Let’s not bury the lede: In recent Delaware history, meaning as far back as I can remember, there has NEVER been a candidate with such a lengthy litany of unethical and illegal behavior like Bethany Hall-Long. From the beginning of her political career up to the present, her actions and those of her husband create a clear picture of someone unworthy of holding political office:
Husband Dana Long caught stealing opponents’ signs. Caught on camera because BHL’s opponent was having so many signs stolen that they felt compelled to install cameras to catch the thief. It was Dana Long.
Dana Long illegally accesses Section 8 information (he was an inspector of Section 8 housing for the County) about residents in BHL’s district , and forwards the information to her campaign to be used for political purposes. Then-County Executive Tom Gordon complains that he’d like to fire said husband, but can’t because he has a “politically-connected spouse”.
Dana Long is transferred away from his home turf. He subsequently forms an LLC to use Section 8 insider information to identify and flip houses in his new area in and around Edgemoor in Brandywine Hundred. He forms the LLC with BHL’s then Chief Of Staff, who remains in those dual positions for at least a couple of years. BHL illegally fails to list this business on her tax forms even though she was a beneficiary of the business. That proves to be too much for the Meyer Administration, and Dana is informed that his services are no longer required.
Over the course of 20 years, BHL has only one campaign treasurer–Dana Long. In 2023, BHL suspends her campaign amid reports of financial irregularities in her campaign finance reports. We don’t need to go through the stories of the alleged audit which, to this day, has never been released. Which doesn’t really matter, because it wasn’t a real audit. Her staff begs her to end her campaign. She refuses. Virtually the entire staff quits. BHL’s campaign files a series of unintelligible amended reports. To this day, the Department Of Elections continues to withhold information about discrepancies in those reports.
Bethany Hall-Long is now on her third treasurer since Dana Long was relieved of his duties. The first, a genuine campaign compliance expert, resigned when BHL refused to provide her with bank statements that would either have cleared her or, um, not. To this day, we don’t know what happened to the $30,000 to $300,000 that went missing from her campaign, and especially how much went into their personal accounts. The second resigned just as the campaign filed its 30-day primary financial report. The current treasurer, and this is rich, is Tony DeLuca’s former paramour and current wife. Both Tony and Debra were double-dipping (or triple-dipping, depending on how you define ‘dipping’) working two jobs, one each for the Delaware State Senate and the Department Of Labor, but were never held accountable for the hours they claimed to work at DOL because their boss refused to release their time cards despite FOIA requests. (Pro-tip: Put this little anecdote together with that cryptic story I posted about a certain report gathering dust, and you just MIGHT figure out what the State Auditor is hiding, and on whose behalf she’s hiding it.)
Y’know, Bethany claims that people are biased against her. Especially reporters. Fact is, by her definition, that includes all the people who told her to abandon her campaign and then quit when she wouldn’t. Which, BTW, include both her most recent campaign manager and treasurer, who just quit within the last few weeks. She has virtually no campaign of her own and is essentially being kept afloat by Third Party PACs. And two Party hacks.
Add to all this the Opioid Slush Fund ($250 million? In her hands?) and the recent disclosure that her staff was doing campaign work for her while they were on state time and, well, isn’t that enough?
County Executive Matt Meyer has made his share of enemies. But, when you look at the enemies he’s made, the case for him becomes stronger. The police unions? Check. Jimmy Maravelias? Check. John Stinkin’ Carney? Double check. In fact, his willingness to hold police accountable could prove invaluable if he’s able to get some sort of LEOBOR reform passed. Plus, he’s in a much better position to bring more open government and transparency to Dover, especially given the likelihood that the House will be more progressive in the upcoming session. Yes, he’s been far too cozy with the development community in NCC but, with the entire Delaware Way aligned against him, he won’t owe those hacks anything. My biggest concern centers around the way the Greenville moneyed class has embraced him. What do they expect to get in return? Gotta say, I love the idea of Kyle Evans Gay serving as Matt’s Lt. Governor. Kyle is a true progressive, and I know that Matt campaigned on her behalf when she challenged Cathy Cloutier.
I once envisioned Collin O’Mara as a viable progressive alternative, and was blown away by his presentation at the Working Families Party endorsement event. I thought he would jump-start his campaign following that event. But he didn’t. Didn’t get any mailings from him until earlier this month. And we still have that bleeping Doctor Doolitle talking animals spot, the cuteness of which has long since worn off. Yes, I know he lives in Delaware. But I can’t shake the impression that he has one foot in, and one foot out of the state. An impression that was reinforced by his lack of statewide visibility for the bulk of the campaign. I’m sure he didn’t intend to be a spoiler in this race, but he can’t win and most of the votes he gets would assuredly go to Matt Meyer otherwise.
I’m voting for Matt Meyer. Yes, with both eyes wide open because I am concerned about his wealthy benefactors. But this is in reality a two person race. And one of the candidates is irredeemably corrupt.