Miro latest legislator to not seek another term

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Miro
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Long-time State Rep. Joe   Miró, R-Newark, announced he will step down at the end of his current term.

Miró, 71,   has represented the 22nd District since 1998 served on the New Castle County Council from 1992 to 1998.

Miró was born in Cuba worked as a teacher during much of his legislative career.

Miró, represents a heavily Republican district north of Newark.  He is one of a dwindling group of moderate Republicans in Dover. He served on the Joint Finance Committee for a number years and sponsored a bill to ban the use of handsets from mobile devices while driving.

Recently, he sponsored legislation to lower the blood-alcohol level legal limit for drivers.

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The  GOP has moved further to the right in central and southern Delaware. Both Kent and Sussex counties were carried by President Donald Trump in 2016. New Castle County remains in the Democratic column.

Miro faced a primary challenge from Michael Smith four years ago. After defeating Smith, Miró went on to win easily over the Democratic challenger.

A number of legislators from both sides of the aisle have announced plans to not run for re-election, citing age, health and other factors.

The state also faces the long-term issues of high health care costs for residents and state employees, as well as a structural budget deficit that has been made worse by health care costs and according to some critics excessive spending.

Born in Matanzas, Cuba,  Miró, arrived in the U.S.  56 years ago this month at the age of 15 – one of more than 14,000 youths who left Cuba between December 1960 and October 1962 after fleeing the Castro regime.

About half of the Cuban minors were reunited in the U.S. with relatives or friends. The other half, including Joe Miro, were placed in temporary shelters for eventual relocation. That process eventually led him to Wilmington.

“I’m very happy to have come to here,”   said  Miró,, who attended high school in Delaware and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at nearby colleges. “I have five kids and a wife of 49 years, so I was really very fortunate to come to a wonderful place like Delaware, where I was able to take advantage of the opportunities this country has to offer. One of the reasons I ran for office is that I wanted to give back to this country for the opportunity it’s provided to me and my family to have the American dream.”

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