A DL Email “Interview” with Madinah Wilson-Anton

Madinah Wilson-Anton is one of the new and important voices of the Democratic Party running this cycle.  She brings an urgency to her campaign and intends to bring that urgency with her to Dover.   Madinah was kind enough to answer my questions about the district, her approach to running and the issues that motivated her to enter the race.   

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

First off, thanks for running for the 26th RD state Rep seat. For DL readers who don’t know it, can you tell us a little about the district from a historical perspective and bring us up to today and why you would be a good representative for the people in that RD?

The 26th district has been represented by John Viola since he narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Richard Davis in 1998. The district has changed a lot since then. He has been challenged by Republicans a few times, but has never gotten below 70% of the vote under current boundaries. The last time he faced a Democrat was in 2006, where he only won by only 110 votes. The 26th district is one of the youngest and most diverse districts in the state. Based on census data, it is about 44% white, 28% black, 17% Hispanic, 9% Asian, and 2% other, making it one of four districts in the state to not have a majority of any racial group.

I grew up in the 26th district, it’s my home. Working in Legislative Hall I answered calls and emails from community members dealing with various issues, and I also deal with a lot of the same issues other folks are worried about. I worked in the legislature, and I also study public policy and work as a policy analyst – I have both academic and professional experience in policy making.

I read your platform and to be honest it warms my heart.  It seems like you have the practical needs of the people in the district at heart but you are coming to it from a progressive position.   Do you think any of it is going to take extra explaining, in the 26th?  

Nope. I think the folks in our community know the issues we’re facing and the best ways to solve them–we just need representatives in Dover to make them happen. I think there’s this misperception that progressivism is some hoighty-toighty wonky stuff – but it’s really not. People understand the problems that they face better than anyone else, and a lot of the stuff in the platform was actually inspired by stories and problems that we heard at the doors. A lot of people may not realize that they have the power to change their lives for the better, but when we actually go and talk to them, they’re really enthusiastic about it.

In your platform you discuss ending corporate welfare, what do you have in mind for that? 

We need to stop giving away tax-payer money to corporations that say they’re going to stay in Delaware only for them to pack up and go to other states or countries. If we’re going to give tax breaks to corporations to entice them to stay here we need to be guaranteed that it’s a worthy investment. Bills get rushed through or “fast-tracked” just for corporations like DuPont to downsize and leave Delaware families jobless.

The problem obviously goes much deeper than that, and the campaign will definitely be talking about this more in the future. But we want to make sure that we’ve talked with the experts on the subject before we get into the real fun stuff.

In Vermont, none of the “economic development” dollars go to trying to bribe out of state companies to come to Vermont, but they support Vermont companies with an eye toward growing them and thereby creating jobs.   Not a question- just saying that we should do that.     

Strongly agree.

You also mention the a plan for 100% renewable energy.  By when? And do you have any examples you could share where this kind of aggressive goal setting have paid off.  

As soon as possible! I mean…I was just at the Climate Strike in Newark earlier this afternoon…this situation is urgent. We’re in a climate crisis and too few folks in power are talking about it- let alone doing anything to mitigate it. Different states have set different goals for 100% renewable energy. One big example of this was in New York, which just passed a huge new climate bill to go 100% renewable by 2040 and have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We see this as a great model, and want to talk with local environmental activists to see how we can use some of Delaware’s specific resources to set the soonest date we can.  When Washington is such a mess, states need to step up to the plate, so definitely look to see more on this in the future. We can’t afford to sit around waiting on this one– it’s too urgent. Our future is literally at stake.

Some progressive legislation hasn’t moved forward even though with have a Dem (?) governor and Dems are in the majority. Of the items that have stalled,  are there items you are particularly interested in working on when you get to Dover?  

The first is definitely changing the education funding system. We don’t need another working group, task force, commission or consortium to tell us what we already know: our school funding system is one of the least equitable in the country and our students are suffering because of it. There’s a reason why families are suing the Governor. State legislators shouldn’t be waiting for the courts to remedy this. With a growing number of teachers and education advocates in the legislature, we have no excuse not to take action.

