Protecting Delaware's People Means More Than Just Making a Forceful Statement

January 14, 2026

Daniel Willis, Chairman, Sussex County Republican Party

Team Sussex, 

This week, Governor Matt Meyer stated, “In Delaware, we protect our people. Any agency that comes into our state and harms Delaware residents will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The statement was made amid national concern surrounding recent ICE activity and was clearly meant to project strength, resolve, and moral authority.

Those words carry weight. But leadership is defined by consistency. Accountability cannot depend on convenience, headlines, or whether the failure originated outside our borders.

If Delaware truly stands for protecting its people, then that same seriousness must be applied to failures occurring within our own state government. On that front, the Governor’s silence is striking.

Consider the magnitude of what is now before us.

Delaware officials have launched a probe into a charter school plagued by persistently low enrollment. This is not a clerical issue. Chronic under enrollment signals a breakdown in planning, oversight, and stewardship of public funds. Schools are promises to families and students. When a publicly funded school fails to meet its basic mission, it represents a failure of governance that demands attention from the highest levels of state leadership.

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At the same time, the United States Department of Health and Human Services is demanding that Delaware repay nearly 3.7 million dollars in federal funding intended for low income families. These funds were meant to support the most vulnerable Delawareans. Losing them is not an abstract policy problem. It is a direct consequence of mismanagement and noncompliance. Families were supposed to be helped. Instead, taxpayers are left holding the bill.

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If the Governor is willing to threaten prosecution when harm is alleged by outside agencies, Delawareans deserve to know why there is no equal urgency when harm results from failures inside state government.

The concern grows deeper when we acknowledge that the charter school under investigation was founded by a recently elected member of the General Assembly, Representative Alonna Berry, prior to her election to office. This clarification matters. It is not an accusation. It is a matter of responsibility. Initiatives launched by future public officials using public dollars must still meet the highest standards. If this is the outcome of that effort, Delawareans are right to ask serious questions as Representative Berry enters the second half of the current General Assembly.

Statesmanship requires more than forceful statements. It requires the courage to confront problems at home, even when they are politically uncomfortable. Protecting Delaware means demanding transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability from everyone entrusted with public authority.

Team Sussex will continue to speak plainly, uphold principled leadership, and insist that Delaware’s leaders live by the standards they set for others.