DL Exclusive: Rep. Bryon Short Considering Run for State Insurance Commissioner

DL Exclusive: Rep. Bryon Short Considering Run for State Insurance Commissioner

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State Rep. Bryon Short (D-Highland Woods) today told Delaware Liberal that he is considering a run for State Insurance Commissioner. While he has not made a decision on the race, he told me that it's important that the IC's office does an effective job of 'setting the marketplace' to ensure competition and consumer choices, and to 'effectively address the concerns and problems facing consumers'. He also said that the work of the office 'is very important,  but unfortunately people aren't made aware as to just how important it is, and how it impacts them'. Short has attended the last two NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) meetings in order to  extend his knowledge for both his House committee work and to possibly prepare for a statewide run.
Tuesday Open Thread [12.2.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [12.2.14]

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E. J. Dionne, Jr.: "Now, it will be a Republican Congress vs. a Democratic president. Voters will have a much easier time seeing who stands for what...Obama and progressives should spend the next two years accomplishing as many useful things as they can, blocking regressive actions by Congress, and clarifying the choices facing the nation's voters. And they'll get much further by doing all three at once."
The 62 Project: Not Better Late Than Never. But It’s Finished. Just In Time To Change It.

The 62 Project: Not Better Late Than Never. But It’s Finished. Just In Time To Change It.

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I was planning to finish this in time for...well, some time before now. However, sloth and other events intervened. So here we have it, 1-62, for each and every member of the 147th Delaware General Assembly, based on their careers, not just the past session. For those I previously profiled, you can click on the links. For the rest, the floor is open for questions and vitriol. 1. Sen. Karen Peterson: A fierce negotiator/advocate who successfully leverages her bargaining power to pass progressive legislation. Imagine that. Accruing power not for personal ambition, but to pass a progressive agenda. An easy choice for #1. 2. Rep. Mike Barbieri: Quietly does outstanding work on kids' issues, and has helped turn back the neanderthal mandatory sentencing excesses of the Sharp/Smith/Vaughn/Brady years. He's impressed me from Day 1. A thinker and a doer. We need more social workers in the General Assembly. 3. Sen. Bob Marshall: Has gotten better and more effective as he's gotten older. He serves as perhaps the leading Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party in challenging Jack Markell's DINO-ism. He's got at least one more minimum wage increase in him. 4. Rep. Melanie George Smith: Her work, along with Barbieri and others, on sentencing reform, was legislating at its best.  It wasn't easy, it required a tremendous attention to detail, plus political smarts. Forget her political roots, focus on her legislative skills. 5. Sen. Dave Sokola: Anyone who thinks it was easy for a legislator from the Pike Creek/Hockessin area to support progressive reform wasn't around when he got elected. That's what he did and that's what he does. And, while he gets criticism from some of our education people, he stood up to the 'forced busing' bashers, including his own Pro-Tem, Tom Sharp.  His sponsorship of civil unions reflects the kind of person he is.
Bob Stachnik, Delaware’s quiet lion of liberalism

Bob Stachnik, Delaware’s quiet lion of liberalism

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Robert V. Stachnik, age 67, of Newark, DE, passed away on November 29, 2014. Bob was a founding member of the Howard Dean meetup in Newark. A member of the original core of 8 to 10, Bob saw early on that the Dean campaign was about more than simply promoting Howard Dean for the Democratic nomination. It was about reinvigorating and refocusing a political party around a simple ideal; that being a Democrat means you look out for the little guy. Later a founding member of Progressive Democrats for Delaware, Bob provided quiet but determined leadership as we attempted to get the Delaware Democratic Party to try and claw back some of its historic identity. This blog, in fact, is a testament to, and artifact of his leadership style. As the Dean campaign built momentum and the meetups grew from week to week, Bob spread the word, "If you have an idea, do it." We all did whatever suited our personalities and as spastic, loud and obnoxious as I was (am), Bob was diplomatic and calm. You could even say that he was thoughtful, scientific and plodding to a fault at times. I once made fun of him at a meeting by putting together a parody power point presentation called. "What to Have for Dinner." The comic pretense was that he used no fewer than 30 slides to convince his wife that roasted chicken and green beans would be a good choice for dinner. It was fun. Changing the Democratic Party seemed possible back then. We were insurgents. Now we are all scattered a bit. Demoralized, no doubt, by these times and this untimely loss. I miss him. His kind nature and full on nerdyness. I don't know now what I can do to honor this man whose loss will be felt by people who never knew him or never knew he ever lived. I'll have to think of something though.