‘Musk Machine Coming For Delaware’s Primaries’

Just in case you didn’t already know this:

The lawyers who helped tech tycoon Elon Musk secure a controversial rollback of far-reaching shareholder protections are now bankrolling Democratic Delaware lawmakers who voted for the legislation as they face progressive primary challenges over the so-called “billionaires bill.”

Five major law firms behind the deregulatory measure have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into a newly registered political action committee called First State Future PAC, which is supporting Democratic incumbents being attacked for their support of the legislation. Those financial backers include Richards, Layton & Finger, the Delaware firm that represented Musk in his years-long dispute with Tesla shareholders to preserve his $56 billion pay package in 2018 and helped draft Delaware’s corporate governance overhaul last year.

After a massive corporate lobbying campaign, the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed Senate Bill 21 to placate Musk and other Silicon Valley leaders who were threatening to leave Delaware, a historically business-friendly state, unless it shielded them from shareholder scrutiny. (Spoiler Alert: They left anyway.) With two-thirds of all Fortune 500 companies incorporated in the state, the corporate handout limits the ability of company stakeholders and pensioners nationwide to hold corporations accountable for misconduct.

In May, the progressive Working Families Party of Delaware, which has become an increasingly prominent player in the state’s politics, endorsed six Democratic candidates primarying state lawmakers who voted for the Musk bill and are up for reelection this year. Delaware’s primary election will be held on September 15.

The Working Families Party-endorsed candidates include software engineer Rae Krantz, who is running against Rep. Debra Heffernan (now, Ed Mulvihill); Wilmington City Councilwoman Shané Darby, who is running against Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha; teacher Will Imbrie-Moore, who is challenging Rep. Kim Williams; and community advocate Pamela Salaam, who is facing off against Rep. Frank Cooke. In the race for the state Senate, the progressive organization has endorsed professor Adriana Bohm to take on Sen. Dan Cruce and social services supervisor Shay Frisby in her challenge against Sen. Ray Seigfried.

Here’s a key takeaway:

In May, the political action committee began spending to back those lawmakers locked in contested primaries against candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party. So far, the organization has dropped nearly $500,000 so far this cycle, primarily on digital advertising to boost incumbent candidates’ campaigns.

On July 7, the political action committee also doled out $190,000 to a dark money nonprofit called Alliance to Protect Delaware’s Future,

As a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit rather than a political action committee, the pro-business group doesn’t have to disclose its donors. But Google’s ad market listings show the organization is behind 10 separate digital ad spots boosting many of the same lawmakers supported by First State Future. 

So, when you see an ad that touts Ray Siegfried, of all people, as standing between Donald Trump and your healthcare, know that the blatantly false ad has been paid for by the Musk/Zuckerberg enablers who pad their firms’ coffers with money from the indefensible.