I’m also really passionate about expanding tenant rights, rights for people who rent apartments, homes or land. We have a lot of folks in our community who are living in incredibly stressful, anxiety-inducing situations — one of the first things I want to do is expand protections for them. Some great advocates have done work on this in the past, and I believe we can go further.

Your background is interesting.  It seems like you have a foot in very conventional Democratic Party and a foot in the outsider part of the party.  Do you ever feel torn between those two poles?  

That’s a good question. I think going up against the establishment has put me squarely in one part of the party. I’m blessed to have been able to work in the legislature so I could learn for myself how the sausage is made. In order for us to make the system work for everyone in our state, we need to understand how it works. But my values and thought-processes I get from my upbringing, the people I surround myself with in the progressive sphere, and my formal studies of public policy and analysis. I tried to always be self-aware and critical while working in the establishment — it gets easy to fall into groupthink and I saw that happen to a lot of folks first-hand. The activism of the amazing progressives in this state keeps me grounded and I’m always working on self-improvement and further learning.

Also, not being 70 years old, you are also younger than most candidates.  Has any Democratic Party person ever told you to be patient and wait your turn? Any ruffled feathers?  

Yes, I am “extremely young” according to some folks, apparently. Well I checked the Delaware Constitution and you have to be 24 to be a State Rep so I’ll be 3 years past young by the time I take office.

Has my run ruffled feathers? Yes. But it’s also excited a lot of people. I try to focus on that. A lot of people have been telling me to run and I was tired of complaining on the internet. I can’t sit by and watch hard-working members of my community get kicked off the land their homes are on. I can’t sit by and watch another child go through our unequal education system. It may ruffle feathers but we should all be pissed that our elected officials have failed to act on these issues. It’s inexcusable. 

You know what the funny thing is though? The same folks who want me to “wait my turn” are the ones saying how we need more women running, or we need more people of color, or young people, and so on. It’s just talk for them though unless you’re taking on a Republican. And even that’s not true for some people, just look at how certain organizations dealt with Stephanie Barry’s run in 2018. When it comes down to it, these people just support the status quo, the “Delaware Way.” Compromise over progress.

Turning to strategy, what’s the game plan?  Some people want to knock on every door while some make calls.   Where are the key areas you need to do well?  

This is getting published online right? So I’m not going to share all of our strategy, just know that expanding the electorate is really important to us. Too many people are left out of the political process in Delaware. When we first got the voter file, the info was shocking. A third of voters have not voted in any three of the past elections, and another third had only voted in one. This should be unacceptable in one of the most diverse districts in the state.

A lot of this is because people explicitly don’t talk to disenfranchised communities. I saw it when I worked in Dover. On multiple occasions people said negative things about certain neighborhoods in the district, all of which happened to be majority black or low-income. We will be focusing on those areas and making sure that people understand how voting can be beneficial FOR THEM. Not corporations, not rich people. We will be listening genuinely and we are all about the people. If we’re successful, they’ll turnout because they’ll know that we mean business and that we care about improving their quality of life. We have lots of more specific plans for doing this, but we want those to be a surprise.

I’ve often said that people running for office should be prepared to run for the office twice (at least).  I’m assuming you’ll win, but if you don’t will you run again? 

I honestly haven’t thought about that much. I’m running to win, and I think we will. My focus is on meeting as many members of the community as I can and formulating the information we get at the doors into actionable policy. If I win, we’re going to be hitting the ground running– there’s too much at stake for us not to.

How can DL readers get involved and help you out?  

Wow…well we can always use help doorknocking! If you live in the district and can knock with us that’s even better. Follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram @MadinahForDE or sign up for our email updates at www.madinahfordelaware.com 

And of course, you can donate $26 to our campaign on our ActBlue here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/committee-to-elect-madinah-wilson-anton-1

Lastly, make sure to share our campaign vision with your progressive networks. There has been so much amazing energy in Delaware, especially in these last few years, and if we’re able to work together, we can do some amazing things.