Del. governor touts education, economy successes in final press conference

Across the nation, people are talking about the transition of power from one president to the next; however, there's a big transition happening in Delaware.

Governor Jack Markell, 73rd governor of Delaware, held his final general press conference Wednesday ahead of the inauguration of Governor-elect John Carney.

"This has been the biggest honor that I could have ever anticipated in my life," Markell told reporters Wednesday.

As the end of his second and final term nears, he called it a "somewhat bittersweet" moment in his career; however, Markell says he's proud of the legacy he's leaving, touting progress in education and job growth in the First State over the past eight years.

"Certainly, we have benefited like have like other states have from a growing national economy, but governing magazines…sort of their non-partisan ranking…put us as the third strongest state economy," he explains.

The governor was elected into office in 2008. At his final press conference, he said it had been a goal for him to "better position the state for prosperity".

Despite numbers from the Department of Labor reflecting job growth, Markell admits big challenges still lie ahead. Arguably the biggest challenge, which many other state lawmakers have also listed as a major concern and priority to tackle in the 149th General Assembly, is the state budget.

During an interview Tuesday, House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf told 47ABC the budget currently faces a deficit upwards of 350 million dollars, adding he's looking forward to what an administration under Governor-elect Carney could possibly bring to Delaware.

"Governor [elect] Carney has already said he wants to do a comprehensive look at government and look at where we can cut, where we can possibly raise revenue but he definitely wants look at cutting and seeing what we can shave off the budget in the budget," Speaker Schwartzkopf said Tuesday.

According to Markell, the deficit is largely to blame on the state's revenue stream.

"The math is, the way the economy is growing, and the way the economy is generating revenue and personal income taxes…if all of our revenues were growing like that, we would not have the kind of challenge that we have," says Markell. "But they don't."

To turn that around, he says it will require a honest conversation weighing both expenses and revenue.
When asked, Markell noted one of his regrets as Governor includes failing to meet higher water quality in Delaware's waters, calling conditions "embarrassing".

"We know how to fix this, and I put a lot of money so we could fix it. This not rocket science. We know what it is that we have to do, so I regret not being able to get that done," he says.

With both highs and lows during his his time as governor, Markell says there has been one constant.

"It strikes me that the one real constant over the last eight years has been the determination that Delawareans have to seize the opportunities available to them," Markell says.

Governor Markell says he does plan to stay in Delaware. When asked about his future in politics and possibly running for another office, he says he's "not going to say 'never'" but also does not want to "predict the future" at this time.

Governor-elect John Carney is scheduled to be sworn into office on Tuesday, January 17.