Stephanie Barry - Democrat for Delaware State Representative

I’ve been a resident of Delaware since 1996 and have lived in Pike Creek since 2003. I know this community well and believe this district deserves a Democratic representative who will accurately represent their values both locally and in Dover.

I’ve raised my family in Pike Creek. My boys all attended Red Clay schools and I have worked through the yearly challenges of school choice. My kids played Little League at Midway, they took swim and other sports lessons at the Western YMCA. I’ve volunteered in many different PTAs, coached Odyssey of the Mind, served on community association boards and worked with my neighbors a few different times to curb unwanted local development, in particular the preservation of the former Three Little Bakers Golf Course. I walk my dogs Maggie and Charlie in Carousel Park and hike through the trails at White Clay Creek State Park.

I am now a single mom trying to figure out how to pay for basic necessities, the rising cost of health care, and still hope for a little extra money left over to enjoy life. I’ve lived through non-stop development in our backyards and lament the loss of open space, the golf course, and the bowling alley. I dread the proposed increased development and traffic coming down our streets. I know our community, I listen to my neighbors and friends. We want simple things… our kids to be safe, our lives to be enjoyable, our futures to be secure.

I know our community, its beauty, its resources as well as the challenges of everyday life. I am living it right here next to you. It is time for our voices to be heard in Dover. Together, we can make that happen.

Protecting our environment, open space, and clean water.

I will always be an advocate for responsible development in the 21st district and throughout Delaware. We need to ensure that any and all development is being planned responsibly to limit traffic, protect our infrastructure and the environment, and most importantly, doesn't run counter to what residents want. We can't continue to just rubber-stamp every development project, and we need a state legislator who will communicate and work to guarantee that our voices are heard at both the state and county levels. Further as your state representative, I will explore other transportation options including expanding public transportation access to and from the greater Pike Creek area, as well as across our state.

I am also a strong supporter of clean water initiatives in Delaware, and I will fight for policies that protect our state's water supply, drainage, and water infrastructure. The proposed clean water bill wasn't able to pass this year due to COVID-19, but we need to pass it as soon as we can. Clean water impacts all of our lives as well as our food sources, our health and our economy.

Treating healthcare as a right.

Healthcare is a right, yet thousands of families in Delaware are paying too much for too little. We need to explore every possible option to bring the cost of healthcare down while also increasing its quality and accessibility. We need to continue to assess the feasibility of programs such as a public option like Medicaid Buy-In. It's simply unacceptable that Delaware families can't afford to go to the doctor or are paying outrageous premiums with deductible limits that are unaffordable. We need to address this problem immediately.

Expanding access to mental health and addiction services.

People of all ages facing mental health and addiction issues have limited options for treatment and recovery in Delaware. As your state representative, I will be a strong advocate for people struggling with these challenges, and work hard to give them a variety of means to get healthy. We need more long-term treatment options in-state, more treatment beds, we need to give people in crisis a place to go, and we need to fully support all of our first-responders that are battling overdoses every day. Further we need to expand our resources for those families who are caregivers to those suffering from mental illness and addiction.

Fighting for equity in our neighborhood schools.

Some of the schools in the 21st district are fantastic, but we've allowed too many schools across our state to fall behind. There is unacceptable funding inequity between public schools in Delaware, even within the same district. We need to make sure every student in Delaware has access to quality neighborhood schools, that children of all abilities are being provided the services they need, and that school choice isn’t the only option for families trying to give their children a better education. I am also in support of expanding universal PreK options to our public school systems.

Expanding Paid Leave to every Delaware worker.

Paid leave is good for early childhood development, it's good for parents, and it's good for family bonding. This important benefit helps to attract high-quality workers, which is why Delaware's biggest companies and state agencies provide paid leave. Every developed nation mandates paid leave, and Delaware should too, for every worker in the state. As your state legislator, I will work to encourage more companies to provide this important family benefit.

Continuing to reform our criminal justice system.

The legislature has the power to end mass incarceration in Delaware. As state representative I will support legislation to:

Abolish cash bail.
Repeal the death penalty once and for all.
Legalize and thoughtfully regulate the recreational use of marijuana.
End three-strikes laws and end mandatory minimum sentencing.
Focus on rehabilitation, not just punishment.
Make sure those released from prison are provided with the tools to succeed when re-entering society including expanding job training and placement programs.

Making sure all Delawareans have access to good jobs and fair wages.

On day one as your state representative I will be ready to support legislation to make ensure every Delaware worker is paid fairly, which will include legislation to raise the minimum wage and repeal the discriminatory "youth wage" and "training wage," which target seasonal employees, and people entering the economy. I will also fight against destructive "right-to-work" laws aimed at busting unions, and support policies to rebuild our infrastructure and give more Delawareans good-paying jobs.

Expanding voting rights for every Delawarean.

Many steps have been taken toward creating easier access to all Delawareans their ability to cast their votes in general and primary elections. I support further reforms for voters which include universal vote-by-mail, same-day registration and to shortening our primary season to allow candidate to truly connect with their community prior to election day.