BREAKING: BHL, Staff, Did Campaign Work On State’s Time

Filed in Delaware, Featured by on August 14, 2024 13 Comments

From Randall Chase of the Associated Press:

Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s office staff was in regular communication last year with her husband and other people involved in her campaign for Delaware governor and worked during office hours to help facilitate the use of campaign funds, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press.

The emails, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show that Hall-Long enlisted her office staff, working with her husband, to help with matters bearing little if any relevance to her role as lieutenant governor. They include renewing her memberships in various women’s groups and making donations to community groups. Some of those expenditures were made with campaign funds.

Under Delaware law, state employees are prohibited from engaging in any political activity during work hours. As an elected official, Hall-Long is exempt from that provision, but her office staff is not.

This reminds me, Speaker Our PAL Val Longhurst illegally enlisted her Chief Of Staff, who was parked there by Bethany Hall-Long, to call an ’emergency caucus meeting’ to address BHL’s financial misdeeds  when the story broke in late September of 2023.  How do I know?  Because multiple members of the Caucus complained that they were called to the Caucus via state e-mail.  (Randall, feel free to ask for the e-mails.)
I think this is a Big Story.  But BHL has gone full-Trump, brazening out violation after violation.  It remains to be seen whether Delaware Democrats will deliberately ignore the obvious the way that Rethugs did, and continue to do, with Trump.  The State Party is already in the tank.

 

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  1. Alby says:

    If this was indictable when Kathy McGuiness did it, it should be indictable now.

  2. Arthur says:

    Can we just agree that those imbedded in the Delaware Way have no accountability and will never face any consequences

    we live in a time where politicians are above the law because those who prosecute them are politicians also

  3. Jason says:

    BHL is establishing a trumpish haze of misconduct around herself to act as a protective shield.

    Can the party un-endorse her at this point?

  4. Paul T. says:

    Making donations to community groups. Wow. Lock her up. That’s the worst they find?
    Joining woman groups. Another serious offense.

    When McGuiness did it, they went after her. I seem to remember the Courts throwing all of it out. SMH. They should have done it for doing a bad job, not those charges.

    Not a word from anyone when Matt travels down to events in Kent and Sussex during the day, sometimes night, with his minions in tow in a county car with no real relation to NCC business. Why is that?

    • Alby says:

      Making donations to community groups that turn around and donate money to her. Try to keep up.

      • Paul T. says:

        Community groups don’t usually write checks. They get money from sponsors and donors to make their events happen.

        • Alby says:

          I’m sorry that I didn’t summarize everything from the past several weeks for you. Read it yourself.

          You mischaracterized what people are complaining about. That’s on you, not me, and you apparently don’t know much about the recipients of these checks. The Congos are not a community group.

          • Paul T. says:

            You should probably reread the article. It mentions the “Community Unity Family Day” and the Sea Witch parade only. Meyer and every other politician in Delaware write checks from their PAC accounts to community events. The Congo family is never mentioned and it seems like leaps are being made for that connection as well.

            • Alby says:

              It’s not about that article. It’s about the drug intervention money.

              Read our archives and get back to me. Or don’t, I really don’t care who you vote for.

              And if you think that prosecutorial misconduct means McGuiness is clean, I think you’re not my kind of voter anyway.

            • Alby says:

              Well, now that I’ve checked the archives I see that you’re the union-member Meyer hater.

              It’s sad when that hatred leads you to endorse crooked politicians. But then, union member.

              • Paul T. says:

                Proud to be Union. Meyer is crooked. You just don’t want to see it because he is your choice.
                My posts were based on the article posted. Yours seem to be a whole slew of leftover anxiety with BHL.

              • Alby says:

                He’s not my choice except by default.

                As I stated – reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be your strong suit – it’s based on all the articles El Som has written here.

                DO try to keep up.

                Yes, I can tell you’re proud to be union. Meyer isn’t clean, but he’s straight as a fucking arrow compared to Hall Long, whom you union people are supporting because she’ll keep shoveling tax money your way.

                Which is why I have so little respect for unions. You’re not progressive except for the issues that benefit you.

  5. AllOverIt says:

    Now we know why there’s been no oversight of the opioid grants. The Behavioral Health Consortium staff, who work for Bethany, are responsible for monitoring the grants.

    But they’ve been too busy organizing BHL campaign events to prevent any fraud, waste or abuse.

    “Hall-Long’s office staff, along with aides working for the state Behavioral Health Consortium that she chairs, also collaborated to ensure her appearance last October in the annual Sea Witch Costume Parade in Rehoboth Beach. Algarin then sent an email during business hours to Brandon Cox, Hall-Long’s campaign manager at the time, with the parade information.

    Photos of the event show Hall-Long marching in the parade with no indication that she is representing the lieutenant governor’s office or the Behavioral Health Consortium. Instead, she is marching in front of a banner reading ‘Bethany Hall-Long Democrat for Governor.'”

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