The Lincoln Civic Association Candidate Forum between Bryan Shupe and his opponent Don Allan highlighted the differences between these two individuals running for State Representative in the 36th District.

Shupe, former mayor and small business owner, outperformed Allan in every aspect of the debate from experience, knowledge of state issues and his approach to taking on the large issues that our district faces.

Talking about creating quality jobs and opportunities for local education and vocational training, fixing our infrastructure and ensuring clean water, Shupe was able to give real examples of how he has handled those issues as the mayor of Milford and also as a small business owner. In contrast, Allan actually answered the question as to why he should be elected with a reply that Democrats are the majority party and he “has Pete Schwarzkopf’s number in my pocket.” For one, I will not vote for anyone that answers with their party’s affiliation when asked why they should be elected.

When the two gentlemen discussed how they plan to take on the issues we face in the 36th District and the state there was another glaring difference that was evident to everyone in the room. Allan started talking about the differences between people in our district including their income level, education and occupations and took a stance that more government with more tax money could solve our problems. Several times Shupe discussed the need to create partnerships between our communities, government and businesses and again showed several examples, including the Bayhealth Sussex Campus and the Downtown Development District, of how Milford succeeded by bringing people together.

After the debate I decided to visit the website of both candidates and was stunned to see the differences of who their supporters are. As of Oct. 1, Allan’s endorsements were from special interests group from northern Delaware and out of state PACs. On his social media, Allan also shared his excitement to receive support from the Bernie Sanders Foundation and self-proclaimed socialist Kerri Harris that ran against U.S. Sen. Tom Carper in the primary. On the other hand, Shupe’s endorsements are from families and individuals that live in our communities. He also has support from Democrats, Independents and Republicans across the Milford, Lincoln, Milton, Ellendale and Slaughter, Broadkill Beach areas. This is a man that knows how to bring people together to plan for our future.

I hope that when voters of the 36th District go to the polls on Nov. 6 they vote for the individual that has a proven track record of growing our economy, fixing our roads and ensuring clean water. I hope they vote for the individual that puts the people of the district above party affiliations. I hope they vote for the individual that has brought people of all backgrounds together to solve our issues. I hope they vote Bryan Shupe as our next state representative.