Delaware’s Most Intriguing Primaries Of 2024: #4–RD 21
You all know Dr. Frank Burns. He almost defeated Mike Ramone in 2022 and likely hastened Ramone’s decision to abandon his home turf for Sussex County. And a race for Governor. Burns is a true progressive, twice endorsed by WFP, who has helped to train other progressive candidates for office. He gives back.
His campaign opponent is The Other Mike Smith, who recently arrived in Delaware from (take your pick) Alabama and/or Illinois, got a job working for Pete and Val, and was gifted money for a not-for-profit start-up by Mumsy and Daddy. Or somebody. Got $175K from somebody in 2022 despite not yet having lived in the state for even a year. His tax forms don’t say from who (or is it whom), but, if he is being lawful, it must be from his family. Paid himself over $46K while he was allegedly working for the General Assembly. Oh, check out this so-called ‘not-for-profit’ and tell me what it does other than serve as a photo op for ‘The Other Mike Smith’. Or, um ‘did’. Gave out some leaf-blowers and LED bulbs. Allegedly. Hasn’t been updated since September of 2023. Doesn’t look like it exists. (Hmmm, wonder if Smith has applied for an Opioid Slush Fund grant–you know,to teach addicts to operate leaf blowers–or something.) BTW, the alleged location of this not-for-profit is/was Lewes, which, far as I can tell, isn’t in RD 21. Here is how he describes himself:
Michael Smith is an energy economist who has worked in think tanks, consulting firms and political campaigns. He was driven to use that experience to facilitate the installation of clean energy infrastructure across Delaware. Michael founded Powering Our Future to do exactly that, and now serves as our Executive Director.
He bills himself as a ‘founder of a founder of an environmental non-profit’ on his lit, which sounds great–until/unless you realize there’s no there there. Here’s his bio. Check out his ‘brush with greatness’ attempt to imply that he’s been endorsed by several members of the Philadelphia Eagles. I know smarm when I see it. I just saw it.
Frank Burns, OTOH, is a real leader. Check out this bio:
Dr. Burns established the first diagnostic molecular pathology laboratory at the MCP/Hahnemann (Now Drexel) medical school and latter directed the molecular Pathology and onco-cytogentics laboratories at Thomas Jefferson Medical school. He continued research on the underlying mechanisms of disease while developing and putting into use nucleic acid-based tests for patient diagnosis. He was one of the founding members of the Association for Molecular Pathology and co-authored the first set of guidelines for teaching nucleic acid-based diagnostics to medical residents in pathology programs. His laboratory was first in the Delaware Valley to offer HIV viral load testing for patients not in research programs at a time when the early detection of treatment failure provided by this method was critical to keeping patients alive.
An opportunity to actually prevent disease, rather than diagnose and guide its treatment beckoned and Dr. Burns joined Qualicon, a small biotech company in Wilmington, developing DNA based methods to screen the food supply for pathogens. DuPont, one of the partners in the Qualicon business, took over the company. Dr. Burns developed, patented, and DuPont commercialized several improved diagnostic methods for pathogen detection in food production. Several of these methods were adopted world-wide by industry and government food safety regulators agencies alike.
Could you imagine how much good someone with Burns’ background could do in Dover?
Smith is young, has ‘ants in his pants’ to get elected, so, from that perspective, he’s formidable. With Mike Ramone having vacated the premises, the district will likely flip. Registration figures are 8187 D; 4823 R; and 5904 I. Here is the district map for this Pike Creek/Newark-area district.
There is one more reason to support Frank Burns–Burns has pledged to push for progressive leadership in the Democratic Caucus. Smith owes his job to the current Speaker.
Burns is the guy for the job. I will say he has been extremely active the last few years in getting out the vote in school board elections. He puts in the work, writes neighbor-to-neighbor letters, and knocks doors in school board elections. This is the guy we need in Dover.
“the district will likely flip. Registration figures are 8187 D; 4823 R; and 5904 I”
The district will not flip if Smith wins the primary via mommy and daddy’s money. I am looking at his tax filing right now and he’s very clearly broken the law. Brenda Mennella’s not going to keep quiet about this (nor would I).
