Delaware Political Weekly: Filing Deadline Countdown Edition
The filing deadline is this Tuesday, July 12 at 12 noon. After Tuesday, parties may file candidates, but individuals cannot file on their own separate from the party. The deadline for withdrawing one’s candidacy and getting one’s filing fee returned is this Friday, July 15 at 4:30 pm. Friday is also the deadline for candidates to switch from one race to another. I’ll likely be out campaigning for the candidate of my choice (Bryan Townsend) at the Tuesday deadline, so please keep us posted on any last minute developments.
1. Colin Bonini Has Filed for Governor, John Carney Has Not.
Of course, Carney will. But the vibe coming out of that campaign is to keep Carney away from any substantive discussions with anybody on anything until after he’s elected. Since he stands for nothing but the status quo, it’s understandable, but incredibly cynical. Where does he stand on education, especially the ongoing stalemate over Wilmington schools, minimum wage, our looming budget deficit, civil forfeiture, anything, for that matter? The fact that we don’t know can only mean that Carney and his team don’t want us to know. Is Carney gonna bring that Concord Coalition shit to Delaware? We deserve to know. I, for one, think we already know. Which is why Carney doesn’t engage in any real policy discussion.
2. Primary Set for Sen. Peterson’s Seat.
A construction trades guy vs. a lobbyist for the University of Delaware. John Walsh vs. Caitlin Olsen. Peterson has endorsed Olsen. And there’s much more to Olsen’s background than just her current UD position. Here is the News-Journal article on the contest. While the R’s may field a candidate, the winner of this primary will almost certainly be the next senator from SD 9.
3. Some Legislative Incumbents Get Challengers. Of Sorts.
D Barbara Vaughan will face State Rep. Steve Smyk (R-20). Lots of civic work, nice lady. Pretty much no chance.
R Timothy Conrad will face State Rep. Ed Osienski (D-24). A long-time shuttle bus driver, currently transportation supervisor at UD. No chance. However, what if Bryan Townsend wins the congressional seat and Osienski (who would be my choice) wins Townsend’s Senate seat? Maybe Conrad would be in a better position. So the run sorta makes sense.
4. Rethugs Get Primary for IC.
Perennial loser Jeff Cragg has filed to challenge perennial hater George Parrish. Perhaps the Party wants somebody, anybody, from north of the canal on the ticket. Which reminds me. Will they even have a candidate for Lt. Governor? Which raises this question. Let’s assume for a moment that Bethany Hall Long wins the Democratic primary for LG. Let’s assume that there are no other filed candidates from other parties for the position. Wouldn’t it make sense for the election for her Senate seat to be held during the November elections rather than hold a special election likely in December when nobody would vote? I don’t know whether it’s even legal, but it would sure make sense to have a representative election with solid voter turnout rather than wasting money on a Special Election.
5. Yet More Candidates Enter Wilmington Council Races.
Richard Dyton (R) for Council At-Large. Emmanuel Magruder (IPOD) for Council At-Large. Yolanda McCoy (D) for 6th Councilmanic District. I won’t even pretend to suggest that I know anything about any of them.
So, let’s track these last two days together, shall we? Whenever there’s an update, please let us know. Me? I’m hoping for some withdrawals and maybe some switches. Other than one glaring missed opportunity for the D’s (I’ll wait ’til after the deadline to properly bury them), the field looks pretty much set unless John Carney decides not to run for governor. If only…
That’s it for now. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
So this is what John Carney’s “leadership” looks like? Pitiful. Since Carney is such a stone cold lock, I might have to throw an impotent protest vote to Bonini.
There may be things to criticize John Carney for but I don’t get this one. Before the endorsement craze in the Del Dem Party, candidates used to file on the last day all of the time.
It’s not just the filing. It’s how he has consistently pushed back the start of his gubernatorial campaign and pushed back even discussing what he wants to do as Governor.
