Josue Ortega
DemocraticQ2 Delaware’s electricity is delivered through PJM interconnection, the regional grid operator for the mid-atlantic. Across the PJM region, electricity demand is rising in part due to large-scale data center development. What evidence-based policies, if any, would you support addressing the effects of AI-driven data center growth on electricity costs and grid reliability for Delaware’s residents?
I would support policies that make large data centers pay their fair share of the electricity and grid infrastructure costs they create, rather than shifting those costs onto Delaware households. Delaware should require transparent analysis of a proposed data center’s expected electricity demand and grid impacts before approval, coordinate with PJM on reliability planning, and encourage energy efficiency, demand response programs, and on-site or contracted clean energy resources. I would also support targeted investments in transmission and grid modernization when they demonstrably improve reliability for all Delaware residents. The goal should be responsible economic development without allowing rapid AI driven electricity demand to increase utility bills or compromise grid reliability.
Q3 Federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project that Delaware’s coastal communities face increasing risk of tidal flooding in the coming decades. What evidence-based policies, if any, would you support to help these communities respond to increased coastal flooding risk?
I would support evidence-based coastal resilience policies that prioritize protecting people, homes, infrastructure, and natural ecosystems from increasing tidal flooding. Delaware should expand flood-risk mapping and monitoring, invest in resilient roads, drainage, wastewater systems, and other critical infrastructure, and prioritize nature-based solutions such as wetlands and living shorelines where they are appropriate. State funding should be targeted toward communities with the greatest demonstrated risk, while helping residents access federal resilience and mitigation funds. We should also ensure that new development accounts for projected future flood risks rather than relying only on historical conditions.
Q9 Delaware funds youth substance-use prevention programs through the Division of Public Health and the state budget. According to the 2024 Delaware School Survey, 26% of Delaware 11th graders perceive great risk in regular marijuana use, down from 50% in 1999. What evidence-based policies, if any, would you support to address substance use among young people in Delaware and ensure drug usage decline?
I would support strengthening evidence-based prevention and early intervention programs in Delaware schools and communities, while making sure young people have access to mental health and substance use services when prevention alone is not enough. The decline in the perception that regular marijuana use is risky shows why sustained, age appropriate education is important. Delaware should use the Delaware School Survey and other public health data to identify trends, target resources to communities and populations with higher risk, and evaluate programs based on measurable outcomes. Prevention should address marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, opioids, and other substances, while giving parents, educators, and students practical information about the health, academic, and developmental consequences of substance use.