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RECORD OF RESULTS

In his two terms as New Castle County Executive, Matt has proven to be an innovative, results-driven leader who knows how to get things done. County Executive Meyer consistently delivers in his eight years leading Delaware’s largest county, proving that government can and must work for the people.

Standing Up for a Woman’s Right to Choose: 

Matt recognizes the unprecedented threat to abortion rights across the U.S. and has vowed to protect safe and accessible reproductive health care. That’s why Matt directed initial funding for the First State Abortion Fund, a program to assist people in need with the financial support to access reproductive services here in Delaware. 

Tackling Gun Violence: Matt ran for office on a promise to tackle the crisis of gun violence in our communities, then transformed the New Castle County police, increasing accountability and transparency while reducing crime. Under Matt’s leadership, both violent and non-violent crime rates in areas policed by County Police are at historic lows,  including a 44 percent decrease in shootings.

Creating a New Approach to Policing:  The Meyer administration brought unique community-oriented policing to New Castle County, where police now collaborate with mental health and substance abuse professionals to help people receive the treatment and care they need rather than sending them into the criminal justice system. Meyer also brought unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to policing in New Castle County, establishing Delaware’s first-ever Police Accountability Board and requiring timely public release of body camera footage for all police-involved shootings. 

Investing in Education: Before Matt was elected, the New Castle County government never took an active role in education. Matt changed that. Matt helped develop the One Thousand Kids Coding program to teach low-income students high-income skills and created a college scholarship fund that has helped hundreds of Delaware students pay for college. Matt used his own background as a teacher to develop a program that provided over 1,300 Delaware teachers funding to innovate in their classrooms. The program has now been copied in over 100,000 classrooms across nine states.

Tackling Homelessness: Matt led the effort to create the Hope Center, the largest and most comprehensive emergency shelter in state history. It has provided a safe place to sleep to more than 4,000 Delawareans in crisis and helped over 400 families transition into stable, affordable housing. 

Expanding Affordable Housing: Matt’s administration has converted more than 600 vacant homes into affordable housing. He increased the number of affordable housing vouchers for the first time in years. He created a $31 million Affordable Housing Fund to spur the creation and protection of affordable rental and ownership units.

Ensuring Accountability and Transparency in Government: Meyer promised to bring accountability and transparency to the County government, and he delivered. Within his first six months in office, he put the county’s checkbook online so every resident could see how their tax dollars were being spent. 

Creating Jobs: Matt created the JobsNow program, which streamlined the approval process for projects that create jobs. He also used his experience as a small business owner to create initiatives that help local entrepreneurs launch and grow their own businesses. Meyer’s policies set new records for government efficiency, creating and protecting over 13,000 Delaware jobs. 

Protecting Delawareans During COVID: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Matt acted with urgency and innovation to establish fast, free testing sites that provided nearly 500,000 tests in 12 months and collaborated with Delaware State University and Testing for America to build a state-of-the-art laboratory to provide COVID-19 testing and other advanced scientific testing.  

Ensuring Smart Financial Management: Matt cut taxes for the first time in over 50 years while producing a balanced budget every year. Throughout his tenure as County Executive, Matt invested in reducing vacant housing, improving public health, and strengthening emergency services to ensure that families were safer and healthier. 

Creating a Cleaner and Greener Delaware: Matt implemented the boldest environmental agenda in county history by expanding renewable energy, fighting against pollution, and preserving natural lands.

Standing up to Trump and Creating a Delaware for All:  Matt hired the most diverse senior staff in county history. Matt took on the Trump administration when they attacked immigrants and tried to roll back civil rights protections. Matt has worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Delaware, regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. 

 

Now Matt is running for Governor to deliver real results for all Delawareans. Check out Matt’s vision for Delaware here.

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Smarter Governance

  • Reduced the number of vacant properties by over 400 in 400 days and collected $1M in taxes and fees through Vacant Spaces to Livable Places initiative
  • Collected record $16M in delinquent taxes and fees, driving historic high 99.45% collections rate for 2017 & 2018 county property taxes
  • Reduced sewer overflows by 40% in two years by employing new technology
  • Announced, broke ground or cut ribbons on development projects supporting 9,780 jobs
  • Posted every expense in the county checkbook online at checkbook.nccde.org
  • Launched NCCinnovates to cultivate entrepreneurship and create sustainable local jobs
  • Achieved AAA bond rating, earned by 1.6% of counties nationwide (48 of 3,007 counties)
  • Attracted first Wegmans to NCC!
  • Increased public engagement with libraries:
    • 2.3 M library visits
    • 1,658 book club members (26%)
    • 1,758 books distributed to book clubs and reading groups (20%)
  • Changed law to make NCC a premier location to open a microbrewery
  • Collaborating on a Purpose-Built Community to transform Northeast Wilmington
  • Taught a class on public leadership in a high needs Wilmington high school and taught 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to prisoners in Howard R Young prison
  • Increased number of affordable housing vouchers available to low income families for the first time in years
  • Cut the ribbon on a leading regional indoor tennis center in Delcastle Park, built with local labor and with $0 of your tax money
  • Successfully reformed traffic requirements – for the first time in 40 years – to support high quality jobs in designated areas
  • Launched innovative Summer Youth Employment Program for students to learn to code and create websites for local businesses
  • Received promotional shout-out on The Late Show with Steven Colbert for Ice Cream Festival