First, it was out of ‘deference’ to Beau, then it was b/c he had an operation, THEN it was b/c he didn’t want to get involved during the current legislative session. Really?
It’s a pattern. I think it’s b/c he learned eight years ago that the public saw that there was nothing there, and that there still isn’t.
Hey, he can always prove me wrong. He’ll actually have to stand for something, I mean, besides his own election, first.
“Where does he stand on education, especially the ongoing stalemate over Wilmington schools, minimum wage, our looming budget deficit, civil forfeiture”
Fair questions
What is Governor Markell’s position on these issues?
For some reason John Carney seems to draw a level of distrust or scrutiny that Jack Markell never has. I sometimes wonder if the last eight years would have been the same, better or worse had John Carney won in 2008? My guess is probably a mixed bag.
I beg to differ on the likely outcome of the race in the 20th RD. Democratic candidate Barbara Vaughan is very-well respected in the district for her years of civic involvement. Rep. Smyk has angered both moderate Republicans (both of them) and even tea party Republicans through his erratic voting record and sponsorship of bills that seemed illogical. In the last presidential election, Smyk was elected by a margin of only 780 votes. The Democrats have a 200 vote registration edge, with over 5000 registered in other than the two mail parties.
I also want to mention a race against a Republican that is the most likely Democratic pick-up in the House. The Democrat filed last week. That being the 41st district seat that Republican Rich Collins won by only 250 votes over then-incumbent John Atkins in 2014. 2014 was a very low turnout year for Democrats. Atkins beat Collins by 69 votes in 2012. The Democratic candidate is former long-term Dagsboro councilman and then mayor Brad Connor. Brad was innovative in Dagsboro and brought sewers to his town by forming a partnership with neighboring Frankford. Brad is a lifelong Sussex Countian, former radio show host, current Bethany Beach business person, former president of the Sussex County Association of Towns and Vice President of the state association. I have heard from more than a few Sussex Republicans that they like Connor and would not be sorry if Collins lost.
Jen: Your education question is a good question. I think Pandora uploaded a clip from Markell back in 2008, and what he SAID about education policy back then turned out to be about 180 degrees different than what he did to (use of the word deliberate) education. Which is why so many of us who supported Markell are so disappointed in him.
Carney hasn’t spoken about education, nor any other big issue facing Delaware. This despite the fact that he KNEW he would be the D nominee for governor after Beau Biden died.
As far as mistrust, we only have to look at his congressional record. His support of gutting social security allegedly in the name of saving it (you know, the Concord Coalition stuff). His constant ‘reaching across the aisle’ to cut deals not in the interest of Democratic constituencies.
I don’t have time to do it today, but if you go back in our archives, maybe just using ‘Carney’ for your search, you will find many examples of bills where Carney took the wrong stand, at least for those of us who want to see the interests of Delaware citizens supersede the special interests.
Carney has earned well, at least my, distrust on merit. YMMV.
Mitch, you may be right on the Collins race. However, up until John Atkins’ latest brush with law enforcement, he was gearing up for another run. Last-minute replacements rarely do well.
On the Smyk race, all I can say is “Keep Hope Alive!”
El Som- Brad Connor was not a “last minute replacement” for John Atkins. Mr. Connor expressed his interest in running a year ago. He did the required preliminary work while waiting to see what John was going to do. The Party in the 41st is behind him, as is the county Party. I am confident we will win that seat. Of course my confidence led me to once think I would be running for re-election as Insurance Commissioner this year-instead of supporting my friend Trini Navarro.
The News Journal said he had surgery last year, before he announced for Governor. Was he suppose to be campaigning a year and a half out? Why would he campaign before Summer 2016 without a primary? I really don’t remember people campaigning statewide before the Summer unless they had a primary. You’ve been paying attention longer than me, but I just don’t get what the drama’s about.
