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Governor Carney Sworn In: Budget Crisis Must Be Fixed

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DOVER, Del. (AP/WSCL) - Democrat John Carney has been sworn in as Delaware's 74th governor.
 
Carney and Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, also a Democrat, took their oaths of office Tuesday morning in a rain-soaked ceremony on the steps of Legislative Hall.
 
Carney acknowledged the state's challenges, including significant state budget problems. "We have a revenue problem. But we also have a spending problem. In the coming months we'll put forth a plan for addressing our budget crisis, not just for one year, but for years go come. We're at the end of the road on that one. There's no where else to kick the can." 

In addition he pledged to address the unabated gun violence in Wilmington, the state's largest city.

After four years in office, he said he wanted to ensure that, "The economy is stronger, because middle class Delawareans are better off. That there are better paying jobs that Delawareans value and where they feel valued. That they feel safe in their neighborhoods and in their towns and cities. That more of their kids are graduating for what comes next with a sense of promise about the future. That our state's finances are strong and in order."

After being sworn in today as Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long praised Carney. She said, "I know as does Governor Carney that the challenges that lie are ahead may not always be easy ones. That these same challenges touch every Delaware family. The mothers, the fathers trying to make ends meet and to provide the best for their children."

Carney added, "We all know it won't be easy. That there will be tough decisions. That there will be times when we disagree. But, working together we will find a path forward. And we will be better than we were before."

Carney was elected governor eight years after losing a hard-fought Democratic primary to Gov. Jack Markell.
 
He went on to serve as Delaware's lone representative in the U.S. House in 2010.

     
 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.