My absence last week compels me to offer up a Deluxe Double Edition of Delaware Political Weekly at no extra cost to you the reader. Well, excepting whatever psychic toll might be exacted for reading beyond this point.
1. Pastor D Can’t Outrun Infamy.
As has been discussed on our blog, Derrick ‘Pastor D’ Johnson has been informed that he cannot legally run for office, in this case, for Mayor of Wilmington. The Department of Elections, after consulting with the Attorney General’s office, informed Johnson that he was ineligible, even though he had received a pardon from Gov. Markell for crimes he committed decades ago. The reason? Those convicted of certain ‘infamous crimes’ are barred from running and, according to the courts, are barred from running even after receiving a pardon. So, you may ask, just what constitutes an infamous crime? According to case law precedent, the crimes must be felonies, misdemeanors don’t count, which is how former and future State Rep. Herman Holloway, Jr. was able to run for office after being found guilty of “of a total of four counts of personal income tax evasion, two counts of attempting to evade or defeat tax and two counts of making false statements, all misdemeanors.”
This case is so worthy of a detour into the backroads of the Delaware Way that I must digress. Herman Holloway, Jr. is the son of the late Sen. Herman M. Holloway, Sr., one of the most revered legislators in Delaware history. ‘The Lesser’ as Ralph Moyed referred to Junior, got himself elected to the State House of Representatives, only to be forced to give up his seat due to these 1982 convictions. Bonus Points to anyone who can name his successor! In 1990, noted Democratic Governor Michael N. Castle (have I got that right?) granted Junior a pardon and, by 1992, Junior felt that his constituents needed his sage leadership, and sought to gain ballot eligibility. Let’s see if we have all the pieces here…powerful legislator, suspect convicted of ‘misdemeanors’ when felony counts could easily have been filed, Governor needing support from the Senate D caucus, pardon for Junior…anyone see a pattern yet? Oh, and then AG’s who chose to prosecute these offenses as misdemeanors, I’m sure with no regard to the family’s notoriety and political clout. End of digression. Can we agree that the Delaware Way had at least a little something to do with Junior’s relative (in both senses of the word) good fortune?
Now, back to Pastor D. If you read the cited case, (and you should, just to see the convoluted reasoning that enabled the solons to give Holloway his ballot slot), you will note that the Superior Court judges determined that misdemeanors do not constitute infamous crimes, hence Holloway was free to run.
What’s germane to Rev. Johnson are the citations concerning felonies. Specifically, the Court cited legal precedents, case law precedents at that:
1. “…an infamous crime, as that phrase is used in our Constitution (Art.2, Sec. 21) includes only felony convictions, without deciding that all felony convictions are necessarily infamous” (BTW, typical Delaware half-assedness there);
2. and, it “does not follow from , however, that every felony is necessarily a crime of infamy; on the contrary, the totality of the circumstances in each case must be examined before a determination may be made that a specific felony is infamous”. The cases, not the pardon.
Here’s the point. The courts have also held that a pardon does not wipe away the infamous crimes that were committed. So, the only way that Johnson could legally run would be if a legal determination were made that manslaughter and armed robbery do not constitute infamous crimes. While what he has done in the thirty or so years since he was convicted of these offenses may indeed be praiseworthy, current law does not permit him to run if manslaughter and armed robbery constitute infamous crimes. And that is the only consideration. Uh, do you think that manslaughter and armed robbery constitute infamous crimes? I do. I’ve got no skin in this game, but I think the Department of Elections is clearly correct in its ruling. Feel free to convince me otherwise.
2. The Tom Gordon Push Poll.
I was among many on this blog who was polled on the New Castle County Executive race recently. The poll only provided the chance to consider two candidates, or, more specifically, one candidate and one prospective candidate–Paul Clark and Tom Gordon. You could either vote for Clark, Gordon, or undecided. If you selected undecided, the push part of the poll kicked in, a question about would it impact your vote if you were aware of Paul Clark’s ethical lapses. No mention was made of Gordon’s misadventures. Let me be clear, and many of you realize this: A choice between Paul Clark and Tom Gordon is no choice at all. So far, Bill Shahan has been the placeholder for the Anybody But Clark constituency. There are more than enough prospective voters in the Anybody But Clark or Gordon camp. However, Bill Shahan looks more and more like just a placeholder every week. He has reportedly been less than impressive in candidate forums, and he has been invisible the rest of the time. It’s time for a serious alternative. If we can’t get Rich Krett back in the race, can we at least get someone as public-spirited as Rich Krett to jump in to this primary?
3. Shirley Price Has an Opponent.
About a month ago, former Democratic State Rep. Shirley Price, who had effectively been gerrymandered out of the House back in 2002, filed to run for the 38th RD seat currently held by Gerald Hocker. Hocker is leaving to run in the 20th Senatorial District, a seat currently held by George Bunting, who has announced his retirement. She now has a Republican opponent, Ronald E. Gray of Selbyville. Using the Google, it appears that Gray runs a small engineering company in Selbyville. Anyone care to flesh out a profile on this new candidate? Sussex Spies, you’ve been doing great so far! Don’t let me down.
4. Four-Day Primary Challenge Comes to an End.
On May 3, Tyler Brooks filed to challenge incumbent Eric Robinson for the 3rd District Wilmington Councilmanic seat. On May 7, Tyler Brooks withdrew. This one for completists only.
5. Unruh to Challenge State Senator Bruce Ennis.
T. Scott Unruh has filed to run against long-time Smyrna legislator Bruce Ennis. Democrat Ennis is a championship level vote-getter, so this will be a daunting challenge for Unruh. However, Unruh is the New Castle County President of the Delaware Farm Bureau, so he’s certainly a credible challenger. From a long-time farming family, he is also Chairman of the Southern States Board in Middletown, Master of Central 61 Grange in New Castle, and on the Executive Committee of the State Grange. I know it’s damning with faint praise, but it’s refreshing to find a non-wingnut R running for office.
6. Filings, We Have Filings!
Incumbent D State Rep. Gerald Brady (4th RD); Incumbent D State Rep. Rebecca Walker (9th RD); Incumbent R State Senator David Lawson (15th SD); D George Sweeney, Jr. for Kent County 5th District Levy Court Seat; and R Scott Witzke, for 1st Sussex County Councilmanic District (Witzke is ‘pro-Christopher’ and will likely challenge incumbent R Michael Vincent in a primary).
That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?