If you wanted to keep State Rep. John Kowalko relatively silenced, or too busy chairing a committee and involved in the minute details of legislation to be a bother or a distraction, then you keep him on as many committees as you can. Kavips:
Committees are the black hole of government. Bills go in there and very few people report on what happens while there but we cheer if they come out and boo if they don’t. John was on the committee that sent SB 51 to the House floor; he was on the committee that sent HB 165 to the House floor. He was on that committee that sent HB 334 to the House Floor. He voted against every single one. Point is: what good did it do? They are all laws now.
But while out of legislature this year John has been instrumental in helping parents of Christina bring their concerns before the general public… Even the News Journal has turned against Jack Markell. John has been everywhere he needs to be, even on WDEL. Last spring, John was the prime legislator mover getting Newark citizens involved in TDC’s annulment. One can, just by making the simple comparison between his advocacy for Newark’s citizens compared to that of Baumbach’s, who seemed to pull back as the threats began to mount, is enough to convey the idea of how fearless John is, when he takes the concerns of his constituents to heart.
We need John’s voice now more than ever. Having it bottled up in a committee where he is the lone dissenting vote, thereby silencing him for months from the public’s eye, would bode ill for all Delaware’s children… He is now free, (with no strings to hold him back) to plaster the Markell administration with tons of truth sticky-notes Truths which will tie Markell up as he is forced to defend; something that has not happened yet in his six years.
This removal is probably the best thing that could have happened. What will happen in the committee will still get relayed to John, he will continue to be on top of it, who can then relay it to Allan at noon and night… A much smarter move for Schwartzkopf would have been to have kept him on that committee, tied down, bedazzled, and worn thin….
This move was stupid because it has also reawakened and galvanized the progressive left, not just because “one of our own” was removed, but because the move was so transparent.