Delaware Political Weekly-Feb. 25-March 2, 2012
1. Do Dems Have Their Candidate for New House District?
They, at least, have a candidate, and one who appears to be quite credible at that, in the newly-relocated 11th Representative District. Lynne W. Newlin of Clayton has filed to run in the district that straddles New Castle and Kent Counties. Newlin is Vice President of the Smyrna School District Board of Education, and works as Manager of Information Technology-Network and Systems Services at the University of Delaware. The 11th District was previously located in Brandywine Hundred and was most recently represented by Greg Lavelle. Population shifts precipitated the move of the district during last year’s redistricting. The new district is generally considered a swing district with perhaps a D lean to it. Of course, if you’re just, I don’t know, a member of the public curious to see what those numbers are, you can’t get them from the Delaware Elections website. No, all that comes up there are the numbers for the old Brandywine Hundred 11th District. To quote curmudgeonly ex-Yanks’ and Mets’ skipper Casey Stengel, ‘Can’t anybody here play this game?” I understand that final maps await some more county doodling, but is it asking too much for raw district numbers? In March of a bleeping election year? Rhetorical question. Answer is obviously ‘Yes’.
2. Rethugs’ Delaware Presidential Primary Set
Four candidates met last week’s filing deadline, and they are the Four Left Standing: Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. The primary takes place on Saturday, April 24. Because there were no filed challengers to President Obama, there will be no Democratic presidential primary. Should save the state some $$’s. Fewer machines and fewer workers needed. Delaware’s primary will be a ‘winner-take-all’ for its 17 delegates. Wonder what the over/under is for total candidate appearances from this point forward. I’m setting the number at 0.5. Place yer bets.
3. And Then There Were Three…
for the New Castle County Executive race. Incumbent Paul Clark joined challengers Richard Krett and Bill Shahan as a filed candidate this week. Clark’s dream scenario is to have multiple primary opponents. Not coincidentally, that is my nightmare scenario, and a nightmare scenario for those who have no intention of voting for the ethically-challenged incumbent. Here’s hoping that this turns into a one-on-one matchup.
4. Return of the Rasslin’ Barrister!
Ron Poliquin will once again toss his spandex-encased frame into the political arena, once again seeking the 31st Representative District seat in Kent County currently held by Darryl Scott. Known to local ring aficionados as ‘The Honorable’, and notable for his unibrow, not unlike that of WWE star Santino Marella, Poliquin brings veteran comic relief to the race. Don’t believe me? Perhaps this trip down Memory Lane will change your mind. Poliquin barely lost a primary to yet another Rethug aparatchik Ron Smith for this seat in 2010. Barely, as in 14 votes, 549-535. Scott got 59.1% of the vote in the general vs. Smith, and I don’t see him as any more vulnerable this time, regardless of opponent. Needs to protect against eye gouges, though. C’mon, ref!
5. Filings, We Have Filings
State Sen. Karen Peterson (9th District); State Rep. Mike Barbieri (18th); State Rep. John Viola (26th); Andy Staton, running for the new Sussex 6th Senatorial District; and Rep. Ruth Briggs King (37th RD), have all filed since our last report. Peterson and Barbieri are among the best that we have in Dover. Viola and King, uh, aren’t. BTW, I’m talkin’ to you, Kent County Department of Elections, is it really necessary to require members of the public to open an Adobe file to see the names of candidates who have filed? The state, NCC, and Sussex County websites have managed to at least make the filings relatively user-friendly. Maybe one of you has a grandkid who can show you how to make the info more easily available. Unless, of course, you have no interest in doing that.
That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
The only thing I know about Lynne Newlin is that she has habit of stiffing people who do work on her house. It is the kind of reputation, once earned, is hard to get rid of in the ‘everyone knows everyone’ kind of place like Clayton. That said, she got elected to the school board so maybe stiffing people who do work on your house isn’t such a big deal.
For my money, Ron Poliquin has the best head-shot in all of politics.
Kevin Wade on Facebook has been putting up the dumbest polls on the planet. One asks How Should Senator Carper vote on the *Rights of Conscience* Amendment? Possible answers: Vote for Religious Freedom or Go with the Constitution or Follow the Constitution in all things thats his oath (sic).
There’s more like it from the Kevin Wade brain trust on his page. Which pretty much says to me that the GOP has tapped its Clown Show wing to run against Carper.
Cass, that reminds me…over the past week or so, a Kevin Wade ad has been airing on WDEL. Mentions Wade’s name 7 or 8 times during the course of the ad, and stresses that we need Kevin Wade in Washington.
But the ad is paid for a PAC ‘not affiliated with any candidate…’
Is this a result of Citizens United? I thought that PACs could only run ‘issues-oriented’ ads, and could not make a direct and specific appeal on behalf of a candidate, yet that is exactly what this ad does.
Any barristers of the non-spandex variety out there to set me straight?
The ad that’s running on WDEL also describes Wade as “an outsider.”
It shows how far the Delaware Republicans have fallen when the candidate expected to receive the endorsement of the party leadership is being promoted as “an outsider.”
Where have you gone, Mike Castle and Pete du Pont?
Mike Castle is laughing all the way to the bank with his sweet lobbying deal. du Pont is laughing all the way to wherever people who pay virtually no income tax laugh their way to.
Pete du Pont is like the Hugh Hefner of the Delaware GOP. Just like Hef’s housemates are getting skankier and more caricature-like as Hef ages, Pete’s candidates are getting kookier and more cartoonish.
(Tough analogy – was the payoff worth it?)
LOL
Maybe the analogy reveals more than you think. Has anyone ever seen Hef and Pete together?
Anyone but Coons lap dog – Paul Clark