Gov. Carney reflects on time as Delaware governor during his final State of the State address

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democrat John Carney touted job growth and increased school funding as being among the highlights of his two terms as Delaware’s governor in his final State of the State address Tuesday.

Carney, who took office in 2017 and is barred from seeking a third term because of term limits, also noted record infrastructure plans in each of the past three years, and his focus on ensuring that budget growth is sustainable.

“We’ve kept our fiscal house in order,” he said in a speech to the General Assembly in Dover. “We turned a $400 million dollar budget deficit in 2017 to $400 million in reserves. That’s a big deal.”

Affordable housing programs, green energy initiatives and gun control also made Carney’s list of achievements.

“In this last year, I’m focused on leaving the state in a better place than I found it,” said Carney, who is eyeing a bid to become mayor of Wilmington.

“I can confidently say that the state of our state is strong. And getting stronger by the day,” he added.

Among the unfinished business Carney wants to address during his final months in office is legislation to permanently control growth in the operating budget, which has seen annual increases approaching 10% in recent years.

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