Bryon Short: The DelawareLiberal Interview

Bryon Short is the Democratic candidate for the 7th District to replace Wayne Smith. The special election it this Saturday. Bryon and I have been exchanging emails for the past few weeks and I deeply appreciate that he took the time to respond to me and my inane questions and provide the answers to them. Please call any friends that you have in the 7th and tell them about Bryon. I think he will win this seat for us on Saturday.

LG: What made you decide to pursue elective office at this time?

Bryon Short: When my wife opened the news paper and from our first floor to me on the second floor that Wayne was resigning his seat I came running right down stairs. I knew this was our best opportunity to gain the seat. I have always thought of running for elected office and was prepared for the right opportunity. Fortunately, my business and family life are conducive to holding elected office. I did not know the candidate was ultimately going to be me and was fully prepared to support whoever the party chose. I did know that I could dedicate all my energies to this effort from the candidate selection through election day. Not only have I put all my energy into this race, but my wife has been doing the same, the Democratic campaign staff have worked everyday since the selection and countless other friends and volunteers have done the same.

LG: What qualifications do you possess that you think will help you carry out your duties as a State Representative?

Bryon Short: I have been fortunate enough to have actually performed most of the tasks required to be the 7th District State Representative. While serving Senator Carper in his Wilmington Congressional Office and later in the Governor’s Office I performed constituent casework for hundreds of Delawareans. I worked to ensure that veterans received or maintained their benefits and looked after National Guard families who were left when their fathers and mothers went to serve in Iraq. In the Governor’s office I helped Delawareans who felt they could not get what they needed from our state agencies. Fortunately, many of my contacts from serving in those offices are still working in Delaware agencies. While door knocking I came across a resident who was very concerned about children crossing Grubb Road after school and wanted to have additional signage placed as well as some other safety efforts put in place. I was able to contact a DelDOT person I had not talked to in years and receive a return phone call with information the next day. While at DelDOT, I served as a Deputy to the Director of Administration and had the opportunity to help draft legislation, draft policy and regulation and testify before the House.

LG: There is currently a decision in front of the PSC to decide how we are going to generate electricity for the next 20 years, where do you stand on this?

Bryon Short: With respect to generating electricity for the next 20 years I think we should not expect to find the one source that will solve all of our problems, but instead be open to the partial solutions such as wind power. On a personal note, my wife’s family owns a store in our district and they have just installed solar panels over the entire roof. Also, I ran into a fascinating and well informed man in Longview Farms who has solar panels on his home and has just installed a geothermal unit in his small yard. I look forward to following up with him to see how these systems are working.

LG: What issues are your potential constituents facing and how do you plan to address them?

Bryon Short: With respect to local constituent issues they have ranged from people in the Claymont area working with DNREC regarding particulate matter being emitted from industrial plants, to sink holes in Brandywood and Lancashire, to a person on Darly Road who is tired of her mailbox being knocked down when the roads are plowed. Yard waste is another issue that is much talked about during my door knocking. Fortunately, legislators like Diana McWilliams have pushed the yard waste ban back until next January. The issue is real and needs to be addressed, but many of our residents do not have the physical ability or space resources to have this problem placed solely on them. We need to study the successes of other regions, tailor a program to our needs and ensure that the regulator infrastructure is in place to ensure we have viable solution.

LG: How do you think that Wayne Smith has misrepresented this district? What are his biggest screw-ups?

Bryon Short: I’ve never met Wayne Smith. With respect to Wayne and the district the only thing I have to say is that the district is very different from the one Wayne was elected to in 1990. I’ve walked to over 1,300 doors in the past few weeks and found a healthy diversity of people, a diversity of their employment, and a diversity of the make-up of families. Meeting these people and having my vision of our neighborhoods expanded has been a great experience.

LG: Do you have any damaging stories that you can tell about your opponent, Jim Bowers?

Bryon Short: I know this is disappointing, but Jim has been a gentleman to me whenever we have been in the same room.

LG: What do you believe sets you apart from Jim Bowers?

Bryon Short: I believe Jim and I have a number of things that set us apart from each other. First, I think my experience as a public servant and having owned and operated a small business give me a different skill set to draw upon than someone who has worked for a large corporation for 26 years. Also, I am a product of both public schools and a public university. My children attend Harlan Elementary School at 36th and Jefferson. My wife and I have always been very involved in the schools our children have attended and I currently enjoy serving on Harlan’s Positive Behavior School Committee.

Jim is the product of Archmere and Notre Dame and his four children do not attend public schools. Jim’s literature pieces present him as middle of the road on many issues, only time will tell. I have worked to preserve open space by performing redevelopment work in Wilmington. There are opportunities in the city as well as the infrastructure. Jim has stated that he opposes SB 5. I believe that SB 5 is legislation that should be passed. I have more positions expressed on my web site and invite your readers to go to www.BryonShort.com.

LG: If you were an animal, what kind would you be and why?

Bryon Short: Otter. I would float on my back in the surf with the sun beating down on my big fat otter belly while munching on oysters and thinking about expanding otter health insurance and what I’m going to do with all the seaweed I’m suppose to be putting into my compost pile.