Gary Downes, owner of Downes Insurance Associates and founder and chairman of Milford’s annual Community Unity Dinner, will challenge Gary Simpson for the 18th district seat in the state Senate.

    “I have concerns about our quality of life, and I want to join the effort to find a solution,” he said.

    Downes, a Milford native, is a former president of the Greater Milford Chamber of Commerce. In addition to his work with the Community Unity Dinner, Downes has been a Boy Scout volunteer, baseball and Parks & Rec soccer coach and a Lions Club member. He is also a Sunday school teacher at Avenue United Methodist Church, and previously taught at Calvary U.M.C.

    He said he wants to be in a position where he can “do more” for the community.

    “I just truly love lower Delaware. I can’t think of any other place I’d rather live,” he said. “I’ve been able to bring various groups together to get things accomplished, and I want to do that for the state.”

    The 18th district covers the area starting at Milford and continuing southeast to Rehoboth Beach, including Lewes, Slaughter Beach, Long Neck, eastern areas of Milton and Broadkill.

As a legislator, he hopes to focus on three issues in particular: healthcare, economic growth and land planning.

    “We’ve gotten to a place where healthcare is unaffordable for small businesses,” he said. “There needs to be affordable healthcare for all Delawareans.”

    One way to fix that, he said, is by bringing new, higher-paying businesses to Delaware.

    “There needs to be a concerted effort to attract high-tech industries to the area that pay a livable wage,” he said. “I really think we’re at risk of losing our middle class if we don’t do something.”

    He added that the state also needs to be more concerned about responsible land planning.

    “We need a policy that preserves our farmland and our open space along with our fragile inland bays,” he said. “It’s a long-term issue, and I think too many people think, ‘it’s not going to happen in my lifetime, so why bother?’ It’s never going to happen unless we get something going now.”

    Downes highlighted his own experience with business development, as the founder of his own business as well as in the Milford community at large.

    “When I was president of the Chamber of Commerce, I was a founder of the first economic development council, which was responsible for the Milford Business Park,” he said.

    In a press release, he wrote that he hopes to join a movement to make the Senate subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and to eliminate the “desk drawer veto” that allows party leaders to prevent proposed bills from ever coming to a vote.

    “I think we’re ready for a change. I’m looking forward to working with people within the district,” he said.

    Downes will hold a formal kickoff for his campaign in August.