Mayrack v Suspenders
It is strange to think that the marquee races this year are for Treasurer and Auditor. It is strange to think that these are even elective office, but they are so let’s take a look, shall we?
To me this comes down to whether Suspenders is even going to put up a fight. As of the last reporting deadline he had about twenty bucks on him and he was looking longingly at a Giacomo’s in Green Tree Plaza, so who knows where he stands now.
Meanwhile Mayrack is plugged into all the right networks and used them to cruise to an 85% primary win over Ken Matlusky. Wait… what? Are you freaking kidding me? But I was just about to say something terribly condescending about Matlusky and now find out that he got …45% of the primary vote? That does not compute.
Anyway, now is when I add that Matlusky is a nice guy who should not interpret that vote total as an endorsement to run for something in the future. Because, after all, you can’t write about Ken Matlusky without saying he is a nice guy and then adding something condescending.
So does that primary result tell us something? Not really. Suspenders will run on his record of not auditing things until an audit is completely superfluous.
Mayrack will run on being smart and perfect for the job. She has the registration edge, while Suspenders has the cumber-bun. I mean incumbency. I think this is very nearly a toss-up, but give the edge right now to Mayrack until Suspenders either raises some money or Mayrack says something outrageously racist. For the record I’m not holding my breath while I wait for either of those things to happen.
Don’t forget option 3, where Suspenders withdraws due to some unspecified “health issue” and the GOP names Sher Valenzuela as the replacement candidate.
That would spice it up.
I am not sure how serious Suspenders is about winning re-election but he was at Delaware’s gay pride festival shaking hands. Yes. Gay. Pride.
I wonder if the Sussex County Tea Party Christian Dominionists are aware of this?
The Democrats had a booth set up and Mayrack was out in full force with t-shirted team members walking around. Suspenders? He and one other guy with a camera in a candidate tshirt.
If Shersuspenders happens, Jason, the heavy drinking session is on me.
I wouldn’t read too much into the Auditor primary. Matlusky’s primetime WDEL ad mentioning that he was a Sallies grad and a CPA probably got him 2,000 votes. He probably got another 1,000 by people with zero knowledge pushing the first button in the race to make that annoying green light go off.
At the end Mayrack won. It doesn’t matter if she didn’t “beat the spread”. There is also something to be said for keeping your powder dry.
Matlusky received 47% in the 2010 Primary against Richard Korn. Wagner beat Korn that November by .6%. The increase in the Democratic registration margin alone wipes out that .6%.
You guys always rip on Wagner but the guy just keeps winning elections. Whether by one vote or not, a win is a win.
Brenda is the perfect candidate for Wagner to run against and beat because the messaging shapes up so well. And Wagner has been saying it already – “Can you trust the former executive director of the Democratic Party to investigate and hold accountable the very same people whom she helped elect in the first place? Or, do you prefer to have an Auditor from the opposition party with some independence, etc. etc. etc.”
If the R’s are successful in making this a referendum on competence and experience actually doing the job in November, both Wagner and Simpler could win. But I’d fully expect that would require Wagner riding Simpler’s ability to raise money to develop joint messaging pieces.
In less than two short months we’ll know the answer…
At my polling place the Auditor race was the only Democratic primary contest. I don’t know what the auditor does nor had I heard of the candidates. I voted for Mayrack purely at random.I suppose I am the personification of what the teabaggers call the low information voter.
Whether by one vote or not, a win is a win.
Wagner won over Korn by something like .8 or .9%. For someone who keeps winning elections, that spread looks like vulnerability. The thing for Wagner is that he has to explain again why he hasn’t done the job he ought to be doing. If there is so much accountability to be had, Wagner has been a spectacular failure in getting ANY of it.
“Can you trust the former executive director of the Democratic Party to investigate and hold accountable the very same people whom she helped elect in the first place? ”
That could be a strong argument except for this: Wagner has not held anyone accountable from either party for the past 4 years.
Hey Now….. Giacomo’s is awesome, if there is any place to have a last meal its there.
Damn straight.
“Can you trust the former executive director of the Democratic Party to investigate and hold accountable the very same people whom she helped elect in the first place? ”
Said without any knowledge of the exec. directors job, obviously.
Again, Wagner has managed to keep his job for two reasons:
1) nobody knows or cares much about the office.
2) some people in positions of authority (Rs and Ds alike) are completely content to have an inept lazy auditor not looking at their books.
One fact remains true, Wagner has not been a good steward with the peoples money. School Districts supplying information and Wagner signing off on it is not an audit.
“Said without any knowledge of the exec. directors job, obviously.”
The Executive Director’s job is something other than to elect Democrats?
That explains EVERYTHING.
It is a stretch for ANYONE to believe that this is a “MARQUEE ” race – Brenda has done as great job – organizing and marketing herself for this office. But at the end of the day – that office has been stripped of its’ teeth by “suspenders” – as the Legislature (Democrats) have approved this — there is much truth to the statement that some elected prefer a toothless office – don’t know how Brenda will/ can handle this – should she be successful-