Delaware 2025: The Good, The Bad, The Ridiculous

THE GOOD:

Jan. 17: Gov. Meyer commits to scaling back windfalls to large corporations.  Says he will focus on small business development instead.

March 5:  Gov. Meyer proposes energy reforms, including more power to challenge rate increases.  Both the Governor and the General Assembly ultimately follow through on these proposals.

March 7: Delaware Supreme Court rules that Matt Meyer, not Bethany Hall Long, can nominate the members for the Diamond State Port Board.  The unholy alliance between BHL and Senate leaders stunk to high heaven.

March 17:  How Delaware Will Reform Opioid Grants Process.

March 18:  End-Of Life Decisions Bill Passes House, 21-17.  Entire Wilmington delegation votes no, as do Reps. Cooke and Heffernan.

April 3:  Leg Hall Expansion Delayed.  You know, because the state actually has needs for the $50 mill designated for the project.

April 17:  Kevin Hensley hands over his car keys.  The bad news? It’s only for a year.  April 17, 2026 will be here before you know it.

April 17: End-Of-Life Options bill passes Senate and goes to Governor, who has promised to sign it.

April 22: Meyer nominates a new marijuana czar.  A good one who, later in the year, actually gets the industry up and running.  The new czar is not an ex-cop.  Coincidence?

April 23: Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown does one (and only one) thing right this year–she boots Kevin Hensley from the Joint Finance Committee.

April 25: Protestors picket ICE’s favorite airline, Avelo (which linguists will no doubt parse as deriving from ‘Evil’) at the Wilmington Airport.

April 30: ACLU Of Delaware wins key case for UD students.  You say you wanna contribute?

May 14:  Excellent bill endorsed by AARP passes despite continued attempts of Ciro Poppiti, who had a blatant conflict-of-interest on the bill, to kill it.

May 20:  Gov. Meyer signs End Of Life Options Act into law.  So glad to see Paul Baumbach front and center at the signing ceremony.

June 10: Sen. Stephanie Hansen artfully and successfully shepherds legislation enabling a wind power project through the Senate.

June 16:  Our Man In Pakistan Announces he will resign from the Christina School Board next month.  About the time that legislation making him ineligible to serve becomes law.

June 21:  Evelyn Brady skunks Cassandra Marshall and is elected the new Delaware Democratic Chair. I was there, and voted the right way.

June 24:  Stell Parker Selby resigns from the House of Representatives after having denied her 20th RD constituents representation during the entire 2025 legislative session.

July 3:  Alonna Berry chosen to be the D candidate to replace Stell Parker Selby.  She seems like the best option they had.

July 23:  NCC Councilman Dave Carter introduces legislation to regulate data centers:

New Castle County, DE – Councilman David Carter (District 6), working with the New Castle County Department of Land Use, announced      today that legislation will be introduced on August 26, 2025 to establish clear and enforceable standards for the siting and operation of data centers in New Castle County.

The proposed ordinance will reflect the growing need to responsibly manage the infrastructure demands and environmental impacts associated with large-scale technology facilities.“We are taking action to make sure we have the right tools in place to evaluate and regulate these massive projects,” said Councilman Carter.

July 29:  A really thoughtful assessment of the reassessment controversy.

August 1: Delaware’s recreational marijuana market launches its first retail locations.

August 5: D Alonna Berry wins Special Election by 121 votes.  In the ‘good’ column.  For now.

August 7: Delaware Fights Back Against Julianne Murray’s MAGA-ism.

August 12: General Assembly passes some temporary fixes for reassessment tax bills.  Animosity reigns in the House.

August 14:  Gov. Meyer signs the Inspector General bill into law.  Y’know, I really should’ve included Sen. Laura Sturgeon on my 2025 MVP list.

August 17:  Kathleen Jennings stands up against Nemours Children’s Hospital on behalf of transgendered youth.

August 20:  Our PAL Val Longhurst dumped as the head of the Delaware Police Athletic League.  Something about a shitload of missing money despite government largesse.  Included under the ‘Good’ category because anything that reflects negatively on Longhurst is automatically good.

Sept. 2:  Free school breakfasts, but not lunches, begin in Delaware.  Kim Williams really should be primaried.

Sept. 4:  Great choice for Delaware Teacher Of The Year.

Sept. 14:  Matt Meyer issues order enabling virtually all Delaware residents to get COVID vaccines.

October 13:  Delaware abuse victim rescued from ICE deportation.

