Rumor Mill
Apparently Lavell “a leader who listens” (lmao) is going to be running for Governor in 2012? What’s Protack have to say about that?
Anyone seen Dave Burris since we blew up CRI?
If I remember one thing about Greg Lavelle it was that he was against not having the grass clippings and leaves going into the land fill. After all, he has Sharpley that is nothing more than a bunch of Dupont retirees spending 80% of their time manicuring their lawns. I’m sure all those retired engineers and chemist couldn’t think of a better way to get rid f grass and leaves. Lavelle was up to the task and defended the honor of the trash haulers???I guess he does listen to his people.
The rumor I saw started n Mike Matthew’s facebook page…just sayin
I’m sure Lavelle has aspirations for higher office but why governor. I think that’s probably one of the least competitive races. Why not the presumably open seat for House?
Retirees in Sharply don’t spend much time on their lawns as they hire people for that task. It’s the chemist currently working for Dupont that we need to be conerned with. They turn a blind eye to Dupont chemicals polluting ground water used in the manicuring of those lawns and in products like Teflon used in auto wax that gets washed away to once again killing people. Kind of strange Delaware has the highest cancer rate in the nation and is the home to DuPont corporate. Dupont and death are synonymous.
I take my yard waste to the drop off point and there is tons of free munch for the taking. I though Liberals were big on recycling and hard on Republican run businesses like DuPont. Is there a few rats in the house?
The result will be the same for Lavelle (and/or Copeland Dupont) as it was for Lee, a crushing, embarrassing defeat. Protack is completely and utterly irrelevant in state politics. There is no GOP in Delaware, outside of Sussex County, where life mimics the 1800s.
But why are you guys so worried about Lavelle to mount an attack now?
Jason please come home! DL has become a sailboat lost at sea without a rudder aka Jason. “Copeland DuPont” there you go with that Dupont word! Try this, stay off any roads with the name DuPont and any building including hospitals with the name of dupont and any nonprofit organization that take funding from the Dupont family. Or better yet if your paycheck has Dupont stamped on it return it. But please don’t buy any Dupont product containing Teflon.
The issue is statewide recycling and using trash districts to implement the plan at first. The Dems are in charge and what action has been taken on the issue-none.Like many other issues, no leadership and no change. Maybe Vince Meconi can work on it for the Dems, he seems to be the go to guy for the Dems.
Sorry Anon but life is pretty good for me right now, in fact real good. I am sorry you are not happy with your situation.
The stupid comment about Sussex County shows total ignorance as many of the activists in the county are transplants who do not adhere to any delusional historical perspective.
The GOP has the potential to win any seat any year. Certainly given the disaster the Dems have made this state over the last 20 years the GOP needs to offer a relevant positive message and victory can be achieved.
Mike Protack
here is why the DL has been told to attack Lavelle:
Website Launched to Track Administration’s
Foot-Dragging on FOIA
For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 3, 2009
For More Information, Contact: Joe Fulgham (302) 744-4184
State Rep. Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley) has launched a new website to keep track of the amount of time that has passed since he first filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information on the double-dipping employment of a retired cabinet secretary as a highly-paid state consultant.
The website, http://www.DelawareFOIAwatch.com, features a live counter that tracks the amount of time that has passed since Rep. Lavelle first filed his state FOIA request with Gov. Jack Markell.
According to a long-standing opinion issued by the state attorney general’s office (Opinion 91-I003), although Delaware’s FOIA does not have a specific deadline for agencies to respond, they must do so within a reasonable time. The more detailed Federal FOIA is often used as a reference.
Under the federal statute, within 10 days of receiving a request agencies should issue a letter stating which of the requested records will be released and the reasons for denying any information. The 10-day response time may be extended if there is a specified reason, including the need to review a large amount of material to fulfill the request.
“None of the exceptions apply here,” Rep. Lavelle said. “I requested this information more than four weeks ago and I have yet to receive any of it. It’s a violation of the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act and a clear case of foot-dragging. This material should have been readily available and been provided in a timely fashion.”
Rep. Lavelle filed a Freedom of Information Act request August 5th asking that Gov. Markell provide:
copies of the contract with Vince Meconi;
a description of Mr. Meconi’s duties as a consultant;
performance measures being used to gauge the effectiveness of Mr. Meconi’s efforts in this role;
the hours he is required to work;
the vacation policy associated with Mr. Meconi’s consultant position; and
any other papers and documents related to the hiring and employment of Mr. Meconi as a consultant.
Meconi was secretary of the Dept. of Health and Social Services (DHSS) from 2001 to 2008. Starting in late 2007, dozens of allegations of patient abuse at the Delaware Psychiatric Center, which is under DHSS purview, were published as part of an investigative series of newspaper articles. Many of the charges were later proven valid during a five-month investigation conducted by a bipartisan legislative committee in the General Assembly.
“Sec. Meconi refused to acknowledge there was a problem at the hospital,” Rep. Lavelle said. “Not only wasn’t he part of the solution, he obstructed reforms from being implemented to protect the vulnerable residents under his care. It wasn’t until he retired under a cloud late last year, and a new secretary was appointed, that corrective action was finally taken. Just last week, Gov. Markell signed three bills into law to help reform the DPC’s operations.”