A lot of the people in the 21st are union guys who only register as dems to appease Slippin’ Jimmy Marvelias but have Trump flags on their lawns. There is no way they will vote for a carpetbagging 27 year old rich boy in the general. Nor would any well-educated individual who doesn’t want the party to sink, for that matter.
What the hell is wrong with the Democratic Party? This guy is only 27 and he’s already broken tax laws and started a non-profit scam. Why are they letting him run? Do they like it when Republicans point out corrupt Democrats and are actually correct? Don’t we already have enough candidates we have to carry water for? Why let this grifter sully us when he’s not even a Delawarean?
What the hell is wrong with the (Delaware) Democratic Party?
Except for a brief period when ERS was in charge, the party is a little benevolent association run for and by a little group of people who are very transparent about the goals of the club. How else can you explain a Bethany or a John Carney? They do what they do and simply don’t give a fuck how it looks to outsiders.
He’s allowed to run. The Party has nothing to do with it when he’s in a primary.
Of course, they COULD have endorsed Burns, but I’m pretty sure the local committee did.
Besides, Smith is supported by the same people supporting BHL–including the unethical Speaker of the House.
Just my .02 — the party shouldn’t endorse anyone during the primary. Doing so undermines democracy, IMO.
But if they did endorse anyone it should’ve been Burns.
Smith knocked on my door and could tell from my signage that I’m progressive. He tried to sell himself as the being the same way and said he’d come down hard on people who pretend to have progressive values but bend the knee and he made it a point to say, “I won’t be like Kerri.” What a charlatan. No disrespect meant to Kerri, I’m quoting Smith who told me what he thought I’d want to hear.
The only part of the party that can endorse is the local committee.
Does this only apply to local races? Because the party already endorsed BHL and I remember them endorsing Coons when he had a primary opponent, but I suppose it’s different for statewide races.
Yes. The local committees can only endorse at the RD level.
The general rule is that the people that can endorse is whatever committee has the same geography.
Running statewide? The State Executive Committee
Running for a Kent County Row office? The Kent Co. Exec Committee
Running for state senate? the subdivision will convene a special caucus with members of RDs that live in the SD getting to vote
The one weird one is that county-wide in NCC is a special session of NCC and Wilmington executive committees together.
If you’ve been following the ‘most intriguing’ races series, you will note an overriding theme to most of the races–there’s a Delaware Way candidate and there’s someone challenging the Delaware Way.
The Delaware Way in Dover reflects the insider casual corruption of Pete Schwartzkopf, Our PAL Val Longhurst, and their enablers. This race typifies that theme, as will the two remaining legislative races we’ll highlight this week.
A vote for Frank Burns is a vote to finally drive a stake through the heart of this Delaware Way corruption. Feel free to vote accordingly.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/874344998/202321359349205922/full
^Smith’s one and only legal tax filing for his non-profit sham.
Powering Our Future’s tax data for the 2023 tax year is hidden by the use of a form which Smith cannot legally use. Rather than using the same, legal form used the previous year, Mr. Smith uses the e-Postcard version of the 990. Use of the e-Postcard is reserved for nonprofits which averaged less than $50,000 in gross receipts for its first three years. A curious action for a person boasting of being an economist who is attentive to detail. What little tax information was filed can be found here https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/ and entering EIN 87-4344998.
What’s he hiding? In 2022, he paid himself $46,800 for only five months of work. The largest expenditure is by far his salary, although he included over $27k for other “professional services.” I wonder who he paid that money to and what they’re currently doing for him! It’s not like you need to 27k in professional assistance to give out light bulbs and leaf blowers.
If he continued to pay himself at the same rate he did in 2022 ($46,800 for 5 months of “work” is a per annum of $110,000) the roughly 70k he had at the beginning if the 2023 tax year is long gone. Unless of course Mommy and Daddy “donated” more money to his fake non-profit. How great for these limousine liberal turds, they get a tax write-off for paying for their kid to run for office out of state.
It’s funny — and disgusting — that Smith is cosplaying as a hardworking and wholesome young man when the whole reason he moved to Delaware was to run for office.
