“My Fellow Delawareans: The State of Our State is grim.”
That’s me speaking, not Gov. Markell. His wonkish State of the State address put an optimistic spin on it, as in “Our state is far stronger than the challenges we face.”
Uh, maybe. Tax incentives, tax credits, partnerships, etc., for jobs expansion, are nice, but it’s not like Delaware has exactly ignored these kind of things in the past. An Infrastructure Trust Fund, which sounds like putting lipstick on the pig of the Transportation Trust Fund. Turning public education into even more of a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chamber of Commerce. More ‘cost-efficient’ government, which appears to be screwing those who have almost fallen completely through the safety net. And screwing state employees. A few pathetically thin gruel-like nods to No Delawarean Left Behind, which is a misleading name since those on Medicaid and those who have lost their careers look at greater risk of being left behind after the Governor’s State of the State priorities than they were before it. Memo to Gov. Markell: “Where is the human empathy in your address? I’ve been a long-time supporter and fan, and there’s no questioning your competence or your vision, but I do question whether you really get just how it feels to be cast aside in this economy. I also question your priorities, and anxiously await your Budget proposal to see whether the ‘pain’ will be shared by those who have felt no pain for the last 30 years. For once.” End of screed.
But even if Gov. Markell has sold his soul to the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, economic development will be real difficult when there are genuine threats to even maintaining the infrastructure we have, much less improving upon it. The News-Journal, both here and here, paint a bleak picture for DELDOT and, by extension, Delaware’s infrastructure. These should be must-reads for anyone interested in the problems we face. Give ’em a look, I can wait.
Perhaps the ‘money’ quote comes from former legislator and current lobbyist (yes, that’s a redundancy) Roger Roy:
“They absolutely have to look at new ways of growing the pie,” Roy said. “They haven’t been able to keep up. At some point, you have to pay. If your road structure falls apart and people can’t move around and get to work, it’s one of the things that companies look at when they settle on a place.”
Not to mention any infrastructure improvements required to actually lure new industry here. The Delaware General Assembly and the Governor are gonna have to figure this out, and it ain’t gonna be easy. This will test the competence of all public officials involved in these negotiations. I predict this will be even tougher than the budget negotiations. Especially if, as is likely, the Rethugs choose to sit on the sidelines and do nothing but try to score political points.
Lotsa ‘stuff’ took place on Thursday in addition to the State of the State. Here’s the scorecard. The highlights?:
Rep. Melanie George(D-Bear) introduced what is sure to be one of the best bills of the 146th General Assembly. How do I know? Because its predecessor was one of the best bills of the 145th General Assembly. Granted, it’s been modified somewhat, but HB 19 would eliminate minimum mandatory sentences for many non-violent drug possession offenses and restore discretion to the judges, which is certainly preferable to the General Assembly’s playing judge, jury and executioner. It will put an end to the insane prison expansion which took much-needed resources away from transportation and education infrastructure funding. It will ultimately save quite a bit of money.
Lest they not be forgotten, this insane minimum mandatory sentencing orgy was largely the ‘brainchild’ of three legislators: Tom Sharp, Wayne Smith and Jim Vaughn. Through newly-created (at the time) Senate and House Committees to Combat Drug Abuse, these demagogues, along with bloodthirsty AG Jane Brady, successfully demagogued this public policy and fiscal disaster through an acquiescent and largely disinterested General Assembly. This bill’s forerunner could, and should, have been enacted into law last year. However, after passing the House, Sharp henchman and ‘Napoleonic martinet’ Tony DeLuca buried it in his own Senate Executive Committee, never to resurface. This year, George has kissed Tiny Tony’s pinky ring, and he’s now a co-sponsor. Presumably proper respect has now been paid. Which brings me to the Legislative Quote of the Week, courtesy of the News-Journal:
“I just think anytime in my district, if we go loosening drug laws, it’s going to be a tough sell. We’ve got small towns with minimal or small police departments that are just being plagued in this economy by the petty sales of marijuana and OxyContin and other drugs. “When they’re locked up in [Sussex Correctional Institution] they’re not selling drugs in front of Long Neck Elementary,”–‘Law-Abiding’ Citizen Rep. John Atkins
Fortunately for Atkins, public officials driving drunk past Long Neck Elementary, and pulling rank when pulled over, is not a tough sell in Sussex County. Nor is spousal abuse. Good to know that at least one ‘law-abiding’ citizen has his priorities straight.
Speaking of respect, proper or otherwise, Sen. Benedict Bloviator Bonini passed an essential piece of legislation Thursday, honoring the Gipper with his own day. Too late, Colin. The R’s still hate you.
The House made short work of two bills Thursday, unanimously passing both HB 1(Schooley) and HB 10(Longhurst), previously discussed here. Look for both to sail through the Senate by the end of this week.
Now’s a good time for two updates from last week. Rep. Dennis P. Williams indeed HAS told colleagues he will not run for Mayor of Wilmington (I’m always the last one to know), which throws a serious wrench into redistricting for the city. Looks like either Helene Keeley or Gerald Brady gets screwed. And, if the union thugocracy has anything to say about, the profoundly-undistinguished Brady, who just happens to be Executive Director of the Delaware State AFL-CIO, will likely be spared. Which would be the wrong choice, but, hey, that’s the way it goes.
Also, I had previously asked questions about SB 8(Bushweller), which would remove the requirement that a Dover councilperson must resign their seat to run for Mayor. While I had no problem with the bill, I questioned why the rush to pass it now since the mayor’s seat doesn’t come up until 2012. A loyal reader (you too can be one once you take a loyalty oath) wrote to tell me that, for all intents and purposes, that section of the Charter has already been nullified by a city solicitor’s opinion that council members can indeed already run for Mayor. So, this bill would just codify that existing practice. The irony, surely not lost on Bushweller, is that, with his opponent in the 2008 Senate election (former Mayor Jim Hutchison) running for a Council seat this year, Hutchison would now be eligible to run for mayor as a coulncil member in 2012, courtesy of Bushweller.
Let’s see what’s on tap for today. In the Senate, no agenda and no meetings scheduled. Looks like another productive day for the ‘Upper’ house. At least you can take an advance look at tomorrow’s Senate committee meetings.
The House has scheduled three pieces of legislation for consideration today. The most notable is HB 5(Bennett), which would “set… a deadline when public bodies must provide a public record to a person making a request under the Freedom of Information Act.” Virtually the exact same bill (HB 300) passed unanimously in the House in March of last year and was then buried in Tiny Tony’s Senate Executive Committee, never to resurface. I’m sure he meant to release it, but he just couldn’t concentrate, what with all the noise coming from the corridor adjacent to his office. Good thing he has a ‘well-qualified’ personal assistant. Otherwise, he’d be lost.
And with that, time for me to get lost. You can catch me on Al’s show, Wednesday, January 26, 9 am-12 noon. I’m on at 10. Anyone who feels they’ve been unfairly maligned today is more than welcome to call in. As are each and every one of you.