If We Can’t Have the Records, He Can’t Have Two Jobs.
Plain and simple.
While Jason tackled this story lightheartedly on Sunday, the announcement from the State Attorney General’s office that they cannot release information and/or records as to when Senate Majority Leader Anthony DeLuca shows up to work at his two state jobs deserves more serious attention.
In recent months, colleagues, including DeLuca’s fellow Democrats, have begun questioning how he balances what amounts to the responsibilities of two full-time jobs as president pro tem of the Senate and an administrator at the Department of Labor. A state law prohibits lawmakers from charging the General Assembly and a state agency for working at the same exact time, a practice known as double dipping.
There is no doubt in my mind that Tony DeLuca is double dipping. If he were innocent, he would release those records to prove it. That he has somehow gotten Attorney General Biden and his office to cover for him, when there is a precedent for releasing the information, speaks volumes.
Citing an anti-terrorism statute, the Department of Labor, Capitol Police and Chief Deputy Attorney General Charlie Butler denied the newspaper access to information showing when DeLuca enters state offices and Legislative Hall. The Department of Labor argued that disclosing DeLuca’s attendance and building entrance records “would show a pattern” of his daily movements and when he takes vacation each year, possibly leaving his home vulnerable to burglars.
Butler also upheld the Department of Labor’s resistance to release DeLuca’s attendance records, which would show whether his pay is docked for being absent to attend to legislative matters in his 11th District and his Legislative Hall office.
Butler’s opinion comes five years after the Attorney General’s Office ordered the Capital School District to release attendance records for then-Rep. Nancy Wagner, contending disclosure would not violate the teacher’s privacy.
“Just as the public has a right to know the salary paid to public employees, the public also has a right to know when their public employees are and are not performing the duties for which they are paid,” Deputy Attorney General W. Michael Tupman wrote. Five years later, Butler says DeLuca’s attendance records for his second state job at the Department of Labor are off limits to public disclosure because of DeLuca’s status as a protected merit system employee.
This is simply unacceptable. As Deputy Attorney General Michael Tupman said, the public has a right to know if we are being robbed by Tony DeLuca. We have a right to know if he is being paid for two jobs while only doing one. We have the right to know how the other 10 state legislators who also have secondary state jobs with state agencies spend their time. We have this right because we, as a public, need to know if our elected representatives are performing their duties on our behalf ethically. We need to know that nothing is influencing their votes. And as state residents, we also need to know that we are getting our money’s worth from state employees we pay. The people, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, need this information to determine whether or not their employees are in fact doing their jobs.
There is no security threat to anyone in providing that information. Quite simply, and to be frank, no international terrorist is going to target an obscure state lawmaker. You all in Dover are not THAT important. And while there is always a risk that some deranged freak is going to take a gun to a state building and gun down someone, that risk cannot be hidden behind to excuse denying the people access to their information. There is also no basis for denying their right to that information because DeLuca is a merit system employee. That is really a distinction without a difference.
Without this information, I am forced to assume that Tony DeLuca, and anyone similarly situated (Helene Keeley, John Viola, etc.) is in fact stealing money. I, and I believe all of my fellow contributors at Delaware Liberal, demand that they voluntarily release that information, and waive the supposed protections a merit based employee receives under the law.
Failing that, I demand their resignation. From their legislative posts, preferrably. Because, quite simply, if we can’t have the records, Delaware’s legislators must be prohibited from having two state jobs.
It is the lack of trust that fuels this demand. Assuming the Attorney General’s office is acting in good faith here, it is their lack of trust in the people, assuming that some will use this information for their criminal purposes, that motivates the refusal to release this information. And that leads us to demand that all legislators be prohibited from holding two state jobs. You don’t trust us, we will not trust you.
I can’t express how troubling it is to me that an anti-terrorism statute has been cited to cover-up this unethical behavior. I realize that the slippery slope argument is often fallacious, but there are steps that can make other steps more likely to happen – and this is one of those steps.
