A City Divided by Quadrant [Or Maybe Not [Updated]]
The News Journal’s Map of the Wilmington Mayoral Primary reveals a city divided almost exactly along its quadrant lines: is actually probably inaccurate given that the colors assigned to various districts do not correspond to the actual winners of those districts.
A larger version of the map with the data is here.
I will be crafting a new map today. Stay tuned.
Brandywine Hills went for Williams? Isn’t that where Carper lives?
Nope. The News Journal seems to be wrong. Go to delawareonline and use the interactive map that shows vote totals (Shame the News Journal didn’t use their own map).
I don’t have time to go through it all, but if you click on Brandywine Hills (01-01) Eugene won, but they marked that as Williams. Also, click on the 01-05 (The Triangle) Eugene won, but they marked that as a Purzycki.
They need to change their map. Honestly, it’s embarrassing.
If you click on the map for that precinct these are the results:
Election district-representative district
01-01
maria_cabrera
10
theo_gregory
45
norm_griffiths
34
kevin_kelley
40
bob_marshall
7
mike_purzycki
76
dennis_p_williams
84
eugene_young
92
winner
Williams
How Williams wins with 84 with Young at 92, you’ll have to ask the source. Numbers are correct but the roll-up calculation that displays a “winner” is incorrect.
and as Pandora said… these are the numbers for the Triangle:
Election district-representative district
05-01
maria_cabrera
23
theo_gregory
53
norm_griffiths
48
kevin_kelley
83
bob_marshall
9
mike_purzycki
165
dennis_p_williams
54
eugene_young
179
winner
Purzycki
179 is still greater than 165, I’m sure of it.
You know, had the News Journal put up an accurate map it would create a new narrative and given the reporter something new to write about – instead they wrote the same article they always write.
Well, today I am going to be working on that accurate new map. 😉
Thanks, DD!
I sent you a summary of the data by EDs and wards, DD.
Thanks Cass. Is it weird that I am actually excited about going through a Excel spreadsheet of data and creating a map out of it? Don’t answer that.
Data Geeks Rule.
Not weird DD. If you’d like analysis assistance, I’m happy to help out!
It looks like the map’s been changed to reflect Eugene’s wins. Can you post the new one, DD? It tells a different story.
I love that Eugene won the Riverfront!
I have to be honest. Although it’s great that we can demonstrate Eugene’s strong support across the city, the salient point here is the same regardless of corrections.
Buccini Pollin hand picked a fixer. A BPG VP ran the “campaign” which consisted of whipping up affluent white people who are least effected by the city’s problems (if these people are actually impacted at all is very debatable). I know because these people are my neighbors…
It’s all quite strange. The people most insulated from the real problems by location, money and status picked their guy. Map accuracy aside the story remains the same. The Highlands have spoken!
So, DG, what does a BPG win really mean for Wilmington? I mean, obviously developers have an interest in a government that is friendly to developers but is there a silver lining? Don’t developers have interests that overlap with regular citizens. eg. schools, services, etc?
I’m not trying to play the Devil’s PollyAnna Advocate. I’m seriously asking.
“don’t developers have interests that overlap with regular citizens. eg. schools, services, etc?”
Yes but the individuals who are developers tend to be Republicans and to pretend to deliver services through privatization, and education through vouchers/charters etc.
That said, I think a certain amount of careful gentrification should be part of the solution for Wilmington, depending on where and how it happens.
maybe folks in the highlands picked their guy because those other guys running the city have been shit. not counting young. he’ll be fine. only his inexperience held him back.
re: purzycki — the city needs money. if he can get it, all boats rise. it’s not like he’s some yahoo right-winger.
@DG: To oversimplify, Wilmington’s problems mostly plague the people who consume tax resources, and Purzycki is the person who best represents those who provide those resources, that is, the business/legal community and the relatively small number of affluent residents. (To be sure, suburbanites who pay the wage tax also contribute a healthy amount, but they don’t get to vote). As many have noted, they hand-picked him for this job, then they funded him and turned out to vote for him. This required no dirty tricks at all, merely the egocentric cluelessness of Theo Gregory, which is as easy to predict as Harris McDowell’s next drink, to split off enough of the voters to keep Eugene from winning.
I don’t say this to approve of it, but to note that while the interest group involved commands about one-fourth of the vote, it contributes more than that to the city’s revenue, so it’s not surprising that it would have an influence larger than its share of the populace.
@puck: You mention education privatization as something within the purview of the mayor. It is not, and all the caterwauling in the world won’t make it so, no matter how many people wail.
Count your blessings on that front. The schools might be bad now, but imagine how they’d be run if Dennis Williams’ people had been running them for the past four years. I’ll give you a clue — Theo Gregory opened a charter school and promptly augured it straight into the ground. That was one single school and he couldn’t run it, and he’s no less capable than Williams — no more, perhaps, but no less.
To be clear, I don’t think it was unfair or a “dirty trick.” And I absolutely fault Williams for being so incredible incompetent that that people who have basically stood down politically felt compelled to rally behind the corporate hope. All that’s true. I’m not necessarily complaining either. Just calling it like it is.
And I certainly don’t subscribe to some trickle-down/overlap theory either. Corporate interests are primarily corporate interests. If one real estate firm can select and install a mayor based almost entirely on Republicans switching affiliation in one neighborhood it’s generally not a great set of circumstances, regardless of the reasons. That’s all.
About one-third of Purzycki’s vote total was party-switching Republicans (1,100 was the figure I was told). He doesn’t win without them, but he doesn’t win with them alone, either.
The “one real-estate firm” is actually a development firm, and it’s the only one funding any work in Wilmington. This is about as out-of-the-ordinary as DuPont’s heavy involvement in city politics back when it was the city’s largest revenue source.
I don’t subscribe to the trickle-down theory. But I think he’ll at least be able to make the city’s case to state lawmakers — that the legal industry is the beating heart of the state’s cash cow, and failing to subsidize Wilmington to the necessary extent will lead to a heart attack.
That’s the best-case scenario. I worry because it’s been a long time since Mike Purzycki had to work as hard as he’ll have to in this job, and the things he said during the campaign did not lead me to believe he realizes it.
Also, I said this election night but it bears repeating — I have never seen a primary election in which an incumbent office-holder received only 14% of the vote. Most incumbents would have to be televised drowning puppies or indicted for child porn to see that little support.
I feel you. There is potential upside for sure and, not only am I hoping that will come to pass, I’ll gladly give Purzycki full credit in due course if it’s earned. But, as DD pointed out yesterday, there’s very good reason to be suspicious.
But I think he’ll at least be able to make the city’s case to state lawmakers
Yes, but he starts out by not being Dennis Williams. The GA was not going to provide him money that did not have serious strings attached. And while he’ll be able to make the case, he is going to run up against the hard fact that the state doesn’t have a ton of money to spend on investing in Wilmington.
The city doesn’t need a ton of money from the state — just a steady, dependable flow somewhat higher than the $8 million or so it gets now. With a general fund of $150 million, $5 million more would make a real difference — and it’s just peanuts on the state’s $4 billion budget. The General Assembly, though, will pretend it’s an unscalable Himalayan peak.
It’s not as if Mike doesn’t know how to wheedle money out of the state. That’s how the Riverfront got built. But times change, and so do the hayseeds in Dover. We’ll see if he’s still got any mojo with the People Who Matter.