Delaware Political Weekly: July 3-9, 2020

1. And Then There Were–Six!  Six Rethugs vying for the chance to get 39% of the vote against incumbent Gov. John Carney. The latest is one David Graham from Smyrna.   The linked article says that Graham has run for office five previous times–for governor in 2004, 2008 and 2012, and for AG in 2010 and 2014. However, I can only find two official races that he entered. He got 6% of the vote in the 2004 R primary for Governor, finishing third and last behind Bill Lee and, wait for it, Mike Protack.  I see no record of his having run in either the primary or the general in 2008 and 2012, but that’s what the Delaware State News article reports.  Maybe he was one of those ‘official’ write-in candidates. He was the IPOD candidate for Attorney General in 2014, and got 2.1% of the vote.  Hey, some people just have to run.  Which reminds me, if Scott Walker makes it seven candidates, he’d be a legit contender on name recognition alone. “The Driftwood Grifter”. Should I copyright it?

2. And Then There Were–Seven!  I swear I wrote that first section on Wednesday as I needed to get ahead of the curve since I work on Friday.  And, yes, #7 is The Driftwood Grifter, Scott Walker. The Rethuglican Party deserves him. He is a mess of a human being, devoid of empathy.  He’s got a shot to be the nominee. Why not? With or without him, that field is a laughingstock.

3. Disgraced Ex-Smyrna Mayor Seeks Redemption In Sussex County–Again.  Here’s what I wrote about vote-stealing Mark Schaeffer back in 2016:

…and Mark Schaeffer (R),  Sussex County Council District 3.  Hmm, that last name sounds familiar.  Didn’t he get into some sort of trouble when he was Smyrna mayor?  Back in a sec, don’t go away…why, yes, yes he did.  He got caught fixing his own election for mayor of Smyrna in 2005. Got away with it, until he got his ass kicked in 2007.  Which makes him a perfect candidate for Sussex County Council.

Did’ja  know that his attorney was the rasslin’ barrister Ron Poliquin?  He got in trouble too.  Gave Sam Guy a run for his unethical crown. Schaeffer will once again primary R Irwin Burton for a Sussex County Council seat. He came close last time, and it is Sussex County, so…

4. Denise Bowers Jumps Into SD 5 Primary. She was the proverbial name on the ballot in 2016 when she ‘ran’ against Cathy Cloutier.  Hardly ran a campaign at all.  She has no chance against Kyle Evans Gay in a three-way D primary, but, hey, she’s probably got some t-shirts stashed away in a cardboard box in her basement, so why not? The 40% she garnered in 2016 represents the absolute minimum that anybody would have gotten running against Cloutier w/o really running.

5. Yvette Santiago Enters RD 8 Primary.  This is the seat currently held by retiring State Rep. Quinton Johnson.  Santiago brings some political heft to the race. She is the President of the NCC Vo-Tech District Board, and is the lobbyist for Nemours in Dover. Do you recognize anybody else in this picture?  Yep, that’s former Speaker Bob Gilligan who, on his worst day, was a better Speaker than Pistol Pete Schwartzkopf is on his best day. Santiago’s candidacy is legit.

6.  R’s Finds Someone To Run In RD 7.  My RD. One James Haubrich of Claymont.  He will face the winner of a primary between incumbent Ray Seigfried and challenger Larry Lambert, and he will lose.

7.  Mayor Mike And Velda Jones Potter File For Reelection.  I’m stunned and disappointed that nobody in Wilmington has chosen to primary either of these incumbents.  One is the mayor of Buccini/Pollinville, and the other has demonstrated her lack of ethics over and over again.

8. A Bleepload Of Filings. (Deep breath)…Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker (D-RD 3); Rep. Steve Smyk (R-RD 20); Rep. Ron Gray (R-RD 38); Rep. Dan Short (R-RD 39); Rep. Timothy Dukes (R-RD 40); The following candidates for Wilmington City Council At-Large: Samuel Guy, Loretta Walsh, and Arisa White;  and, for you completists out there, Norman Jones (R-Sussex County Clerk Of The Peace.

9. Filing Deadline. Tuesday, July 14, at 12 noon.  Parties may fill unfilled spots on the ballot until September 1 at 4:30 pm.

That’s all I’ve got for today. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?