The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce along with three local chambers of commerce host a business-focused candidate forum for the House District 20 special election contenders.

Democrat Alonna Berry and Republican Nikki Miller are vying to fill the recently vacated seat by former State Rep. Stell Parker Selby.

Parker Selby resigned in June as she continues to recover from a stroke she suffered in December.

Both former teachers, Berry currently serves as the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice and Miller is the Seaford School District’s supervisor of instruction.

Early voting is already underway for the Milton-area seat with polls open at Mariner Middle School and Lewes Elementary School.

The candidates separately fielded questions around economic, energy, housing, small business and healthcare policy.

New personal income tax brackets and state budget woes

Gov. Matt Meyer and the General Assembly took a serious look this year at adding new state personal income tax brackets in an effort to generate more revenue.

A bill was introduced that would have taxed the $125,000-$250,000 income group at 6.75%, $250,000-$500,000 income group at 6.85% and $500,000 and above at 6.95% — that bill died in committee.

Currently, the floor for Delaware’s highest bracket is $60,000, which is taxed at a rate of 6.6%.

Berry voiced concerns over the impact of federal cuts on future state budget cycles, but when asked if she would support additional income tax brackets, she said, “it’s not that simple.”

“I think we really have to dig into what does the policy say, line by line. Who is it impacting? What brackets exactly are we talking about? And then, most importantly, we have to be able to get buy-in from constituents,” she said, noting developing new tax policy should take time.

“Anytime we have talked about raising taxes, I’m against that,” Miller said when asked the same question. She says the state has enough money to fund everything it needs, it just needs to do a “better job” at allocating taxpayer dollars.

“Oftentimes, I’m asked why I’m running as a Republican candidate when I could easily win as a Democrat candidate, and my number one reason that I am running as a Republican is fiscal responsibility. There are many [things] that the federal government [is] doing that is hurting me as a Republican, I’ll be quite honest with you, but when it comes to fiscal responsibility, that is why I am where I am,” Miller said, explaining she would pay extra close attention to how the state distributes its public education dollars.

With Delaware expected to enter a budget deficit in two fiscal years and potentially use up all its reserve funds, when asked where she would look to balance the budget, Berry said her priority would be making sure the state replenishes its reserves — something Gov. Meyer has been a vocal opponent of.

“I know what it’s like to try to make decisions around, ‘Can we raise teacher salaries, or can we expand access to early childcare seats? Can we afford the increase in healthcare costs to our state employees, as the State of Delaware is the largest employer in the state?’ That’s only going to get more complicated as the years come forward,” Berry said.

Energy supply

Delaware, along with the entire regional grid, is facing significant energy supply and demand issues with a lack of new generation projects being brought online in a timely manner.

Both candidates were asked to present their solutions to obtain enough supply to meet the increase in demand.

“I think that we can’t just lean on one singular solution. I also think that we can’t rush into a decision around how we move forward, and so there’s groups and constituents of people who are experts in this arena. I think we need to be able to sit down and bring them to the table and understand where we currently are as a state when it comes to energy,” Berry said.

Miller says she support various modes of green energy, but she staunchly opposes a Maryland offshore wind project by US Wind that would bring power onto the grid through a connection point in Dagsboro.

“That is not the answer for us. We have options for nuclear energy or other green sources of energy, and it is not in our best interest to put wind turbines off of our coasts. And the County Council decided that for us, based on what the community wanted, and then state legislation overturned that, and I believe that is a abuse of power, and it should not have happened,” Miller said. “So we need to find other sources. I am in support of green energy, but we need to do it with the right amount of research and ensure that it’s not going to hurt us.”

Miller is referring to Sussex County Council’s denial of a necessary zoning permit for the offshore wind project — US Wind is currently suing County Council in the Delaware Superior Court over the denial.

Affordable housing and stock shortfalls

When asked about the growing need for affordable and workforce housing, particularly in Sussex County, Berry said more attention needs to be brought to the “missing middle” in Delaware.

“We have a lot of single family homes, but there’s a— the middle is diversified housing, more townhomes, more apartments, more homes that are diverse for different income levels in the community,” Berry said. “And so really being able to look at the overall housing stock that we have in the state, and being able to make sure that we’re thinking strategically about where some of the needs are, in terms of workforce housing, in terms of development and balancing out the board a little bit to make sure that there are multiple options for families, for folks moving into the area, for folks that are working in some of our communities and our businesses that need access to lower-cost housing in this community, and still be able to enjoy all the things that we love about this place.”

Miller feels similarly, noting she’s happy to see more apartments and town homes being developed in Sussex County. She also believes too many homes sit vacant year-round that full-time residents could be utilizing.

Commercial development

When asked if Berry supports commercial development and the state’s Site Readiness Fund, which invests in the development or improvement of commercial and industrial sites, Berry said, “Yes, but we may need to also think more strategically about how we think about infrastructure on the whole scale and how we build in some of those pieces to make sure that before we’re starting developing, that we have access to the tools that we need in order to make that development work for this community.”

Miller agreed, noting development planning is one of the area’s top challenges.