Not campaigning is one thing, but Carney has no positions. He has made no case for his election AT ALL. Oh Wait. He is a fairly decent replacement for people who were going to vote for Beau, but can’t because he is dead. That is his only rationale so far. And that is the dog that does not bark.
Why doesn’t he have any positions?
What does he think about the pressing issues of the day?
Who the fuck knows?
..or at least he didn’t until about two minutes ago:
https://johncarney.org/a-vision-for-delaware/
Jason,
I’d be more than happy to represent you and your impotent protest vote. I mean you might as well have someone who’s willing to defend all of your civil liberties and not just the second amendment…
“Delaware’s next governor needs to lead our state through a transition to an innovation economy that will provide Delawareans with well-paying middle class jobs of the future.”
He should credit Getty Images with this “vision,” because it’s the equivalent of a stock photo. Government has a minimal role to play in creating “an innovation economy,” and there’s little evidence that there will be any such thing as “well-paying middle class (sic; should have a hyphen) jobs of the future.”
The only jobs government is in the business of creating involve building public works — roads and sewers, mostly — and the pay level associated with those jobs will be determined in part by outside factors. For the most part, those construction jobs are middle-class, but only because unions represent large parts of the nation’s construction work force.
What I object to is that Carney is a government-finance guy, so either he knows how this really works and is just spitting out boilerplate bullshit, or he’s been misrepresented as being a numbers-cruncher all these years. Neither option says anything good about him.
I have friends who know him well and speak the world of his compassion, but it’s apparently harder to spot from further away.
@Sean: Talk about misreading your audience. Progressives are not interested in defending the Second Amendment. Their main area of agreement with libertarians is government transparency.
Nothing personal, but the U.S. has more of the “liberties” you people value than just about any other country, and it already costs us 30,000 lives a year from firearms alone. Run your losing campaign here at your own risk.
@anonymous:
My second amendment comment was a jab at tossing a pity vote at Bonini. I’m more interested in auditing the DIAC, NCC’s ALPR program, the DSP’s stingray program, of course civil asset forfeiture without a conviction, “free speech” zones, lack of transparency with the complaints in the Department of Labor, lack of transparency in education, wasteful spending, the list goes on.
Sean Goward is getting my impotent protest vote.
While I agree with you on those issues, very few others do, and sadly even were you to be elected you could not do a thing to stop the abuses you cite. The people who run this state would not allow it.
A protest vote is most effective when cast for the enemy of the person being protested. In this case, that’s the Republican. It’s easy to vote for someone who’s reasonable. Voting for Bonini is, in that sense, like voting for Trump — you know he’s the worst, that’s why you’re doing it.
@anonymous;
The best defense is a good offense. If you want to really vote for the enemy of government largesse, it’s better to quit voting for evil period and put someone in power who is going to push that power down as close to the people as possible. If you think that Bonini is at all the enemy of those programs after an impotent two decades in the state Senate, you’re mistaken. If nothing else, A) things will not get worse under a Goward administration, because I understand that there’s a purpose for checks and balances, and B) people will know a hell of a lot more about the operation of their government and the violations of their civil liberties, and then they might be a little more empowered to make more informed decisions about who they choose to manage their affairs.
Someone named Kevin Tinsley just filed to primary Carney, not even sure who he is
AP reports: “Kevin Tinsley of Camden, a political unknown, also filed candidacy papers Monday, setting up a possible primary contest against Carney. But elections officials said Tinsley also left signed withdrawal papers and indicated that he may withdraw from the race later this week.”
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/11/delaware-congressman-files-as-candidate-for-govern/
Might be this guy? https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-tinsley-300ab23
Just got home from work. Thanks for the updates!
Bane, my point about Carney is that he HAS been running in terms of doing the glad-handing. He HASN’T up ’til now provided any substance. There sure wasn’t any in his announcement letter. I’ll head on over to his website in a bit to see if there’s anything there.
