Trustee Election: Meet the Candidates
3 Candidates Make Their Case for Your Vote in the 2/28-3/5 Poll at Town Hall
The first of three elections expected this year to bring the Board of Trustees of New Castle Common back up to thirteen members begins next week. Town Topics: New Castle reached out to the three candidates in the race to learn who they are and a bit about why they are running. Each was asked two broad questions: “what qualifies you to serve?” and “what would your goals be as a Trustee?”
Their responses are below, in alphabetical order: Tina Loncki Masiello, Angelo Rispoli, Sr., and Sheila A. Shannon. Candidates’ responses are unedited except for typo corrections and spacing changes. A more in-depth Q&A with each candidate will appear in The Weekly coming out on Wednesday, 2/23, with questions delving into their understanding of the Trust itself, as well as current issues like the planned dog park.
Voting begins on 2/28 … for full information on registration and voting, see the bottom of this page or visit the Trustees’ website.
Tina Loncki Masiello
What do you feel qualifies you to serve?
What qualifies me to serve on the board of Trustees is first and foremost my lifelong commitment to the city of New Castle, where I was raised. I’ve not strayed. I schooled here, worked here, played here, shopped here, celebrated here, and raised my family here. The land has been preserved, nearly identical to the way it has always been. The amenities are still available and the advancements are easy to see. I know that was through the hard work of many who have served before me; I am ready to give of my time to make sure New Castle stays relevant in a way that honors the rich history that is unique to us.
I am a master’s prepared nurse and a board certified Nurse Practitioner. I routinely deal with emergencies and critical care. This requires empathy, people and peer skills, analytical skills, and communication skills. Good nursing is rooted in the Care Plan. The 5 steps are assessment, diagnosis, planning, Implementation, and evaluation. These are the steps that work when tackling any problem and employing this strategy for the last 36 years has enabled me to provide excellent and safe care; it gets me an “outstanding” rating on all annual performance reviews and it helped me to be named Clinician of the Year in 2017. I have been managing a busy orthopedic clinic for 20 years; I have had to learn how two learn. We can’t know the potential minutiae of all our endeavers but you do have to be competent and confident and willing to listen. I expect there will be a learning period and I am adaptable and a very quick study.
I’m detail oriented, hard working, results oriented and I care deeply care about our world and what we are leaving for future generations. The biggest impact I can make is on the world I know so well, which is Historic New Castle.
What would be your goals as a Trustee?
I am confident in my abilities to perform diligently and make sound judgements regardless of the committees to which I am assigned; however, I do believe Outreach(handling community grants) and Property Maintenance (handling open space and recreational facilities) are two for which I am well prepared.
I also think I would like to enable a proactive approach to the relationship between the Trustees and the City. Possibly a new committee that works on the process and the planning to get things done more efficiently.
Angelo Rispoli, Sr.
What do you feel qualifies you to serve?
The fact that I’ve been able to survive as a free enterprise contractor for 35+ years (exclusively) in the city of New Castle’s command economy is testament that something needs to be said for my quality control in business and good moral standing.
My perseverance to succeed with such enormous opposition only solidifies my dedication to the city and its residents. I propose to bring that same determination, dedication and high quality moral standards to the board.
What would be your goals as a Trustee?
I plan to unite the resident voters from all TNCC political factions to form a Resident Voters Faction aside and secondary to all others. A political faction made up of only residents who’s primary goal will be to assure that any future TNCC grants and investments are made within the city’s boundaries.
A resident voters adversary group will provide security for the residents of New castle A resident voter will no longer be encouraged to show support anything or anyone that doesn’t benefit the city of new castle.
I will encourage a long overdue rapid expansion of the city’s boundaries through the annexation of surrounding properties in order to make room for future investments within the citys boundaries. Building new neighborhoods for the existing non resident TNCC community of vendors, if they should be so inclined to move into our city.
I will encourage the annexation of all existing neighborhoods that are located west of Route 13, from Wilmington to as far south as Red Lion Creek, in order to expand the responsibilities of our city’s services. Invite outside investors to build facilities that benefit and enhance the lives of the residents of the city of New Castle. Shopping malls, sports complex, convention center, parks etc.
With resident voter support, I hope to build a city that we can all be proud of. A city that once again, supports family values. This is my 5th run for a Trustees seat. I wish good luck to both of my opponents.and god bless everyone (residents and non residents).
Sheila A. Shannon
What do you feel qualifies you to serve?
I believe that my Master’s degree in Civil/Environmental engineering and my more than 30 years of experience working in the field has qualified me to serve as a Trustee. I have been responsible for creating and managing capital, and operating and maintenance budgets of more than fifteen million dollars annually. I have also managed complex, difficult projects such as large treatment plant expansions. I had the responsibility for environmental regulatory compliance (state and federal) for the 110 plus drinking water systems which I managed at Tidewater Utilities. I retired from Tidewater as the Director of Water Quality in 2020.
As an engineer, I was responsible for solving problems and I have had the opportunity to work on many interesting and unique projects over my career. I have experience working with leadership teams, regulators, consultants, and private industry. I understand and can evaluate contracts and Requests for Proposals (RFPs). I am experienced in working through committees. I sat on the Water Supply Coordinating Council for the State of Delaware since its inception in 2000, on the Governor’s Drought Advisory Committee, the Environmental Committee of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and the Committee of 100. I have worked collaboratively with regulators such as DNREC and the EPA and with private industry on infrastructure projects. I was Blessed to enjoy a long and satisfying career. I feel this experience can be useful to the Board of Trustees of the New Castle Common. I simply want to help and feel I can.
What would be your goals as a Trustee?
As a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Castle Common, I would like to find a way to improve communication between the Trust and the residents of the city in a constructive and cooperative manner. I see this as a missed opportunity. The Trust is responsible for so many good things around our city and this information could be shared in a more productive way.
An Important Institution, A Unique Election Process
The Trustees of New Castle Common manage a roughly $17M portfolio of real estate and other assets ‘for the behoof and use’ of the residents of New Castle. Originally comprising over 1,000 acres of literal ‘common land’ used as pastures and open space, the grant from the family of William Penn to the people of New Castle today benefits the city in various ways. These range from support for local institutions like the library and Good Will, to scholarships and grants to organizations, development of the Hermitage and other wild/open spaces, management of Battery Park, and more.
Those elected to the non-profit Board of Trustees serve for 12 years and make decisions about how to shepherd this ‘Common’ in perpetuity. The board has held public elections among 1-year residents of the city in order to replenish its number at least since the 1800’s, with Trustees until just a few decades ago serving for life. Each election is a new opportunity for residents to educate themselves about this special institution and have their say in who manages it.
Importantly, because the Trust is not part of the government, qualified voters must register specially for Trustee elections. This can be done at the Trust office during its open hours, remotely using a form available online, or at the Trust office on the day of voting. A valid state-issued ID showing an address in the city limits of New Castle is required.
Thanks to each of the candidates for their responses and for stepping forward to serve the people of New Castle. All the basic info needed to get involved is on the flyer below, and a wealth of information about the Trust, its election process, its history and much more, can be found at Trusteesncc.org.
And remember to pick up a copy of The Weekly on Wednesday for more from the current candidates!