Breaking: State Rep. Rebecca Walker Will Not Seek Reelection
I first got a heads-up on this from a reader, and then I went to the Delaware Elections website and discovered that she is no longer listed among the ballot-qualified candidates.
In other words, Rebecca Walker has withdrawn for reelection in the 9th RD.
And, by waiting until after the filing deadline to remove her name, she withdrew in a manner that makes sure that Democratic voters will not choose her successor–the Party will designate her replacement. Classless right to the end. She knew she wasn’t going to run, but she opted to screw her constituents by not even letting them choose the next Democratic nominee.
She will be remembered for blocking the death penalty repeal bill from making it to the House floor.
And little else.
Gene Mauch may have been a bad baseball manager, but he knew what he was talking about when he said, “Sometimes, you add by subtracting.”
Slow news day.
But seriously folks. Speaking as a constituent…This is something. I wonder who Daniello and Hall-Long have in mind for this?
Maybe they can ungerrymander that Marino guy. He would’ve been easier pickins for the D’s than Hensley the Realtor.
My guess as to who will be named? Surely, there’s a state cop who has just retired, and needs to start on that second pension right away.
There are four in my neighborhood.
The Daniellos, John and Betsy (Maron), say that the successor will be chosen by the 9th RD committee.
Is this where I tell you I told you so?
I raised the same question awhile back, but we had people assure us in writing on the blog that she was running and would win easily.
I think she snookered everybody.
Who was it she beat in a primary a couple of elections back?
The Geekster knows the history better than I do. She had lost to Dick Cathcart before, told her committee that she wouldn’t challenge him in a rematch, the committee got behind a guy named Rick Griffiths, I think. Cathcart announced he wasn’t running, and Walker jumped back in the race and beat Griffiths in the primary and a former cop named Marino in the general. Not everybody was happy with her, um, opportunism. Walker then made sure that Marino was gerrymandered out of her district. He’s now running against Bethany Hall-Long for a state senate seat.
That’s a pretty good summary. I wasn’t as mad about her jumping back in as some, but her subsequent performance in office was lackluster.
Dickie Burris is still around? Chair of the 9th? I had no idea.
I think Richard Korn is probably available to run now.
This is the type of thing that just goes to show you that you have no clue. If you want to know what’s been going on in the 9th….ask someone who actually volunteers and participated. Not some disconnected speculator. She never changed a vote and stood strong on her positions. Check. You should have seen her run her committee. You have no clue what we lost in Dover. No clue! How many of you spectators ran and lost and still ran again? None.
Have to agree with Eby. Seems like everyone is worked up Abt her position on the repeal but she never wavered and handled it the way her constituents wanted. Let’s not fail to give her credit for her UNWAVERING support of the equal rights agenda. Her support of those bills weren’t popular at all down here but she did what she thght was right. Ur not going to get a far left state rep in the 9th so give her a break
Coming from the 9th, I am very proud of the work Rep. Walker has done. Keep in mind the loons that we have living down here. The sheer fact that we had a rep. willing to stand up for equality was impressive enough. And her decision not to run? Avoiding a primary is key in our district. We lost DC. We lost Brennan Estates. Long story short, we lost our liberal base. We need as much unity as possible, and a primary would have been painful.
Not looking for a ‘far left’ rep. She didn’t have to vote for the death penalty repeal. But she also didn’t have to make sure it was buried in committee. Sign the backer, release the bill on its merits, vote no on the roll call.
As to this what Robert wrote:
“Avoiding a primary is key in our district. We lost DC. We lost Brennan Estates. Long story short, we lost our liberal base. We need as much unity as possible, and a primary would have been painful.”…
Did the committee know that she wasn’t going to run? Based on what Rob wrote, seems like it. If so, the committee made sure that the voters weren’t going to decide the nominee. How did they know that there would otherwise be a primary that must be avoided at all costs? And, would there even have been a primary at all? If so, committee members were complicit in making sure that the D voters didn’t have a say in the nominating process.
As to ‘losing’ liberal parts of the district, you ARE aware, aren’t you, that Walker, as a fairly-embattled incumbent, held all the cards when it came to redistricting. She CHOSE to lose those areas.
Three newbies. Do the math.
I don’t understand all the Becky Walker bashing. I agree she should have let the death penalty bill out but none of our legislators have done everything we wanted them to. I have actually found her to be a bright and thoughtful person and I’m sorry she’s leaving.
Bright and thoughtful…and rigid when it came to letting that bill out of committee.
This was a big deal, she was in a position to block it, and she did.
Absent any other notable accomplishments, this will be what she is remembered for. Until the bill eventually passes. At which point, she’ll be forgotten.
If she is so good for the 9th, why did she quit? And why did she quit in a way that rigged a Daniello/Burris (?)/Hall-Long (?) pick for her replacement?
An aside: For the record, I’m coming around a bit on Hall-Long, but I would love it if she could be a little less insider baseball all the time.
There have been no complaints about the Speaker blocking good bills. I seem to recall a transparency bill that a certain Treasurer supported….
“There have been no complaints about the Speaker blocking good bills.”
That is demonstratively false. Read our ‘Pre-Game/Post-Game’ blogs for the last six months and get back to me. You just might learn something. Which, if form holds true, is the LAST thing you’re interested in doing. I’ll wait…
Aw geez, I just wrote out a comment and it didn’t appear, with the color button being a different color. What a way to kill a beautiful Friday evening!
JASON! GEEK! DEL DEM! EL SOM!–do I need to get the wooden spoon?
The Speaker blocked death penalty repeal and a plethora of other bills through his minions.
I wasn’t even a constituent in her district, but she helped me get an amendment added on to a resolution, so I will always be in her debt for that!