1. Delaware Democratic Party Marches Towards Irrelevancy. Proving once and for all that Betsy Maron is the John Carney of Party chairs. She learned nothing from her dad’s decision to place the heavy hands of labor on the scales on behalf of then-candidate Carney. Carney’s campaign proved to be as devoid of substance as his time in office has been, and he lost to Jack Markell. Learning nothing from that embarrassment, Maron and the party hacks have endorsed Bethany Hall-Long for Governor. You just have to love their statement of endorsement:
“Bethany Hall-Long has been a dedicated partner to the Delaware Democratic Party for nearly three decades,” said State Party Chair, Betsy Maron. “From her years on her local district committee to her work in the General Assembly, Delaware Democrats have long had an advocate in Bethany. She has spent her career leading on issues like education, women’s reproductive rights, and mental health. She understands the needs of Delawareans in every corner of the state. Bethany is ready to make Delaware the best place to live, work, and raise a family on day one.”
Translation: She’s been a reliable Party hack for 30 years. Tell me where and how she’s been a leader on education and reproductive rights. Words, we’re talking words. Empty words. The Party is now officially dedicated to dragging her unethical carcass across the finish line. Pathetic.
I think that, all things being equal (except when opposing a Democrat who has been convicted), the Party has demonstrated that it should stay out of this endorsement business. As much as I love Kyle Evans Gay (a volunteer since her first campaign, I have her sign on our lawn), why endorse her over two other qualified candidates? Just let the primary voters decide. But endorsing someone who, if we had a real system of justice in Delaware, would almost certainly be under indictment, displays a rot at the core of the Delaware Democratic Party. And Eric Raser-Schramm ain’t coming through the door this time.
2. Deadline For Candidates To Withdraw Is Today At 4:30. At least, if they want their money back. Doesn’t look like Collin O’Mara will be leaving the race. I mean, officially. There’s no campaign without a candidate, and O’Mara sightings have been notably difficult to come by. Yes, they’re looking for a new campaign manager as Andrew O’Donnell is no longer in that position although he’s purportedly still ‘with’ the campaign. Yes, I’ve been told that exciting things are coming from the campaign. But they’ve already frittered away at least a month and a half since the Working Families Party endorsement event, and that’s time and momentum that can’t be regained. As to the deadline, you generally see one or two no-hopers bow out. We’ll keep an eye out.
3. Personal To Jason Hoover: What the Fuck Is Your Problem? OK, kids, here’s the background. Jason Hoover is one of the five D candidates seeking the position of NCC Council President. Our local RD committee heard from all five at a Virtual Candidates’ Town Hall in May. We were very impressed with both Jason and Val Gould. The other three? Not so much. During his presentation, Hoover said that he was the only candidate who has disavowed taking campaign contributions from developers. Almost immediately after the event, I was informed that Val Gould had made a similar pledge. We heard from both Jason and Val at a recent Arden Town meeting. This time, although armed with the information that both he and Val were not accepting campaign contributions from developers, Hoover repeated his claim, despite knowing it to be false. This week at a meeting of the RD 5 Democratic Committee, Hoover did it again, only to be called out by Val Gould on his, um, prevarication. So, Jason, please come on here and explain why you persist in spreading a lie about an opponent that you know to be a lie. It’s just weird. And not helpful to your candidacy.
4. Rethugs Get Candidate For NCC County Council. While the candidate filing deadline has passed, the two major parties can still file candidates for vacancies on the ballot (but not for primaries). Enter Melissa Brayman, who the R’s have filed as their candidate for NCC Council President. I have no idea why she wasn’t filed for the County Executive spot, as putative R candidate Carter Hill dropped out of that race in April. Brayman works for the Chamber of Commerce, so I imagine refusing funds from developers is out of the question.
5. Final Political Weekly. Oh, we’ll still be doing loads of political coverage. Starting (maybe) next week, we look at this cycle’s most intriguing primaries. Plus, we’ll keep an eye out for the stray indictment or two.
That’s all I’ve got this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?