Cris Barrish’s Story on Lonnie George is Must-Reading
Anyone who truly wants to understand the Delaware Way simply must read Cris Barrish’s superb piece on Orlando J. George, Jr. from Sunday’s News-Journal.
Lonnie George is an exceedingly brilliant and accomplished person. That is not the issue. However, like Orson Welles, he is a man of gargantuan appetites, and he has demonstrated his need (and capacity) to have more and the most of everything. Barrish captures George’s gourmandesque predilections as well as how he has navigated the system to create his own inflated fiefdom. It is an accurate and essential road map of the Delaware Way, and it is the single best piece of journalism that the News-Journal has published this year.
Some key highlights:
George’s pay has nearly quadrupled in 13 years, but few lawmakers would comment publicly about a former colleague whose political career was intertwined with his rise at DelTech, at times raising the suspicions of fellow lawmakers.
Of course, dating from his legislative service, first as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, and subesquently as Speaker of the House, George has always looked out for Del-Tech:
In 1975, his first year in the House, George convened his panel in secret after the budget had been passed. When the doors opened, DelTech had an additional $622,238. Weeks before the school got the cash infusion, George had been promoted to chairman of the math department.
During a debate about the extra money to DelTech and other agencies, Republican Rep. Joseph Ambrosino told George the increases seemed “preferenced to certain people.”In 1978, the panel added an extra $1 million to Gov. Pete du Pont’s budget for DelTech. At the time, George said he was not involved in the decision. That same year, Republican Rep. Jack Billingsley engaged in a war of words with George over the budget, noting that while education spending was being cut, DelTech’s appropriations were rising dramatically — along with George’s salary.
Today, Billingsley said, he stands behind his complaints of 30 years ago, adding: “Lonnie knows how to look after Lonnie.”
That, senors y senoras, is the money quote, literally and figuratively.
Here is how the Delaware Way works:
Between 1980 and 1989, George was promoted four times — becoming assistant to the director of the Stanton and Wilmington campuses, dean of instruction, assistant campus director and campus director.
George next began campaigning for the school president’s job, just as then-Secretary of State Mike Harkins was angling for another plum patronage post — head of the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Harkins got his wish in 1992. George would have to wait.
But, when he got the job, he made sure that he earned a king’s ransom:
Though someone else got the presidency that year, political insiders believed George would eventually prevail. That happened four years later, and George, then 49, resigned from the House mid-term to run DelTech.
In February 1995, George and DelTech’s seven-member board — gubernatorial appointees who do not get paid — ironed out a five-page contract outlining his compensation and duties for a three-year term.
George would get a salary of $125,000 a year, plus a vehicle with all expenses paid, $2,500 toward the premium for a life insurance policy and $5,000 a year for expenses.
George’s starting salary alone made him the state’s highest paid state employee — far more than Delaware’s governor, judges, school district superintendents and medical doctors such as the director of public health.
El Somnambulo would love to quote the entire article verbatim. But you really need to read this in its entirety. You need to see how George has brought political movers and shakers onto the Board and into positions of power at the school. People like the highly-overrated Democratic quote machine James Soles of the University of Delaware, who has been Celia Cohen’s D quote go-to guy for three decades now. His avuncular and enjoyable low-key style notwithstanding, Soles’ singular accomplishment (?) has been to assist in the creation and enabling of the Carper Machine (Carper’s ‘Brain’ and former Soles acolyte Ed Freel is firmly ensconced at the U of D now, courtesy of Soles). He is an inside player masquerading as an observer. And Ruth Ann Minner’s ‘Brain’ (‘bulo knows that’s an oxymoron, but bear with him) Mark Brainard, who bailed out of his disastrous reign as Minner’s COS into a $125K golden parachute at Del-Tech.
As comprehensive as Barrish’s article is, he doesn’t mention how George used legislative henchmen Bob Gilligan and John Van Sant, both of whom had Del-Tech ties, to draw a House district shaped like a barbell expressly for his daughter, Melanie George Marshall, and how George and the Democratic ‘leaders’ didn’t think twice about screwing incumbent Democratic legislators Dave Brady and Rick DiLiberto in order to pave the way for yet another Del-Tech mouthpiece to join the family business in the Delaware General Assembly.
