Is Collin O’Mara Running for Governor?
We’ve seen lots of chatter lately about former state Secretary of Natural Resources Collin O’Mara exploring a run for governor. I just can’t see it.
Since stepping down from the Markell administration in 2014, O’Mara has been CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental nonprofit with 4 million members and an annual budget of $140 million. Sure, he’d give that up in a heartbeat for a chance at running the state of Delaware. But that’s not his only commitment.
It got almost no attention at the time because the media gets more eyeballs reporting every Trump mouthfart, but the Biden administration announced a couple of weeks ago that it had selected seven locations to launch its planned hydrogen energy network. One of them is the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2), which is getting a $750 million federal grant to set up a network comprising 17 sites in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
The Chairman of the Board of MACH2 is Collin O’Mara. I suppose it’s possible that he could try to run for governor at the same time he’s involved in coordinating what sounds like a sprawling start-up business, but it seems unlikely, especially when the hydrogen project is just getting underway. It’s not a full-time job – he’s not the CEO, so others are running things day to day. But I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where he bails on this no-doubt-lucrative gig for a longshot bid at Woodburn.
O’Mara faces obstacles beyond his prior commitments. Finding a financial backer probably wouldn’t be difficult, but what’s his selling point to Democratic Party primary voters? He’s a centrist of the Coons can’t-we-all-find-something-to-agree-on school, no drawback in Delaware, but the race already has two centrist candidates. Each is flawed, but each also has an existing constituency. O’Mara does not.
On the other hand, O’Mara is obviously ambitious enough to want the job. Still, he’s only in his mid-40s, so it’s not like it’s now or never. I think he might dip his toe in the pool and decide it’s too cold to swim.
I’ve heard some talk that those who have abandoned BHL, and they’re both legion and connected, view O’Mara as their default choice should she exit the race.
Wouldn’t be shocked if Carney is looking at him, since he can’t stand Matt Meyer.
I’ve heard stories about how petty Carney is – I guess he learned something from Minner after all. What’s he dislike Meyer for?
I think b/c Meyer made Carney look bad for having a vision for the federal Covid relief $$’s and implementing it, while Carney didn’t.
The thought of Meyer as governor and Carney as mayor is intriguing. The dynamics of that dysfunctional relationship should keep DL busy for eight years. (More likely, the dysfunctional relationship will prompt Carney to retire after one term.)
Collin O’Mara cleaned up the Indian River Power Plant, which was the worst polluter in the state, he’s got my vote if he runs.
While Collin was instrumental in trying to clean up that power plant, it is still in operation and will be so for at least the next two years.
Unit 4 is the only still functioning unit at the IRPP. It’s the newest unit, it had the most updated environmental controls, and it has a closed loop cooling system which means it doesn’t suck in river water, Cuisinart the fish, and then dump hot water full of metals, pureed fish and industrial oils into the river.
The other 3 units, were much more prolific polluters, including Unit 1, which was polluting virtually untouched from 1956 to the mid aughts, closed under Markell/O’Mara.
Curious–has he reached out to you or anybody you know?
Or are we, in the absence of information, just engaging in speculation?
(Not that that’s a BAD thing–on a blog.)
I was also wondering that. Sounds like he’s feeding talking points to “Beach Karen.”
Oh, no, Beach Karen is one of our best commenters.
And, to put it mildly, she has a mind of her own.
I don’t need to be “fed” talking points about the IRPP. I was trying to clean that f*cker up since O’Mara was using Clearasil and looking for a Jr Prom date.
I TOLD you she had a mind of her own!
I haven’t spoken with Collin O’Mara in maybe five or six years and this blog was the first I heard of him considering a run.
Looking at the current field, I can understand why more contenders could come out of the woodwork.
With all due respect, Rep. Kowalko, and I sincerely have a great deal of respect for you, the Legislation that enabled the “Bloom box debacle,” was SB 124 which passed in 2011. It redefined Bloom’s product as “renewable energy” and put in place DP&L’s ability to charge its customers.
You not only voted for that legislation, but you were also a co-sponsor. There were only 6 “no” votes between the two chambers.
So, Rep. (Retired), did you read SB 124 or just get fooled?
Instead of taking a half-hearted stab at apologizing for a poor decision, explain why YOU voted in favor of the legislation. You may regret the choice you made, but the substance of your comment only attempts to deflect blame to Markell and O’Mara.
Seems like he read it and was told lies to win him over in spite of serious problems. That comment seemed very clear to me.
That, plus Markell had not revealed his true self this early in his term.
Rep. Kowalko, and precious few others, caught on and no longer gave Markell the benefit of the doubt.
John (retired), You were fooled. You didn’t need to explicitly state it, those of us outside your fiefdom picked up on it. Jason330 ran to your aid, rather than allowing you to answer the question. That’s what solidified it.
I didn’t make it personal; you did. I asked about your legislative decision, that’s it.
Those of us outside the tribe expected a better answer. Something like, “yes, I voted affirmatively. At the time, I thought it was the best thing to do based on the information I had.” Yeah, you took a little blame but casted most of it on Markell and O’Mara.
Colin – this lines up nicely with the name recognition metrics I ran last week. I’ll reach out to Benny and provide him with the data.
@Clair: I’m not sure how much Collin is going to listen to someone who spells his name wrong.
There is no way Colin should run, he’s an idiot and forced Bloom Energy on all of us!!!
Guess you were wrong. He’s a breath of fresh air (pun). Matt Meyer is not a friendly person and BHLong is deeply flawed. Happy to possibly have someone running who’s not part of the old school musiocal chairs politics.