“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” JFK used that quote often. This is a year to celebrate all the contributors to the most successful electoral year in Delaware progressive political history. We’ll leave Jane Brady and that guy from Shop-Rite to wallow in the dregs of defeat.
15. Cerron Cade. Secretary of Labor. Progressives tell me that he’s been the real deal when it comes to responding to the needs of workers during the Covid crisis. I’m also told he has a political future if he wants it.
14. Karen Lantz. Delaware ACLU’s Political Director. A driving force on the education funding suit and on behalf of criminal justice reform.
13. Jesse Scarane. While she didn’t win, she ran a great race that was definitely hindered by the pandemic, a race that really had to be run. She also used her platform as a statewide candidate to feature many of the down-ballot legislative candidates. Selfless and sincere. I hope that this is just the first time that we see her name in the public arena. Hmmm, does she live in Gerald Brady’s district??
12. The State And Regional Democratic Party Leaders. Erik Raser-Schramm, Jesse Chadderdon, Dave Woodside and Cassandra Marshall. The state party I never expected to see in Delaware–receptive to challengers and a home for progressive activists. Finally, a big-tent Democratic Party.
11. The Incredible Leaders And Volunteers Who Led Their Campaigns. Please feel free to add any names that I’ve missed: Crystal Womack (Rae Moore’s Campaign Manager); Karl Stomberg (Madinah Wilson-Anton’s campaign manager); Giuvel Rivera (Eric Morrison’s campaign manager); Kailyn Richards/Tyeisha Grier (Marie Pinkney’s campaign leaders); Maddy Starling (Kyle Evans Gay’s volunteer coordinator); Gary Steelman (Larry Lambert’s key campaign operative); Chris Sinkiewicz (Shane Darby’s campaign manager); Kirsten Walther (Jess Scarane’s campaign manager); Phoebe Lucas (Sarah McBride’s campaign manager); Joe Connor (the man was a machine, I tell ya’, a machine).
10. Delaware United, Network Delaware, Leftward Delaware, Working Families Party. All four groups promote progressivism in slightly different ways. Delaware United especially focuses on legislative priorities under the superb leadership of Dustyn Thompson, the other three groups have been essential in recruiting, training, staffing and promoting the candidacies of progressives running for office. They work together in an extraordinarily cooperative manner. All were essential this year in the progressive victories. Delaware United has an incredible legislative platform that they are pushing to enact. Read it, and support it. Since I started writing this piece, Leftward Delaware and the Working Families Party have merged into the Working Families Party Of Delaware.
OK, you can all feel free to place these successful challengers in whatever order you’d like. I have my personal favorites. However, in each case, the challenger placed the Delaware General Assembly in a more progressive position than their predecessor had. So, I will list them in alphabetical order by last name along with my comments:
Tie: 2. Kyle Evans Gay. After winning a three-way primary, and swiftly uniting her primary opponents behind her, Kyle defeated 20-year incumbent/do-nothing Cathy Cloutier in a pretty close race. In so doing, she flipped a seat that had been in Republican hands for as long as I can remember. Kyle ran on a progressive platform, voted for progressive senate leadership, and is now part of a Senate D super-majority. I had a chance to help her out a little, and I really like her.
Tie: 2. Larry Lambert. Larry handily defeated one-term incumbent Ray Seigfried in a one-on-one matchup after having narrowly lost to Ray in a 5-way primary in 2018. Ray didn’t suck, but his priorities were not the same as Larry’s, who ran as a true progressive. After losing, Seigfried criticized the progressive insurgency while praising the Delaware Way. In other words, he justified my vote, as well as the votes of many others who voted for Larry.
