Newark progressive Rep. John Kowalko announces retirement, third lawmaker retiring in 2022

Longtime Newark Rep. John Kowalko, an outspoken stalwart of the growing progressive faction of the Delaware Democratic Party, announced on Thursday that he will retire by the end of the year.

"There is a time for everyone to pass the baton, and this term end is my time," Kowalko said on the House floor on Thursday afternoon.

Kowalko, 76, has held the seat since 2006. His district includes the University of Delaware.

Before the 2020 elections brought in a flock of progressive newcomers, Kowalko was perhaps the most vociferously progressive member of the 41-person House. Last year, he sponsored an unsuccessful bill to raise taxes on people making more than $125,000 per year.

Fighting back tears on Thursday, Kowalko said he hopes to pass on his position to a lawmaker who is just as progressive.

The Philadelphia-raised lawmaker chairs the Manufactured Housing Committee.

Kowalko is the third lawmaker in the 62-person General Assembly who plans to retire by the end of this year.

Sen. Ernie López, a 44-year-old Republican from Lewes, announced in July he also won't seek reelection. His district is the only one in red Sussex County where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans. In an interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal, he said the time was right to "go out on my own terms."

Rep. David Bentz, a 35-year-old Democrat from Christiana, announced in August that he won't seek reelection in the November 2022 midterm election.

Before announcing last week that he plans to resign, Rep. Gerald Brady, a 65-year-old Democrat from Wilmington, also planned to retire at the end of the year.

Brady announced on Jan. 21 that he plans to resign, days before Newark police charged him with two counts of shoplifting at an Acme.

Brady had initially said in July that he would not be seeking reelection after fellow politicians and residents called for his resignation following his use of an anti-Asian slur and a joke making light of human trafficking in an email sent from his official government account.

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Sarah Gamard covers government and politics for Delaware Online/The News Journal. Reach her at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGamard.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Newark, Delaware progressive Rep. John Kowalko to retire