A: I can’t believe I lost to that dumbf*ck
Q: What is Brenda Mayrack thinking right now?
I hope she runs again. I chalk the loss up to Tom Carper and John Carney undermining the Democratic brand and thereby giving no support to down-ticket Dem challengers with less name recognition.
I vividly remember Wagner mansplaining to Mayrack that she didn’t understand auditing. Apparently Wagner doesn’t know how to 1) audit his own bank accounts; 2) read the details of his mortgage; and 3) respond to the bank asking for their payments. What a clown.
I love the auditor using the very precise financial terminology to explain how many payments he missed. “a bunch”
What a doofus.
There’s one major factual error in the story. The News Journal describes Wagner as someone “who routinely issues reports that blister Delaware government and nonprofit officials for misspending taxpayer dollars”.
No, he doesn’t. He rarely issues ANY reports and when he does, he provides cover for Dick Cathcart and Chip Flowers.
I mean, it’s not as if he was so busy at his job that he didn’t have time to pay the mortgage. And, with what the taxpayers pay him to do nothing, it’s not as if he didn’t have the means. Unless he was doing something that might lead to an audit…
She’s probably thinking what the rest of us are….WTF? How can a person who can’t manage his own finances (while earning six figures) inspect other people’s finances? It would be like making a convict attorney general. Makes no damn sense at all.
Not sure if anyone caught this, but in September 2012 the Wagners agreed to a “loan modification” plan. Loan modifications are only done when the loan has already become a problem loan. So this didn’t just start in Dec 2012. He gets a decent salary, I wonder where he is spending his money. $900 mortgage payments are pretty darn low to not be able to service your mortgage.
And you’ll notice that his mortgage was with Wilmington Trust, which apparently gave him a deal under which it automatically deducted his payments even when he didn’t have money in his account to cover it. Maybe Chip Flowers was on the right track.
I noticed that. Pretty sweet setup. His salary, the low mortgage and overdraft protection make me wonder what the hell he is spending all his money on.
Seriously… crack?
Jason,
Not crack … suspenders!
Unfortunately it’s not ideas that get you elected otherwise our state would be in better shape.
Wonder what, if anything, the state Democratic Party will do with this.
Even w/o Fox News, this story should have legs.
I’d sure be calling on Wagner to publicly explain this. As would Fox News, Charlie Copeland, et al, if a D was in this fix.
Story breaks after working hours Friday on a holiday weekend.
Yup. You’d think they’d save it for the Sunday paper.
Yo, Rufus and ElSom, if you’ve been watching delawareonline at the dead tree edition at all, you would realize that they post stuff online pretty much any time of day and that their main Sunday stories are often posted Friday night.
This one was posted before noon on Friday — hardly Friday night.
As to the politics of the situation, the problem here is that the Democrats don’t have anyone capable of acting as an attack dog in this situation. I mean, can you imagine John Daniello taking a shot at Wagner? Or the governor? Or even Brenda Mayrack?
Brian Boyle could do it, he’s the Executive Director.
But your point is well-taken. While I hate the ’24-hour news cycle’, you’d at least think the party would raise the legit questions surrounding this. Since our ‘leaders’ are basically R’s themselves, I hold out little hope.
Nothing short of public calls for his resignation are strong enough. Not able to manage one’s own finances should be enough to disqualify and individual from a public finance position.
Why is not one single person asking why it is that Brenda Mayrack, who we all thought was a credible candidate, was such an amateur that she didn’t even do any opposition research on her opponent? That’s literally Politics 101, isn’t it?
A simple Google search of the words ‘Tom Wagner + Foreclosure’ brings up a court docket that shows this foreclosure action dating back to 2013. And that’s a google search. Imagine what a truly professional oppo-research firm would’ve dug up.
Obviously it’s easy for me to say now as I Monday morning QB this, but I also didn’t run against the man. Brenda – what’s your excuse?
Wilmington Trust, which apparently gave him a deal under which it automatically deducted his payments even when he didn’t have money in his account to cover it.
Banks will give anybody overdraft protection for a fee; nothing special about it. I had it myself but cancelled because the fees were too high, plus a few other annoyances that made it a ripoff. It is essentially another credit card.
That said, I can understand if the overdrafts happened regularly and were paid off on time – that’s what the service is for – but even in Wagner’s story it sounds like he let the overdrafts ride and either wasn’t paying attention, or thought he could get away with it.
Ever miss a mortgage payment? It’s not something a bank just lets slide. He has been fully aware of his failure to meet his obligations since the first payment he missed.
ElSom,
Well, maybe that explains it. Boyle, once a loyal Chipmunk, isn’t going to trash the auditor who helped provide cover for his former mentor.
The oppo research question from RunCV79 is a damn good one.
Nobody did a bleeping Google search? Political malpractice, pure and simple.
El Som- I respectfully disagree. If you were to google Wagners name without the foreclosure attached you’d get a zillion hits on all of his “hard-hitting investigations”, another zillion hits on quotes from him in the paper and other references, another zillion from various other prominent Wagners across the country. As for hiring a professional dirt-digger to come up with this stuff, I’m sure they cost money. Maybe the democratic party could have ponied up a few shekels, but I think at the end of the day the conclusion I reached from the campaign is that no one in power D or R wanted a real auditor and Mayrack was on her own.
