Delaware Political Weekly: June 10-16, 2016

1. Karen Peterson Retires.  Who Will Succeed Her?

You can’t replace her.  She really has been Delaware’s Best Legislator for perhaps as long as she’s been a legislator.  And let’s talk about the term ‘legislator’.  To me, she was such an effective legislator because she took on the big issues, and was successful in enacting some of the most progressive legislation in recent memory.  No one has meant more to equal rights for all Delawareans than Karen.  She is truly an historic figure, and deserves to be recognized as such.  Her combination of idealism and legislative smarts simply can’t be replaced.

Someone, however, will succeed her.  If I had to bet, I’d bet on Tim Sheldon.  Sheldon, you may recall was Tom Sharp’s hand-picked choice to replace Sharp, who basically was living at the beach when he left office. You may recall that Peterson had her car tires slashed during that campaign.  It’s not fair to place the blame on Sheldon.  But it’s pretty clear that the construction trade goons who backed him had no problem employing such intimidating tactics. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had pretty much a clear field going into the general election.  The only other name that I’ve heard who might actually run is Val McCartan, who is Patti Blevins’ Chief Staffer.  I like Val, but I don’t see her as a glad-handler who is going to go door-to-door in a tough campaign.  She is a highly professional and skilled Senate staffer, but I don’t think she has the candidate gene. I mean that as a compliment.

2. She Did It. Cabrera Files for Mayor.

All along, I was certain that she was just using her potential candidacy as an excuse to get some free pub. I was wrong. She has filed and, who knows, she maybe could win.  In an age of identity politics, let’s face it, she’s the only woman in the race, and she’s not the longest shot in the field. Would she be a good mayor?  All we can do is look at her background.  IMHO, it’s pretty impressive. Quite a bit of business and networking experience.  She now seems like a serious candidate with a chance to win.  Since I don’t live in the city, I want to hear from those with their ears closer to the ground.

3. NCC Dems Endorse.

As Jason330 wrote yesterday, the NCC RD’s outside the City of Wilmington endorsed:

Tom Gordon: NCC Executive

Penrose Hollins: NCC Council President;

and recommended for statewide endorsement:

Bryan Townsend: US Congress

Bethany Hall-Long: Lt. Governor

Trinidad Navarro: Insurance Commissioner.

I don’t really know what to make of this, and I question what the endorsements mean.  Tom Gordon is still ethically-bankrupt.  Trinidad Navarro is Mitch Crane revisited, only not as qualified. As much as I’m glad that Bryan Townsend  was endorsed and believe it’s b/c of how much canvassing he and his campaign had already done, there are three credible candidates in that race (well, if you include Sean Barney), and I’d just as soon see the Party stay neutral in that race.

So, I pose this question to the readers: Are these endorsements more or less valuable than a bucket of warm spit? Please give reasons for your answers.

4. Joe Miro Gets An Intriguing Challenger.

Man, that guy has been around forever.  Born in Cuba in 1946, served on NCC Council from 1992-1998, and has been in the General Assembly ever since. President of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. Has 5 kids, all of the first names beginning with the letter ‘J’. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)  Of course, he’s still a piker when compared to some of the D state senators, but he’s a senior statesman in the House.  Anyway, he now has a Democratic opponent, and she’s the type of opponent that Joe Biden, circa 2007-08, might have referred to as a ‘very well-spoken African-American’.  Her name is Lanette Edwards.  She’s our kind of candidate.  An Ed D. A career educator. 12 years in the classroom, and many more years as both an Assistant Principal and Principal. Also formerly an Adjunct Professor of Education at Delaware State, and the Interim Director for TRAXIS, a teachers’ education program. I spoke to her, and she is passionate about changing the direction of education in Delaware. This shapes up as one of the few races that might well be worth our involvement. Oh, and to show you my equanimity now that the presidential primary is effectively over, she was chosen to introduce Hillary Clinton at her Delaware rally.

5. Velda Is Back.

Velda Jones-Potter has filed for Wilmington City Treasurer,  where she will face Darius Brown in a primary. I’ve long since given up trying to decipher the machinations between the Potters and Dennis Williams, but I’ll leave it to our Wilmington Kremlinologists to suss out who is/isn’t feuding with each other this week.

5. Filings.

State Rep. Helene Keeley (D-RD3); Erin Hutt, Candidate for Wilmington City Council District 3.

Quite the week.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?