After many years of significant political experience based in the African-American community, I have concluded that most candidates and elected officials have a set formula for reaching our voters:
- What churches should I be going to?
- How much Walt’s chicken should I bring to the seniors?
- How much time can I get on channel 28?
Wilmington is expected to be the engine of the Black vote and it’s the place where most statewide candidates will make their primary investment in black polity—street money on Election Day. Unfortunately, despite the growing evidence of diminishing voter turnout and its influence on elections there is more interest in buying voter loyalty than cultivating the electorate.
What’s the difference? How campaigns are staffed is one instance. It is rare to find a senior level minority staffer on a statewide campaign. My experience in seeking work in campaign planning and strategy is that I don’t even get the courtesy of a return phone call and I am not alone in the experience. The preference is always for someone who can answer those three key questions.
The 2000 census documented that 90% of the African-Americans who moved into Delaware reside outside of Wilmington. That trend continues. The Newark-Bear belt, Dover and a Sussex County belt running from West Rehoboth to Georgetown, Seaford and Milton all contain significant pockets of minority voters. Employing a broader strategy for the minority vote just makes sense; however, the non-sense of this election cycle is not to stimulate white anger. The lack of significant GOTV planning targeted at minority voters has been the talk among the many of the people I’ve done voter work with for many years. African-Americans, after all, vote as a product of divination and the spirit of Martin Luther King!
African-Americans face far more critical consequences from the outcomes of the local elections. There is the opportunity for Chip Flowers, the candidate for State Treasurer, to become the first African-American elected to a statewide office. That could draw out the Black vote and help a host of local elections. The popular wisdom is that State Treasurer is an office the Democrats are prepared to lose.
It’s an open secret that Wilmington will lose a city dominated State Senate seat in reapportionment next year. The loss of that seat will not only mean the dilution of minority influence in Dover, it will also have an impact on the fortunes of Organized Labor. Unfortunately, Organized Labor is only invested in the short- term vision of cultivating the votes of its members for Chris and John this year. They seem satisfied with their losing influence on other races on the ballot and in Dover.
Chris and John will win next month. They are the best bets for all of Delaware. However, given the lax approach to the value of the African-American and minority vote in general, our communities need to re-evaluate the stakes we bring to the table.