development. Well someone might want to tell her, land use is the responsibility of the county, not the state.  But that’s ok, since Mr. Smyk got that one wrong also, when he publicly stated his position on the Overbrook Town Center project, which he was against.

That being said, Ms. Vaughan may stand a pretty good chance, since many believe that the current Representative of the 20th, Rep. Steve Smyk, has not been concerned enough with issues which are district centric, some feel Mr. Smyk has been too focused on statewide issues, more than issues affecting his district specifically.

There is a consensus that Mr. Smyk, who is a former Delaware State Trooper, has had a hard time taking off the uniform. That legislation he has purposed, or supported, has been law enforcement  centered. From his concern for hidden compartments in cars, to his latest attempt to count condoms in the septic systems of, as he said, “Asian” establishments, in order to shut down massage parlors.

We should also not forget, Mr. Smyk’s waffle on raising the minimum wage, he was against it, before he voted for it. After speaking out against raising the minimum wage, he then voted for it, sighting he had spoken with fifty business owners in the area who had no problem with the increase. The number of business owners later increased when challenged again. Some believe his vote was yet another nod to his former union member brothers in law enforcement, not surprising since he was a union rep when he was a Trooper.

This could be an interesting race to keep an eye on.

16 Comments on "The Race For The 20th Is On"

  1. fightingbluehen says:

    I don’t know. There may be some Hillary coat tails to grab onto, depending on the amount of anti male sentiment that the machine can generate in the closing days, and yes, the fact that Smyk is weighted heavily on the law enforcement side of things, and is also a union guy, could be a factor.

  2. anon says:

    Can you elaborate on the condom issue? This is impossible to believe.

  3. Rick says:

    He felt that counting condoms in the septic system was a way to close Aisian whorehouses.

    Most cities close whorehouses through harassment; a constant uniformed and plainclothes presence in and around the establishment.

    Eighty-six years old? Too old. The commute to Dover is a lot different than meandering down to Lewes to discuss important subjects like the color of someone’s shutters or whether pink hydrangeas clash with grey cedar shakes.

  4. Frank Knotts says:

    Despite Rick’s colorful discription, Mr. Smyk proposed using regulations on disposing of condoms into the septic system to close “Asian” massage parlor Fronting for prostitution . Never did hear how they were to monitor the condoms.

  5. Hmmm says:

    Well let’s face it Smyk is no conservative, he isn’t Republican, and he isn’t democrat, he’s a trooper and that’s all that matters to him. In fact, Smyk and Pete Schwartzkopf were working fundraisers back in April together for the troopers Union!

    PS Frank…. Smyk wasn’t just a union official he was the president, the highest in his union, before retiring and Running for state rep… I wonder if someone would post when he registered republican???!??

  6. He Ain't Reagan says:

    He was a democrat when he was working for the police union and only became a republican when he decided to run for office because it would help him win in Sussex. When he voted for the first minimum wage hike and changed his story 1,000 times to justify his vote that should have been a wake up call to true conservatives. Anyone have odds on whether it’s going to be a cop standing in a septic tank counting those used condoms?

  7. Kurt J says:

    Regarding Asian massage parlors, they seem not to be involved in other crimes such as receiving stolen property, drug sales or violence like that present at Dewey Beach family Restaurants and they at least pay some taxes. Most importantly Asian massage parlors are easily recognized and easily avoided, I have never entered one and don’t plan to but I don’t feel they are a priority as compared to open air drug markets or heroin addled drivers crossing center lines. I applaud Ms. Vaughn’s decision to enter the political system, the more choices the better for Democracy.

  8. Rick says:

    I applaud Ms. Vaughn’s decision to enter the political system, the more choices the better for Democracy.

    I agree.

    If they repaint the interior of Leg Hall, she will know what paint colors were available in 1740.

  9. Mitch Crane says:

    Maybe not paint color from 1740, but certainly she will set an example of civility and a reasoned approach to doing what is best for the people she will represents. If the only attack the opposition has on Barbara Vaughan is her age-she will do very well in November.

  10. Rick says:

    I do feel she’s too old, but I wouldn’t “attack” her age. Smyk isn’t particulary popular, so I suppose she has at least a sliver of a chance at winning. She’ll surely carry the downtown Lewes crowd, where being a busybody is considered to be an attribute.

  11. Creeper says:

    What’s Gary Chorman doing? I heard he wants to run for something, he’s in the 20th and would be a fantastic State Representative.

  12. mouse says:

    It’s the state’s job to protect state wide resources like the inland bays from parasitic developers and corrupt county council stooges

  13. mouse says:

    Class envy..

  14. Rick says:

    Class envy? What does that mean?

    Oh, maybe you mean how in “liberal” Lewes, every square foot is developed. They are opposed to a cornfield mall in the middle of nowhere, but it’s okay to chop the last stand of trees in the city.

    “Do as I say, not as I do.”

  15. mouse says:

    Class envy of the people who live in Lewes.

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