Which brings the Beast Who Slumbers to this closing point (for now) about the Delaware Way. For far too many members of the Delaware General Assembly, party identification is merely a matter of expediency. While Bob Gilligan is technically a Democrat, he has proven that, time and time again, party and principle take back seats to the kinds of political quid pro quos described in Barrish’s article. All at taxpayers’ expense. And he is far from the only one.
Cris Barrish has performed a public service with this article. If you’re really interested in reforming government, you must first know its dirty secrets. Barrish has shone a light on some of the dirtiest. Read the article, and get involved!
Tags: Media, The Delaware Way
The Del Tech story is indicative of the disgustingly sordid way Delaware practices politics.
http://delawarerepublican.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/the-crookedness-of-state-government/
Along with the IG and nepotism policy we should restrict legislators from future state employment after they are elected and not allow them to vote on the budget if they derive an income from the state.
The FOIA bill which passed is a good effort but it is a spit in the Ocean compared to what needs to be done. Still, nice job Sen Peterson.
Mike Protack
Why all the pissed off state workers are not calling for this racket to be exposed in court and George to be opened up like a piñata is a mystery.
Great reporting by Barrish BTW and great blogging.
“While Bob Gilligan is technically a Democrat, he has proven that, time and time again, party and principle take back seats to the kinds of political quid pro quos described in Barrish’s article.”
Get your rose colored glasses off, that is just how your party rolls. Until you admit that, then you can’t change it.
Uh, David, I think everyone is admitting it and doing something about it.
I think everyone agrees that the Delaware Way is something that needs to go.
Broken clock, Ron Williams, gets this one right:
(snip)
Small nit to pick: It’s Cris, not Chris.
Corrected, Geezer. Thanks!
It is a great article and Ron Williams surprised me with his piece. So, how do I get one of these jobs at Del Tech?
MJ, throw away all morals and self-respect, screw all who get in your way, and screw some innocent, helpless people to maintain your street cred, and you too may rise in the ranks of the Delaware Way.
Hmm…define “screw.” 😉
Smitty, say that again with “Minner” after it.
Now you’re just nasty. Eww!!!! 😯
Ohhhhhhh, you mean, as in “to hell with you,” not some fetish with Minner. This just leaves me all skeeved, like little bugs are crawling all over my skin and I can’t do a damned thing about it.
“Why all the pissed off state workers are not calling for this racket to be exposed in court and George to be opened up like a piñata is a mystery.”
We should have another Rally and invite George 🙂 to leg hall. Wonder how much loose change we’ll get if we whack him around a bit
Seriously, though I think all of the articles in the paper recently have shown, at a minimum, that the pay cuts should be more progressive, like everyone over $200,000 we cut your pay 50%
Posted on the Delawareonline web comments from “DTCCgrunt” saying
This just in from good ole Lonnie:
I am pleased to share with you that on Tuesday, June 2, the Board of Trustees unanimously passed the Employee Compensation Resolution, giving them the flexibility to preserve College employee salaries at existing levels while making budget cuts required by the State. As I outlined in my message last week, this is the first of five approvals we will need to be successful. We now await a vote from the Joint Finance Committee. As always, I will keep you posted.
Lonnie George
Who is the Board???
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dr. James R. Soles, Chairman
John M. Maiorano, Vice Chairman
Craig T. Eliassen, Esq.
Norman D. Griffiths, Esq.
Dr. Louis F. Owens, Jr.
Selham Sue Saliba
Audrey Van Luven
Dr. Orlando J. George, Jr., College President
Don’t forget Ed Freel’s wife who under another name is entrenched in the state system as director of an agency she is not qualified for.
George is on living on easy street while George, Miller and the board continue to ROB the parents and families of the child development center. They raise tuition on the little children and their families who have no choice but to pay or be without child care. They offer no financial aid, no discounts (right Miller!). Why do you have to abuse and exploit the poor families and children why can’t you have a heart – Delaware Technical College is a community college – I think you guys have forgotten that. You’re not the University of Delaware – your a community college – you are a state run institution that is paid for by local and state taxes stop being money hungry and remember why Delaware Technical College was created in the first place.