The Most Blatantly-Corrupt Bill Of The Session
Of many sessions, actually. For all involved, if you didn’t want your names besmirched in this piece, you never should have gotten involved, and stayed involved, in this grab of state land and money in order to line the pockets of some of the most unethical practitioners of the Delaware Way. At the beginning, we’re talking Gov. Markell, disgraced former Rep. Dick Cathcart, Delaware City Mayor John Buechheit, Sen. Nicole ‘No Longer’ Poore and our PAL Val Longhurst, with assists from then-DNREC Secetary Collin O’Mara and Tom ‘Suspendered Disbelief’ Wagner.
Only two members of leadership who were predisposed to corruption could ever have gotten away with it. They held levers of power over their members that others didn’t. Especially Longhurst, who, along with Speaker Pete, ran (and run) the House D Caucus through intimidation.
Have I yet mentioned that we’re talking the Underground City Of Fort DuPont? We are.
Which brings me to the most blatantly-corrupt bill of the session, featuring some relatively new additions to the Rogue’s Gallery. Including John Carney, DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin, former State Rep. Bryon Short, and…no, we’ll save that one for a little later. A clue: A current state legislator who owes their current position to House leadership, and who has access to tons o’ funds.
Ladeez and gentlemen, allow me to present to you HB 355. Sponsored, as has every single piece of legislation on behalf of this boondoggle, by Nicole Poore and Val Longhurst, and only Poore and Longhurst. Gee, you’d think they’d at least try to get Mimi Minor-Brown on the bill since she will inherit this shit-show from Longhurst in November. But, no.
The bill’s stated purpose is to ‘fortify the Declaration of Purpose for the Fort DuPont Complex’. I suppose that’s true–if the purpose of the Fort DuPont Complex is to just steal as much state money as possible without accountability. Credit to Longhurst and Poore: They’re not even subtle about it.
Rip-Off # 1: ‘The Board is composed of the following directors:…The Director of the Prosperity Partnership.
Got that? They’re adding the director of the (they’re not a state agency, hence they’re immune from FOIA) of the quasi-public body that hands money to corporations with no accountability. There can only be one reason for this addition to the Board, and that’s to access more money. I suppose I should point out that this scheme was hatched in 2014. Here we are in 2022, and the need for this money pit to steal from Delawareans is stronger than ever. Even Val and Nicole introduced a bill last year basically saying that they could rip off the public for only one more year. It went nowhere.
The involvement of the ‘Prosperity Partnership’ is not coincidental. Warning: Gory Delaware Way details ahead. The Partnership was a John Carney wet dream designed to keep the prying eyes of the public away from all of these giveaways. The prime sponsor of the bill in the House was Bryon Short. You may remember him as the Father of the Business Lapdog Committee, and also the guy who made sure that minimum wage increases did not escape his committee. Oh, and as the guy who ran as the Chamber’s D candidate for US Rep. Well, guess what Short is doing now. Give up? He’s the Chair of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment And Preservation Corporation. Anyone wanna claim that it’s a mere coincidence that he’s in that position? Oh, his post-legislative job?: He’s the Executive Director of the Delaware Contractors Association. His job is to promote construction in all its forms. There’s a shitload of construction going on at Ft. DuPont. Mere coincidence? Right.
The cynicism of the Grifter Sisters (shout-out to Mediawatch) shine here in all its corrupt glory.
Apparently that new revenue stream isn’t enough for the Grifter Sisters. They have added (I’m not making this up) the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Capital Improvements Committee, aka the Bond Bill Committee). Talk about skipping the middle men. We’re talking direct access to the cash.
Who, you might ask, are these two chairs? The Senate Chair is (I’m not making this up) Grifta Sista Nicole Poore. Funny how that works.
The House Chair (Warning: Screed ahead) is Rep. Deb Heffernan. Deb Heffernan holds that position because, and only because, the Kop Kabal trusts her, and she will do anything they want. Otherwise, she would no longer be in that position, especially with the autocratic leadership style of Schwartzkopf/Longhurst. In other words, they can count on her to keep the money flowing, and to make sure that no nasty epilog language requiring an audit of this money pit be conducted. News flash: There has never been a legit audit conducted of this project since its inception. Nor will there be with the game fixed as it is now.
Now, let’s talk about Deb Heffernan. I will say it right up front: Representative, if you disagree with the following assertions, you are welcome to come on here and respond. In the interest of fairness, I will withhold critical reaction to your response. We’ve had discussions, even amongst some progressives, as to why Heffernan deserves a strong primary challenge, which she is facing. There are several reasons, but here is the one that’s germane to this piece: While Heffernan continues to shower her largesse on Val Longhurst and this corrupt project in Delaware City, she has openly threatened people right up here in Claymont and Brandywine Hundred that, if they don’t openly endorse her, she will put the kibosh on funding for vital projects. In other words, Val Longhurst at her best/worst. To me, that bespeaks someone unfit to hold public office. At first, the feedback on this was a mere trickle. Turns out she hasn’t hidden her intentions from anybody. Which brings me to a story.
