1. Sean Lynn Endorses Kerri Harris. Lynn has guts, and I salute him for it. You just know that, even those who might support Harris, are gonna hide in the shadows, afraid to challenge the status quo. Not Lynn. Oh, and he doubles down here. If you’re with him and Kerri, you can sign up for Kerri’s first fundraiser. I’ll be there, but don’t let that stop you. If we’re gonna beat Tom Carper, it starts now.
2. Three D’s File In RD 5. Melanie George Smith’s soon-to-be-vacant seat. DeNeice Berry had already filed. She is joined this week by Kendra Johnson and Ajawavi Ajavon. Johnson’s website doesn’t give us much information on her background. I believe, however, that she is the Executive Director of Employment & Adult Day Services At Elwyn. Why she chose not to mention this, you’d have to ask her. Ajavon (she prefers to go by ‘Aja’) has worked as a mediation and arbitration officer in the New Jersey and Delaware courts, and currently teaches at Wilmington University. There is, however, one cautionary note on her website. See if you can suss it out–here. Uh, two cautionary notes, actually. When you post pictures with public officials, you are at least implicitly suggesting that they are endorsing you. Which, I’ll bet, is not true. Second, when you place a photo of you with Tom Carper (or a cardboard cutout of Carper, I couldn’t tell which), you implicitly suggest that you share his views. And, if you do, you can’t use the word ‘progressive’ anywhere on your website, which Ajavon did. I’m willing to chalk these little glitches up to rookie mistakes, and all three candidates have made them. But I’ll be watching closely.
3. Simpler Files For Reelection For State Treasurer. The D’s aren’t gonna let him slide, are they? It would be political malpractice to do so. To me, the ‘inevitability’ of Simpler is vastly overstated. With Rethugs heading for an electoral tsunami nationally, Simpler could easily get caught up in the riptide. It’d be nice if the challenger were qualified, but the day-to-day employees run the office while the Treasurer (a) preens; (b) does nothing; or (c) prepares a run for higher office, which is similar to (a). Taking out Simpler should be one of the Party’s top priorities. We’ll see who, if anybody, they come up with.
4. Two D’s File For Rep. Johnson’s Seat. Linwood Jackson and Franklin Cooke filed this week for the 16th RD seat currently held by the retiring Rep. J. J. Johnson. Jackson is President of the Delaware State Conference of the NAACP, and apparently is a TV and radio host. Must admit I haven’t seen/heard his work. Cooke is, wait for it, a former NCC police officer who retired in 2013. Don’t know what he’s done since then. Neither Jackson nor Cooke have their websites up and running yet. A third prospective candidate, Jakim Mohammed, has yet to file.
5. R Primary In RD 31. And you thought RWNJ David Anderson would have the field all to himself? Not so fast, my friend. Jean Dowding, a REMAX realtor, and previous candidate for the seat, has filed. Let’s see…opposes a minimum wage increase, cites onerous business regulations as the biggest impediment to economic development, she’s an R all right. Sean Lynn beat her by a 2-1 margin in 2016.
6. Other Filings. Incumbent NCC Council member Janet Kilpatrick (R-CD 3); Incumbent Kent County Recorder of Deeds Betty Lou McKenna.
That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?