I see the R’s have scared up candidates against a couple of Kent County D representatives. Jean Dowding has filed to oppose Sean Lynn, who is one of the true progressives in Dover. Patricia Foltz has filed against Andria Bennett, who is pretty close to useless.
Dowding is a Smyrna real estate agent. Foltz, um, will require more research as a quick Google check revealed nothing.
Oh, and yet ANOTHER candidate for Wilmington City Council. D Vashun Turner in the 5th District.
Here’s his website:
http://vashfor5th.com/
More on Patricia McDaniel-Foltz. Longtime social studies teacher, was elected as an officer in the Kent County Republican Party back in 2010. Don’t know if she still is a party official since the county party officials are not listed on the Kent County R website.
VASH!!!
Janice Gallagher to run against Trey Paradee
Sam Guy running for Wilmington Council at-large
Wonder if Gordon paid his filing fee. I’m SURE he told him not to campaign on county time and not to use any county resources. Or, am I?
Bet that Foltz woman in Kent County is related to Andy Foltz, a Republican state senator representing the Dover area back in the ’70s
@SG: Read it again. The vote is a protest vote; nobody is under the impression either you or Bonini will win, so being better than him misses the point. I specifically said the vote for Bonini hurts Carney more because a) it’s a vote for the enemy party from Carney’s standpoint and b) if someone would vote for a lightweight like Bonini, he must not like Carney very much. Whereas if someone votes Libertarian, he’s catergorized as just another crank. You might think of him as a committed, engaged voter, but to them he’s just another crank.
Jesus, are you really going to fish for votes on a liberal blog? I think there’s a warning posted about consuming anything you catch.
SW–Is DOE tweeting out this info? You’re ahead of the curve, which I like.
BTW, Gallagher has been Secretary of the Kent County Republican Party. Looks like the committee members are running where they can’t find candidates.
I was just going down the lists at http://elections.delaware.gov/reports/prim_fcddt.shtml and http://elections.delaware.gov/reports/genl_fcddt.shtml.
That’s what I was doing, but I guess they posted some new ones even after the official close of business.
BTW, here’s one I missed, yet another Wilmington council entrant:
D Kathleen Perkins, 2nd Councilmanic District.
Two more filings to start the day. Both–wait for it–for Wilmington City council seats.
D Gladys Spikes for a Council-At-Large seat. That’s 8 D’s for three seats.
R Gregory Luna for a Council At-Large seat. That’s 4 R’s (plus one IPOD) for one seat.
BTW, based on that News-Journal poll, I expect both Maria Cabrera and Bob Marshall to withdraw from the mayoral race by week’s end. I hope one or two others join them.
THAT didn’t take long. Kevin Tinsley is no longer listed as a candidate for governor.
R state rep Jeffrey Spiegelman gets an opponent.
David Neilson of Townsend who, I believe, is a horse dentist.
Someone’s subscribing to that Al Mascitti city math.
D John McCafferty (I’m guessing he’s white, and, um, Italian?) has filed for City Council President. The other two candidates, Hanifa Shabazz and Justen Wright, are not.
I’m sure the R’s are THRILLED about this. Mark Blake has filed to primary Barry Nahe for the privilege of running against Tom Gordon (or perhaps Matt Meyer).
Perennial loser Ken Matlusky has filed for the D primary for City Treasurer. This is one time the Mascitti math won’t work. Matlusky has no credibility.
DD’s favorite R, Austro-Prussian economic true believer Rob Keesler, has become the 6th candidate for that one Wilmington At-Large seat reserved for a non-Democrat. 5 R’s, one IPOD.
So, Sam guy is running against Waynna for city council at-large? That should be interesting as they are both working in the county executive’s office.
The R’s have their Lt. Governor candidate. La Mar T. Gunn. Here’s his website:
http://www.gunnforus.com/
According to his website (Gunn For Us? Really?): Gunn is “(n)ationally recognized for his tireless work exposing fraudulent banking practices, unscrupulous counterfeiters, and elected officials that turn a blind eye to the plight of hardworking citizens.”
