MEET RAY
New Leadership Delivering Results for Our Community
I believe the Brandywine and Claymont areas are a great place to live because we share a common ideal: community. I am running for Senate because I have the best experience, knowledge, and compassion to serve our District as a full-time Senator without conflicting interests. As a former State Representative inside the 5th Senate District, I have balanced policy in Dover and commitment to local improvements like filling potholes, participating in local meetings, and supporting individual needs that require government support.
I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in Philadelphia as the son of a union electrician and a mother who ran a small business. My working-class upbringing taught me the value of hard work. I was the first in my family to go to college graduating from Bloomsburg University with a BA in political science and an MA in Administration from Antioch University, where the school's motto was "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. Both of these life experiences inspired me towards a life serving others.
After college, my first job was at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, where, in addition to teaching, I was elected President of the Teachers Union, helping them to negotiate their first contract. I then obtained a position as an entry-level manager at a hospital.
Over the years of working at several hospitals, I worked my way up to become SVP at the largest Delaware hospital system, where I administered the second-largest division with 1,100 employees and was accountable for a multimillion-dollar budget. As SVP, I participated in the hospital's strategy and budget planning.
I then became a full-time professor teaching health policy, finance, and business classes at the School of Global Business at Arcadia University
Later, I was elected as State Representative of District 7, where I was vice chair of the Health and Human Development Committee and earned the respect and trust of both House and Senate members.
Most recently, I became a founding member of RISE Delaware, an organization whose purpose is to ensure that retirees and state employee maintain their health insurance.
I have been elected to the Arden Community Planning Committee, where I served as chairman, providing solutions to many issues facing our neighborhood. I led the effort to certify all of The Ardens Accessory Dwelling Units, working with County Councilman John Cartier. I led the way again to create and implement a Vacant Housing Ordinance that protects our community's health, safety, and welfare. I also chaired the committee to run the Arden Fair.
I served on the Wilmington Hope Commission, an organization that provides education that focuses on breaking the chain of recidivism that sees too many young black men leave prison only to be caught up in crime again. I hired graduates of this program to work at the hospital.
Thank you for your time, and I appreciate your support.
