Why Should Delaware Care?
The state chamber of commerce is the most influential business advocacy organization in Delaware and, as its next leader, Rep. Mike Smith will shape its future work and impact. His departure from the General Assembly will be a blow to the future prospects of the state Republican Party, which has struggled for a decade to make advancements in the state.
State Rep. Mike Smith (R-Pike Creek), who was announced Wednesday morning as the next president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, told Spotlight Delaware he would not run for reelection in 2028.
While the 41-year-old Smith has long been seen as a rising future leader in the Delaware Republican Party, the lawmaker said he also will not seek any office come 2028.
Smith is one of the youngest members of the state’s Republican caucus and the last incumbent Republican lawmaker from New Castle County. He represents the Pike Creek and Hockessin area in House District 22, where he has defied a Democratic voter registration advantage since taking office in 2018 by fewer than 200 votes.
Despite running against the odds, Smith has easily won re-election twice, in part by building a personal brand grounded on constituent conversations, small business and entrepreneurial support, and raising a young family.
He called the decision to transition to the private sector after a decade as a state representative, should he win his reelection bid next month, “a commitment” he made to both himself and his family.
Smith said the 10-year number has long been on his mind. It is indicative of his broader political ideology. He has served his constituents well and been able to accomplish an agenda in that time, he said.
“It’s going to be hard to walk away from that,” Smith said. “But I think that’s something that’s important in the political process. These elected positions were not built for people to stay in the same position for years upon years upon years.”
The General Assembly also has changed a lot since he was first elected, Smith said. Changes that have not necessarily been for the better.
“I’m not someone who believes in the party apparatus or the party fiefdoms, and I guess what comes with that,” Smith said. “I also don’t think the General Assembly has that makeup anymore. I think the General Assembly has generally been made up of advocacy organizations and really been kind of pillaged by the rise in outside [political action committee] spending.”
Leading the state chamber
Shortly before he spoke with Spotlight Delaware on Wednesday afternoon, Smith was announced as the next president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, the state’s most influential business advocacy organization.
A press release announcing Smith’s new role said he was chosen after a national search “based on his experience in public policy, higher education, economic development, and community engagement.”
He succeeds Michael Quaranta, a former chief of staff to the late Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Castle who has led the state chamber since 2018. Quaranta has overseen a growth in membership of the chamber while leading it through a period in which complete Democratic control of state government has sometimes led to a particularly adversarial relationship, such as around the minimum wage increase and the passage of paid leave.
Smith said the role represents a natural progression for his career; he currently serves as strategic initiatives director for the University of Delaware’s College of Health Sciences. He hopes to work at the intersection of business innovation and government to build a Delaware economy that can thrive for future generations.
John Gooden, chair of the state chamber’s board of directors, said Smith’s background made him a natural fit for the role.
“He’s got a history, actually a passion, for being able to reach across the aisle, understanding public policy and how it ties into business, how it affects the business community,” Gooden said.
A brewing conflict of interest?
But the appointment also raises questions about a potential conflict of interest, should Smith win his reelection bid this November, as he would sit at the helm of an organization that often lobbies lawmakers in favor of business-friendly legislation.
John Flaherty, a spokesman for the Delaware Coalition for Open Government, an advocacy group focused on increasing government transparency and accountability, said Smith’s new role “is clearly a conflict.”
“You can’t serve two masters,” Flaherty said. “You can’t be a legislator and pretend that the chamber’s lobbyist who is testifying on a bill or bills doesn’t impact you.”
Flaherty said Smith should, at a minimum, ask the House Ethics Committee to issue an advisory opinion on his new role, since the General Assembly is not beholden to any outside public integrity group. Asking for an advisory opinion, Flaherty said, would “dispel any appearance of impropriety this might have.”
Smith, in a text message to Spotlight Delaware, said he would welcome an advisory opinion, saying he is in favor of “as much transparency as possible.”
The General Assembly does have a legislative conflict of interest policy, which requires members to disclose a potential conflict and refrain from voting on a measure that where one has “a personal or private interest.”
That is defined as “an interest which tends to impair a legislator’s independence of judgment in the performance of the legislator’s legislative duties with respect to that measure or bill.” Whether his chamber leadership would impair his independence or simply reflect a well-known support for business measures may be difficult to prove.
Similarly, a one-year prohibition between public service and lobbying the legislature may also not apply to Smith, since it only refers to former legislators. Quaranta is currently a registered lobbyist in the state, but the chamber also employs other lobbyists as well, which could give Smith a degree of legal separation.
And while Smith said questions about a potential conflict of interest are fair, he also rebuffed the idea that one would exist.
The role of the chamber president is much bigger than government lobbying, Smith said. He pointed to other facets of the role including membership, education and fundraising as areas where his attention will be focused.
He also said that being a lawmaker is part-time by design. Most legislators have outside jobs, and hat outside employment — regardless of where — will always create the potential for a conflict of interest, Smith said.
Gooden, the state chamber’s board chair, also dismissed the idea of a conflict. He said the topic was discussed by the chamber’s search committee during their process of evaluating candidates, but he does not anticipate it being a problem.
Smith also noted candidates in other legislative races who have ties to advocacy organizations have already been supported by voters, as well as current lawmakers who are presidents or CEOs of organizations that also do direct lobbying to the legislature.
