Announcing the 2016 MVPs (Most Valuable to the Progressive Cause in Delaware)!

2016 marks the conclusion of the public life of State Senator Karen Peterson.  Karen Peterson has been the single most effective progressive official in Delaware throughout her career.  She has been invaluable in pushing progressive causes–everything from open government to gun safety to equal rights for all.  Not just pushing for progress, but achieving it. Over and over again.  She is smart, tough and politically savvy.  Oh, and relentless.  Come to think of it, forget about words like ‘progressive’ or ”liberal’.  To me, she defines what it once meant and still should mean to be a Democrat.  Standing up for what is right and just and standing up for people who don’t have the power to purchase politicians with campaign contributions.  As I look for ways to have an impact moving forward, I’ll try to take the lessons that Karen taught us and put them into action.  She is, after all, the Most Valuable Progressive I have known during my time in politics in Delaware. A role model for all of us. Starting now.

OK, kids, time for the annual countdown of this year’s MVP’s:

10. Judy Butler and June Eisley.

Both have been social activists for a long time. This year, they set the standard that many of us may now follow. They were arrested for non-violent political protest.  For protesting against big special interest money in politics. As the News-Journal story pointed out, neither are novice protestors:

Butler was detained with June Eisley, a member of “Delaware Get $ Out” who said she’s no novice when it comes to risking arrest over passion issues. During the Iraq War, Eisley was arrested during 10 protests and, compared to those episodes, Monday’s roundup was more organized and predictable, she said.

And here is what they are trying to accomplish:

The march, which starts in Philadelphia, is organized by the group Democracy Spring, a grassroots nonpartisan group pushing for campaign finance reform. The movement comes in response to the 2010 Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision, which allows unlimited election spending by individuals and corporations.

The goal is to reverse recent judicial decisions that have allowed money to play an “unduly influential role” in political campaigns and the activities surrounding them, according to the group.

If you are looking to effect positive change, this looks like a great place to start.  We need lots of Judys and Junes.

9. Two Seans and a Kim.

State Reps Sean Matthews and Sean Lynn have quickly established themselves as two of the most important progressive legislators in Delaware.  Matthews and perennial standout Kim Williams are probably the  most effective advocates for education reform and against what both the Markell and Carper Administrations have done to public education in Delaware. Certainly, at least, in the State House of Representatives. Sean Lynn’s work on death penalty repeal deserves special mention.  He has worked tirelessly for repeal over the last two General Assemblys (oops, turns out he just finished his first term, but, uh, he did two sessions worth of work on death penalty repeal) and, although Speaker Pete foiled his attempts, he is now in a position to ensure that death penalty legislation never rears its head again (more on that later).  All three representatives can virtually always be counted on to ‘vote the right way’ on progressive issues. Which, come to think of it, are traditional Democratic values.  Which is why I think all three have the potential to seek more powerful elected positions in the future.

8. Amy Cherry.

While the News-Journal largely snoozed through the election, WDEL reporter Amy Cherry’s covering of the Gordon Administration laid bare the ethical bankruptcy of the entire executive branch of county government.  All of it. The cronyism, the sleaze, the paybacks.  In so doing, she had a profound impact on the election.  Not by coloring facts, but by presenting them. You know, journalism.  Enough people were revulsed that Gordon and all his ex-cop cronies were sent packing.  Cherry’s reporting is one of the reasons to at least visit the WDEL website.  That way, you don’t have to come into contact with Susan Monday.

7. Sen. Bryan Townsend.

Yes, he lost in his run for Congress.  But he ran a campaign guided by progressive principles.  No weasel words, just an honest platform as to how he would legislate if elected.  How do we know it was honest?  Because his track record in Dover reflected his campaign priorities.  Once again, he had an outstanding legislative year, working closely with State Rep. Ed Osienski to close a background check gun loophole.  BTW, I think the Senate Democratic Caucus made a huge mistake in opting for some tired retreads instead of elevating Townsend and Poore.  Talk about an energy vacuum.  Not the way I’d go into a Special Election or, for that matter, a legislative session.

6. Sen. Patti Blevins.

She was a really good President Pro-Tem.  She changed the desk drawer approach of predecessors DeLuca, Adams, et al, that had consigned progressive initiatives to, well, the Pro-Tem’s desk drawer.  It wasn’t even so much that she was a staunch supporter of some of those initiatives, she just made sure that they saw the light of day.  Her loss will also be felt b/c her opponent, who apparently got elected largely on a traffic issue, is really bad.  A Second Amendment obsessive.  And an R doctrinaire, but skilled in the use of demagogic rhetoric.  I get that she wasn’t the most personable person, but she was a solid legislator who perhaps was better in Dover than in her district.

5. Don Peterson.

If you believe, as I do, that Pete Schwartzkopf does more harm than any other legislator in Dover, then you owe Don Peterson a debt of gratitude.  He challenged Schwartzkopf on the very issues that have made Schwartzkopf such a disaster for true Democrats.  I can do no better than to link to his campaign page.  Well, actually, I can.  Read this piece from Peterson.  It tells you all you need to know about Schwartzkopf, his cronies, and the ‘Delaware Way’. Oh, and why we need Don Peterson to stay active in his community and maybe in the Party. His grassroots networking represents a way forward for anybody looking to have a positive impact during the Trump Nightmare.

