This one is a political scientist’s dream. A retiring long-time legislator. A district which has moved from red to purple. Primaries in both parties.
The retiring legislator is Joe Miro. Probably the last of his breed: A moderate R from a northern New Castle County district that is trending more D every month. Current registration is 6927 D; 6683R; and 5466 I. It has only been within the past year that D registration has surpassed R registration. Miro has represented this district since 1998. He had previously served on New Castle County Council. He is the only Hispanic member of the House, a Cuban-American, and he has served as the President of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.
The Democratic primary pits Guillermina Gonzalez against Renee Taschner. Gonzalez is running for office for the first time. While she started her career as an executive with Exxon Mobil, Gonzalez went on to lead ‘Voices Without Borders’ in Delaware, and subsequently served eight years as executive director for the Delaware Arts Alliance. You can find out more about Gonzalez here. I especially like her position on criminal justice:
I will support criminal justice reforms that both improve public safety and provide opportunities for the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated – including diverting low-level offenders into support programs rather than prison and ending cash bail system. I will also work to build a culture of community service-based policing and transition away from punitive-based zero tolerance policies to restorative-based practices where chances of success are supported.
As you can see, Gonzalez is skilled in both community outreach and grassroots organization. She is an impressive candidate.
Renee Taschner challenged the Gordon machine and ran against Chris Bullock for County Council President. While she lost that 2012 race by a 56-44 margin, she didn’t hesitate to stand up to the ethical sewer of the Gordon administration. She is a 21-year veteran of, wait for it, the New Castle County Police force. Her public safety positions are not the same as those of Gonzalez:
I retired after a 21-year career in public safety. I served as a patrol supervisor, a member of the crisis negotiating team, and a long time detective and supervisor in the Detective Division on the New Castle County Police force. In addition to the role I played in the apprehension of Delaware’s only serial killer, I led the Detective Squad that investigated physical and sexual abuse of children and domestic violence. I understand the importance of having safe communities in which to live, work and raise our families. As your State Representative, I will take my firsthand knowledge and direct experience to Dover and continue the fight to keep our communities safe.
You can find out more about Taschner here.
The Republican primary features a match-up between Michael Smith and Katherine Beard. Smith previously challenged Miro for the seat back in 2014 and got 43% of the vote. He is a by-the-numbers Chamber R. Don’t believe me? Check out his website. His weasel language on education clearly suggests he’s a Charter School Tool:
We need to empower parents and teachers to lead the way to positive change in education. Parents deserve options and accountability for their child’s education. We’re one of the top states in spending and in the bottom one third in results.
I just love the way that Katherine Beard kicks off her bio:
Kathy cares about people. She is NOT a career politician.
Because, of course, the two are mutually exclusive. She also has ‘…demonstrated sincerity and an ability to get things done throughout her career.’ Am I the only one who recognizes that demonstrating sincerity and being sincere are not necessarily the same thing?
But, I digress. Those are just a couple of my political pet peeves. Beard is a ‘global IT services marketing manager’ for a DuPont spin-off. She is also ‘…a great listener and believes that government’s role is to keep us safe and stay out of our personal lives’. Ho-kay. Any more, and I’ll start grinding my teeth again. Haven’t done that since I stopped working for the General Assembly. You can find out more about Beard here.
Word on the street is that Beard has been outworking Smith, and is likely the favorite in the R primary. This gives some credence to that word, as in last updated in May. Yes, I’ve tried to find his social media pages w/o success. Hey, it’s not my fault that his name is Mike Smith, and that he doesn’t provide links.
If you are involved in these primaries, and/or live in the 22nd, what are you hearing and seeing up there? If this seat flips into the D column this cycle, it will likely remain there. If an R wins, it could well stay that way for awhile. A fascinating race all around.