Colin Bonini used to have an M. P. A. from the University of Delaware. So said his official profile at the Delaware General Assembly website. In fact, he used to have that M. P. A. until Monday of this week. It was an M. P. A. that he claimed to have received in 2005. The official information on the website is provided by the elected officials themselves, so this information was provided on a form that Colin Bonini filled out and returned to Legislative Council.
I had never doubted, nor even thought of the possibility, that Bonini in fact had not achieved this advanced degree, as I had no reason to.
Until I read the News-Journal profile of the Treasurer’s race that came out at the end of last week. Under ‘Education’, Bonini was cited as a ‘Wesley College graduate’. Nothing about an advanced degree.
Hmm, there seemed to be a clear discrepancy. And there was. Until about 10 am Monday morning, the last time that the website was updated. Suddenly, according to the official website of the Delaware General Assembly upon which Bonini had claimed his M. P. A. from the University of Delaware, Bonini no longer held an M. P. A. from the University of Delaware. It had either vanished or been taken back by the University of Delaware. He now has been relegated to “Enrolled, M. P. A., University of Delaware”.
Memo to the News-Journal: This is just one more piece of information handed to you on a silver platter. You can easily contact Bonini and ask him about his misrepresentation of his educational bona fides. You can also contact Legislative Council and try to get to the bottom of this sudden change. Maybe even contact the University to find out about his status. You know, commit ‘journalism’. Or you can continue to engage in passing along unsubstantiated and, in some cases, refuted, rumors.
Granted, I’ve never worked as a full-time journalist (although I did some ‘stringing’ for the Newark Post several decades ago), but it seems to me that a candidate misrepresenting his academic record is, what’s that word, newsworthy. Not to mention dishonest on the candidate’s part.
After all, if he’s lying about that, then why should anybody believe anything else he says?
**UPDATE**
Here’s a screenshot of Bonini’s wikipedia entry, before it gets scrubbed.
–UI