Lisa Diller ,Democrat, 5th County Council-My First Endorsement-Making an Exception for An Exceptional Candidate

I have taken a hiatus from posting due to the time constraints of working within the compressed schedule of a special election. In Delaware the special election is held 30 days from when the Board of Elections receives the writ of elections. In January Stephanie McClellan resigned from her position as 5th District County Council member to join the Markell administration. In the 5th County Council District in New Castle County the special election is February 19,2009.

The Democratic nominee is my wife Lisa Diller, a Newark area pastor and educator. To learn more information about Lisa or get involved in the campaign go to her website:


http://www.lisadiller.com/

Lisa Diller brings a wealth of experience to the job. She has taught at the college level at the University of Delaware, Wesley College and Wilmington University for several years. She has been pastor at Christiana Presbysterian Church for the last two and a half years. For the five years before that she served as an administrator in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. She has also administered an Americorps project at the University of Delaware.

While many people focus on what elected officials say and that is important, I think some of the best politicians are the ones who are good listeners. To know what community needs are, elected officials need to seek out their constituents’ views. As a minister and educator, Lisa has developed into a skilled listener. At Christiana Presbyterian Church she has performed marriage ceremonies for church members, christened their babies and buried their relatives. These are all emotion charged life events and require listening skills. Though often less emotion charged, teaching requires similar listening skills. During this brief election campaign I have seen her handle calls from community organizations and residents. She has been thoughtful in her dealings with them and realistic in what can and can not be done given the current budget shortfall.

I have known Lisa for over a quarter of a century and we have been married for 18 years, so this may be my least objective posting to date. Even a more objective observer would concede that her experience places her in a position to create the kind of partnerships New Castle County will need as it moves forward. She has written, monitored and administered federal grants. She has served on teams that formulated presentations before the Joint Finance Committee of the General Assembly. She has engaged in coalition building in the nonprofit community with a particular focus on issues affecting families.
In the last several weeks she served on the the Transition Committee assigned to address issues affecting Children , Youth and Families for incoming Governor Jack Markell.

Lisa Diller speaks her mind,but she works well with others and both of these qualities will serve the residents of the 5th County County District and New Castle County well.