We used to have a friend, kind-of an amiable ne’er-do-well, who showed up on occasion to share some pot and brewskis. He had a very kind wife, we always wondered what she saw in him. One day, he just disappears (‘Got a wife and kid in Baltimore, Jack, I went out for a drive and I never came back’). We don’t hear of him for years until I open the paper one morning, and see that he’s been arrested for an ill-considered jewelry heist in downtown Wilmington. The quote from the police officer, which became the title of a mix-tape we made, and which kicked off with the aforementioned Springsteen song, was ’50 witnesses can’t be wrong’.
No, 50 witnesses haven’t corroborated Heffernan’s threats, but we’re far past the point of having sufficient confirmation. Deb: Floor’s yours.
I don’t know what will jolt the General Assembly into action, or to have our Governor wake up from his nap and at least ask for an audit.
But I know corrupt intent when I see it, and HB 355 is the Unchallenged Champeen Of Corruption For 2022.
“Thieves of private property pass their lives in chains; thieves of public property in riches and luxury.”
― Cato the Elder
Now I see Chuck Rhoades opening investigations every week into the malfeasance of usually the billionaire class, but he also has opened investigations into other state offices to gain leverage. Can Kathy Jennings not do the same?
You mean like this?
https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/news/mcguiness-misconduct-indictment/
Yeah.
Too bad that it takes 12 people (of a 22 person staff) all blowing whistles for all they’re worth to get any attention.
You mentioned my name but spelled it incorrectly. You failed to mention what my involvement in FDRC has been , which has been zero. Your accusations about people who have attempted to help change a once economically depressed area that housed former sex offenders and drug addicts to a work, live and play community is Shameful. Write facts not assumptions .
This work, live and play community is being built on state land that the taxpayers of the state were not compensated for. It’s not my responsibility as a taxpayer to give away state assets so as to enrich the people who will be enriched by this. Stop pretending this is some sort of public service you’re running there. It’s a ripoff of state taxpayers for a project that will be underwater by the time my grandchildren reach age 50.
Facts — if you had any you’d have typed them out.
A mayor with zero involvement on a project this large in his town? Some mayor. Useless, I’d say.
He’s not the mayor anymore 😊
And he was never mayor during the gestation of this boondoggle?
Or put another way a group of facilities providing much needed mental health and addiction services on STATE OWNED land driven out to enrich developers! You sir are pathetic!
You are just an idiot with zero facts… your gossip rag is as nuts as the people who believe you! I had no decision making of The FDRC . I only supported the project as the majority of the voters have. The Mayor of Delaware City has NO authority involving FDRC and very limited powers in the City. You are barking up the wrong tree. You are making assumptions about people who really make a difference in making Delaware City a better place for today and years to come… shameful…
Assumptions? We’ve laid this out from the beginning. You were part ot the initial plotting and scheming, right there at Crabby Dick’s.
You weren’t following the wishes of the residents of Delaware City, you were inflicting this on the residents.
Gotta say, time hasn’t mellowed you in the least.
BTW, as to ‘facts’,here’s a homework assignment for you:
‘I’ve been writing about the ethical sewer that is the Fort DuPont project since 2014. With no, no, impact on the General Assembly. Other advocates, armed with all sorts of empirical evidence on the irreparable harm the project could cause, have become part of the effort. With no, no, impact on the General Assembly.
The latest example of the impact we haven’t had is on today’s Senate Agenda. Under the guise of a charter change. Charter changes routinely move through w/o any oversight because if a legislator dares to challenge such a charter change, they believe they will be the next one in the barrel, and their communities could suffer. Which brings us to SB 238. Sponsored as always, by only Sen. Poore and Rep. Longhurst. The bill enables Delaware City to monetize the as-yet-unbuilt RV Park that will destroy tidal wetlands that are supposed to be protected:
A Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) report on the Campground plan was completed by the office of State Planning Coordination in July, 2019. This report stated: “Tidal wetlands comprise a majority of the proposed project area. Non-tidal wetlands are also present.”
The parcel search above shows the Grassdale triangle with the planned roads for the RV Campground marked in white and a rendering of wetlands protected by both the federal and state governments. This map clearly demonstrates how the Campgrounds would be encroaching on and removing protected wetlands.
