DELAWARE – WBOC has learned that former Delaware Governor and U.S. Representative Michael Castle has passed away.<\/p>\n
Castle served in the Delaware House of Representatives from 1966 to 1969 before becoming a state senator. In 1980, he was elected lieutenant governor in 1980, then governor in 1984. He served two terms as Delaware\u2019s governor, winning reelection in 1988.<\/p>\n
In 1992, Castle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
The Delaware Republican Party confirmed the death to WBOC on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n
News of Castle’s death on Thursday drew an outpouring of grief and fond memories from Delaware’s elected officials on both sides of the aisle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Governor and U.S. Representative Mike Castle,\u201d the Delaware State Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement. \u201cCongressman Castle\u2019s decades of dedicated public service left an enduring mark on our state. From his time in the Delaware General Assembly to serving as Lieutenant Governor, Governor, and Delaware\u2019s lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was a tireless advocate for the people he represented.\u201d<\/p>\n
“His leadership, civility, and commitment to Delaware will not be forgotten,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all who were fortunate to know him.”<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the arc of the more than 40 years that I knew him \u2013 I met him when I was 16 \u2013 he repeatedly provided his knowledge and expertise to help me along my own way,” a statement by Delaware Senator Chris Coons reads in part. “When he was a congressman and I was county executive, we worked together often, including some important investments into the C&D Canal greenway. When we eventually ran against each other, I did my absolute best to run a respectful, positive, policy-based campaign. As we campaigned against each other, I only liked him more. There was\u00a0an editorial written\u00a0about how civilized we were. I am prouder of that column than almost anything.”<\/p>\n
\u201cMike Castle was a great Delawarean who left a meaningful legacy,” State House Republican Leader Tim Dukes said. “Throughout his decades of public service, from the Delaware House of Representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives, he embodied civility, pragmatism, and a willingness to work inclusively in pursuit of the common good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a man of decency who understood the importance of respect and collaboration in public service, always working for the common good of our state of neighbors,” Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride said of the late former Congressman. “Mike helped build the Delaware of today and, in Congress, expanded investment in research, the arts, and small businesses. He worked across the aisle often and courageously.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current Governor Matt Meyer also responded to Castle’s passing.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, Delaware mourns the passing of a remarkable public servant, Mike Castle,” Meyer said in a statement. “As governor and our state\u2019s longest-serving U.S. representative, he embodied what it means to lead with principle, decency, and dedication.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring his time as governor, Mike Castle visited every single school in our state, including mine, where he spoke to my high school class with the same warmth, humility, and commitment to public service that defined his career,” Meyer continued. “That moment, among others, demonstrated what a good man he was and how deeply he cared about Delaware\u2019s future.”<\/p>\n
WBOC previously sat down with Castle as his political career came to a close in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the eight years I was Governor we always balanced the budget, we were able to reduce taxes several times, we created many jobs,\u201d Castle said at the time. \u201cMore jobs than at any other time in the history of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castle was 86.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DELAWARE – WBOC has learned that former Delaware Governor and U.S. Representative Michael Castle has passed away. Castle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,39870,2831,57930,57929,57933,24800,451,57926,57935,57934,57928,3,26184,57931,57932,452,453,9800,21,57927],"class_list":["post-83111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-castle","tag-delaware","tag-delaware-general-assembly","tag-delaware-house-of-representatives","tag-delaware-republican-party","tag-governor","tag-headlines","tag-john-carney","tag-lieutenant-governor","tag-michael-castle","tag-mike-castle","tag-news","tag-representative","tag-state-senator","tag-tireless-advocate","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-u-s-house-of-representatives","tag-united-states","tag-wboc-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}