Matt Meyer Makes It Official: He’s Running For Governor
Who knows? He might win. It’s not as if there’s an undeniable powerhouse in the race, or a progressive candidate who can galvanize the grassroots:
Meyer, who has been county executive since 2016, launched into Delaware politics as a progressive outsider. He primaried and defeated then three-term incumbent Tom Gordon, an embattled politician who had his hands in New Castle County politics for decades.
Before entering politics, Meyer worked as a school teacher, attorney, entrepreneur and economic development advisor for the U.S. State Department in Iraq. He didn’t have much government experience before leading the state’s largest municipal government, which has an annual budget of about $300 million.
Me? I’m holding out for a progressive candidate who can galvanize the grassroots.
Whaddayathink, pipples?
It’s gona be BHL vs Meyer…..maybe someone else jumps in but those are the two.
BHL starts with a head start in Kent, Sussex and SNCC. Meyer has a base in the wealthy Wilmington burbs and maybe the city.
I see this as a close one eithe way.
I agree, but BHL has to be the favorite. She’s the establishment choice and as you note has a wide base. Meyer has to hope he can duplicate what Markell did to Carney, but he’ll have to make the case that he’s the better choice, and we’ll have to see how he intends to distinguish himself from her.
I think BHL will be a better campaigner than “Mr. Personality” Carney, and Meyer has enemies as CE that Markell didn’t generate as treasurer. With low-information voters, her gender also helps.
Meyer’s task is not impossible, but it’s going to require political skills beyond what he’s shown in his career so far.
The police hate him? Potential love on my part! The question remains just another corporate ass kisser? Gee, how many times have I seen it happen, and I do not care to count the ways. Having said that better then Carney seems inevitable…. Then again it is Delaware.
BHL has already run and won twice statewide in a general and once in a Dem LG primary, which does help. I read MM’s announcement email. He uses the word “bold” way too often. That makes me think he is overcompensating for incremental tendencies and he will not deliver any bold change that he promises.
Who will protect state retirees medical benefits?
Important question.
Very! Let’s get them on record. Great question.
Matt Meyer is a guest speaker in Dem RD36 next week. Good questions?
BHL is gonna be a guest at our RD committee next week.
I intend to ask her whether budget-smoothing will be DOA should she win.
What is budget smoothing?
We’ve been writing about it for years. It’s John Carney’s unilaterally-imposed requirement that state executive branch agencies each have to limit their requests to whatever the entire budget is projected to grow by.
Let’s say, for example, that Carney submits a budget that has 2% growth in it. No agency, regardless of circumstances or ongoing crises within them, can submit a budget request that grows by more than 2%.
He’s also taken unilateral steps to make sure that there is little to no growth in the ‘base’ of the budget.
Carney tried to get the General Assembly to enact his budget-smoothing proposal, which he got from former Rethug State Treasurer Ken Simpler, into law, but the General Assembly soundly rejected his proposal. So, he has required that the agencies under his control conform to it.
Thanks El… How did the budget work before he did that?
Well, for one thing, agencies were able to make their proposals directly to the Controller General’s office. Now, it all goes through the Governor’s office first.
So, any direct requests from the agencies to the legislature are now cut off unless they comport with the Governor’s edict regarding budget growth.
It’s so stupid because he’s applying a one size fits all approach w/o regard to serious situations facing certain agencies.
Just one example to illustrate the point: The state is unforgiveably behind when it comes to nursing home inspections. Why? Not enough inspectors and the state is unwilling to pay the going rate to attract them.
Unless the Governor prioritizes funding for this, which he didn’t, there’s no way the agency can carry out their mandated functions. Residents and families become the victims because the governor cares more about balance sheets than about people.
So that’s why I want to ask those running for Governor whether they will continue with, or deep-six Carney’s obsession.
Thanks for the insight El…
Last question.. I promise.
If that’s the case, then why are they saying that the state’s budget growth is higher than its been in the last 20yrs with this budget? Last week they said it’s at 10% and the Governor is supportive… Is that budget smoothing? Are we basically asking the next Governor if they’re going to introduce budgets at greater than 10% growth annually?
No. The increase this year was in large part due to significant increases in educator pay, which is needed to attract and retain teachers. Also some one-time expenditures.
Agencies still had to scrape by on the meager limits set by this Governor. Ask any legislator, and they will tell you that key priorities have gone unfunded this year largely due to Carney. The almost-universal disregard of Carney especially by the D legislators cannot be overstated.
Thanks… But One-Times aren’t included in the budget growth %, because they’re “one-times” but I hear ya. 10% growth is nearly $500m above last year’s budget. That’s not just teacher salaries. I’ll keep reading.
One-times certainly swell an annual budget. They figure in the bottom line.
What they don’t do is ‘grow the base of the budget’.
Because they’re one-time items not subject to annual renewal.
If anyone sees either one out and about please do me a favor and ask my qualifying question – “What’s the “Democratic” approach to this role?”
It is still surprising to me how may candidates fall flat on their face when asked this simple question. I think they are all over-prepped for “Seriously, how great is bipartisanship?” type questions. I asked Matt once at the Middletown peach festival and his response was pure jibberish.
Yes, but he’s fluent in jibberish and three other languages. That counts for a lot in my book.
What’s the correct answer to a question like this? It’s posed as a trick question so why expect a real response
It’s an essay question. There’s no “correct” answer.
But there are many wrong answers.
The correct answer was given by Matt Denn when he was running for Insurance Commissioner.
Which was?
The insurance companies have plenty of lawyers looking out for their interests. The Democratic approach to the job is to look out for the little guy; to be on the side of people who don’t have an office building full of lawyers.
That’s what he said, and that’s how he ran that office.
Matt Denn would be very comfortable in the increasingly-progressive environment we’re moving towards.
I wonder if he’s all the way out for good. Y’know, it’d be interesting if HE entered the Governor’s race.
Just speculation, but…
I’d vote for him. We lost a lot when he packed it in.
Doubt he comes back yet. Making a ton of money, enjoying his kids, weekends, and life in general.
It amazes me anyone under 50 with a family actually wants to be an elected official. Not by accident the legislature is full of retired folks and the county councils in the state look like nursing homes.
@deeds: My brother worked for many years at a country club. He said if all families were happy there would be no such thing as golf.
Labor hates Meyers! They will be all in for BHL.
Construction trades and the cops, yes. Didn’t stop him from getting reelected in 2020 despite their opposition.
Yeah, but consider the quality of the opposition. Maggie Jones was unknown and still got 44% of the vote. BHL is better known, and who knows how many of Meyer’s roadside signs will survive the predations of her husband?
There are 12,000 members of the DSEA. That’s more than the number of cops (about 2,000) or construction trade union members (under 5,000) combined. Not to mention that teachers are more likely to register as Democrats than cops or hard-hat workers would be.
BHL has been endorsed by the DSEA before.That’s the union Meyer would have to win over to have any chance at all.
True. Don’t know, though, whether BHL has been endorsed by DSEA in a D primary before, or whether just in general elections vs. R’s.