He tells renters that he is running because he wants to fight for them, when in reality he’s living off money his parents gifted him and has always the benefit of a lot of intergenerational wealth. He told the press he “had to” leave his previous luxury apartment because they raised the rent 20%, but in reality his ex-girlfriend dumped him and he knew he’d seem more relatable if he moved to a different spot. Just like his website says he “had to” go to college in Alabama because he needed a scholarship since his parents struggled financially (they didn’t).
I don’t hold it against him that he’s from privilege, there are good and bad in every group of people. But it’s sickening that this class appropriator is pitching a fake hard luck story. Ironic twist: Frank Burns actually DID grow up dirt poor, needed a scholarship to attend college, and managed to get a PhD from an Ivy League institution by working his ass off. He knows how to help economically marginalized individuals because he was one for much of his life.
He also founded some sham environmental nonprofit that gave seniors and senior centers electric leafblowers. Really this was just about trying to ingratiate himself into a community he wasn’t really ever apart of.
The thing about that non-profit is that it apparently was only in existence for a year, with seed money from Smith’s parents. He gave away some leaf-blowers and LED lights. Paid himself handsomely.
And that’s it. The site hasn’t been updated in a year.
Mike, I KNOW you read this blog.
If you’re really legit, please explain what the bleep is going on with your not-for-profit. I think the voters have a right to know.
Oh, he succeeded at insinuating himself to a large degree. He’s kissed the right asses and he targeted those senior centers because the elderly are more consistent voters and many have the $ to donate. Major media outlets have covered The Delaware Way for years now and it wasn’t hard for a statistician who came out of the womb expecting to become president to identify a district here which has voted blue in statewide races but has had red representation for nearly 40 years.
And now he feels entitled to reap the rewards of Stephanie Barry and Frank Burns’ hard work by using the 21st as a stepping stone on his path to greatness.
I will not vote for Smith if he wins the primary. I will leave the district line blank in the general. I would rather deal with Mennella as a feckless one termer than enable a carpetbagging flimflammer. Smith would do more harm to voter confidence in the party in the long run.
By Smith’s own accounting to larger media outlets, voters will get nearly identical policy from either candidate. One has to wonder why Smith jumped in. Road safety? Nonsense. Everyone wants road safety. That does not compel someone to run for office and pull a more viable candidate into a primary, draining their resources and making it easier for a Republican to win.
Smith was asked to leave his job at Legislative Hall because he kept pressing legislators and lobbyists to support him while on the clock, and that was BEFORE his car accident. Hasn’t lived in the state for three years yet and he already feels entitled to own it. Hard pass.
Just an FYI —
Smith got one of his paid staffers (as per his Dept of Elections report) to change his address to Smith’s apartment.
He also got his girlfriend to rent a spot in the district (further away from her job and also away from where she was living for free) so that she can vote for him, too.
Powering Our Future lists a Lewes address as its location on its site but Smith’s tax filings list its address as his apartment. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s using his rent as an office space write off for his business.
This guy is a scumbag and anyone who votes for him is a damn fool.
To be fair, sounds like he’d fit right in with the Delaware Way Democrats.
Yes he would. Because, even for a newcomer, he is.
Cozied up to Pete ‘n Val, and instant candidacy followed.
Anyone want a good laugh?
https://cfrs.elections.delaware.gov/Public/ViewFiledReports?theme=vista Look up Friends of Michael Smith’s amended filing from August.
He ‘amended’ his original filing two weeks later so as to slip some things in there 2 weeks after everyone would normally be scrutinizing candidate reports.
TL;DR — The guy who got a bunch of metropolis money by hitting up vegans and claims to be one himself took money from, of all things, Delaware Racing Association. Legitimate animal rights activists would never support horse racing or take their money.
Another gem: He took money from a predatory loan company. Why would such entities throw money behind him? I really don’t know. But one has to wonder what he’s going to do for them.
This is the same guy who’s website called him “a bold progressive” until he failed to secure the WFP nomination.
Oh yeah, and he also took more money from a woman who had already max donated to him. Could very well be an honest mistake, but again, how many clerical errors can a guy who refers to himself as an economist make, and why are they always errors which benefit him? 😉
FRANK WON!!!🥳