By State Senator Bryant L. Richardson

 

A responsible government should provide conditions in which people can pursue their dreams. People need to feel appreciated, to have an equal opportunity to succeed and to live in a safe environment.

 

I believe it’s important to provide voters of all political persuasions with a vision for the future that everyone can embrace. Here are the issues upon which my administration will focus:

 

Value of Life Restoration Act
A commitment to protect life from conception to natural death, including support for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act and opposition to physician-assisted suicide.

 

Family Reinforcement Act
A commitment to protect the Delaware family as the foundation of civil society by promoting laws that support the family unit. Our laws should encourage couples to stay together and help create a healthy environment for raising children.

 

Religious Liberty Protection Act
A commitment to freedom of religion and informed conscience. I support the freedom of Delawareans to act in accordance with their religious beliefs and the will of God. Government is constitutionally prohibited from policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions.

 

Education Responsibility Act
A commitment to protect the future of our children, by designing an educational system and curriculum that is focused on the highest quality of education for all Delaware children. This includes support for students and their families through Education Empowerment Accounts. Teachers who display proficiency in helping children learn and overcome problems should be paid well for this exceptional talent.

 

Health Care Act
A commitment to healthcare, preventive medicine, food education, and activities programs, and in particular making prescriptions accessible and affordable. Health Savings Accounts are a way to provide incentives for people to take care of their health and be rewarded for their efforts to eat right and exercise when advisable.

 

The Safe Streets Act
A commitment to safety and security. No one should have to live in an environment where they feel threatened for merely stepping outside their homes. And it is absolutely unacceptable that people should feel insecure in their own homes. A safe streets initiative will ensure adequate police presence in neighborhoods in partnership with community leaders to stop the flow of illegal drugs and prioritize the prosecution of sex trafficking crimes.

 

Job Creation and Small Business Support Act
A commitment to job creation and a free market economy. I never did like the word “capitalism.” Capital is just the means for exchange. The term I like is “free enterprise.” That phrase means that anyone has opportunities to test their ideas in the marketplace.

On my business card are these words:

“We became the greatest nation on earth because of individual initiative, not by allowing the government to control us. If we recapture that spirit and allow God to lead us, we can once again restore our state and nation.”

Government should support small business incentives and training programs that help businesses fill job openings with qualified candidates. Entrepreneurs should have access to a one-stop agency that helps them with start-ups and expansions.

These are just a sampling of items from a contract I am developing along with others to move Delaware in a new direction. This is a blueprint that will take our state from being mediocre to being first in the areas of quality of life and equal opportunities for success.