What does he do? He’s a ‘wealth manager’. Guess that’s where he got his reputation.
BTW, is ANYONE nationally recognized for their tireless work ‘exposing unscrupulous counterfeiters? I sure hope so. Otherwise how could you tell the honest counterfeiters from the unscrupulous ones?
Oh, and yet ANOTHER D candidate for Congress. One Elias J. Weir.
Could he be…THIS guy?:
https://ballotpedia.org/Elias_J._Weir
Uh, pointing out the obvious, he’s hardly a Democrat.
Matlusky has no credibility.
I don’t know about that. Matlusky is a CPA, I think, which means he’s got some of the right skill set. And he hasn’t been fired from a job for misusing City resources, which means he doesn’t have the ethics issues. Can he win? I don’t know, but he’s a rational choice for folks who find neither of the current choices at all appropriate.
You’re probably right. Except he has no credibility. He files every two years for something and finishes down the track. His political rabbi is his brother, who used to be Chief of Staff to the House R’s and then somehow ended up as a big deal in the Williams Administration for a short while.
I probably should have phrased it : “None of the candidates for treasurer have any credibility.”
Gunn is an NAACP chapter president and local gadfly. He won-lost the Kent recorder of deeds job last time around (multiple recounts) – his single issue was something to do with mortgage fraud allegations. Nutjob black Republican. A more charismatic and ambitious Sherman N. Miller. At least Bonini is no Rzewnicki.
According to NCCo DOE’s twitter account last night, Paul Gallagher dropped out of the IC’s race.
That’s huge. There’s now a legit chance that the Disaster That Is Karen Weldin Stewart could lose.
Based on what has been said here, I think that what happened is that Gallagher definitely was enlisted to take votes away from Crane last time. According to a generally reliable poster, Gallagher had either been promised, or had expected a job with KWS as a reward. They got into a public argument about it that was viewed by numerous people.
He didn’t get it, so this time he was running against her for real. Except…he realized that this was the same path to victory that KWS took last time. And/or perhaps he has a promise from Navarro. I’d almost bet on it.
Navarro has an active campaign and he’ll out-campaign KWS. I have no idea what he stands for as IC, but he now has a 50-50 chance to win. One on one.
Praise Jesus. Let us all celebrate. Well, let us all vote first for Trini Navarro. Then celebrate.
I’ll pass on Trini, thanks just the same. Enough Gordon acolytes in government already.
Who’s the Republican again? Looks like this is the race for splitting my ticket.
So we rejoice at the candidacy of a guy who claims to be a “Watchdog for the people” but has this of this on his resume:
5 times he takes the police promotion exam and 5 times he fails to meet minimum requirements to be even considered. On the 6th try he meets minimum but barely. In the promotion cycle one person is promoted, the person with the top score.
Your “watch dog” takes the above fact sand files suit against the Coons Administration and ultimately settles for a tidy sum to close the case.
That’s a guy that really will protect taxpayer dollars and interests, NOT 🙂
Soooo Gymrat, Karen Weldin Stewart is far superior because why? While “working” as the IC, she had $140K in travel on the taxpayer dime. She went to Europe four times for insurance “colleges.” A private insurance company (like AIG, Allianz, etc.) paid $6,600 for her to fly first class to Europe this year. Delaware still has the 4th highest auto insurance rates in the nation and our health insurance options are limited to two companies. In addition, she pays a someone named Steve Kinion, in Illinois, $16,600/mo. to run Delaware’s Captive Insurance Bureau. (Captive Insurance is essentially a self insured entity. I admit, I had to look that up.)
What, exactly, is KWS protecting, because they are certainly not the taxpayer’s dollars, or interests.
No, Gymrat, some rejoice that a lightweight like KWS who has screwed Delaware consumers time and time again might lose. While Beau Biden was fighting the Highmark/Blue Cross merger, Karen Weldin Stewart was full speed ahead in support of it. That alone is a reason to defeat her, but there’s plenty more.