October 15: Christina School Board boots Navid Baqir, Our Man in Pakistan, from the Board by a 4-2 vote.

October 18: A spectacular day of No Kings events in Delaware.

Nov. 6: Gov. Meyer creates a new Office Of New Americans to assist immigrants. Something that would never have even entered what remains of John Carney’s mind.

Nov. 12:  Could Delaware get its own medical school?

Nov. 13:  House Passes bill decoupling Fed tax breaks for corporations from their Delaware tax obligations.  The bill was passed in the Senate the following week.  The bill will help whittle down a projected $400 mill budget deficit caused by Trump’s Big Beautiful bill.

Nov. 17: Federal judge denies gun rights lobby request to halt enforcement of the state’s new law requiring permits to purchase handguns.

Nov. 26: Wilmington Council members Shané Darby and Coby Owens call for Gov. Matt Meyer to keep the Plummer House open.

Dec. 1: ‘Non-partisan’ Julianne Murray left the Delaware Rethuglican Party in debt.  Sad.

Dec. 5: Delaware ACLU challenges Fenwick for allowing corporations to vote. 

Dec. 8: Jason’s Greatest Hits–The Case Against Chris Coons.

Dec. 10: Wilmington to finally get rent escrow program?

Dec. 17: Redding Consortium Recommends One NCC Mega-District north of the Canal.  (This item belongs on whatever list you THINK it belongs on.)

Dec. 18: Meyer Administration partners with not-for-profit to provide medical debt relief to 18,000 Delawareans.

Dec. 19: Gov. Meyer intervenes on behalf of ICE detainee.

Dec. 31: Delaware to receive $157 mill To expand rural health care.

THE BAD:

Jan. 3:  News-Journal reports that Rep. Kevin Hensley had been charged with a DUI, and that the police kept the story from the public.

Jan. 7:  Elections Scofflaw Bethany Hall-Long becomes Delaware’s temporary governor.  Immediately schemes with some State Senators to nominate members to the Wilmington Port Board.

Feb. 6: We learn that Dan Cruce is thrilled that he lives in Rehoboth.  Nobody does anything.

Feb. 7:  Delaware school leader indicted on child porn charges.  Doesn’t look like the school did even a cursory background check on the guy.

Feb. 7:  State Auditor says she’ll investigate the expedited transfer of $200 mill to the Diamond State Port Corporation. ‘Expedited’ as in five days before Matt Meyer took office. 

Feb. 15:  Two non-entities elected to the State Senate. Dan Cruce.  Ray Seigfried.  Both candidates chosen by party insiders, not in a primary.

Feb. 17:  SB 21, The ‘Musk Pass’ Bill, is introduced.  The headline on this Delaware Call piece had it right:  ‘Deldems Roll Over For Musk’.

Feb. 24:  Delaware Offers $30 Mill Bribe To Merck.  ‘No-comments’ all around.

March 6:  Bryan Townsend’s blatant conflict-of-interest on SB 21.

March 13:  Musk-Pass bill unanimously passes the Senate.

March 16:  Nick Merlino, speaking for Gov. Meyer:  “Gov. Meyer doesn’t believe that trans girls should be playing in girls’ sports, but ultimately he defers those decisions to the leagues and localities,” Merlino said.

March 19:  Commenter ‘Another Mike’ points out that Rep. Stell Parker Selby has been absent every day of this legislative session.  I had been unaware, but he’s right.

March 25:  House Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown disgraces herself in shutting down legitimate dissent to SB 21.  Specific victims include Reps. Frank Burns and Sophie Phillips, who had the temerity to submit improvements to the bill via amendment.  Don’t think I’ve ever seen a Speaker behave like that.  The bill passes, 32-7, and is immediately signed into law.

March 26:  My day-after screed.

April 8:  How Krista Griffith ran interference for Meta And Zuckerberg:

“There was an attempt by State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Newark) to change the effective date to the day the new changes were signed into law as to not effect any ongoing books and records request, but that amendment ultimately failed.

During debate on the House Floor, Rep. Burns noted the amendment was largely drafted out of concern for the ongoing books and records requests made by Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — shareholders, as reported by CNBC, and worried that those probes could be hindered.

“I am aware of two actions against Meta where books and records discoveries were going on, and they can continue, but what they were looking into can now never be brought to bear under the SB 21 rules,” Rep Burns said during debate.

The bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Griffith (D-Fairfax) explained the date of Feb. 17 was “very carefully considered” and did not support the amendment along with the majority of her colleagues.

