Delaware Political Weekly: November 10-16, 2017

1. D Primary In RD 12? Looks that way. I wrote about Rachel Blumenfeld’s candidacy three weeks ago. It now appears that there will be another D challenger.  Her name is Krista Griffith and, like Blumenfeld, she appears to be a quality candidate. She is currently the Vice President of the Down Syndrome Association of Delaware. Here is her bio from that site:

Krista and her husband, Ted, are proud parents to two boys- Sam and Nate. They reside in New Castle County. Krista is an attorney who dedicated her career to legal issues facing children, vulnerable adults, senior citizens and Delaware families. Krista is excited to organize the outreach committee and continue to develop compelling and useful programs for individuals with Down syndrome and their families.

While I’m less concerned about primaries than most, this one worries me some. In order to defeat incumbent Deborah Hudson, who I believe can be defeated, the D’s have to be unified.  Can this primary result in such unity? Or should the candidates and their teams perhaps explore whether they might want to join forces? I only have questions at this point, not answers.

2. Jakim Mohammed To Seek J. J. Johnson’s Seat? As we’ve reported, one of Dover’s best, State Rep. J. J. Johnson, is retiring at the end of his term.  He has been a leader on criminal justice reform and has fought for the restoration of rights for those who have served their time and are returning to society. He represents a district that runs south from Wilmington along New Castle Avenue across I-295, and has a high level of African-American constituents. While he hasn’t officially announced, it appears that Jakim Mohammed will seek the D nomination for the seat. First, the bad news: He’s an ex-cop, in this case, an ex-NYC cop. Here’s the good news: He has already taken a lead role in challenging police practices.  For example, check out his contribution to this panel on police practices of stopping motorists:

Panelist Jakim Mohammed, a retired New York police officer and a Democratic Party representative, said the standard for police use of force – that they fear for their life – could use updating.

“We don’t want a Sandra Bland in Delaware,” he said, referring to a black woman found dead in a jail cell after a minor traffic violation last year. “If (the law) is so vague you can run a bulldozer through it, you have to be a part of change. Get political.”

All things being equal, that’s good enough for me. That is certainly a sentiment that demands to be heard in Dover. What are you all hearing out there?

3. We’re Not Gonna Get Sam Guy vs. Hanifa Shabazz In SD 2, Are We? “We get the government we deserve.”  Some say that de Tocqueville originated the phrase, others Abe Lincoln, most likely it was this guy. Regardless, if nobody of integrity  steps forward to challenge Sam Guy or Hanifa Shabazz for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, then the voters in SD 2 will indeed get the government they deserve. Both Guy and Shabazz have feuded over how much public money they could take out of the public coffers to hand over to their pals. I believe that there should be an investigation into all of City Council’s dirty dealings. I also believe that serial scam artists like Guy and Shabazz should never be rewarded with a promotion to the State Senate. That Guy and Shabazz hold public office of any kind makes it clear: “We get the government we deserve.”

4. No Filings. Only Kent County has set filing fees. No new filings in Kent County this week.

 That’s what I’ve got this week. What’d I miss and whaddayathink?