“One of the things that I’ve talked about a lot when door knocking and talking to individuals is we need to do a better job of planning where we’re putting [up] our housing and ensuring that the services that regular people need are available without having to drive too far,” she said.

Increasing minimum wage

In 2021, the Delaware General Assembly voted to raise the state minimum wage to $18 an hour. When asked if she would support further increases, Miller said she thinks the state is in a “pretty good spot” right now.

Berry said she would want input from businesses if talks to raise the minimum wage further ensued but said she would ultimately support “making sure that communities can have livable wages.”

Supporting small business

As far as policy goals to help small businesses grow, Berry said she would look to expand the state’s EDGE Grant program — a competitive grant process providing funding for local businesses — specifically in Sussex County. She also believes more support is needed for businesses that are struggling several years after their launch, noting a lot of current support is directed to the “start-up” phase.

Miller says more consideration from state agencies, particularly from DelDOT, is needed around how their actions can affect small businesses.

“I really do believe that a lot of this is going to need to be the partnerships, and that’s why we need to elect somebody who is willing to be out there and sit down and talk with business owners and be proactive when involving, whether it’s DelDOT, or any other government agency that can have an impact on small businesses.”

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Delaware paid leave is going into full effect Jan. 1, 2026, and both candidates were asked if they support addressing employee benefits through legislation or if those matters should be left to employer discretion.

“I believe they should be up to the employers, and I’m sorry if that’s not the answer that you want to hear,” Miller said. “I do believe that it should be up to the small businesses, especially to be able to decide what’s best for you and your business and also always taking care of your employees. We trust that you would do that as a leader. I don’t know that we necessarily need legislation to be able to ensure that.”

Berry said she believes paid family and medical leave as a concept is an important baseline for employers, but she does think there’s room for flexibility around how employers implement those benefits.

Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board

Last year, the General Assembly created the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board to review hospital spending in an effort to curb rising healthcare costs.

ChristianaCare, New Castle County’s primary hospital system, is suing the state over the board’s creation, arguing the politically appointed body is governmental overreach and the proper vote threshold was not met when passing the enacting legislation.

As the litigation ensues, the board has remained a hot topic among state leaders.

When asked if she would support efforts like the Hospital Cost Review Board, Miller said no.

“Beebe and Bayhealth run very differently than up north hospitals. We need to be able to ensure that we can control our own spending so that we can get the technology that we want to be able to bring in new young medical professionals who are just fresh out of school, and we can control our own money. We do not need a board of trustees, or whatever, to tell us what to spend our money on.”

Berry said its the details of the Hospital Cost Review Board legislation that made it controversial, and she believes a more holistic approach needs to be taken when it comes to reducing the cost of care.

“We’re waiting to see what the courts say about it ultimately, but moving forward, I would hope that we are able to connect that policy and those policy choices with some other needs that are impacting what’s happening in our health care system,” Berry said, referencing health insurance as just one piece of the puzzle.

Employment shortages

With baby boomers increasingly retiring and birth rates declining, the two candidates fielded a final question on how they intend to address employers’ struggles to fill vacant positions.

Miller and Berry gave very similar answers, arguing more attention needs to be given to employees who are closer to retiring in order to incentivize them to remain in their positions a little longer.

“‘m seeing this across education, where people know that they can retire at year 20, and so they do. They could have given 10 [or] 15 more years to the profession, but the burnout rate is so high. We see the same thing with our doctors. We see the same thing with our lawyers. So we have to ensure that us as a community, but more importantly, that the government is supporting people,” Miller said. “Now there’s talks of, ‘Oh, well, state employees, your benefit costs are gonna go up — you might not get the full pension at this certain date,’ and I’m like, ‘No, whoa, whoa.’ I signed on at 21. I’m not 21 anymore, and I’m a few years from retirement, and I look forward to having those benefits.”

Similarly, Berry said: “If there was an opportunity to create some policy that incentivizes folks at the end of their career, who probably could have given five or four more years to our community, we should be focusing on that end of this structure as well, to make sure that we’re providing the same kinds of benefits that we’re providing on the front end to folks who are exiting their career.”

In her closing statement, Miller said she’s “nobody fancy,” but that she’s a “regular person” who represents the community.

“I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to learn. I’m ready to support, and most importantly, I’m ready to show up and do it,” Miller said.

Berry argues the District 20 seat should be filled by someone with policy and budget knowledge amid the state’s looming fiscal concerns.

“We need folks who understand and can go in, understand how policy is written, understand how policy impacts our state agencies, understand how policy impacts constituents, and most importantly, which is going to be the number one topic of conversation over the next three years, is understand how policy impacts budget,” Berry said. “Because a good idea is just a good idea in Legislative Hall— if you don’t have a budget attached to it, if you don’t have a fiscal note, it doesn’t mean anything. And so I’m running because I understand budget. I’m running because I understand the legislature and how policy works in our state, and I want to be the voice that fights on behalf of constituents like you and on behalf of this district here in District 20.”

Election day will be held on August 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at assigned polling locations, which can be found here.