So-o-o-o, do ya think they might have anything to discuss in Senate caucus meetings today?
Allow me to quote from Sen. George Howard Bunting in today’s News-Journal:
“Tuesday’s going to be a very interesting caucus,” said Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach.
(Memo to News-Journal reporter Chad Livengood: Please stick around Delaware for awhile. We need this kind of reportage. Could be a Pulitzer in your future, kid.)
Will anyone broach the subject of the Federal investigation into Tony DeLuca’s job at the Department of Labor? Uh, signs point to an emphatic Yes. If they don’t, maybe the Feds should expand their investigation to include other members of the Caucus. At least for nonfeasance.
If they don’t, Colin Bonini will not be to blame. This is on the Senate Democratic Caucus, senators who knew all about how Tony DeLuca got his job, know all about his disdain for open government, know about his other reckless behaviors, and yet voted him in as Pro-Tem. Should the Senate D’s fail to revisit the question of his fitness for office, they individually should and will be judged. This is not about waiting to see if DeLuca avoids any kind of sanction for his actions. “Technically not guilty” is not a sufficient standard to warrant a leadership position.
What then-Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, then-Secretary of Labor Tom Sharp, then-Chief of Staff Mark Brainard, and the Diminutive Despot himself, did was to conspiratorially carve out a special job enabling DeLuca to pocket over $68 grand in taxpayers money annually in addition to the $62 K he pockets as President Pro-Tem. They also used this opportunity to get back at Karen Peterson, who had defeated Tom Sharp’s hand-picked successor (Tim Sheldon), and who had dared to question the practices of Ruth Ann Minner herself. The one thing notably absent in this whole sordid scheme was even one scintilla of concern about the public interest, which all were sworn to protect. To prove that point, they also conspired to starve the anti-discrimination unit, which is charged with investigating and enforcing discrimination and civil rights claims. The irony of Sharp, who made his political bones by appealing to blue-collar white voters with a fierce anti-busing platform, appointing a construction trades labor guy, should not be lost on anybody. You want to find unions dedicated to continuing their ethnic legacies and to keeping minorities out of their apprenticeship programs? Look at the construction trades. No, this was one of the most cynical and shameful violations of the public trust that you could ever conjure up. Which is precisely what Sharp, Brainard, Minner and DeLuca set out to do.
None of the members of either caucus need any legal opinions to recognize this. The architects of this abomination are once again ‘unavailable for comment’. They don’t have to answer to anyone, until or unless they face legal hurdles. But, the members of both Senate caucuses do, unless they all plan to retire. It is time that they do the right thing, and depose Tony DeLuca from his position as President Pro Tempore. Absent that, they cannot justifiably claim to represent their constituents. They are rather in thrall to the rot of the Delaware Way, epitomized by the bully boy who pounds the gavel and screws minorities, all to the tune of $130K annually in taxpayer dollars.
I suppose I should interrupt this screed to provide a post-game wrap-up from last Thursday. Here it is. Other than this bill, which unanimously passed the House, and which raised concerns on my part, I found little or nothing of note. End of Wrap-Up.
Back to DeLuca. His Rose Mary Woods-like contortions to plausibly claim that federal dollars are not being used in his office have led to ineffectiveness and inertia in enforcement. Just like he, Sharp and Brainard intended. (BTW, will Sharp, Brainard and/or Minner ever be available for public comment again?) He’s screwed things up so bad at DOL that the Markell Administration has determined that it must act to protect those who have waited two years for justice. Good for them. They’re absolutely right. I can only hope that the Governor’s office is working behind the scenes to effect DeLuca’s removal from his Pro-Tem position.
I’m gonna make a prediction here. I predict that DeLuca steps down as Pro-Tem sometime soon, at least temporarily. However, that doesn’t mean that Sen. Michael Katz takes over the spot. I predict (*sigh*) that Patti Blevins ascends to the spot should it become open. An improvement, yes, ideal, no. Especially if she gets tired on June 30/July 1. Who knows what business might go unfinished? Maybe Katz, Peterson or Sokola move into leadership. That’d be a plus. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan:
“Senator Blevins, tear down that door!”
Not much on today’s House and Senate agendas.
Two notable events taking place later this week, however.
The Civil Unions legislation will be considered in the Senate Administrative Services/Elections Committee Wednesday at 2 p.m. Due to interest in the bill, the meeting will be held in the Senate Chamber. I will have a lot more on SB 30 and its prospects for passage tomorrow.
And, on Thursday, SB 17, Sen. Henry’s medical marijuana legislation, will be debated in the Senate. The Senate sponsors are Henry, Peterson, Marshall, Sorenson, and Venables(!). This shapes up to be a close vote. If you don’t see your senator’s name among the sponsors, please call them, and respectfully encourage them to support the bill. It really could make a difference.
Well, I’m off to do Al’s show, 1150-AM on your dial, 10 am today. We’ll be talking about all this and…Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico. How does that figure into the equation? Tune in and find out.