However, Meconi’s troubled past and questionable actions did not prevent the Markell administration from hiring him in March to consult with state agencies on the availability of federal stimulus money. The lucrative gig came just weeks after Meconi retired from his DHSS post. The job was to have been for a limited three-month period, but that deadline passed months ago. In a recent column authored by Meconi, in which he defends his dual payment as “cost-effective,” (News Journal, 8/29/09, pg. A-11) he now claims his consulting work will run until mid-January – more than three times as long as originally indicated.
Earlier this summer, the News Journal reported Meconi was being paid $6,093 monthly for his consulting services in addition to the $7,633 he is receiving each month from his state pension. If accurate, Meconi is reaping nearly $165,000 in state money annually – topping the salary he made last year as DHSS secretary by more than $20,000.
In Meconi’s column, he claimed the published figures were “tens of thousands of dollars less than [that] reported by the media,” although he declined to state how much taxpayer money he is collecting for his consulting job. He also did not explain why he did not suspend his retirement and return to state service, rather than collect two government paychecks.
“In his augural address, Gov. Markell stated: ‘I pledge that my administration will be more transparent and accountable than any that have come before,’” Rep. Lavelle said. “Yet here we are less than nine months later watching the administration play duck and cover.
“Not only will I continue to ask for this information, I invite all Delawareans to follow along with me on the website to see how long it takes to satisfy this simple request,” Rep. Lavelle said. “I’m a state representative and this is the third press release I’ve issued on this same topic. If the administration is disregarding the Freedom of Information Act in this case, what chance does the average citizen have to get their questions answered?”
Only paranoid wingnuts could possibly construe the reporting of a rumor as an attack on someone.
And you wonder why no one wants to be around you.
Posting your Press Release as a comment in someone else’s blog post is a pretty crappy thing to do. You don’t have this somewhere on-line you can link to?
anoni, stop it, just stop it. You obviously don’t know Don Viti, because no one absolutely no one can tell him what to do.
I’m still laughing about anoni thinking that the Governor’s office could get Don Viti to make this post. If anyone asked Don Viti to do that, the post would have been about being asked. LOL.
I hope some of the Markell supporters will pull him aside and give him an intervention on open government. He campaigned hard on it, he promised it in his inaugural speech, and now he hypocritically is shutting down openness of our State government.
He first put in place a dictatorial policy that EVERY PRESS CONTACT TO A STATE AGENCY MUST BE APPROVED BY THE GOVERNORS OFFICE (JOE ROGALASKY)before anyone can respond to an inquiry. This is to control the information and limit the information and transparency of government.
He then issued a transformation memo, and is keeping all of the plans top secret as “executive privileged”. This was accurately described in a message from Green Delaware at:
http://greendel.org/?p=9342
I hardly think Allen Muller is a supporter of any conservative ideals. Despite being a real pain and at times a complete nut job, Muller does usually do his homework and present things accurately.
In addition, reports from numerous sectors and the News Journal are now confirming that the FOIA foot dragging is not isolated to the Meconi issue, it is prevalent. Call Jeff Montgomery or David Ledford from the News Journal, or any reporter you trust, and ask them about the information flow, FOIA responsiveness, and the level of transparency they are getting under Markell.
Markell spins open government and transparency with press releases and stump speeches, but his actions are now being well documented to be the complete opposite.
Bloggers – Where is the accountability. Get your heads out of the sand!!!
Comment by anonomous
“Markell spins open government and transparency with press releases and stump speeches, but his actions are now being well documented to be the complete opposite.”
Interesting comment but I wouldn’t go as far as complete opposite yet. His ambiguous book may come back to haunt him. I’ll be fair and not judge him on the enconomy yet but he has a tall order to fill creating jobs. Blame Bush and /or Minner, Markell knew the conditions before he ran for office. I don’t think Bill Lee or Protack could have done better to this point. Delaware will lag behind the the natural recovery the one not pumped up with short term simulus. Next year budget hearings are going to be a bitch and share the pain will no be feel the pain for state workers. I am not trying to be hurtful becuase I know what it like to be laid off.
Markell is a great businessman but the weight of the economy and recovery will play hard on him. I rather him be successful than see this state suffer. Dam , here I am laid off after a 35 year run and with no heathcare giving a shit about the rest of the world.
The GOP has the potential to win any seat any year. Certainly given the disaster the Dems have made this state over the last 20 years the GOP needs to offer a relevant positive message and victory can be achieved.
Mike Protack
that has to be one of the top ten dumbest things MP has ever said.
and baseball players have to potential to hit 100 home runs, but they don’t. Because the reality of it is, they can’t. Just like you can’t win jack shit, neither can many of the R’s you seem to think are as capable as your self of holding elected office.
anoni,
Fyou. I saw it on Mike Matthews blog and posted it. I found it hilarious that Lavelle, who caters to Delawares trash haulers would even be put up as someone who is running especially by the dopes thinking he would run.
As for your cut and paste hactactular, as nemski said, you don’t know me.
Donviti, I’m still laughing.
Comment by Donviti
“that has to be one of the top ten dumbest things MP has ever said.”
will you list the other nine?
1. his insistence on bringing up Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton every time a “Family Values” Republican is caught using taxpayer money to sleep with someone or paying off people to keep them quiet about it (or soliciting a prostitute to change their diaper).
Still laughing.