Why Should Delaware Care?
Rep. Stell Parker Selby represents more than 20,000 residents in the Milton and Lewes area, but has yet to take part in any legislative actions this year after suffering a stroke. After months of her unexplained absence, there is a growing concern that constituents may go unrepresented for the entirety of her two-year term.
Rep. Stell Parker Selby, a Milton-area Democrat who has yet to attend a day of this year’s legislative session, suffered a stroke late last year that has prevented her from returning, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The news regarding Parker Selby’s illness was first reported by CoastTV. Spotlight Delaware has also independently verified the situation with three sources, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss the representative’s private matters.
Since being re-elected to a second term in November, Parker Selby has seldom been seen or heard from in public. She was present Nov. 7 at Return Day, a post-election tradition in Georgetown that sees former electoral candidates literally and figuratively “bury the hatchet.”
But Parker Selby suffered a “massive stroke” in early December that was initially feared to be life-threatening, according to Democratic party sources. The representative has reportedly since been recovering at home after moving from a rehab facility.
Her absence at the opening day of the Delaware General Assembly and in the lead-up to a significant vote early in the session on corporate law reform only drew more attention as to her whereabouts.
In late March, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown sought to defuse those questions by completing a private swearing-in ceremony with the representative in Sussex County. A photo released from the day shows Parker Selby in a wheelchair with a crouching Minor-Brown behind her – the representative had not used a wheelchair previously.
Swearing-in ceremonies are purely celebratory though. Representatives legally take office the day after the election in Delaware, and begin drawing a $50,678 annual salary and receiving state benefits for their service. She will also qualify for a legislator’s pension for the time she spends as an elected official.
With the end of the legislative year now just 20 days away, Parker Selby is unlikely to participate in any vote on behalf of her roughly 23,000 constituents this year, and it’s raising calls for a special election to replace her if she cannot return to office.
Precedent of care?
Parker Selby’s absence comes amid a national reckoning on elected officials who don’t vote on behalf of their constituents. In Congress, the late former Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein defied calls to resign despite suffering from memory loss and shingles, while Republican Rep. Kay Granger stopped voting in the House and moved into a senior living home, unbeknownst to voters.
In Delaware, Democratic leaders have sought to give Parker Selby space to recover from her health episode, and point to a similar situation that unfolded with Rep. Harold “Jack” Peterman in 2015 and 2016.
The late Milford-area Republican missed more than a third of the legislative year in 2015 while recovering from surgeries and an auto accident. He missed more of the 2016 legislative year after being diagnosed with cancer. Peterman did not seek another term and died before the election.
The lack of clarity around Parker Selby’s absence differed from Peterman’s though, and sources in and near Democratic circles said they have not heard directly from the representative in months.
In April, Parker Selby reportedly sent an email to the Sussex County Democratic Party that read, “Believe me, I’m just as anxious as anyone to get back to LegHall and more importantly, to see all of my wonderful constituents and community members. I want everyone to know that my office has remained open and is actively working on constituent and community matters. So if you, a friend or a neighbor needs assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out,” CoastTV reported.
The assertion that her office aides have been responsive to constituent needs has been repeated by Minor-Brown and other Democrats, like her coastal Delaware colleague State Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-Lewes/Rehoboth), who said that his office has not been burdened by Parker Selby’s absence.
“I had a constituent conversation today in Milton, as I do often in the district to rotate among the public libraries. I heard about roads, infrastructure, the fire service, schools, taxis and speed limits, and a whole bunch of community-based policies. Not once did any of those constituents ask about Stell,” Huxtable told Spotlight Delaware on Monday. “Frankly, the only people who ask me about Stell are reporters.”
Her social media channels have rarely been updated this year, however, and requests to speak with her have not been returned. There has not yet been a vote in the House so narrow that her presence would have been a deciding vote, but some in the party are growing frustrated by how long the situation has played out.
When asked about Parker Selby’s illness and whether she would support calls for a special election, Minor-Brown said in a statement, “At this point, we are leaving the decision about Rep. Parker Selby’s electoral future to her, and out of respect for her privacy, we will not be commenting on Rep. Parker Selby’s personal health matters.”
Gov. Matt Meyer deflected in April when asked about Parker Selby’s situation and said it was “a personal health issue that I don’t have much visibility into.”
“I think Representative Parker Selby and her family deserves some some grace during this challenging time and I hope we get to a place sooner rather than later where the residents of that district can be fully represented in our state,” he told Spotlight Delaware at the time.
More than a month later, he reiterated that stance to CoastTV and said it was up to the voters in the 20th District to replace Parker Selby.
Could a special election be called?
In recent months, the Sussex County Republican Party has begun questioning Parker Selby’s absence and calling for answers from House Democratic leadership.
“Our democratic system is structured to ensure that every citizen has representation in both chambers of the General Assembly, and in this case, the people of the 20th District are being deprived of that right,” they wrote in a March 17 letter. “If she is unable to fill the responsibilities of her office in the near future, then a discussion must be had on how to ensure that the people of her district are properly represented moving forward.”
Democratic leadership reportedly investigated whether the state Constitution allows for the removal of a legislator who cannot fulfill his or her duties, but it only provides for a vacated office by resignation or death. Removal of a legislator through impeachment is only available in cases where the accused has committed treason, bribery or a crime in office.
With no recourse to remove a legislator who neither serves constituents nor chooses to resign, Democratic House leaders have defaulted to waiting out the situation rather than trying to convince Parker Selby to step down.
If she did, it could leave Democrats vulnerable to losing a seat in the House of Representatives just as they near a crucial point of full supermajority in the chamber. With Parker Selby’s seat, they are one seat away from being able to amend the state Constitution without Republican support.
But Parker Selby won her race against Republican Nikki Miller in November by only a 245-vote margin out of nearly 17,500 votes cast, making it one of the closest races anywhere in the state. Before the district was remapped in the 2020 redistricting, it was a reliably Republican district stretching down toward Long Neck.
Republican House leaders declined to comment on the situation Monday, telling Spotlight Delaware that “whatever difficult challenges Rep. Parker Selby faces are tangential to the main issue: A special election cannot be held without a vacancy, which currently does not exist in the 20th Representative District.”
Sussex County Republican Party Chair Daniel Willis said that while he had sympathy for the representative’s condition, consideration also needed to be given to the rights of the voters who elected her to the legislature. He said that he plans to hold a press conference in Dover soon to draw more attention to the situation.
“Stell raised half the county and taught the other half, but it’s not fair that 20,000-some people are not being served,” he told Spotlight Delaware. “The Republicans have been saying it. The voters have been saying it. The only people not saying it are the Democrats. It’s disheartening.”