Rep. Stell Parker Selby resigns from Delaware House following stroke

by Jarek Rutz, Milford Live, June 24, 2025 (link)

State Representative Stell Parker Selby (D-Milton) has resigned from the Delaware House of Representatives following a serious medical issue that has prevented her from participating in the 2025 legislative session.

House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown announced Tuesday that she received Parker Selby’s letter of resignation.

Parker Selby, who was re-elected in November 2024 to represent the 20th District, has been absent from legislative proceedings this year due to her ongoing health recovery.

With only four meeting days remaining in the 2025 legislative calendar, Parker Selby’s departure leaves her seat vacant as the General Assembly wraps up its work for the year.

According to Delaware law, a special election must be held to fill the vacancy.

Minor-Brown said she will issue a writ of election within 10 days, setting the special election date between 30 and 35 days after the writ is issued.

Parker Selby, a retired educator and long-time community advocate, was first elected in 2022.

“I know I’m not alone in saying that I have deep respect for Stell Parker Selby, not just as a legislator, but as a person,” Minor-Brown said in a statement. “She has spent the past five decades actively serving her community and I know firsthand that this was not an easy decision for her and her family to come to.”

Stell came up through the segregated school system of Sussex County and went on to become a beloved educator, respected administrator, councilwoman, vice mayor, and ultimately, the first Black person ever elected from Sussex County to the Delaware General Assembly, Minor-Brown pointed out.

“There aren’t many people around who have lived in the Lewes and Milton community without Stell’s presence,” she said. “Her deep, personal connection to her home was cultivated through her lifelong commitment to helping those around her. That’s what made her such an effective advocate and trusted voice for the people of the 20th District. She’s touched so many lives over the years, and I know the thousands of people she’s served in her time feel as proud of her as we do.”