Matt Meyer

Matthew S. Meyer is an attorney, entrepreneur, former diplomat, and educator who is currently serving his second term as New Castle County Executive. Born in Michigan Meyer currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware. He was elected New Castle County Executive in 2016 and again in 2020.

Meyer was born in Bay City, Michigan, and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated from Wilmington Friends School, Brown University (cum laude in political science and computer science), and the University of Michigan Law School (member, Michigan Law Review).

Meyer worked on then U.S. Sen. Joe Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1988 while in high school at the Wilmington Friends School. He then worked on the 1990 upstart gubernatorial campaign of Rhode Island Gov. Bruce Sundlun while attending Brown University.

Meyer taught public school in Washington, D.C., through Teach for America for three years.He also taught at Prestige Academy in Wilmington. He won a Skadden Fellowship upon graduation from law school and used it to work for Community Legal Aid in Wilmington.He then became an attorney working in mergers and acquisitions with Simpson Thatcher and Bartlett LLP. He served in Iraq as a diplomat for the U.S. State Department, as a senior economic adviser on the ground in Mosul, Iraq, working with military and economic aid leaders to assist the Iraqi people. Meyer learned more about Americans and military leadership style after living on a base for about a year with 10,000 soldiers. Later, he worked as an economic advisor to Delaware Governor Jack Markell and was a partner at Potomac Law Group.He has started two businesses, Ecosandals and VituMob, both in Kenya.He appeared on CNN to discuss Ecosandals and on using technology to create jobs in poor neighborhoods.In 2003 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Meyer was awarded the Sam Beard Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years and Under; at that same ceremony Condoleezza Rice received a Jefferson Award.Al Gore's Current TV called him an "all around super human."

2016 election

In the Democratic primary for New Castle County Executive, Meyer's campaign focused on integrity and economic policy.On September 13, Meyer upset three-term incumbent Tom Gordon by a margin of 4.66% in the primary, winning 21,487 votes (52.33%) to Gordon's 19,678 votes (47.67%).Meyer defeated Republican Mark Blake in the general election in November with 67% of the vote. He took office on January 3, 2017.

2020 election

On September 15, Meyer clinched the Democratic nomination again for County Executive, defeating challenger Maggie Jones in the Democratic primary. Meyer clinched a key endorsement video days before the election from Hollywood star and Delaware native, Aubrey Plaza. Meyer won 43,833 votes (56.51%), while Jones received 33,735 votes (43.49%). Jones has not been heard from since.

Recognitions

On November 11, Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association will award County Executive Meyer their 2021 Distinguished Leadership Award for his work on water quality protection, limiting rural sprawl, and better planning for how communities sustainably grow.

On Saturday, October 23, 2021 County Executive Meyer was recognized by Premiere Charities in "appreciation for his dedication to serving the homeless in our community."

In Spring of 2019, Meyer was awarded the Military Order of the Purple Heart Special Recognition Award for 'dedication and support honoring America's combat wounded veterans becoming the 'Purple Heart County.' The award was presented by The Patriot Members of The Department of Delaware Military Order of the Purple Heart, USA.

In 2018, Meyer was presented a Delaware Hispanic Award for 'increasing access and opportunities for the local Latino community.'

In 2018, Meyer was recognized by the AIA for the 2018 AIA Delaware Design Award in recognition for design excellence for the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center, and recognizing the design team of Tetra Tech

On April 24, 2019, Meyer was presented a Public Service Commendation Medal for 'exceptional service contributing to the defense of the United States while serving as New Castle County Executive and supporting the mission of the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.'

On March 10, 2020, Meyer was presented the 2019 Legislative Award by theCarol Doughterty, President, Delaware Recreation and Parks Society in recognition of support for Parks and Recreation in New Castle County.

September 2020, Meyer was honored by Nuestras Raices Delaware for continued support and contributions to the Hispanic Community.

May 6, 2001 - Delaware Library Association - Distinguished Service Citation “The selection of County Executive Matt Meyer as the recipient of the Delaware Library Association’s highest honor is a great choice,” said Annie Norman, Delaware State Librarian. “County Executive Meyer is an effective collaborator and appreciates libraries’ leadership role in the social infrastructure for the benefit of Delawareans.”

Tenure

Meyer has accomplished the following as New Castle County Executive:

• Selected the first African-American police chief in the 106-year history of the 400-officer New Castle County Police Department.
• Facing growing deficits, reduced spending by over $5 million in the first 60 days and passed a $284 million budget.
• Announced, with the police chief, the kidnapping and safe release of a four-year-old girl and pleaded with the public to provide information to help identify a suspect. Several weeks later, using information provided by the public, announced an arrest.
• Hosted first-ever county Iftar dinner for leaders of all the mosques in the county.
• Proposed changes to contracting rules likely to save the county at least $2 million in annual construction spending and increase in-state apprenticeship opportunities.
• Attracted Del Monte Foods to Glasgow, Delaware, and announced the global food producer was opening its largest distribution facility in the company, likely to create thousands of jobs.
• Saved county taxpayers over $2 million by preserving hundreds of acres of county farmland at $3,000 per acre, cancelling a previous deal to preserve at $30,000 per acre.
• Announced a new and comprehensive program to address over 1300 vacant homes.
• Signed into law changes to the county's land use code to spawn job growth and innovation.
• Partnered with private sector to provide NCC firemen with naloxone to address drug overdoses.
• Selected the first African-American chief administrative officer for New Castle County.
• Instituted mandatory employee trainings on sexual harassment and expanded employee training opportunities, including on implicit biases.
• In response to rumors that a senior county police officer had sexually harassed female officers, took steps to enable any employee to file a grievance with Meyer directly; a female officer did so, and within hours the senior officer was under investigation and never worked another day as a County police officer.

