Terms End and Begin Today

Outgoing Treasurer Flowers delivered a goodbye press conference to all yesterday (which you can listen to here if you are a masochist or willing), and he warned the residents of Massachusetts that he will soon run for office there.

Outgoing Beau Biden bid farewell in an op-ed to the News Journal yesterday:

Serving as Delaware’s Attorney General for the last eight years has been the greatest honor of my life. I will never be able to thank the people of Delaware enough for this privilege.

You allowed me to work with the talented men and women in the Delaware Department of Justice – extraordinary professionals whom I would stack up against any prosecutors in the United States.

Their track record proves it: tireless work to protect children, get criminals off of our streets, and hold accountable those responsible for the housing crisis. Working with our staff has been a genuine pleasure and their skill has allowed us to accomplish a great deal.

My focus from the beginning has been to protect the most vulnerable among us – and no one is more vulnerable than our children. That’s why one of my very first decisions was to create the Child Predator Task Force; the first unit of its kind in Delaware and one that has become a nationally-recognized leader. And while it is best known for catching the pediatrician who’s been called the worst pedophile in the country – Earl Bradley is now serving 14 life sentences plus 164 years – that was just one demonstration of the Task Force’s impact. […]

As my time as your Attorney General comes to an end, I feel good about what we have accomplished. In addition, I know that the important work of the DOJ is being passed to an excellent leader, Matt Denn. Matt is uniquely qualified to build on the DOJ’s past successes and will launch new, exciting endeavors of his own.

Thank you for this tremendous honor. In return, I’ve tried to remain true to the core values I believe define public service: honesty, integrity, and doing right by the people I serve.

And on a personal note, the overwhelming support you’ve shown my family over these eight years – particularly when I was overseas – is something we will never forget. Kindness like yours makes Delaware a special community; one that I hope to be able to serve again.

That last phrase was the only reference to any future electoral plans Beau may have.

Meanwhile, Beau and Chip’s replacements are being sworn in today:

Ken Simpler, the new State Treasurer, takes his oath at the Office of the State Treasurer in Dover tomorrow morning. Simpler – a Republican – replaces Chip Flowers after defeating Democrat Sean Barney. Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland will handle Simpler’s oath of office.

In Wilmington, Matt Denn officially begins his tenure as state Attorney General. He takes his oath of office at Wilmington’s Police Athletic League Center. He succeeds fellow Democrat Beau Biden after winning a five person race for th post. Superior Court President Judge Jan Jurden will administer his oath of office.

And state auditor, Tom Wagner begins his seventh term with a morning swearing-in ceremony at his Dover office. Wagner – a Republican – survived a challenge from Democrat Brenda Mayrack in November. Delaware Supreme Court Justice Henry duPont Ridgely, who will retire Jan. 31, will administer Wagner’s oath

Now, we officially have a vacant office, as Lt. Governor Matt Denn is vacating his position there to be sworn in as Attorney General. Now, we have been told that there is no provision in state law or under the Delaware Constitution for the replacement of the Lt. Governor should that office become vacant. In the reporting on Governor Markell’s appointment of Betty Lou McKenna as the interim Kent County Recorder of Deeds, it was said generally that Governor Markell has the power under the Constitution to fill all vacancies. I am sure that is just sloppy reporting or phrasing, as I specifically recall there was no provision to fill the vacancy in the Lt. Governor’s office. That is something a competent General Assembly should remedy immediately.