DOVER, Del. - Delaware Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola is raising concerns after Gov. Matt Meyer removed longtime Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council member Mike Houghton, a move Sokola said could undermine the state’s budgeting process.
Just days after Houghton expressed concern about the lack of corporate tax revenue data provided by Meyer's administration, he was removed. Sokola, a former DEFAC member, issued a statement on Thursday defending Houghton and warning against what he described as political interference in DEFAC’s work.
“Delaware’s tradition of responsible budgeting is centered on DEFAC’s ability to do its job free from undue political interference. The Governor’s decision to remove Mike Houghton from DEFAC for publicly asking questions about our state’s corporate franchise tax revenue threatens a process that has benefitted Delaware for 50 years," Sokola said.
Meyer noted that Houghton had served as chair for eight years and remained on the council during a transition period.
“We're not removing him because he did a terrible job. We just want new blood on there. He'd been in there over a year, and it was time to remove him,” Meyer said.
Sokola emphasized the importance of open dialogue within the council.
“I believe it's not only a member’s right to ask questions, but our responsibility to do so. Our job is to assemble and understand various data sets so that we can project State revenues with the kind of accuracy that allows policy makers to build a responsible budget,” he said.
The state senator also questioned whether the decision aligns with Meyer’s stated leadership priorities.
“Governor Meyer promised Delawareans that he would be a collaborative leader whose administration prioritizes transparency, but this maneuver stands in contrast to those values," said Sokola. "I am hopeful cooler heads can prevail, reconciliation can occur, Mike Houghton is reinstated, and Delawareans are given full and unfettered access to the critical data we need to make responsible fiscal policy on their behalf.”
Meyer defended the decision, having said it was part of a broader effort to refresh boards and commissions across the state.
“if I was elected on any principle, it was that Delaware is a government for everyone. We are a democracy. We are a participatory democracy. There are hundreds of boards and commissions to which I appoint people. When I came into office last January, fourteen months ago, one thing we did is we started an exhaustive review of all boards and commissions,” Meyer said.
He added that many members across various boards had served extended terms.
“There were many people on there that were there for years and years, and we said, ‘Just for the sake of our state, let's get new blood on there.’ DFAC, the, the Delaware Financial Advisory Committee, very important committee that makes revenue projections and financial projections for our state in putting together our budget, we overhauled it, put a new chairperson in,” Meyer said.
The DEFAC was created in 1977 by Governor Dupont as a tool to improve the state's fiscal management practices. The council is charged with providing non-partisan and objective revenue and expenditure estimates to the governor and general assembly.