Deb Heffernan Finally Gets Religion?
Sometimes, even losing campaigns can have a salutary impact:
A Wilmington area lawmaker who had served as a key ally to the embattled leadership at the Port of Wilmington sent a letter to Delaware’s governor and secretary of state Monday expressing frustration that the operator of the publicly owned and privately run facility has not made a lease payment in more than a year – indicating a delinquent amount to taxpayers of at least $3 million.
Despite the “breach of contract,” Delaware has continued “to contribute financially to the port in ways that appear to conflict with the terms of the original lease agreement,” Rep. Debra Heffernan-D, Bellefonte, said in the letter.
She said she is “not inclined” to support new amendments to the state’s lease of the port to GT USA Wilmington until the facility’s financial problems “have been addressed to the satisfaction of the public and myself.”
This reflects a 180-degree change from her burying language favorable to the Port operators and to the Secretary of State in the FY ’23 Bond Bill. Raising the question, ‘Has the horse already fled the barn?’
As for Carney and Secretary of State Bullock, they’re not talking:
Over the past year, Delaware government officials provided few details about the true financial condition of the port, which generates thousands of well-paying, blue-collar jobs.
When asked Tuesday about the new board of directors, Secretary of State Jeff Bullock said GT USA’s creditors – to which it owes $100 million – “exercised their ability under a lending agreement to name an independent board with the goals of expanding growth” at the Port of Wilmington.
He declined to say whether the creditors, a group reportedly led by AIG, had terminated GT USA under the terms of its lending contract.
When emailed for comment, an official for AIG — a massive global insurance company — referred the inquiry to its subsidiary Corebridge Financial, which declined to comment. Corebridge manages and invests more than $350 billion in assets.
GT USA Wilmington said in a statement Wednesday that it reconfigured its board as “a part of the further development of the Port.”
The company said securing the money to develop a new container terminal in Edgemoor – a key term of its lease deal with the state – “is a central priority.”
Oh, yes. That.
Does Rep. Heffernan now oppose the dredging that would accompany the Edgemoor project and would create environmental hazards for the community? The answer to that question will determine whether this is a legitimate religious conversion or merely a conversion of convenience.
Still, this is quite the encouraging development.
I like when Bullock tells Karl Baker there are inaccuracies in Deb’s letter. When Karl asked what those were Bullock says he can’t say! LOL
I love that trick. The old secret plans gambit. Very Nixonian. It’s funny because Nixon, in several important ways, was to the left of the Carney/Bullock administration – federal health insurance plan, environmental protection agency, &c.
The 50-year counter revolution marches on.
Re: heffernan – its like there is an election coming up or something.
Re: corporations – hey, delaware gives away free money like the rich neighborhood gives away full size candy bars. lets go get some!!
If there’s one element about the Delaware Way, particularly from Carper and his acolytes, that I hate, it’s the keeping the public completely out of the loop on decisions that impact them. Both the port machinations and the screwing of state retirees fall under that umbrella. Along with, of course, privatizing the giveaway of public funds to wealthy corporations. Free from the prying eyes of FOIA.
They can start by sunsetting the provision that essentially privatized economic development paid for by us. BTW, in a dog-bites-man story if ever there was one, Bryon Short, the author of this shitty legislation, is now firmly ensconced on the NCC Chamber of Commerce Board Of Directors.
BTWBTW, didja know that Bullock started out his political career as Carper’s driver? Now you do. An extreme example of the Peter Principle in action.
I’d LOVE to have someone run on the platform of making state government more transparent and responsive.
Worked in Transportation for far too long, at one point had to deal with the port, it has always been political and more then a little bit of a perpetual train wreck. Any improvement is worth it.
If you think Bullock is an example of the Peter Principle, I can point to someone an even bigger “Peter”. A bigger “Peter” is someone who fails at every position and gets promoted to fail at something else. My nomination is Claire DeMatteis.
She was Senior Counsel to then Senator Joe Biden
She then moved around in various contract legal positions with the State.
After the Department of Corrections biggest fiasco she was made Commissioner of Corrections and totally failed to reform the prisons or route out corruption and prisoner abuse (both by corrections officers and contracted health service).
She then was appointed by Governor Carney to oversee allocation of COVID relief money.
That failure led to her being promoted to Secretary of the Department of Human Resources.
The Carney/DeMatteis plan for prison reform?: Outsource the prisoners to private facilities in Pa. where nobody could see what was being done to them.
I smell behind the scenes shenanigans on this one.
Coincidence that her public letter was issued simultaneously with Gulftainer’s board reshuffle announcement with Mike Jackson named to it? Looks like everything was set to go with all of the state insiders cooperating before she was told to go ahead with a public statement.
Can we please have a John, Claire, Jeff and Cerron can Kiss my ass thread!?
I know it was a long one but my post on Bullock didn’t go through.