Veterans Question Delaware Candidates

BY KRISTIN HARTY • THE NEWS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 4, 2008

Original article appeared here.

DOVER - Delaware veterans seeking a voice in state government sounded out candidates for the state's highest public offices today during a forum at Delaware Technical and Community College.

About 50 veterans and family members gathered in the auditorium for a 90-minute panel discussion with six candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and the U.S. Congress and Senate.

Each candidate beseeched veterans for votes before answering questions. Topics ran the gamut.

Why aren't veterans offered the same low-cost health insurance that members of Congress receive, one audience member wondered.

What can the state do to help homeless vets?

Why doesn't Delaware use public transportation to help veterans get to doctor's appointments, asked another.

"I think that's very do-able," said Republican Bill Lee, who is running for governor. "We have vehicles to move people who have mobility problems that are being under-utilized. And for God sakes, there's federal dollars to pay for that transportation...It might actually help some of our budget concerns."

Absent Saturday were Joe Biden, the six-term senator who is campaigning for vice president with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, and Jack Markell, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Biden sent a surrogate, but organizers were surprised that Markell wasn't there.
"You'll all have to make whatever you want to make of that," Charles Garrod told the audience at the end of the forum, adding he was disappointed he hadn't gotten a call from Markell.

Contacted later, Markell said he didn't know about the forum until late in the week and already had a commitment.

"Obviously, I would very much have wanted to be there," Markell said. "I'm very interested in veterans issues. I've done some work as treasurer for members of the military in terms of life insurance. My father's a veteran, so it's something I care about at a personal level."

Hosted by local chapters of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, the forum was a first-of-its-kind in a gubernatorial race, said Don White, a past department commander of the American Legion.

"The veterans are now getting involved to protect themselves, number one, because we've been losing in every area, including most of their benefits," White said. "We're seeing who's going to talk the talk, and then walk the walk. We're putting them on notice."

Biden's opponent in the Senate race, Republican Christine O'Donnell, told the group that she supports a voucher system for health care that would allow veterans to choose their own doctor closer to home.

"That way, the dollars follow the vet, so you don't have to drive an hour or even further to follow the dollars," O'Donnell said. "...You then have the control over the treatment you believe is best for your life."

Touting herself as a fresh face - and not a career politician - O'Donnell criticized Biden for not participating in the forum, and for failing to support a bill that would protect the flag from desecration.

"He's expecting you to blindly cast a vote without being held accountable for an inconsistent voting record," O'Donnell said. "We need someone in office who will put the next generation ahead of the next election."

U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, a Republican, recapped for the audience the work he's done for veterans over the years, noting that when he was governor, he helped establish the Delaware Commission on Veterans Affairs.

"We have significantly improved our hospital in Elsmere," said Castle, adding that clinics have also opened in Kent and Sussex counties."I can't tell you how many veterans have called and said, 'The travel is just too much. Can't we get something (here)?"

Castle's opponent, Democrat Karen Hartley Nagle, said she would commit herself to education and health care for active duty military and veterans, if elected. Her brother, who joined the Navy after high school, recently retired, she said.

"He wanted to serve his country, wanted to contribute," said Hartley Nagle, who opened her remarks by saying, "I'm here because I want Mike Castle's job."

"It really touched me when I was a senior in high school. It was so important to him."
Candidates for lieutenant governor, Democrat Matt Denn and Republican Charles Copeland, each touted past work they've done on behalf of veterans.

Denn, who has served as insurance commissioner since 2004, said his office put together an insurance guide for active duty military and veterans after he learned of concerns. Recently, state lawmakers passed a law to make it easier for retired doctors to return to work at a VA hospital in Delaware. Denn, who attended a ceremony last week to send off a Delaware National Guard Unit to Iraq, said he's committed to personally reaching out to veterans.

"You're literally standing there in the middle of this incredibly personal and painful moment," Denn said of watching family members say goodbye. "For me, it's a stark reminder of what a lot of people are doing for this country and what a lot of families are doing for our country."

Copeland, who owns a small family printing business, said he doesn't believe that veterans issues receive the attention in the Legislature they deserve. As Senate Minority Leader, he introduced a bill two years ago to allow personalized license plates for Gold Star families, Vietnam Veterans and other veterans groups. The bill passed earlier this year.

As lieutenant governor, Copeland said he would use his experience and education as a small businessman to help veterans start businesses and stay in Delaware.
"If you look back in history, no democracy has lasted more than about 250 years, and we're at about two and a quarter," Copeland said, adding he decided to run for office because he wanted to "stay and fight."

"We've got a serious, serious problem facing us economically across the nation, but also socially across the nation," Copeland said.

Lee, a retired judge who served three and a half years in the U.S. Marine Corps, was the only candidate who was a veteran - a fact noted by several in the audience.
"I'm very concerned at the lack of leaders at the local level on up that were in the military," said Richard Cecil, a Korean war vet. "They don't appreciate what these folks have done for them."

Lee said as governor he would appoint a veteran as ombudsman to help connect veterans with existing resources.

"Nobody protects the people in harm's way better than the people who have been there and know what they're going through," Lee said, adding later: "The best way for veterans to be assured that somebody understands the problems of veterans is to elect a veteran for governor."

Contact Kristin Harty at 324-2792 or kharty@delawareonline.com