The One Reason Why EVERYONE Should Oppose Val Longhurst’s Reelection
Don’t get me wrong–there are a multitude of reasons why voters should support Kamela (not Kamala) Smith in her challenge to the current Speaker. We’ll enumerate them when we cover this as part of our ‘Most Intriguing Primaries’ series.
But one reason rises above all: Val Longhurst used her elected position to get a high-paying job for which she was not qualified, then used that position to essentially extort money from other governmental bodies as well as the state government.
From the time she was elected, Val complained to anyone who would listen and to many who wouldn’t that she needed a job. Not just any job, mind you. After all, even Val could likely have secured an entry-level job despite her lack of any career experience beyond her elective office. That’s not what she wanted, though. She and her then-drinkin’ buddy Sen. Nicole Poore wanted jobs that paid well and that secured a lot of funding from the legislators with whom they served.
Nicole got hers at Jobs For Delaware Graduates, a useless money pit if ever there was one.
Finally, Val, leaning on ex-cop and Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, along with a board full of ex-cop legislators, got the job as Executive Director of the Delaware Police Athletic League. The PAL halted a candidate search in order to hand her the job. Her real role is to secure funding for the Hockessin PAL, which was the brainchild of disgraced former NCC Executive Tom Gordon, who was an ex-cop and who lived in Hockessin. Oh, and serves nobody who lives in Val’s district. Except Val. Her salary and benefits are now well in excess of $100K annually. A large portion of her windfall is funded by legislators who she, as Speaker, assign to the committees who fund PAL.
Several sources have told me that Val has used her dual positions to coerce funding from other legislators and other governmental entities, using threats/promises relating to whether one’s bills get considered, and threatening to use her power to withhold funding to other governments, and to cajole other agencies into contributing. She and Pete even elevated PAL Board member Larry Mitchell, who supported Longhurst’s job search and who defines the term back-bencher, into a leadership position with a concurrent jump in legislative pay. I might also add that Longhurst has used her leadership position to bury any and all genuine police reform measures. It’s an unspoken, but essential, part of her PAL duties.
There is simply no way that someone who has used her office in such a blatantly unethical manner should be serving in Dover.
Her opponent? Kamela, not Kamala, Smith.
To any and all: Please feel free to use this in part or in its entirety on behalf of electing Kam Smith and defeating Val Longhurst.
This statement is true for “No Longer” Poore also…
“Several sources have told me that xxx has used her dual positions to coerce funding from other legislators and other governmental entities, using threats/promises relating to whether one’s bills get considered, and threatening to use her power to withhold funding to other governments, and to cajole other agencies into contributing.”
Unsolicited advice to Kam’s volunteers:
If Kamala/Kamela isn’t a great mnemonic (yes, I had to look it up) device, I don’t know what is.
Guaranteed that, if used, voters will remember Kamela’s name.
Kamala/Kamela.
Which one of them said, “If you aren’t rich after doing this job (elected office) for a while, you aren’t doing it right.”
Morally absent
Fuck Val.
She always seemed like a “”. I remained neutral despite the gossip and her crapulent vibes, but what she did with BTC disgusted me beyond words.
For any who do not know, OurPalVAL was so butthurt about being primaried by Kamela Smith that she got the mouthbreathers over at BTC to endorse every Dem who was NOT an incumbent and was in a primary over eminently better-qualified candidates on the basis of their primary opponent’s affiliation with Working Families Party.
She fucked over truly kind, competent people such as Branden Fletcher Dominguez and Frank Burns to get back at WFP for supporting Kamela Smith. She also stuck it to Marty and Claire in the 14th and propped up that criminal Kathy McGuiness.
Hey Val, I’m realizing the rumors I heard about your sociopathy are on point. How disappointing that you care more about your ego than the well-being of Delawareans. How disappointing that you have no fucks to give about the hardworking candidates who are getting caught in the crossfire because of your petty grudges.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kamela-smith-donate
Good post! Just sent another Hundred. This is the most consequential race since Marie beat McBride and probably more so because Val is much younger. I wish i could still walk the streets.
Yeah, I’m feeling the aches and pains a bit more than I used to.
Still having fun, though.
I think there is way more than ONE reason…..
True.
But I wrote the piece b/c it dawned on me that, rather than once again enumerate all of the reasons, it was essential to hone in on an offense so egregious that no fair impartial observer could see it any way other than how I see it.
What she engages in is not public service, but using elective office to enrich herself. While all the other reasons serve as supporting evidence, this offense is singularly disqualifying. I hope the voters in RD 15 agree.
There’s a Hell of a lot more than Botox going on there.
At a minimum, Longhurst should not have voted on the Grants-in-Aid bill or any other funding legislation which awarded PAL DE by name any discretionary State funds. The same goes for Poore and any specific State award to Jobs for DE Grads. Not only the State Constitution and the thirty year old statute dealing with conflicts of interest for legislators, but the current rules of both the Senate and the House all bar Longhurst’s and Poore’s participation in debate and voting on such legislation which includes a specific award of state monies to their employer. Indeed, back in the early 1990s, the attorney group that drafted the the still governing legislative conflict of interest law told the members of the enacting General Assembly that the law would bar any legislator from participating in the consideration of any Grant-in-Aid bill which would award discretionary moneys to his employer that would not similarly flow to all other non-profits.
On top of that, there is a fairly good argument that if the legislator/employee cannot (and does not) vote or participate in the floor debates and vote, she similarly cannot urge funding to her employer in informal, off-the-floor conversations and deals with other legislators. Such actions by a recused legislator – who cannot vote on the award – can be said to constitute lobbying on behalf of her employer that would require her to register as a lobbyist and make disclosures
Let’s take it a step further–Longhurst appointed the House members of the legislative committee that funds her organization. Whether or not there were ‘informal’ discussions doesn’t matter–she had the power, and used the power, to ensure that her agency got funded.
And it’s only getting worse. I was watching the Joint Finance Committee the day it voted on Grants-in-Aid. At some point at least 3 legislators had to abstain from voting on certain parts, assuming because of their conflicts. Darius Brown, Krista Griffith, and Nnamdi Chukwuocha. Two of the three are Executive Directors of organizations that receive significant sums of money in the bill. I’m not sure of Nnamdi’s conflict but a Wikipedia page for him says he “works as a director at Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware,” however he doesn’t seem to be listed anywhere on their website. I’m sure there are lots of other legislators that are serving or involved with boards of nonprofits who get Grants-in-Aid too. Not to say these organizations that the 3 above are involved with aren’t doing impactful work in the community, but clearly if you are a legislator you have other advantages and influence that other nonprofits do not. These three shouldn’t be on a committee where they directly oversee and influence the taxpayer funding their organizations receive. The Grants-in-Act bill went on to pass both chambers on June 30th with all yes votes.
This thread should be made a sticky and stuck to the top of the page so all primary voters can see it.
Lots of people have already seen it. It’s also why I included the following:
“To any and all: Please feel free to use this in part or in its entirety on behalf of electing Kam Smith and defeating Val Longhurst.”