There has been a rotten thread running through the Treasurer’s race this year. The thread is that one campaign is trying to destroy their opponent on the way to the Democratic nomination. This is unbecoming of the two fine candidates that are competing to battle Colin Bonini in the fall. Sadly, the force behind this shadow campaign of destruction is so close to one of the candidates that the solution isn’t as simple as firing a staffer.
Charles Potter has been walking the Vote Velda beat in Wilmington, peddling a story that is reported to have “been left on the windshield of his car” one morning. The story behind the story is the most poorly kept secret in Delaware politics, and its appearance is an ugly turn for one of the uglier campaigns this year. More importantly, it backs up one of the worst sub-plots of this election year.
Chip Flowers was accused of hitting one of his girlfriends a few years ago. That’s the story. Charles is very interested in you hearing that part of the story. Charles will even show you the court records (dates of arraignment, continuances, etc.) and the original complaint, replete with fabrications. The missing part of Charles’ story is that Chip Flowers was found not guilty.
What’s worse, the incident that caused the charges to be filed by Chip’s ex-girlfriend happened in the middle of a crowded Columbus Inn, surrounded by some of the who’s who of Delaware politicos. All of them back Chip’s description of the event. The charges were without merit. But because the accuser was a lawyer, recanting her story became a potentially disbarring event. So when it went to trial, the facts won the day and exonerated Chip.
Chip was very forthcoming about his poor relationship decisions as a young man when I spoke to him about this issue. None of his relationship issues warrant the deceitful treatment that Velda’s husband, Charles has been giving the story.
A few weeks ago I was speaking to a former Velda Jones-Potter supporter and we were discussing the race. We agreed that the beauty of this race is that we have two really smart, charismatic and motivated candidates that happen to be African-American. He told me then that his biggest fear was that the way that Charles ran campaigns was with a scorched earth policy. Chip has a real future in Delaware politics, but that if Velda wins, and in the process Charles poisons Chip’s “brand”, it is a net loss for African-Americans in Delaware politics. And here we are, a few short weeks later, and the worst-case scenario has got some legs.
This shadow campaign being conducted by Charles undercuts the very attributes that make Velda a compelling candidate. She is seen as an outsider with roots in the business community, above the fray of politics and impeccably suited for the office. One has to wonder whether she can maintain that image with Charles playing the role of character assassin.
I don’t know how Velda regains control of her own campaign, but she must. Charles’ tactics may be just what the doctor ordered in his city council races, but they don’t garner many votes outside of Wilmington. I can only think that this strategy is a sign of desperation in the face of poor internal polling.
I hope that this is resolved, because Velda is too honorable to let these dishonorable acts be committed in her name.