Additional perspective is provided by the winter landscape taken from Reedy Point Rd with the Branch Canal in the distance. This photo delineates the wetlands because the tall grass obscures the snow. This image validates the conclusion of the Plus report that most of Grassdale is wetlands.
When the Delaware City Council met to approve the Grassdale plan on 12/2/2020, they passed a motion to require the minimum 100-foot buffer as required by both the state and county. This motion required that the plan would be brought back to Council for re-consideration if the 100-foot buffer was reduced.
However, at that point, the Fort DuPont complex had already been re-zoned providing for only 25-foot buffers. The campground developer made clear from the beginning that the 100-foot buffer was a non-starter and FDRPC supported their position.
I suppose now’s a good time to point out that the FDRPC is chaired by Bryon Short, the legislator-turned-lobbyist who was the father of the House Business Lapdog Committee. I cannot think of a more appropriate chair, as the fix has been in on this project from the beginning, and he is the perfect willing dupe. In the (inevitably vain) hope that some legislator, any legislator, will give a shit, I’m once again providing a bleepload of articles laying out the corruption that has been the defining operating principle of this project from the beginning’:
Why the Grassdale Sale Can and Should be Reversed
Ten Reasons the Grassdale Sale was Illegal
Failure of Executive Leadership
Proposed RV Campground Will Destroy Tidal Wetlands.
You can find all the aforementioned articles here:
https://delawareliberal.net/2022/03/15/delaware-general-assembly-pre-game-show-tuesday-march-15-2022/
More facts that anyone would need to see the history of this project. Read them, then respond. Know-nothings don’t have a very long shelf life around here.
An RV park will make Delaware City a better place? Says a lot about Delaware City, none of it good.
It’s a wetland. It should have been allowed to return to nature, as it surely will in the decades ahead. And I’m sure the state will be asked to bail out the RV park when the tide can no longer be turned.
Typical politician, seeing his job as furthering moneyed interests by pretending that what benefits a few greatly will benefit all somehow. You people never learn, because you’re not interested in leaning. You’re interested in making money.
BTW, the state funding drug treatment is how healthy societies do it. Delaware, of course, outsourced the actual treatment, neglecting its responsibilities just as it has by giving away this land.
Joe, The drug rehab owned by a for profit out of State company had little to no success in treatments. The taxpayers were funding this site for this out of state company . The sex offenders home was placed near the State Park and near our homes. The taxpayers will finally be getting a return on this land instead of losing money on this land. You sir, need to do your research.
Your information on how the various facilities were operated and funded and their ownership along with your assertion of failure are as bad as your marketing slogans, Hon!
Quit while you are behind, sport:)
The ‘taxpayers’ continue to pay through the nose. Put the head of the FOIA-exempt ‘Prosperity Partnership’ on the Board of Directors? Check. Put Nicole Poore, in the guise of her position as head of the Senate Bond Bill Committee on the Board? Check.
Pray tell us, at what point does the spigot of public money stop flowing into this money pit?
“The taxpayers will finally be getting a return on this land instead of losing money on this land. You sir, need to do your research.”
OK, John. Help me with the research, which would be especially helpful since no complete audit has ever been done on this project.
At what point will the taxpayers finally be getting a return? At what point will the state finally be made whole for all of the money that has been funneled into this project? Or are you only talking about Delaware City taxpayers as opposed to the rest of us? If so, what public purpose was served by subsidizing this in the first place?
Please help us out. You know, in the interest of research. I want facts, not assumptions.
Welcome back, John. Been years since you were on here making thinly-veiled threats at anyone who dared to question the project.
I never said you were currently involved. I pointed out that you were a huge part of the scheme in the first place. And, you know what, bringing in Dick Cathcart as the Town Manager speaks volumes about your ethical bankruptcy. Not to mention all those soulful talks at your Very Own Crabby Dick’s with your co-conspirators. Wasn’t one of them a tenant?
If a second wave of slimy officials have replaced you, that in no way absolves you of having been in the very first wave. Oh, and please point out where I’ve written that you’re the current mayor. I haven’t. Here’s what I wrote:
“At the beginning, we’re talking Gov. Markell, disgraced former Rep. Dick Cathcart, Delaware City Mayor John Buechheit (hey, I misspelled it then, too, some names just escape me) , Sen. Nicole ‘No Longer’ Poore and our PAL Val Longhurst, with assists from then-DNREC Secetary Collin O’Mara and Tom ‘Suspendered Disbelief’ Wagner.”
You know, in 2014. Many of the first wave of miscreants have moved on. I also wrote that there was a second wave, and named names.
BTW, I know that ‘Buchheit’ means ‘Bullshit’, just can’t recall the language. Care to enlighten me, asshole?
If I thought could win, I would run for the open senate seat in Lewes
?
It’s great to check in and see everyone doing well.