Jack Markell

Jack Markell
Governor of Delaware
Incumbent
In office
January 20, 2009 - Present
Term ends
2017
Years in position	4
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Janet Rzewnicki
Compensation
Base salary	$171,000
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 4, 2008
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	2 terms
Prior offices
Delaware State Treasurer
1999 - 2009
Education
High school	Newark High School
Bachelor's	Brown University
Master's	University of Chicago
Personal
Birthday	November 26, 1960
Place of birth	Centreville, Delaware
Profession	Businessman
Religion	Jewish
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Jack A. Markell (born November 26, 1960 in Centerville, Delaware) is the current Democratic an Governor of Delaware. Markell took the oath of office as the 73th governor of Delaware on January 20, 2009. He is the state's first Jewish governor.

He previously served three terms as state treasurer.

Biography

Markell graduated from Newark High School and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, with degrees in economics and development studies and received an MBA degree from the University of Chicago. He is married to Carla Markell, whom he met while attending Newark High School. They have two children, Molly and Michael.

Markell served as Vice President for Corporate Development at Nextel, where he was responsible for coming up with the name “Nextel,” and helping to lead the movement to wireless technology. His other work experience included a senior management position at Comcast Corporation as well as posts as a consultant at McKinsey and Company, Inc. and as a banker at First Chicago Corporation.

Education

• BA in Economics/Development Studies, Brown University
• MBA in University of Chicago

Political career

Delaware Governor (2009-Present)

Markell was first elected Delaware Governor in 2008. Markell took the oath of office as the 73th governor of Delaware on January 20, 2009, becoming the state's first Jewish governor.

Issues

Gun control

In the wake of the December 2012 shooting in Newton, Connecticut, Markell proposed a package of gun-control legislation that includes background checks for private gun sales, banning assault type weapons and ammunition clips holding more than five rounds for rifles and 10 rounds for handguns.

School safety legislation

Markell made instituting school safety plans a priority of his administration, announcing it in his State of the State address in 2011. On September 11, 2012, Markell signed into law a bill creating a formal statewide framework for school safety plans. The bill, Senate Bill 233, the Omnibus School Safety Act, would make Delaware the first state in country with statewide protocol. The bill requires the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security to work with schools, districts and first responders to develop comprehensive, up-to-date safety plans. Each safety plan will be coordinated with law enforcement agencies, fire departments and other first responders and will comply with the National Incident Management System. “We want our kids to go as far as their potential will take them but, we can’t control everything. For students to learn to the best of their abilities, they need, first and foremost, to be safe. Our goal is to bring comprehensive school safety plans to every public school and district in our state. This law is an important part of an ambitious, multi-year effort to make our schools and the students in our schools safer," Markell said in a press conference on Sept. 10 after signing the bill.

Disability services

On August 3, 2012 Markell signed two bills providing services for people with hearing and speech disabilities. One bill, Senate Bill 248, provides telecommunications services for the deaf and those with hearing loss or speech disabilities. The other, House Bill 384, updates the Universal Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening Act. The update requires a tracking and intervention protocol when a child has been identified as needing additional hearing services. It also creates the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Board.

Campaign finance reform

Markell signed into law on August 16, 2012 three pieces of legislation aimed at increasing transparency and providing greater and more timely information to voters and residents of Delaware. The three pieces of legislation - all in effect since January 1, 2013 - include House Bill 300, House Bill 310, and Senate Bill 185. The first major overhaul of Delaware’s campaign finance laws in more than 20 years, HB 300, also known as the Delaware Elections Disclosure Act, closed a "loophole" with campaign advertisements, and mandates prompt reporting of third-party spending on campaign ads. The others increased the penalties for late filing of elections disclosure reports from $50 a month to $50 a day and $50 a day for incomplete campaign finance reports and enhanced disclosure requirements for lobbyists.

Public employee pensions

Markell's plan to cut public employee pension and health benefits received overwhelming support from officials within his administration, legislators and even public employee union officials. The proposal, which became law on May 2, 2011, called for new state employees to pay 5% of their salary after the first $6,000 towards their pension, rather than 3%. It also eliminated the use of overtime when calculating pensions and the "double state share" health care benefit. According to the governor's office, the plan will save Delaware taxpayers $130 million over the next five years and $480 million over the next fifteen.

Same-sex marriage

On April 8, 2013, Markell spoke in support of same-sex marriage legislation at the University of Delaware Trabant center. “If you promise to do your part and to assure that the marriage equality bill reaches my desk this year, I make a promise to you. I will sign it,” the governor stated.

Three days later Markell held a press conference to announce the introduction of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

Delaware Treasurer (1999-2009)

Markell was first elected Treasurer of Delaware in 1998, unseating Republican incumbent Janet C. Rzewnicki, and was re-elected in 2002 and 2006.

Information technology

In 2001, then-Governor Ruth Ann Minner chose Markell to chair the Information Services Task Force, which developed and implemented recommendations to modify the state's management of information technology. In 2002 he led an effort to streamline and coordinate the procurement of goods and services while using state of the art purchasing techniques.

He has also led the “Health Rewards” initiative which offers Delaware state government employees with comprehensive physical assessments, detailed statistics about how their health compares with their peers across the country and recommendations about how they can improve their health.

Financial Literacy Initiatives

As State Treasurer, Markell led the development of several educational efforts in personal financial management, known collectively as "the Financial Literacy initiatives." He created the Delaware Money School which offers free classes to Delawareans throughout the year on topics such as saving for college and retirement planning. He also began the “Delaware Bank at School Program” which takes banks and financial education to schools. In a third program, he has partnered with the University of Delaware, Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, as well as leading Delaware banks, to teach young children the basics of money and savings.