4. Delaware United.

What an amazing group of volunteers!  These former Bernie supporters became in 2016 what the Howard Dean supporters became in 2004.  We can only hope that they have a similar impact in the future.  Tremendous grassroots activists, tireless campaigners and, let’s hope, future candidates and officeholders.  They had a genuine impact this year. And, if you check out their Facebook page, they are going real strong.  Uh, not to mention that their strong support of Matt Meyer might well have propelled him to victory.  In my opinion, they are the future of the Delaware Democratic Party.  Plus, they’re fun to drink a beer or have a glass of wine with.  I want more! Actually, time for me to join…if they’ll have me. Which, as it turns out, they will/would:

We are a group of united voters and volunteers, from all walks of Delaware, that has the goal of pushing forward on a path to change our state and point it in the right direction. We are a group that is run on the basis of a well-founded democracy and listens to its members with full transparency from the top down. I would like to thank the people in this group, and ask anyone here to add members, at their discretion, to help grow our group and spread our message. There is no requirement to be a member, no party affiliation guidelines, and no exclusion based solely on the offered support to any one candidate in the past. (a current example: if you have supported Clinton, or Sanders, you are not to be judged solely on that decision, and should not be excluded from the groups proceedings) We all need to come together now more than ever to make sure that our government in Delaware represents the people of Delaware; there are far too many factions of similar groups all trying to do different things to achieve the same goal. We need to win elections to change Delaware to what we, in this group, collectively thinks it should be and to do that we need to work together. Not as Democrats, “Berniecrats”, Independents, or even Republicans, but as a united group of like-minded people who want to be involved with the candidates and local politics. We need to step up, step out, and get involved to change our local politics and make Delaware the state it can, and must become. Not through one-man activism with a megaphone (not discouraging this), but through organized political action and group founded strategies and being the feet on the ground to help make sure that the best people in our state make up our representation in Dover.

3. The Delaware Supreme Court.

Turns out, the most gung-ho executioners in the Delaware General Assembly, abetted by then-AG Jane Brady, may have signed the death warrant for capital punishment in Delaware.  Specifically, Brady and the Executioners decided that namby-pamby juries should not be allowed to spare anyone the needle, and that judges should be allowed to override such decisions and should unilaterally be enabled to impose the death penalty.  In January of this year, the US Supreme Court held that a similar Florida provision was unconstitutional b/c “the Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death.” The Delaware Supreme Court, recognizing that the decision may well apply to Delaware’s statute, declared a moratorium in order to review the case and to determine whether Delaware’s law was constitutional.  Not only did the Court find the law to be unconstitutional, but legal scholars believe that it clarified the US Supreme Court’s ruling:

The new decision by the Delaware justices is significant and could have national repercussions because it accepts the principles in the Hurst decision and takes them to their logical conclusion, clarifying issues that the federal Supreme Court did not address, said Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a private research group.

The Delaware court found that a jury not only must decide whether there were “aggravating circumstances” that could justify a death penalty, but also must find, “unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt,” that such aggravating factors outweigh any mitigating circumstances — the critical determination in imposing a death sentence.

There was one issue yet to be considered…what should happen to those already on death row.  Just last week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued their decision:

At the heart of the issue before the court was whether the convicted murderers sentenced to death should be executed under a rule against retroactively applying new rulings on constitutional issues.

The five justices, including Justice James T. Vaughn Jr. who dissented in the August ruling, found that their prior decision to invalidate the death penalty law constituted a “new watershed procedural rule” that must be applied retroactively.

So there you have it.  For now, the death penalty is dead in Delaware. Killed, ironically, by an overreaching AG and an overzealous General Assembly. Only action from the Delaware General Assembly can reinstate it, and it could happen someday.  All the more reason to beware of ex-cops running for office.

Tie: 1. Matt Meyer.

What once seemed a quixotic quest to unseat a powerful incumbent, not unlike, say, Chris Coons challenging Mike Castle, turned into the Delaware political upset of the year.  Meyer ran as a reformer who would restore ethics and accountability to county government, Gordon ran as, well, the guy who got things done and made sure that anyone who got in his way got out of his way.  Surrounded by sycophantic loyalists largely of the ex-cop variety, it turns out that Gordon became trapped in his own bubble.  None of which would have made any difference had Meyer not run a slow-building, but quick-closing, campaign.  I was first attracted by Matt’s bio, especially his service. I mean, read it. Damned inspiring. I then checked his detailed issues positions, and was largely equally impressed.  Especially his paper on ethics.  Although I encourage you to read all of them.  This is a really smart and really creative guy. Oh, and entrepreneurial in the best sense.  While I remain skeptical as to whether his economic development vision is primarily a county function or not, I trust Meyer’s combination of intellect, integrity, and vision. Although he will likely find a lot of unreported damage left over from the Gordon years, he could well do great things.

Tie: 1. Eugene Young.

Any year when people of the caliber of Matt Meyer and Eugene Young debut on the public stage is, at the least, an encouraging year in spite of everything.  While it was Young’s debut in terms of running for office, he already had established himself as an effective community activist and organizer. Someone totally dedicated to Wilmington.  Upon returning to the city, he had started a mentoring program called Delaware Elite, a mentoring program helping to develop leadership skills in community youth. As Advocacy Director for the Delaware Center for Justice, he coordinated policy programming and legislative advocacy on issues such as juvenile justice, sentencing reform, pretrial reform and death penalty repeal.  He ran one of the most impressive and inclusive grassroots campaigns I’ve ever seen.  And, I don’t think he made a single enemy.  I once thought that impossible.  He will go far.  If Carper retires, he could well be our next United States Senator.  I can only hope and expect that he will continue to be guided by the community-based principles that have gotten him this far.  He can make a real difference.