Why Should Delaware Care?
The lieutenant governor chairs both of the agencies responsible for allocating the state’s opioid settlement funds. Over the next 17 years, Delaware is set to receive $250 million to combat the substance use crisis, but recent spending has been called into question. The winner of this election will hold sway over how and who is leading both government bodies.
With less than a month until Delaware’s primary election, the much quieter four-way race for lieutenant governor will set the tone for how Delaware combats its opioid epidemic for the next four years.
Controversy has swirled around how Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s administration has handled its spending of $14 million from the state’s opioid fund, and how to proceed will fall to a new lieutenant governor for the first time since 2017.
The state’s second highest legislative position, which is elected independent from the governor, chairs the government bodies that both recommend and allocate monies from the state’s settlement funds.
The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission makes recommendations for how the Behavioral Health Consortium – a panel of legislators, advocates and state officials who approve grants to applicants that provide addiction services – should spend its opioid dollars.
Delaware is set to receive $250 million over the next 17 years from manufacturers and distributors of opioid medications that spurred a lingering overdose epidemic– although a U.S. Supreme Court ruling blocking a bankruptcy deal against Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family put $45 million in limbo.
Because Delaware’s next lieutenant governor will enter the role at a time when Attorney General Kathy Jennings called for a freeze on future grants and wrote that the program was “rife with potential for fraud, waste, and abuse,” Spotlight Delaware asked the candidates for the office about how they plan to handle the state’s settlement dollars.
Here’s what they said:
Debbie Harrington
Debbie Harrington is the only candidate who has not previously held a public office, but did serve 25 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel. But she said just because she hasn’t held a public office, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t come with leadership experience.
In response to Jennings’ call for a freeze on grant-making, Harrington said it’s the “right thing to do.” She said if there’s any possibility the funds are used inappropriately, it’s worth reassessing to make sure grantees are held accountable.
“We are ensuring that the agencies that are receiving the funds are the right agencies to receive the funds, and that when they get the funds, that they are performing exactly what they’re supposed to be performing,” Harrington said.
She said using these funds goes beyond just counselors and treatment centers, but should also be applied to different homelessness services, unemployment and education. Funds have been allocated to address these issues in previous rounds of funding.
Harrington also said she would do more outreach in Delaware to bring more applicants into the process, who may have not known about the funds. In its most recent major round of funding, New Castle County organizations got double the amount Kent and Sussex County received combined.
“It’s a lot of work being done in that area, and it’s a lot of work that’s needed. We have so much to do in order to remediate this [opioid crisis],” Harrington said.
Ruth Briggs King
Former State Rep. Ruth Briggs King is the lone Republican in the race and doesn’t have to worry about a primary. The Georgetown resident comes into the race with previous experience on the Behavioral Health Consortium.
For Briggs King, being elected lieutenant governor would allow her to come into these positions with an understanding on how these dollars are managed. She said she disagreed with Jennings’ call to freeze funds, and that a halt would be “horrible.”
“I thought that was a knee-jerk kind of response, and it would certainly put many people in treatment in jeopardy, as well as some programs themselves,” Briggs King said.
While overdose deaths are down, overdoses are still happening, they’re just not as fatal, Briggs King said. To further address substance abuse, she said there needs to be more public awareness and education, as well as more long-term, sustainable treatment facilities.
Her experience as a member of the minority party also has allowed her to work across the aisle and bridge gaps to find solutions, she said. In her experience on the Behavioral Health Consortium, she said sometimes the large size of the agency could lead to initiatives moving slower than they otherwise would if it were smaller.
Kyle Evans Gay
State Sen. Kyle Evans Gay (D-Claymont) will go into the primary with an endorsement from the party, as well as the lead in campaign donations.
She said she would lean on an outside consulting firm, Social Contract, which has been hired to complete a report about the industry of addiction resource companies in Delaware, to establish a plan for grants.
From that, Gay said she would “listen to the experts” and try to limit any overlap with spending. Meaning if the state can find any federal avenues to fund Delaware programs, she’d take those to allow spending more state dollars to be targeted in more specific areas.
Gay also said she would work to spread more awareness about how to apply for the opioid grants and try to reach underserved areas.
“I think that we need to do a better job of being present in places where we know the need is great, and understanding which local partners are a part of the solution in those communities,” Gay said.
When it came to Jennings’ letter, Gay, a former deputy attorney general, said she would continue to bring the “highest standards” on how the grants are distributed and to audit grantees “like any granting organization should.”
Sherry Dorsey Walker
In her second bid for lieutenant governor, Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker (D-Wilmington) looks to get to the root of addiction and “shift the narrative.”
When she was growing up on the West Side of Wilmington, Dorsey Walker said a different epidemic “ravaged” her community – crack cocaine. During those times, addiction wasn’t treated as a disease, she said.
Dorsey Walker said to fight addiction in today’s society, people need to understand the root issues that lead someone down that path. She said she would want to see more money go to the organizations with the same frame of mind.
“But until we are dealing with the root causes of why individuals are actually using the drugs, we don’t shift the narrative,” Dorsey Walker said.
When it comes to the spending of the funds, Dorsey Walker said she would want to see more access for smaller organizations, and said they are often the ones with boots on the ground.
“I would definitely ensure that we have checks and balances and review each application with the committee to ensure that we are giving the money to those who are really doing the work around opioid addiction,” Dorsey Walker said.
Dorsey Walker would not comment directly on Jennings’ letter and said if she’s elected lieutenant governor that she would “[address] it then.” She said didn’t have all of the background information on the situation, and didn’t want to make a comment on the letter without it.