Elections

2012

See also: Delaware gubernatorial election, 2012

Markell won re-election to the governor's office in 2012 on the Democratic ticket. The primary election was held on September 11, 2012, and the general election was on November 6, 2012. Markell ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 11, 2012.

Governor of Delaware General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Markell Incumbent	69.3%	275,993
	Republican	Jeff Cragg	28.6%	113,793
	Libertarian	Jesse McVay	0.9%	3,668
	Green	Mark Joseph Perri	1.1%	4,575
Total Votes				398,029
Election Results via Delaware Board of Elections.

Endorsements

Markell was endorsed by the Barbara Gittings Delaware Stonewall Democrats.

Campaign finance

Roughly $1 million, or about 52 percent of the $1.9 million raised for Markell's governor’s campaign between January 2011 and October 2012 came from outside the state. According to his campaign finance reports, in 2011 and 2012 about $964,500, or less than half of the money raised by Markell’s campaign, came from Delaware contributors, including $75,000 from the state Democratic Party.

More than 18 percent, or $368,300 – came from more than 560 donors in Pennsylvania, with nearly $112,000 coming from Maryland and $257,750, roughly 13 percent, from donors in New York and New Jersey. Markell's campaign finance reports also show money for his campaign coming from Alabama, Maine, Colorado, Montana, and one donor from Japan.

Markell’s fundraising for the 2012 campaign differed from the 2008 race, when reportedly 60 percent of the more than $4 million he raised came from businesses and individual donors in Delaware.

2008

On November 4, 2008, Markell easily defeated Republican William Swain Lee to win the governorship.

Delaware Governor, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Markell	67.5%	266,861
	Republican	William Swain Lee	32%	126,662
	Blue Enigma	Jeffrey Brown	0.4%	1,681
Total Votes				395,204

• Primary

Delaware Governor Democratic Primary, 2008
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jack Markell	51.2%	37,849
John Carney	48.8%	36,112
Total Votes		73,961

2006

On November 7, 2006, Markell easily won re-election as state treasurer.

Delaware State Treasurer, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Markell	70.5%	174,388
	Republican	Esthelda R. Parker Selby	29.5%	73,005
Total Votes				247,393

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Jack Markell's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Jack Markell's Campaign Contributions
	2008 Governor of Delaware		2006 Delaware Treasurer		2002 Delaware Treasurer
Total Raised	$3,751,960		$973,710		$490,182
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$491,676 (Dem.)		$23,262 (Rep.)		$23,420 (Rep.)
Top 5 contributors	Delaware Democratic Party	$75,000	Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg & Ellers	$1,400	Mr. and Mrs. Wayland Hicks	$2,000
	Safeway	$2,400	Dilsheimer Communities	$1,400	Food and Commercial Workers Local 27	$1,750
	York Farms Associates	$2,400	Jack B. Blumenfeld	$1,300	Edis Co	$1,600
	Ace American Insurance	$2,400	Ian Connor Bifferato	$1,200	Jack P. Stoltz	$1,500
	James J. Roszkowski	$2,400	Farley Printing Co Inc	$1,200	Donald J. Puglisi	$1,450
Individuals	$2,178,895		$759,379		$383,381
Institutions	$521,821		$160,780		$93,053
In-state donations	$1,596,328		$520,166		$308,308
Out-of-state donations	$1,229,967		$403,965		$175,054

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Jack + Markell + Delaware + Governor"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Jack Markell News Feed

• Gov. Jack Markell Talks Guns And Gay Marriage - Huffington Post
• Home > Opinion > Delaware's Jack Markell Aims to Raise the Bar for Teachers - U.S. News & World Report
• Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signs gay marriage bill into law - New York Daily News
• Governor Jack Markell weekly address: New ideas to employ those with disabilities - WDDE 91.1 FM
• Governor Jack Markell weekly address: Job training and lifelong learning - WDDE 91.1 FM
• Governor Jack Markell weekly address: Touting Delaware's trails - WDDE 91.1 FM
• Delaware governor fears impact of closing 'loophole' - Tribune-Review
• Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, Delaware Gov. and NGA Chairman ... - Business Wire (press release)
• REMINDER/ National Foster Care Month: Del. Governor Jack Markell, Child ... - Wall Street Journal (press release)
• Governor Jack Markell weekly address: Same-sex marriage and gun sale ... - WDDE 91.1 FM

Contact information

Dover Office
Tatnall Building
William Penn Street, 2nd Fl.
Dover, DE 19901

Telephone: (302) 744-4101
Fax: (302) 739-2775

See also

• Governor of Delaware
• Delaware gubernatorial election, 2012
• Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
• Lieutenant Governor Matthew P. Denn
• Delaware governor signs school safety bill September 13, 2012
• Governor of Delaware approves new campaign finance requirements August 28, 2012
• Delaware governor signs bills providing services for the hearing and speech impaired August 14, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Governor of Delaware website
• Campaign website
• Jack Markell at Project VoteSmart
• Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008 (Governor), 2008 (Treasurer), 2006, 2004, 2002
• Gov. Jack Markell YouTube channel
• Jack Markell on Facebook
• Jack Markell on Twitter

References

Political offices
Preceded by Ruth Ann Minner	Governor of Delaware 2009-present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by Janet Rzewnicki	Delaware State Treasurer 1999-2009	Succeeded by Velda Jones-Potter