1. The Year Of The Woman: I should say the first of many years of the woman. Kathy Jennings, Colleen Davis, Laura Sturgeon, Krista Griffith, Dee Durham, Tizzy Lockman, Melissa Minor-Brown, Kendra Johnson. All first-time candidates, except for Dee Durham, who ran in a D primary for SD 4 over a decade ago. And those were just the ones who won. Stephanie Barry and Guillermina Gonzalez ran great campaigns and fell just short. And let’s add Sherry Dorsey Walker to the list. Plus, Kathy McGuiness (Well, it’s not ALL good).
2. The Senate Democratic Caucus: There is genuine potential for the Senate to be the incubator for progressive policy in Delaware. It can start today, with a repudiation of its leadership and the cynical McBride/Poore maneuver of calling a caucus for the day after the election. A 12-member caucus, with only McBride, Poore and maybe Walsh pushing for a quick decision. I will be very disappointed if members choose this ethically-challenged leadership team. Look at the caucus: McDowell, Brown, Lockman, Sturgeon, Sokola, Townsend, Hansen, Paradee, and Ennis. No, they’re not progressive on every issue, but they are more than capable of working together to put forward a true Democratic agenda. And Walsh will be the dutiful union soldier. The only people holding them back are their leaders, who could be ex-leaders as early as tonight.
3. The Final Demise Of The Brandywine Hundred ‘Good Government’ Republican. Yes, one still technically remains in Cathy Cloutier. But it was her husband Phil who was part of that coalition, she just ‘inherited’ his office. And she’s likely to be gone in two years, especially b/c she doesn’t even live in her district any more. At one time, it was a noble tradition. Including, among others over the years, Bob Berndt, Andy Knox, Gwynne Smith, Louise Connor, Myrna Bair, Jane Maroney, and Phil Cloutier. Both Bob Weiner and Greg Lavelle made their bones in the ‘non-partisan’ CCOBH, Weiner initially as a Democrat until the self-styled ‘Last Political Virgin’ flipped to R after being recruited to run as a D for State Senate. He was afraid of losing, you see.
4. Buh-Bye To Greg And Bob. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that these two condescending mansplainers have been kicked out of office. Two self-important pompous asses. I don’t like the word ‘mansplainer’ b/c I think it’s generally used in an intellectually lazy manner. Oh, and b/c I’m a man. But, these two deserve the label. Know-it-alls who talk down to pretty much everybody. BTW, Greg? I am loath to shake your hand. Asshole. (Hey, I’m entitled to a catharsis every now and then, aren’t I?)
And just look at their successors: Laura Sturgeon, who was the ideal candidate and ran the perfect race. And Dee Durham, who is a huge upgrade in what is shaping up as a more progressive County Council. I think Matt Meyer must be thrilled to have David Carter and Dee Durham on Council. BTW, after a little bit of a halting start, Meyer has shown signs of mastering the job of County Executive. I like him. A lot.
5. Will the Last Remaining Senate R Please Turn Out The Lights? Yes, they, too, are supposed to caucus today. Who will even call the meeting to order? Leaders Simpson and Lavelle are gone. The two with the most seniority are Bonini and Cloutier, neither of whom has a snowball’s chance of leading that caucus. DelCollo would be the most likely, but does he want to be the Poster Child for Rethuglican Intransigence while either (a) running for reelection in an overwhelmingly D district or (b) running statewide? I don’t think so. Imaginary caucus conversation: “I don’t want it, you take it.”
6. How Did I Do? Well, let’s see. You can follow along with my prediction threads. #1 and #2. My overall record? 44-5. Predicted every statewide and House race correctly. My biggest misses? I totally didn’t see Dee Durham’s upset win coming, and I predicted that Dave Baker would beat Ernie Lopez. With not undue modesty, I think that my commentary on many of these races was bleeping spot-on. Also missed on three Kent County down-ballot races. For the first time in awhile, Kent County D’s outperformed my expectations. They even would have taken out Colin Bonini had Dave McBride and Nicole Poore not run interference for their corpulent co-conspirator.
OK, I had to get all of this off my chest so that I could clear the decks for some big doings, including, can it be true, a DL Podcast. Coming soon.