Hockessin, Greenville and Talleyville Will Choose Between Deborah Hudson and Krista Griffith

With Delaware’s border with Pennsylvania as its northern boundary, Delaware House District 12 extends in an arch in the Wilmington suburbs and encompasses the communities of Hockessin, (most of) Greenville and Talleyville, as well as well-known Delaware landmarks like Winterthur. State Representative Deborah Hudson and Ms. Krista Griffith are competing against each other for the District 12 seat on November 6.

Bike Delaware sent a short (just three questions) survey to Representative Hudson and Ms. Griffith. 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).

Both Representative Hudson and Ms.Griffith answered “Strongly Agree” to each of these statements.

In 2011, Representative Hudson was the Prime (i.e. lead) Sponsor of Walkable Bikeable Delaware in the Delaware House of Representatives. Walkable Bikeable Delaware put the Delaware General Assembly (unanimously) on record calling for the Delaware Department of Transportation to make strategic investments in walking and cycling and led to 10s of million of dollars in investments in major trails like the Wilmington-New Castle Greenway and the Lewes-Georgetown Trail. In 2017 Representative Hudson was also a cosponsor of the Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act.

Krista Griffith served for nearly a decade as a Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice. She was the chief prosecutor on significant elder abuse cases and was the Assistant Unit Head of the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Units, where she successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases involving crimes committed against children, women, men and families.

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; 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 to find out if there is a significant contest happening in your community.

Get informed. And then vote smart on November 6.