What’s not at issue is that Rep. Bolden (more on who she represents in a minute) sold out every one of her constituents who rents. She also sold out every tenant who rents in the state of Delaware.
To understand how, first read SS 1/SB 101 (Townsend). The bill creates a right to counsel for renters, particularly those in low-income areas:
Approximately 18,000 eviction cases are filed each year in the State of Delaware, and while 86% of landlords are represented by an attorney, agent, or business manager, only 2% of tenants have representation…(e)victions and disruptive displacement also have significant, well-documented, and long-lasting effects on the lives of individuals and families, including poorer physical and mental health, increased risk of homelessness, increased risk of employment loss, loss of personal property, damage to credit standing, and relocation into substandard housing. Further, evictions fall disproportionately on Black and Latinx families, who have also been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
Section 1 of this Act establishes a right to counsel for covered individuals with household income below 200% of the federal poverty guideline for evictions and other landlord-tenant actions. A Coordinator for the program will be appointed by the Attorney General. The Coordinator will contract with legal services providers for the provision of representation in proceedings covered by this Act. Section 1 also requires the Coordinator to work with community organizations to do outreach and education regarding the right to counsel. And, landlords must provide notice of the right to counsel at periodic designated intervals in the tenancy and in eviction proceedings.
This is a great bill that was sponsored by many of the progressive legislators we elected last year.
Now understand this. The bill passed the Senate 13-7, with only Sen. Mantzavinos among the D’s going ‘not voting’ (you’ll have to ask him why). All other D’s voted yes.
The bill was assigned to the Housing & Community Affairs Committee in the House. The committee is comprised of 6 D’s and 4 R’s. The chair is Kendra Johnson, who is one of the bill’s sponsors. The Vice-Chair is Bolden. If all 6 D’s voted to release the bill from committee, it would have headed to the House floor. However, Stephanie Bolden, after running interference for the development interests during the hearing (giving them more time to speak than the bill’s supporters), voted not to release the bill from committee. 5-5 tie vote, bill doesn’t get released.
Now you may be saying, that’s all well and good, El Som, but what’s this $1200 all about?
Thank you for asking. Stephanie Bolden got $1200 in campaign donations on the same day in the form of two $600 donations:
08/16/2018 BPG Real Estate Services LLC, 322 A. Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801 $600.00
08/16/2018 BPGS Construction LLC, 322 A. Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801 $600.00
For those of you who have not figured out what BPG stands for, it stands for Buccini/Pollin Group. Mayor Mike’s co-pilot. They donated $1200 to Stephanie Bolden in 2018, when she was facing a D opponent in a primary. Thanks to the vagaries of Delaware law, apparently every LLC that Buccini/Pollin creates can donate up to $600, should they choose to do so. Or not. Barristers, care to weigh in?
They did the same thing for Hanifa Shabazz in 2020. You remember her–she gave Stephanie Bolden a job as ‘receptionist’ for City Council.
While BPG generally does not donate in most legislative races, they also funneled $1200 (again, two separate LLC’s) to Debra Heffernan in 2018 for the general election (you’ll have to ask her why), not to mention an additional $600 to her RD committee (subject for future investigation), and also $600 to Nnamdi Chukwuocha for the 2018 primary where he ousted Charles Potter. No other current state legislator representing the city has ever gotten a campaign contribution from BPG, although Speaker Pete, who doesn’t need it, got $300.
Here’s what’s irrefutable. The people who live in RD 2, which is one of the poorest districts in the state, were sold out by their state representative. She voted against providing legal counsel for her own constituents in landlord-tenant disputes. She effectively buried the bill all by herself. Whether she sold them out for $1200 from Buccini/Pollin really isn’t important.
The fact is: She sold them out.