Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Applauds President-Elect Biden’s Appointment of Diverse Leaders, Calls on John Carney to Appoint Diverse Candidates to Delaware’s Courts and State Government

The President-Elect announced that people of color will comprise nearly half of his transition team, bucking his roots in the elitist “Delaware Way”

DOVER, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--President-elect Biden announced his transition team this week, fulfilling a promise to make his transition team, staff and future cabinet “a reflection of who we are as a nation.” The President confirmed his commitment to diversity while planning his transition in his home state of Delaware, where diversity in leadership is woefully inadequate.

The President-elect’s commitment stands in stark contrast to the most recent appointment by Delaware Governor John Carney, who replaced the first African American Justice on the Delaware Court of Chancery with another white man, making Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court all-white once again. The appointment was even more disconcerting given the egregious ongoing inequality in Delaware’s judiciary compared to its prison population. While Delaware’s judiciary is only 15% comprised of people of color, 60% of the state’s prison population are people of color. The Governor also recently appointed a white woman, Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, to lead outreach to Black communities that have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

“We are very encouraged to see Delaware leaders’ excitement for President-elect Biden and we hope that it translates to an emulation of his exemplary commitment to diversity, which is disturbingly lacking in Delaware’s own leadership,” said Chris Coffey, Campaign Manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware.

“For years, we have asked Governor Carney to be accountable to communities of color and their needs. A tangible step to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to diversity would be to appoint people of color to open judiciary seats, his Covid-19 outreach teams, and to his own cabinet, where representation from people of color and women are not reflective of Delaware’s residents. To truly break the cycle of homogenous power held by white men in Delaware’s legal industry, which is perpetuated by elite law firms like Skadden Arps, Governor Carney should follow President-elect Biden’s commitment to diversity in his own administration.”

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.