Tie: 2. Spiros Mantzavinos. Spiros reclaimed the senate seat that Patti Blevins had frittered away to Second Amendment absolutist Anthony Delcollo. He voted for the progressive leadership team in the Senate, and he is now part of a Democratic super-majority. He also stepped up to run when nobody else would. He deserves props for that. Delcollo will be staff attorney to the Senate Rethuglican Caucus. If he thinks that carrying the water for that group of RWNJ dead-enders will somehow resurrect his political career, he’s mistaken. Although he could run against Kathleen Jennings for AG in 2022, and lose by 20 points.
Tie: 2. Sarah McBride. On one hand, she replaces the most progressive legislator among the predecessors on the list. OTOH, someone was going to replace Sen. McDowell real soon, and, in Sarah’s case, we could not have asked for a better replacement. Young, a proven coalition-builder, dedicated to equality for all, a person already of national stature. Everybody who knows her likes her. She also ensured the election of a progressive leadership team in the Senate, as Harris was obligated to vote for the (Dave) McBride/Poore slate in order to keep his spot on JFC. Sarah, of course, voted for the Sokola/Townsend/Lockman team. Can’t wait to see what legislation she introduces.
Tie: 2. Sherae’a Moore. The latest victorious candidate to enter the fray, Rae replaces one of Delaware’s true DINO’s in Quin Johnson, whose surprise retirement was a gift to the progressive cause. Rae was the most progressive candidate in the three-way primary, and prevailed in both the primary and the general elections. When you replace a Quin Johnson with a Rae Moore, that is progress that’s almost impossible to quantify. Meaning, it’s a lot.
Tie: 2. Eric Morrison. ‘When you replace a good ol’ boy Delaware Way insider like Earl Jaques with an Eric Morrison, that is progress that’s almost impossible to quantify.’ Morrison won that primary in a blow-out, and then won the general election with a similar percentage of the vote (just about 62%). We know that Jaques had been a strong charter advocate, so this is a huge win for public education. Not to mention, check out Morrison’s positions on the issues. Plus, that caucus needs more representatives willing to confront that leadership team. John Kowalko just may have another ally.
Tie: 2. Marie Pinkney. I simply cannot express the joy I continue to feel about Marie Pinkney and her successful campaign to unseat President Pro-Tem Dave McBride. For me, it ranks right there with Bryan Townsend knocking off Tiny Tony DeLuca. I honestly think that she started out running this time with an eye on winning next time. From the start, she was incredibly disciplined, made great use of the limited resources available to her, and began to see a pathway to victory. People, including me, Joe Connor, and many others, flocked to her campaign because she is a great person who was running for the right reasons. Our DL MVP Of The Year (patience, my friends) focused a lot of his attention on this race. Marie Pinkney narrowly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Delaware legislative history. A huge blow for the progressive movement in Delaware. I predict that she will do great things in Dover.
Tie: 2. Madinah Wilson-Anton. It ended up close, largely due to a suspicious third entry into the primary. But Madinah knocked off (a) an undistinguished back-bencher; (b) an ally of the unethical Tony DeLuca; and (c) an enabler for Speaker Pete and Our PAL Val, all in the persona of one John Viola. Talk about running for the right reasons, check out her platform. She ran in large part out of her first-hand experience in working for the General Assembly, and at her revulsion at the Delaware Way tradition. Even before she was elected, she was providing constituent services to some of her neediest constituents, many of whom were not eligible to vote. She, too, is someone I am simply thrilled to see in Dover. She is both compassionate and effective.
1. Drew Serres. Delaware’s Pied Piper Of Progressivism. Not only did he recruit and train candidates, recruit and train campaign operatives, run Network Delaware as a citizens’ action organization, and help develop progressive organizations throughout the state, he stepped in and played a vital role on key campaigns, especially for the primaries. He is an incredibly inclusive person, and it drives his philosophy of political participation. The development of grassroots progressive participation that he began to build during Eugene Young’s run for mayor of Wilmington paid off big-time this year. In the most successful progressive cycle in Delaware history, when there were literally hundreds of people who made a difference, Drew Serres helped to orchestrate this success. He is an easy choice for DL’s MVP Of The Year.