Psst–House Ethics Committee To Consider Gerald Brady’s Fate On Friday–DON’T TELL ANYBODY
Pete ‘n Val’s utter disdain for the public is on full display this week. They’ve crafted rules that prohibit any discussion by House members of anything that comes before the House Ethics Committee, and then schedule a stealth meeting of the House Ethics Committee on a Friday. This Friday. In the announcement, they provide the public with no notice of what the committee meeting will consider. Here is the notice in its entirety:
151th (sic) GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MEETING NOTICE
HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE
Friday, September 10, 2021
11:00 AM
House Room H104
411 Legislative Ave., Dover DE, 19901
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chair Valerie Longhurst
Members Peter C. Schwartzkopf, John L. Mitchell, Daniel B. Short, Timothy D. Dukes
______________________________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA
Legislation Sponsor Description
Non-Legislation
Discuss executive business before the committee.
Comments
The House Ethics Committee Meeting is Closed to the Public.
Got that? You are not entitled to know what they will consider. You (including the press) are not entitled to attend the meeting. You will almost certainly not be entitled to even know what went on at the meeting even after the meeting has concluded ( I refer you to this: “They’ve crafted rules that prohibit any discussion by House members of anything that comes before the House Ethics Committee.”)
The matter being considered by the committee is clearly public business. It is a matter of public interest, it is of interest at least to the Asian-American community and to all Delaware women in general, it certainly concerns the constituents of Gerald Brady, it reflects on the entire House of Representatives.
Yet, any House member who would dare to utter a word in public about the proceedings would conceivably be as much at risk of legislative sanction as Brady himself. All because of rules crafted by the House leadership designed to promote secrecy (and to consolidate power).
The conclusion is inescapable. If you are a member of the House, you either countenance such anti-democratic principles, or you support new leadership. Schwartzkopf and Longhurst have used intimidation as their tactic for remaining in leadership for well over a decade now. Stand up to them, or make way for those who will. Oh, and find someone to primary them.
BTW–151th? Has that been on House letterhead since the beginning of session?
“Yet, any House member who would dare to utter a word in public about the proceedings would conceivably be as much at risk of legislative sanction as Brady himself.”
Someone should test Pete’s resolve on that.
It’s Val’s resolve. She’s the enforcer.
A good old-fashioned leak would be welcome. Do we have any journalists left who could be counted on to handle a leak? Not sure, with so many police connections on the other side.
Forget about ’em handling a leak. How about filing a FOIA complaint? How about ’em showing up at Leg Hall on Friday?
We have a few people who comment here who have extensive editorial experience. What would they suggest?
BTW, if the powers-that-be stonewall legit journalistic questions, that’s a story in and of itself.
A pretty traditional approach, but worth doing: Have a reporter sit outside the meeting room, starting about a half-hour before meeting is scheduled to start. Take names of everyone entering the room, talk to everyone as they leave. My guess is that the reporter won’t be the only one waiting outside. Get their observations too. Fill some time with phone calls or email exchanges with open government and ethics experts.
Thank you. Allow me to provide the proper emphasis:
“HAVE A REPORTER SIT OUTSIDE THE MEETING ROOM, STARTING ABOUT A HALF-HOUR BEFORE MEETING IS SCHEDULED TO START. TAKE NAMES OF EVERYONE ENTERING THE ROOM , TALK TO EVERYONE AS THEY LEAVE.”
MEMO TO EVERY JOURNALISTIC OUTLET IN DELAWARE: Do exactly what Mediawatch has suggested. Then, report on it. House leadership is trying to bury this very important story. Don’t let them get away with it.
And let the members pass by a dozen or more Asian women as they enter the room.
Gee, I wonder whether the committee has reached out to those groups that Brady has maligned…
Despite repeated attempts at discussion, Delaware Asian American Voice has not been contacted by anyone in a leadership position in the state house.
Gee, weren’t they conducting an ‘investigation’? (That’s a rhetorical question. Of course they weren’t. But it gave them a fig leaf to ‘no comment’ ad nauseum.)
They’ve already determined what they’re gonna do. The two Rethugs have no choice but to go along b/c the alternative would be for their members to get screwed in redistricting.
Any and all D challengers to incumbents must be asked one question: Do you intend to vote for new leaders in the House?
May have to be an hour before, now.
Plus get a cup and put it and your ear to the door.
151th lol
Anyway, El Som, you used to work in the House, if memory serves (unless it was the Senate). What was the Ethics process like then?
It was (and still is) rarely used. The only difference is that I think there are more ethical people in the General Assembly now than there were then. Back then, a majority of legislators had some scam going on the side. And/or were securing funds for their pet projects which were not eligible for funding.
Unfortunately, in the House, the new wave is not yet within sniffing distance of leadership. Val Longhurst, who is almost certainly the least ethical person in the House, heading the Ethics Committee is a big FU to those seeking to clean up government.
WDEL Catches Onto Ethics Committee Secret Meeting:
https://www.wdel.com/news/mysterious-house-ethics-committee-meeting-catches-attention-of-open-government-advocates/article_6a60e738-111b-11ec-995b-1b9c01d2c6d7.html
Yep. The House has exempted itself from the FOIA requirements–only for the Ethics Committee, not any other committee. That’s not–ethical.
Delaware Live:
https://delawarelive.com/house-ethics-committee-to-meet-friday-will-it-include-brady-hearing/
Such utter bullshit from Volturo and the House.
A collective shrug of shoulders and ‘We’re just following the rules (that we made up for the express purpose of keeping the public in the dark.’)
Uh, I made up the last part. Just to add context. And truth.