First, some background.
State Representative Rebecca Walker (D) has represented this district for four years, first elected in 2010. She has risen quickly in the committee structure of the House, chairing the House Judiciary Committee (and thus bottling up some more progressive legislation like death penalty repeal) in the last term. She has a reputation for being overly cautious politically (like not going for her rematch against the forever vulnerable former Republican Majority Leader Dick Cathcart in 2010, to whom she lost in 2008, until Cathcart dropped out) and not being an overly good campaigner. This year, while some of us expected her to retire and not run, she surprised us and refiled to run. And then, two days after the filing deadline, she announced she was withdrawing and not running for reelection. The reason she did this was to not allow the voters in her district any control or any voice over who their nominee was going to be. For you see, after the primary filing deadline passed on July 8, the RD Committee for the district gets to decide who the nominee is, usually under severe pressure from higherups in the party.
Well, that is what is happening. The candidate being pushed, allegedly by Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, is Jason Horitz. Update: I just spoken with Speaker Schwartzkopf, and he strongly denies being involved in any way with pushing any candidate in this 9th RD, whether it is Andye Daley or Jason Horitz. He doesn’t even think he has ever met or spoken with either one.
Further, since I posted this, we have discovered that the other interested candidate in this race is Andye Daley. Ms. Daley is also interested in being nominated for this race, and she likewise is a former Republican. Here is something she posted on Delaware Liberal back in 2010-2011 after managing Tom Kovach’s campaign:
May I chime in here guys? I am not sure who Republican Dave is…But I know who I am, I was Tom’s Campaign Manager and I could not be further from the Tea Party. I (as is Tom) am a moderate Republican. We had very little support from anyone from the “Tea Party” and Far right wing. A few members of the Kent County GOP came up to help with some lit drops, and a parade, and some calling, but the majority of our campaign was not from that sect of the Delaware GOP. We welcomed help from anyone on our campaign, I’d D’s and R’s . Our objective was to fix a broken and unbalanced County Government, nothing more and nothing less. Moreover, I do not know Evan Q, even if I fell over him. Glen U. had Tom on one radio talk show he was subbing for and I need to check , but I am pretty sure we did not cash the check from Christine. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.
Ms. Daley reached out to me on Facebook and email after some comments were made about her below, and I asked her to fill out the questions I posited to Mr. Horitz below (and so I highly encourage Mr. Horitz to do the same if he is actually campaigning for the nomination. So, back to the original post…
Here is his twitter profile. He is currently the Treasurer of the 9th RD Committee. His twitter feed reads like he is politics fan, and he has been retweeting stuff from Brenda Mayrack (it seems he is a big supporter of hers), Matt Denn, Beau Biden, and Bethany Hall Long. He’s a Ravens fan, but we can forgive that. I don’t see any of his personal political opinions. He does seem to a happy father and husband, which is great. But I want to know more about him, especially since a Google gives me this:
That third one caught my attention.
Jason J. Hortiz of Middletown has announced his candidacy for the New Castle County Recorder of Deeds office. Jason recently married last July and is currently employed by Bank of America in Wilmington. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Wilmington College and will complete his coursework for his Master’s of Science in Management and Public Administration this summer, also from Wilmington College.
Jason, 26, is an active volunteer for the Delaware Republican Party and has worked on local and statewide campaigns for Rep. Dick Cathcart, Sen. Charlie Copeland, Ray Clatworthy, Rep. Mike Castle, Ernie Lopez, Judge Bill Lee, Jim Ursomarso and the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004.
It would appear that Mr. Horitz ran in 2006 as a Republican. Now, I all for ignoring youthful indiscretions of one’s past, and I can ignore the fact that he was such an avid Republican that he actively campaigned for the REELECTION of George W. Bush. I can accept that after 2006, a year during which the country saw the light and gave the Democrats a landslide victory, that he did too and because a very active Democrat. I can accept that, but I do still hear that he is still ultra-conservative. Now, I am not sure in what way he is ultra-conservative, but that is what I am told. Committee members of the 9th RD need to know what Mr. Horitz’s positions are on the issues that unite us as Democrats. Is is for marriage equality? Is he for reproductive freedom? Does he support banning discrimination against all LGBT persons? Does he believe that a worker’s right to healthcare is more important that his or her employer’s religious beliefs? Does he believe the Iraq War was based on lies and should have never been fought? Does he believe in the social safety net, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Universal Healthcare? Does he believe is raising taxes on the wealthy rather than cutting programs for the poor? Does he believe in regulating Wall Street and the banking industry to prevent the excesses that caused the Great Recession? I think we all need to know that publicly, before he becomes a nominee of the Democratic Party.
Andye Daley’s responses in bold:
Are you for marriage equality? I have always been 100% for Marriage equality!
Reproductive freedom? Being as I have been pro-choice my whole life when I was for a brief time a Republican … I got slammed many a time for being out spoke about my pro Choice Stance. This Has not changed.
Support banning discrimination against all LGBT persons? Being Jewish I know a little something about Stereotyping and Prejudice and Intolerance. I never have and will never stand for discrimination against anyone. I am a Holocaust Educator and anyone who is a Student of History knows what Discrimination can lead to… The Dangers are real and present and must be stopped.
Do you believe that a worker’s right to healthcare is more important that his or her employer’s religious beliefs? Yes unequivocally . Religious Beliefs are very important to some and should not be discounted but as it pertains to assuring our residents have adequate and accessible healthcare …. I vote for that every time.
Do you believe the Iraq War was based on lies and should have never been fought? I believe that War , as a rule, leads to nothing by destruction and pain on all sides. Diplomacy should be our first defense. I was not in favor of entering into Iraq. In Fact I remember March that year… telling my students how horrible this decision was and how long and large a toll this would cost us. Both in money and lives.
Do you believe in the social safety net, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Universal Healthcare? I am a firm believer in taking care of our most needy citizens and the Seniors who have given so much to this country. so Yes!
Do you believe is raising taxes on the wealthy rather than cutting programs for the poor? Although as a rule I would not like to raise taxes on anyone. I do believe if we have the ability to pay a little more to protect those in need … that is what we must to. Morally and Ethically
Do you believe in regulating Wall Street and the banking industry to prevent the excesses that caused the Great Recession? Yes Yes Yes!