The 62 Project: #’s 25 & 37

#25. Rep. Mike Mulrooney (D-17th RD)

The District: This is what you call a safe D district: 9337 D; 2659 R; and 3424 I. That’s right. More I’s than R’s.  Oddly-shaped district that looks sorta like an eagle trying to scratch its back. Paging Dr. Rorschach. BTW, you get a shoutout if you can come up with a better description of the shape of the district than I did. Shouldn’t be hard. Here’s the map(PDF).   The district ranges from Cherry Lane (the dump) through working class areas of New Castle, and then heads west towards the Ogletown-Stanton area.

Mike Mulrooney is a salt-of-the-earth legislator, and I mean that as a compliment. While he doesn’t make splashes as a prime sponsor on much legislation, he is a quietly-effective supporter of (mostly) progressive legislation. He meandered from the fold on one gun bill, but that’s about it. He was first elected in 1998, edging out state trooper Douglas Salter, 2418-2000. You may recall that Salter’s candidacy led to a Supreme Court opinion that held that Salter could not both serve as an elected official and an active duty police officer because it conflicted with a constitutional ‘separation of powers’ requirement that those making the laws cannot also serve as those enforcing the laws. This opinion was blithely ignored by all parties, including the Governor and the Attorney General, when it became apparent that Tony DeLuca was doing just that as both a senator and the head of ‘Labor Law Enforcement’.

But, I digress. Mulrooney won the seat that had long been held by one of the least distinguished legislators in Dover—Jeff Mack. The Seinfeld term ‘mimbo’ might well have been coined for Mack. Everybody knew Jeff Mack, he’d grown up there, was, as Mark Brainard aptly put it, ‘everybody’s paper boy’, boyish good looks, an athlete at William Penn,  and ultimately sort-of a teacher there. Not real teaching, mind you, but driver’s ed and after-school detention guy. Basically a harmless likeable guy. Although there were whispers around the Hall about something untoward that went down at William Penn, which may have led to his retirement–and his divorce. He had planned to run for reelection in 1998 and…didn’t.

Mulrooney has never been threatened in any subsequent races, and he’s as secure as a legislator can be. People in his position can sometimes be terrible legislators, as you’ll find out if you keep reading this series. But Mulrooney has strongly supported equal rights, fought for a minimum wage increase (had Speaker Pete put the minimum wage bill in Mulrooney’s Labor Committee instead of Bryon Short’s Business Lapdog Committee, it could well be law now), and has generally been an effective, low drama, progressive legislator. By ‘low drama’, I mean that he lacks that inflated legislative ego. Comfortable in his skin, comfortable just doing his job. He is not a prodigious sponsor of legislation, to put it mildly. The bills he sponsors are generally narrow-focused on his committee responsibilities.  He is, however, currently collaborating with Sen. Bob Marshall on a Blue Collar Jobs Task Force, designed to, well, the task force name says it all. Any revitalization of blue-collar jobs would be a boon to the 17th District, not to mention to traditional Democratic core constituencies, and to the state’s economy.

Mulrooney would rank higher on this list if he had tackled some monumental issues and sponsored legislation to bring those issues to a positive conclusion. He has the respect within his caucus and the House to do more. Having said that, I’ll take what he offers. It’s more than enough.

#37. Donald Blakey (R-34th RD)

The District: This Kent County district is primarily south of Dover, and Rt. 13 (S. DuPont Highway) runs right through the center of it. Here’s the map (PDF).  I believe that the upper northeast quadrant of the district is within the Dover city limits, but I stand ready to be corrected. It appears that part of Dover Air Force Base is in the district as well. This is a swing-R district despite the registration: 6360 D; 5502 R; and 4062 I. The voting numbers are more R than the registration, however.  Romney beat Obama here, 5445 to 4930, in 2012.  D’s can win here, but not all D’s. The district was made more R-friendly in redistricting to preserve blue districts in the 31st (Scott) and 32nd (Bennett).

Rep. Don Blakey is a mild disappointment to me. He is a largely-moderate African-American who could be a bit more like Mike Ramone without harming his electoral position, IMHO.  Especially within the R House caucus. While he doesn’t vote in lockstep with leadership, he does so far too much to warrant a higher ranking.  For example, why would he stand with the obstructionist elements in his caucus in not supporting ‘no-excuses absentee balloting’? There’s, um, no excuse for that. All it does is help disenfranchise many of his constituents, some of whom work at the Dover Air Force Base. Why did he vote against gay marriage? Why does he oppose criminal background checks for private weapons purchases? Being a co-sponsor on the manufactured housing bill hardly makes up for all that. Frankly, the only reason he’s this high is b/c I like those below him even less. And I grade on a curve when it comes to (a) atrocious D’s and (b) R’s who generally do no harm.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Blakey succeeded retiring Rep. Gerry Buckworth by winning a 2006 matchup vs. D Jeanine Kleimo, 3560-2786.  He won even more handily in 2008, 6229-3933, against D Bruce Hamilton, an impressive margin when you consider that 2008 is when the D’s won the House and Obama/Biden swept Delaware.  He displayed a little vulnerability in 2012, as his win % fell below 60% vs. Ted Yacucci. 56.7%, to be exact.
Might be worth keeping an eye on this district.

He has one of the most interesting ‘occupations’ amongst the legislators: ‘Visiting Assistant Professor, Delaware State University’. Does this mean that he’s just visiting from down the road, or does he get paid for just visiting? He’s had that title for years now. What does it mean?

Blakey has always struck me as someone who enjoys being in the ‘club’.  He talks like a moderate, empathizes with progressives and moderates, but doesn’t vote with them nearly enough. Whether he ultimately aspires to make a difference as a legislator or he remains content in largely sticking with what passes for R house leadership will determine where his ranking ultimately settles. For now, he’s done little harm in his 7 years in Dover, which is enough to justify this ranking.