Safer Communities

  • Achieved 100% homicide clearance rate in 2018
  • Decreased crime by effectively deploying resources and partnering with communities:
    • 7.5% decrease in crime overall since 2016
    • 44% decrease in shootings
    • 19% decrease in robberies
    • 18% decrease in burglaries
  • Launched innovative Police / Mental Health Alliance, teaming a professional counselor with an officer to respond to mental health crises:
    • 866 health checks conducted
    • 63 diverted from incarceration
    • 14 diverted from hospitalization
    • 311 people referred to other needed services
  • Launched Text 2 911 service: “Call when you can; text when you can’t”
  • Set paramedic and first responder record for reviving over 100 individuals whose hearts stopped beating since 2017. The hospital released each of these survivors with normal brain function
  • Deployed innovative public safety technology for active shooter or natural disaster events in 271 schools, businesses and other facilities. RAVE Panic Button integrates buildings with the 911 enter and first responders
  • Introduced free PulsePoint smartphone app which directs citizen responders to locations where CPR is needed; 3200 downloads to date
  • Dramatically Increased percentage of 911 calls answered in 10 seconds or less from 60.2% in 2016 to 92.7% today (National standard is 90%)
  • Funded, for the first time, the Hero Help program, which diverts residents experiencing addiction to treatment in lieu of arrest and incarceration; 245 individuals screened to date
  • Established partnership that supplied 760 doses of lifesaving Narcan to 21 volunteer fire companies
  • Named the first African American police chief and Chief Administrative Officer in NCC history

Greener NCC

  • Opened first new county park in 15 years in Edgemoor Gardens neighborhood
  • Enhanced equestrian offerings at Carousel Park, including new cross-country course and two-time Olympic gold medalist instructor; hosted U.S. Special Olympics Equestrian Team training
  • Launched Connecting Communities partnership to leverage the new Markell Trail and build 12 new trail and pathway connections.  Goal: improve safety, provide new transportation options and support public health
  • Changed law to enable large-scale industrial and roof-top residential solar generation

Meet Matt Meyer

Matt Meyer has been serving as County Executive for New Castle County, Delaware since 2017.

Since taking office, Matt has worked hard to deliver a better future for our communities, families, and children.

Matt recently led the effort to convert a large hotel into the New Castle County Hope Center- the largest and most comprehensive emergency housing shelter in state history. He subsequently won an Emmy for producing a documentary about it.

Matt has also won numerous awards for his leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing fast, free testing sites that provided nearly 500,000 tests in 12 months, and collaborating with Delaware State University and Testing for America to build a state-of-the-art laboratory to provide COVID-19 testing and other advanced scientific testing.

Throughout his tenure as County Executive, Matt has fought to preserve open space, protect the environment, reduce vacant housing, improve public health, strengthen emergency services, and make the county’s libraries & parks as great as they can be.

The Meyer administration has also brought unique community-oriented policing to the county- the police department now collaborates with mental health and substance use disorder professionals to help people receive treatment & care that they desperately need rather than handcuffing them and sending them through the criminal justice system.

Matt has hired the most diverse senior staff in county history. And he has taken numerous official actions to ensure that everyone feels welcome in New Castle County, regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.

Growing up in Delaware, Matt attended schools in the Brandywine School District, followed by Wilmington Friends School, and then went on to study Computer Science & Political Science at Brown University. He then moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where he learned Swahili and created Ecosandals, a recycled footwear company that sold environmentally-friendly footwear to customers in 17 countries on 5 continents.

Matt subsequently spent 12 months in Mosul, Iraq, embedded with the United States Army as a diplomat during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Afterward, Matt returned to Delaware and taught at Prestige Academy, a public school in Wilmington.

Matt lives in the Trinity Vicinity neighborhood of Wilmington.