This is so Delaware. Not quite as bad as Timothy Gieithner being a tax cheat though, but still pretty embarrassing.
All are forgetting… Democrats did not go out and vote… That is a problem, a big problem, the only problem… which if solved, negates all discussion here, period.
“no one in power D or R wanted a real auditor and Mayrack was on her own.”
Rufus wins the internet!
“Not quite as bad as Timothy Gieithner being a tax cheat”
Idiot Republican. About 90% of the people in his tax bracket could be described as “tax cheats” because their opinion of what’s deductible differs from the IRS’ opinion. And if Geithner was a Republican, you’d be celebrating him for it and condemning the IRS, as your type does constantly. The only difference between Geithner and the rest is that he fought them longer.
Wagner, meanwhile, can neither make his mortgage payments nor come up with a believable story for why he didn’t.
Yeah, they’re exactly alike. You people are pathetic. You couldn’t even fool a child with that nonsense. The only people you fool are yourselves, which is why the rest of us think you fools.
Mission of the Auditor:
“The Auditor of Accounts, an elected office, serves as the State of Delaware’s fiscal watchdog. As the independent auditor, the Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA) is charged with responsibility for the State’s annual financial and federal single audits. AOA also helps to assure accountability of taxpayer dollars by conducting various audits and investigations.”
What part of a personal, semi-private financial matter is incongruous with the stated mission of the office?
Find indictable dereliction of his elected duty, or……
STFU and SIUYA. Cry me a fcking river until 2018.
Wipe your chin, I’m done.
“Idiot Republican. About 90% of the people in his tax bracket could be described as “tax cheats” because their opinion of what’s deductible differs from the IRS’ opinion.”
In Geithners’ own words he said, “These where careless mistakes”, “avoidable”, “I should have been more careful”, “I take full responsibility.”
Given Giethners’ position ,and the context in which I compared Wagner to him, I believe my comment is appropriate and accurate, especially in a jestive manner. So, lighten up Frances.
So there are two defenses.. ? Stupidity isn’t criminality. And a Democrat cheated on his taxes. Okay I guess, but pretty weak tea.
Well the State’s financial watchdog is about to be a dog sittin’ on a curb watching his house get sold at sheriff’s sale.
Regardless of the Google search terms, the action was filed back in 2013 and was fully public: http://courtconnect.courts.delaware.gov/public/ck_public_qry_doct.cp_dktrpt_docket_report?backto=J&case_id=K13L-07-031&begin_date=&end_date=
For a campaign to have done a search, concluded this matter was private and personal, and decided to not use it is one thing entirely. That’s a strategic decision, and we can argue with that all we want. (If that’s what happened, it’s dumb as shit.)
But if the Mayrack campaign didn’t even know about this – that is fucking insane, and ought to bar her from ever running for office again. Anyone have her digits to get some answers and accountability?
(For Delaware’s largest news outlet to not do routine court checks on candidates for office is similarly inexcusable but par for the course in that utterly decimated newsroom. About all you can expect of TNJ these days is that it will spell “Delaware” correctly.)
A month or so before the election, Jason correctly predicted the critical factor for this race; the Democratic party GOTV effort. She lost big in Sussex where the Sheriff’s race brought out the Rs but not Ds. She needed to make it up in NCCo, but the turnout was poor.
The facts of the Auditor’s Office performance should have been enough for Mayrack to win if voters had been paying attention.
It’s a measure of how low our electoral process has fallen if someone could be labeled “dumb as shit” for taking the high road.
In Geithners’ own words he said, “These where careless mistakes”, “avoidable”, “I should have been more careful”, “I take full responsibility.”
Statements for public consumption. You’d be defending him if he were a Republican.
“What part of a personal, semi-private financial matter is incongruous with the stated mission of the office? Find indictable dereliction of his elected duty, or…… STFU and SIUYA. Cry me a fcking river until 2018.”
Wow. That was uncalled for. Somebody piss in your eggs this morning? Who asked for his removal from office? We’ll be pointing and laughing until 2018, not crying a river.
@geezer: by 2018 this will be such old news, and he will have spun the story so many times that (assuming he runs again) it won’t get any traction for an office that 80% of the people (including Dems) don’t know from Recorder of the Deeds or Assistant Waste Procurement Officer.
Moral of the story: if you’re a politician, the best time to have embarrassing but not illegal news come out about you is two months after your re-election to a four-year term.
By 2018 he’ll be wearing an old pickle barrel — held up by suspenders, of course.
Best time for the story to come out – after drive time on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend two months after your re-election to a four year term.
Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
Geezer will point and laugh and I’ll cry a river for all of us until 2018.
Looking for an encore rogering, geezer?
Stay tuned for 2018, g.
I dunno, MA. Chip Flowers demonstrated that there is, indeed, such a thing as bad publicity, and seven terms is a lot even when the guy is doing a good job, let alone when he’s just coasting. Even Bill Roth lost eventually.
Maybe Matt Denn could run him out, in his Bend Over For Beau grand tour of lesser Delaware offices.
fyi – in DSN, the listing for the Wagner sheriff’s sale on Feb. 5 was there again this morning!
Maybe he can’t find an M&T branch?