In Newark’s East Suburbs, State Representative Osienski Defends Delaware House Seat Against Challenger Dilks

The western boundary of Delaware House District 24 begins at Library Avenue in Newark and then, bounded on the north by SR 2 (Capitol Trail) and on the south by I-95, stretches east into Newark’s suburbs. The incumbent, State Representative Ed Osienski, is being challenged by Mr. Bill Dilks on November 6.

Bike Delaware sent a short (just three questions) survey to Representative Osienski and Mr. Dilks. Each question simply asked for the candidates’ views on the three major pieces of walking/cycling legislation that have been passed by the Delaware General Assembly in the last 8 years:

1. I voted for, or agree with, Walkable Bikeable Delaware (2011), which called for strategic investments by the Delaware Department of Transportation in infrastructure for walking and cycling.
2. I voted for, or agree with, the Healthy and Transit-Friendly Development Act (2016), which established a mechanism in Delaware state law for State and local governments to coordinate transportation investments and land use regulation in order to encourage the development of walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly communities.
3. I voted for, or agree with, the Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act (2017), which made changes to Delaware’s Rules of the Road relating to bicycles (and farm equipment and animal-drawn vehicles).

Representative Osienski answered “Strongly Agree” to each of these statements and, in an additional comment he included in his survey response, also noted that he didn’t just vote for these bills, he was also a sponsor/cosponsor of two of them: “I co-sponsored SCR 13, sponsored SB 130 and voted for HB 185.”

Mr. Dilks did not make any response to the survey.

From Claymont in the North to Dagsboro in the South, there are dozens of competitive Delaware Senate and House races that will be decided by our votes on November 6. These races are important because Delaware’s State Senators and State Representatives are the people who – among other things – approve (or don’t!) the funding to build major trails like the Wilmington-New Castle Greenway and the Lewes-Georgetown Trail; who set the laws that influence the future development of our communities (will development make our communities more, or less, walkable and bikeable?); who make the policies that govern the operations of influential state agencies like the Delaware Department of Transportation; and who decide what Delaware’s Rules of the Road should be. Check out Bike Delaware’s 2018 Voter’s Guide for information on all these races.

Get informed. And then vote smart on November 6.