Nnamdi Doubles Down On His Own Demise

I don’t think he has a political death wish.  Just think he’s oblivious to the impact that his words have. Hey, at least he’s telling his own vision of the truth even if it leads to his defeat at the hands of Shane Darby.

From Amanda Fries’ generally excellent (with one notable exception) article on how renters got screwed in the final days of the General Assembly:

Delaware Rep. Nnamdi ‘Eminent Domain’ (I added that part) Chukwuocha, a Democrat who represents parts of Wilmington where vacant properties and tenant living is commonplace, said he voted against the right to counsel bill because it didn’t differentiate between unscrupulous landlords who own multiple properties and responsible ones who rent a few units.

“I had asked about an amendment that would have provided safeguards for these smaller, community-based owners, while still allowing for tenants to receive the support they needed. But there wasn’t a willingness to address that concern,” Chukwuocha said in an emailed statement. “I’m not here to defend or protect slumlords who hurt our residents and my constituents. I’m ready to continue the efforts to help renters throughout my community and our state, but people can’t dig in their heels and refuse to listen to honest concerns or consider any adjustments to their proposal.”

The bill’s sponsor, however, said that wasn’t the case. Lawmakers were willing and had offered to make many concessions on the legislation.

“In the final days, we were trying to address every concern people raised. We were OK to agree to an amendment that would exempt owner-occupied units,” Townsend said. “We were willing to agree to whole a lot of things to try and get a baseline representation for these tenants.”

Bottom line?  He voted against renters, both in his district and throughout the state.  Can’t wait to look at his 30-day finance report…

That bill, however, wasn’t the only bill that Nnamdi, Stephanie Bolden and the Kop Kabal killed in the House:

A slew of bills before the Delaware General Assembly this past session aimed to reform landlord/tenant code, but most were held up in committee or defeated outright, like Senate Bill 101.

• Senate Bill 101: Right to counsel for tenants; minimum amount of rent overdue for eviction; eviction diversion program; and halts to evictions if tenant pays what is due after five-day grace period. Defeated by the state House of Representatives.
• House Bill 477: Gives right for tenant to withhold rent in escrow for unaddressed apartment defects. Introduced after displacement of dozens of residents from North Adams Street apartment in Wilmington.  (Buried in Lumpy Carson’s House Appropriations Committee.)
• Senate Bill 90: Prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive government housing assistance to pay rent. Senate passed in April and it was passed out of a House committee, but never made it to a full vote.
• House Bill 349: Allows tenant to pay a reoccurring fee in lieu of a security deposit. Passed out of a House committee.  Never acted upon.
  
• Senate Bill 167: Creates a landlord mitigation fund for those who participate in government housing programs that would provide financial assistance for certain expenses incurred. The Senate approved the bill in April, but after a House committee reported it out, it was never acted upon.

SB 101 was defeated 23-16 in the House and would have also established a minimum amount of rent overdue to move forward with evictions; stopped landlords from proceeding with eviction if a tenant pays what is due; and created an eviction diversion program. D’s who voted no: Bennett, Bolden, Bush, Carson, Chukwuocha, Cooke (??!!), Matthews, Osienski and, of course, Speaker Pete.  Remind me again, whose Democratic Party is this?

Oh, the one notable omission in the article?  Nowhere in the story is the name of the legislator most responsible for killing protections for renters mentioned.  That name of course, is Buccini/Pollin groupie Stephanie Bolden.

Other than that, this is an excellent article.  Fries is doing a great job of creating a record of popular legislation that has been killed by the General Assembly this session, and why it was killed.

I’ve got a great one coming up on my own when I finally get around to writing it.  You won’t believe it. Except, when you find out who was behind it, you will believe it.