Delaware Broadband Office leader shares why he’s leaving for a role with Sarah McBride

Next month, Executive Director of the Delaware Broadband Office Roddy Flynn will start a new position as chief of staff for Delaware’s new US Rep. Sarah McBride, a year and nine months since he was selected to lead the then-new agency.

Last week, the state announced preliminary grant awards to Comcast and Verizon to complete the buildout of internet access to all unconnected homes in the state. Delaware is the second state to clear the proposal process of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, after Louisiana. 

“We’re still going to beat Louisiana,” Flynn said, referring to the race to be the first to have 100% high-speed internet access statewide. 

There is one final approval needed from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration before the state can officially start permitting and building the infrastructure to connect the last remaining undeserved residences. 

It may seem like a strange time to leave, as everything the office has worked for is coming together, but Flynn couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work beside longtime friend McBride on Capitol Hill.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” said Flynn, who attended high school at Archmere Academy. 

They both went on to work for civil rights in Washington, where they often crossed paths.

“When she was the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, I was the executive director of the LGBT Equality Caucus in the House,” he said, “so we worked very closely together during that process.”

Flynn previously worked as chief of staff for Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania before leading the Delaware Broadband Office.

Flynn leans into the ‘chaos’ of the House 

Rep-elect McBride has already been the target of some Congressional rulings as the first openly trans member of US Congress but said she will stay focused on serving her constituents rather than getting caught up in the fray.

“I think she’ll be successful, even in the chaos of the House of Representatives,” Flynn said. “Something I really love about the House is that you can get things done even in a chaotic environment in the minority because there are things like amendments that you can work in to get things done for your constituents.” 

Flynn sees his tenure leading the Delaware Broadband Office as a rare opportunity for someone in his line of work to be on the ground implementing a program that he had a hand in developing. When he was in Congress before, he worked on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, then worked with the Biden Administration on implementing the program. 

“I’ve learned a lot of lessons about how to design programs like this going forward,” Flynn said of his time in the on-the-ground position. “It’s been really valuable.”

Part of that on-the-ground work included the reality that hundreds of addresses with little to no internet infrastructure are unmapped, requiring people to physically search for them or leave some Delawareans behind.  

That kind of attention to making sure the most marginalized residents are not left out, he says, gave him a renewed hope that government can improve people’s lives.

“The homes we’re serving right now would never get internet access without government investment,” Flynn said. “There’s no business case for a lot of these homes to ever get service.”

As he moves on back to the halls of Congress, Flynn plans to stay put in Delaware, commuting to DC while the House is in session. 

“I moved back to Delaware for a reason,” Flynn said. “I love Delaware, and I want to be here.” 

➡️ Read more:

• Delaware election 2024: Congressional candidates debate tech, AI
• A conversation on gender equity in the workplace with Sarah McBride
• 5 questions with Delaware Broadband Director Roddy Flynn