Marty Rendon Announces Candidacy for 14th Representative District
Commissioner Marty Rendon of the Delaware Human and Civil Rights Commission this week announced his candidacy for the 14th Representative District. Rendon has served on the Commission for four years and is Chair of the Commission’s Legislative Committee. Prior to his commission service, he ran Congressional relations for UNICEF in Washington for 25 years and worked on Capitol Hill in a variety of legislative positions, including serving on the staff of the House Rules Committee for eight years. He also was Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Hunger. Regarding former Speaker of the House, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, who announced he would not be seeking re-election, Rendon says the 14th RD has been fortunate to have the Speaker as its Representative in Dover. Rendon adds that he will apply his professional experience in legislation and advocacy to be a strong voice for the district and county in the General Assembly.
Photo Credit: Cape Gazette
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He added that his service will be his “undistracted full-time job.” Rendon noted that a goalof the Commission is to promote amicable relations” among all the citizens of Delaware, and said that he will fight to protect civil rights and ensure that Delaware continues to be a welcoming place for everyone.
lssues of key concern for Rendon include preservation of the character and historic
beauty of the district, addressing environmental concerns, working to remedy traffic congestion
and provide more public transportation options, creating more affordable housing working
with small businesses to address their needs and ensure their viability, providing more job
opportunities, building upon the progress made in health care and attracting more specialist
services to the area, addressing the increasing needs of the senior population, and working to
provide the best educational opportunities for young people.
Rendon said he was announcing far in advance of the election next year in order to
‘spend time meeting with the community and listening to their concerns.’ He observed that he
“wants to bring people together in a positive, issue-oriented campaign.”
He has owned property in Sussex County since 1985 and lives in the house he built in
2005 in Rehoboth Beach.
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Marty Rendon Biography:
Martin “Marty” Rendon is a Commissioner on the Delaware Human and Civil Rights
Commission and chairs the Commission’s Legislative Committee. He was appointed to the
Commission in 2019 by Governor John Carney. As Chair of the Commission’s Legislative
Committee, Marty has lent the Commission’s support to Delaware legislation relating to issues
such as the right-to-counsel for tenants, no-excuse absentee voting, Constitutional protection
for the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination based on
sources of income, a bill of rights for those experiencing homelessness, reform of the State’s
expungement law, alignment of the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law with Federal
protections, legislation to address hate crimes, transparency for law enforcement disciplinary
records, and clarification of the State law banning discrimination based on religion in public
accommodations.
As Legislative Committee Chair, he successfully worked with the Delaware Senate and
House to pass a bill to rename the State Human Relations Commission as the Delaware Human
and Civil Rights Commission and the Division of Human Relations as the Division of Human and
Civil Rights. The bill passed both chambers unanimously and was signed into law by Governor
Carney on June 14, 2022.
In 2018, Marty retired from working in Washington for 25 years as Vice President for
Public Policy and Advocacy for UNICEF USA. In running Congressional relations for UNICEF
(United Nations Children’s Fund), he succeeded in getting Congress to approve the funding
requested by UNICEF every year. Under his leadership, UNICEF received over $2.9 billion in
regular resource contributions from the U.S. Government for its programs to save and improve
the lives of the world’s children. He also advanced a wide range of policy initiatives on global
issues affecting the survival and well-being of vulnerable children, including child and maternal
health, clean water and sanitation, basic education, children caught in emergencies, child
soldiers, child trafficking, child labor, violence against women and children, and rights for
children. At the same time, he led UNICEF USA’s efforts to build a network of advocates and
activists across the country to fight to make children a U.S. foreign policy priority.
Prior to working at UNICEF, Marty worked for over two decades on Capitol Hill, including
serving as Legislative Director to four Members of Congress, working for eight years on the
Associate Staff of the House Rules Committee, and capping his Hill career as Staff Director of
the House Select Committee on Hunger. His first job on Capitol Hill was as a paid intern to Sen.
George McGovern (D-SD).
At the Select Committee on Hunger, he oversaw the drafting of the “Freedom from
Want Act,” a blueprint to fight hunger in the United States and around the world. While he was
Staff Director, the Select Committee on Hunger received the 1992 Silver World Food Day Medal
from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Throughout his years as a
Congressional aide, he focused on global humanitarian and human rights initiatives. He served as the principal House staff contact for Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors. He
was invited to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in 1996 for his Congressional human
rights work on East Timor (Timor Leste).
Marty has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University
School of Foreign Service and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown Law Center. He spent his
Junior Year at the University of Madrid. He also has a diploma and certification from the
National Personal Training Institute and worked for six years as a part-time personal trainer for
the Prince William County Virginia Park Authority. Marty grew up in Springfield, Ohio. He was
Valedictorian of his class at Catholic Central High School and admitted to that school’s Hall of
Honor in 2014.
He served on the Board of Delaware Stonewall PAC from 2020 to 2022.
He is a professed Secular Franciscan and Vice Minister of the St. Clare Secular Franciscan
Fraternity at St. Edmond’s Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Marty moved permanently to his second home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 2018
following his retirement. He has owned property in Sussex County since 1985 and has lived at
his current residence since 2005.