BTW, Anonymous, the R’s have a primary for IC. George ‘I hate teh gays’ Parrish and Jeff ‘Mr. Mailbox’ Cragg.
Fyi, KWS has a yard-sign farm of Tom Gordon signs in front of her house. The Gordonism is strong in that one.
No taxpayer funds whatsoever fund the Department it is 100% fee driven and is a net contributor to the general fund. Revenue generated by the Captive Bureau filled the hole in the budget that enabled the Tuition program for aspiring Delaware Doctors to continue. But haters will hate:)
Correct that the Dept of Insurance is not funded with tax dollars. It is worse than that. The DOI is funded through Premium Taxes-your money. Insurance companies, except the “non-profit” Highmark Delaware, pay a percentage of premiums paid by the insured to the DOI. When the DOI “gives” money away, it is excess money collected because Commissioner Stewart is to willing to approve rate increases.
Didn’t say taxpayer dollars fund the IC office, I said KWS took trips on the taxpayer’s dime. Who pays her salary? Why is she accepting gifts from insurance companies? Why is someone who lives in another state overseeing our Captive Insurance Bureau? You can turn off the spin now.
Who funds this office isn’t much of a concern when faced with an office that has no track record of helping Delaware insurance consumers.
Cassandra with the mic drop.
Let’s talk about wasting money. The issue is not just Mr. Kinion. Mr. Kinion was originally brought in my Commissioner Stewart as her Deputy. OMB objected to what she wanted to pay him so she “contracted” for his services and allowed him to live and do other work in Illinois, flying in when he was needed. Much of the money contributed to the incumbent’s campaign comes from executives of insurance companies with connections to Mr. Kinion.
Let’s talk about the replacements for the job I did from the time Commissioner Stewart took office in January 2009 until I left in January 2012. When she took office I was Regulatory Specialist, having been hired by Matt Denn. Salary was around $75,000. The position of Director of Consumer Services was vacant and I was appointed acting director and held that position until I left. Twice during my time there the one deputy attorney general assigned to the office left. During those long vacancies I filled in for the DAG. The DAGs earned around $85,000, I believe. I also handled Defensive Driving ( taken away and given to DMV a year ago), wrote and lobbied legislation. I did this work without an assistant.
I also prosecuted regular hearings against insurance companies, agents and adjusters who violated insurance laws,
The current commissioner replaced me as follows:
1. Regulatory Specialist position filled by someone who cannot write regulations.
2. Director of Consumer Services position filled by THREE Managers of Consumer Servies.
3. One Deputy Attorney General position now filled by TWO Deputy Attorney Generals.
4. One paralegal
5. Defensive Driving handled by DMV
6. No known hearings against violaters ( insurance companies found in violation are allowed to propose their own consent orders.
The combined salary estimate for me and the one DAG is $160,00. The estimated combined salaries for the replacements above is around $600,000 Your money.
Mitch Crane with the double mic drop. I can’t wait to hear Gymrat’s canned response on how KWS “is fighting for all Delawareans,” as long as they can provide first class upgrades and trips to Europe.
A six pointed fairy tale from a failed candidate. Not a single refutation of points made previously. So we have a poorly qualified cop who sues to line his pocket due to lack of promotion qualifications supported by a failed candidate spinning yarns. DL hates now and has always has hated KWS. Fortunately the last 4 times consecutively that she has faced the voters in Primary or General Elections KWS has prevailed. I expect voters will again ignore DL and victory #5 will be recorded on September 13 and #6 will go in the books on November 8 . Karen Looks forward to yet another carriage ride with the defeated Mr. Cragg or Mr. Parrish. Cheers
And note how the Rat here cares only about the KWS win. The fact that this win extends the failure of his candidate to actually help Delawareans is immaterial.
Welcome to Delaware politics.