Bryon Short will be State Director for Rep. Sarah McBride beginning Jan. 3
WILMINGTON — Delaware Contractors Association Executive Vice President Bryon Short will serve as Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride’s state director starting Jan. 3.
“I’m going back to where I started my career, Short said in a brief interview Thursday. “My first grown-up position was working for then-Congressman [Tom] Carper. When folks run into the federal bureaucratic wall, it’s our job to make that huge organization navigable. That’s where my heart is. I’m incredibly pleased to get back to that.”
McBride said Short’s experience doing constituent services when Carper was both a congressman and Delaware governor and in serving as a state legislator from 2006 to 2018 was critical to her decision.
“That experience allows him to see the dual responsibilities that legislators have to be both policymakers and constituent advocates to help folks who are reaching out to their office at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives find the support and the resources that they need to get through those moments,” she said. “He understands the importance, he has the experience to understand how to do this job, and he’s got unique insights and unique experience managing folks and understanding a critical component of the work that we will do as champions and cheerleaders for Delaware when it comes to economic development.”
What Bryon Short brings to the table
Before joining DCA, Short’s experience in the General Assembly included chairing the House Economic Development Committee and co-chairing the Small Business Caucus.
When asked whether Short’s reputation as a moderate who works easily with Republicans and Democrats played a role in the decision, McBride said, “I believe if you ask my Republican colleagues in the Delaware General Assembly, they’ll tell you that I’m someone who has a pragmatic and collaborative approach to governing. Nearly every bill that I introduced in past as a state senator passed with bipartisan support. Bipartisan solutions are more durable solutions and pursuing bipartisan solutions is really a hallmark of my time in the Delaware General Assembly.
“I know Bryon shares that goal of collaborative leadership. In our state of neighbors, one of the things that makes us great is our ability to see one another as neighbors rather than as enemies to have conversations across disagreement and yes, to collaborate and find common ground. I value different perspectives, not only on my team and in my office, but whenever I’m in a space, I value having a conversation that reflects a range of perspectives and experience.”
Pursuing a metrics-based approach
McBride said she has been particularly impressed with Carper’s metrics-based approach to constituent service and hopes to build on that with Short’s help.
“Senator Carper has been very intentional about being metrics-based, meaning constituent feedback in real-time as issues come to them. ” What was the quality of your experience? Did you get your issue resolved? What was the timeline upon which actions occurred?
“You can’t always get the federal government to ‘yes’ on a particular request, but [you want to know that] constituents understand that as they evaluate the kindness that they receive, the timeliness of responses, the outcomes, and the overall satisfaction.”
But she went a step further in describing the commitment that members of the delegation who have gone before her have to constituent service.
“One of the things that Delawareans have grown to rightfully expect from their federal delegation is quality and efficient constituent services,” she said. “And that’s been true for decades from Democrats and Republicans who have served in the federal delegation. I think they have raised the bar when it comes to constituent services.”
McBride said she and Short will look to build an ethos among the staff members in the Delaware offices, where one will be located in Wilmington and the other in a to-be-determined location in Sussex County.
“I think one of the things that I have seen from all three current members of the congressional delegation is a mindset around constituent services that the caseworkers and the representatives in that office are advocates for our constituents,” she said. “It is not just about here’s handing off a phone number for who you call. It’s about advocating with federal agencies for the people we represent. Similarly, if someone comes to us with an issue that’s handled by the state government, we don’t just say, ‘Call state government.’ We help to facilitate the conversations with folks in state government.”
McBride said she could think of no better person for this role, and Short said he didn’t pause for a moment to say yes to returning to his roots.
“Bryon Short is a public servant through and through,” McBride said. “He is decent, kind, compassionate, and thoughtful, and he is in this work for the right reasons. He is in this work to give back to the state that he and I both love. And when you talk to Bryon about the work we are about to embark on, you can see the fire in his belly and the spark in his eyes because he is deeply passionate about this work. And he understands. He understands the responsibilities that he holds, that I hold, and that our office holds in delivering for Delawareans.”
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