COVID-19 response

National recognition for Meyer in use of federal CARES Act funds A joint report by National Association of Counties (NACO) and National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) on use of federal CARES Act funds recognized New Castle County for using “innovative strategies in deploying Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, with special attention to programs focusing on inclusive economic recovery and on assisting vulnerable and underserved populations.”

New Castle County purchases Sheraton South hotel with CARES Act money Converts hotel into state's largest emergency homeless shelter In October of 2020, New Castle County purchased the former Sheraton South Hotel at auction with a winning bid of $19.5 million. The hotel has 192 rooms and is located at 365 Airport Road, New Castle, Delaware. The current use for the building is the HOPE Center. The hotel can house more than 350 residents. As of late last week, around 320 people were living there, 150 of whom were children. So far about 38 households have moved on to permanent housing. The facility officially started welcoming guests in mid-December, 2020.

New Castle County hosts hundreds of testing sites for thousands of patients New Castle County under County Executive Matt Meyer launched a testing effort for County residents which lasted over 14 months, more than 500 locations with over 300,000 tests administered. The County concluded the testing sites after testing became more widely available.

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and US Senator Chris Coons partner to launch national service program National Health Corps Delaware "Delaware’s members, who get paid $15 an hour from New Castle County’s federal coronavirus relief funds, are assigned to Westside, the ChristianaCare health system, and Lutheran Community Services. They provide translation services at vaccination sites, assist with social media campaigns, participate in community outreach efforts, conduct research, and more. It’s a pilot program for northern Delaware that aims to assist with reducing longstanding health disparities among low-income people, including issues exacerbated by the pandemic. The Health Corps, part of AmericaCorps, also operates in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Francisco."

New Castle County and Delaware State University partner to open next generation genomics testing lab On January 29, 2021, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, Delaware State University President Tony Allen, Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester cut the ribbon and formally opened Delaware State University’s new genomics testing lab. Since announcing the partnership and New Castle County’s $5.5 million dollar investment in early November, DSU has received critical laboratory hardware, made key hires, earned regulatory approval, and retrofitted 5,600 square feet of the Kirkwood Highway campus to laboratory space. Beginning earlier this month, the lab began testing DSU’s athletic teams, and will soon begin processing tests for the whole student body. By mid-February, New Castle County hopes to purchase testing capacity from the new facility, as do Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, both prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Today, the lab, located in Wilmington can process up to 3,000 tests per day bringing the cost of processing those tests from $150 to under $10 per test. The lab will also be able to consistently deliver same-day testing results.

New Castle County Executive partners with DonorsChoose to fund state public school teachers wish list New Castle County and County Executive Matt Meyer were featured in National Association of Counties (NACo) publication “County News” for their collaboration with Donors Choose. New Castle County funded hundreds of Delaware teachers’ funding requests with over $1m in CARES Act dollars. Meyer helped New Castle County government form a partnership with Biobot, a company that analyzes sewage to estimate the number of people infected with COVID-19 in a given area.

In a July 2020 editorial for The News Journal, Meyer advocated for sending all teachers and students back to school in the fall during the coronavirus pandemic.

New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer traveled with officials from Nemours to The Gambia.While there, Meyer attended trainings in which Nemours trained medical professionals on life saving techniques when a newborn's life is in danger. He also collaborated with Mayor Talib Bensouda of Kanifing Municipality and toured a number of sites around the municipality and used no county funds on the trip. Video from the County Executive's visit was documented by QTV News

Meyer also served as 2020 United States Presidential Election correspondent for NTV SASA.

Meyer speaks fluent Swahili and conversational Spanish

Fortner Farm New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and Delaware Wildland’s Executive Director Kate Hackett on June 30, 2021 signed a first-of-its-kind partnership agreement to allow for the preservation of over 220 acres of land in southern New Castle County. Resolution 20-060 was co-sponsored by County Councilmembers Bell, Kilpatrick, and Sheldon in March 2020, which urged the County administration to investigate acquiring the property, initiating the process that resulted in this partnership.

Jack Markell Trail Meyer helped open the Jack A. Markell Trail (JAM) which connects New Castle to Wilmington via bike/walking/running trail.

Meyer, as a second-term County Executive, is limited to serving two consecutive terms in office. He is widely considered as front-runner for the democratic party's nominee for Governor of Delaware.

In June 2020, six current and former New Castle County employees filed a federal lawsuit against Meyer and other New Castle County officials alleging serial sexual harassment and assault by former New Castle County Police lieutenant colonel Quinton Watson. These accusations were made prior to Meyer being County Executive. The lawsuit calls New Castle County government a “sanctuary” for sexual harassers.

In July 2020, Meyer faced allegations he made "belligerent" calls to two mayors who are supporting his opponent, Maggie Jones, in the 2020 Democratic primary for New Castle County Executive. Both Elsmere mayor Eric Scott Thompson and Newark mayor Jerry Clifton said Meyer's phone conversations with them were heated, and they felt the county executive made threats toward their communities by telling them that he "will remember this." Meyer refused to specifically address the accusations.