If Tony DeLuca is now on the other side of a security cordon looking out at us, how can he not be affected by that? If his movement from place to place is secret, what else is secret? If Chief Deputy Attorney General Charlie Butler can rule Tony DeLuca to be above the double dipping laws because of security concerns, what other laws may people behind the security cordon ignore?
This whole thing makes me queasy. AG Biden needs to reconsider this decision, and do so quickly.
This whole thing makes me angry.
So many layers of stupidity and corruption. How did the AG’s office not know about the Wagner decision? How did they think that that this would blow up in their faces?
It makes me angry because they are telling me (us) to my face that they really count on me being that stupid.
Releasing the records will help terrorists get some pattern of behavior? The pattern of behavior is evidence of a job being done. It is why your employer pays attention to when you come and go. And how will a terrorist get any info on real movement when the records won’t be real time? And the schedule changes in July?
And it seems to me that sending Charlie Butler (a standup person in my experience) to present the Weaseling of the Day was a real dick move by Beau. If you’re going to hide behind the Delaware Way, then do it in person.
With each new piece of information it just gets worse.
Enough of this hiding behind phony legal barriers. It is past time for legislation requiring that all elected public officials holding other public jobs release those records to the public and to state agencies including, but not limited to, the AG, Auditor, and the Controller General’s office.
Further, the AG and Auditor must be given explicit authority and then required to determine the veracity of said records. Better yet, require the hiring of independent auditors to do so.
The ongoing ability of legislators to work other public jobs and the ongoing inability/unwillingness of anybody to determine whether these two-timers are complying with the requirements attendant to those jobs has been at the corrupt center of the Delaware Way for numerous decades. Does anyone, ANYone, really think that the majority of them are in compliance? Only one way to find out, now isn’t there?
And, Beaudhisattva, anti-terrorism statutes? I mean, really? You should be ashamed of yourself and ashamed that you call yourself part of the justice system. There is no justice here, just ongoing blatant coverups. I’ve voted for you twice. Absent an about-face on this, there will not be a third time.
The release of information, has nothing to do with Tony DeLuca’s security. It was withheld,… because it would somehow unjustify the secret claim, that “THERE IS A CURRENT THREAT” to Tony DeLuca’s security….
Explained thusly: If I could get greater power, and be unquestioned about “my” actions, by extolling that I had received “death threats” or was a “high risk” of local or international terrorists, well, being human I certainly would do so…
But, putting that up for public scrutiny, would probably also place it up for public ridicule.. “What” Al Quaeda plans on storming the President Pro Temp’s office?” “What? Flattery’s hounds are plotting surreptitious acts upon the said President of Delaware’s State Senate?”
Tons of money was spent “fortifying” that very office. A lot of blueberry pie will still be evident upon a lot of faces, if one takes the effort to look a little closer…
So the effort made by the AG stems not from a single terrorist threat; it happened because a lot of people went along with a rather large, unnecessary expense, that all knew at the time, was folly to begin with… 🙂
“You don’t trust us, we will not trust you” – Word
– good post.
Ladies and Gentlemen… history just occurred. I received a compliment from Nancy. 😉 Thanks.
DD–but the rapture had to come first….
Ha!
I seem to recall quite a stir when questioning whether Velda Jones Potter was double-dipping with her state treasurer job and Wilmington consulting contract.
yet I don’t recall any lame anti-terrorism free-ride card being played.
This really stinks.
First of all, I agree with everyone here, regarding releasing records. Terrorism?
The law regarding public employees doing political work is very clear. It says that if any partisan political activity is conducted while working for the state, the employee will be terminated.
Howwver, checking the times when the legislator swiped his or her ID card really isn’t an accurate way to measure when that person arrives for work. At my building, we often hold the door for each other. For the people who ride van pools or DARt busses, the only person in the whole group swipes his or her card. Everybody just walks in, and there is no record of them arriving.
Does this make sense?
Crunchy may be on to something. Perhaps there are only limited records of Tony’s comings and goings, so there’s no proof he was at the office even when he was there … so who’s to know whether he ever did any work?
And Beau’s just an enabler.