May 6:  The Town of Camden (DE) PD cuts deal with ICE. A reflection on the town.  Being outed by Spotlight Delaware, Camden reneges on the deal.

May 14: Diamond State Hospital Cost Review ain’t doing shit, ain’t gonna do shit.  Especially after Gov. Meyer appointed two Christiana Care ‘foxes’ to investigate the henhouse.

May 15:  AG Jennings, Governors Carney and Meyer, and Buccini-Pollin vs. Joint Finance Committee.   Pretty sure the good guys won on this one.

May 16: Mean Girls Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown and Kim Williams vs. Rep. Rae Moore.  Turns out the real issue is that Williams doesn’t want to fully-fund school meals.  As opposed to the fake issue they used as a pretext here. 

May 16:  Meadow Wood Hospital repeatedly put patients at risk.  What’s not bad is Nick Stonesifer’s award-worthy reporting on this.

June 2: The Delaware City Refinery has been illegally spewing pollution for over a week.

June 9-12:  House D Leadership has kept status of always-absent Stell Parker Selby from public.  Spotlight Delaware version.  Coast TV (Part 1).  Coast TV (Part 2).  Great work from an independent press smokes out a disingenuous Speaker of the House.

June 24:  Feud between Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown and Rep. Rae Moore becomes public, with a side order of Kim Williams.

July 9:  AG Pam Biondi names Julianne Murray as the ‘interim’ US Attorney for Delaware.

July 10:  Wilmington vs. Weed.

July 10: Appoquinimink: An $8 mill accounting error?

July 17: Massive Data Center proposed for Delaware City.

July 27:  Prison whistleblowers punished for calling out inhumane conditions?

August 4: Yet another release of toxins from the Delaware City Oil Refinery.

August 6: Middletown officials killed police accountability.

August 6: ‘Non-partisan’ interim US Attorney Julianne Murray demands that Delaware hand over local businesses’ payroll records to ICE.

August 21:  Yep, the Congo Legacy Center was basically out of compliance on everything.

August 25:  Owner shuts down Galluccio’s, shits on employees.

August 28:  Gov. Meyer breaks word on county marijuana restrictions.  Legislators won’t forget this.

Sept. 3:  Wilmington cops doing cop things.

Sept. 10:  Smyrna School District offers teachers a 0.0% raise.

Sept. 16:  John Carney and his odious co-conspirator Claire DeMatteis release a despicable preliminary report on homelessness. Including the first plans for the Carney Concentration Camp.

Sept. 22:  Delaware legislators lie about why they went to Israel.

Sept. 23: The real reason why Carney wants to create his Homeless Concentration Camp.  To keep them away from a brand-new Buccini/Pollin luxury development.

October 1:  NCC Executive Marcus Henry throws his predecessor, Matt Meyer, under the bus on reassessment.

October 3: Christiana Care banks profits while skimping on required care for the poor.

October 8: Matt Meyer and Christiana Care bury the hatchet (in consumers’ backs).

October 15:  Did Our PAL Val leave the Police Athletic League $700K in debt?  Where’d the money go, Val?

October 19: CR School Board sought to purchase a $10 mill property–from a school board member.

October 21:  Mayor Carney vetoes bill that would have protected renters.

October 24:  Suxco D Chair Jeff Balk’s sex-offender conviction raises questions about whether he should resign.  (He ultimately did.)

October 27:  Former Mayor Mike Purzycki and political operator Bud Freel in a hinky arrangement to rehab the Gibraltar estate that just happens to be right next door to Purzycki’s house.  Using lots of taxpayers’ $$’s. 

October 27:  Yet another bribe to keep a company in Delaware. From a FOIA-exempt body expending taxpayer $$’s.

October 30:  The Carney Concentration Camp.

Nov. 1: Carney blames Wilmington homelessness on Philly.  It’s a lie, of course, designed to justify his signature Concentration Camp.

Nov. 10:  An absolute stinker of a land deal involving a DELDOT bigwig and–DELDOT.  Delaware Way-ism at its worst.

Nov. 12:  Gibraltar–An Inside Job.

Nov. 18: Yet another delay on NCC Council consideration of data center legislation as Janet Kilpatrick tosses a last-minute killer amendment into the mix.

Nov.18: Delaware River & Bay Authority is using $500 K of public money to fund ICE’s favorite carrier, Avelo Airlines.

Nov. 23:  Brandon Toole sells out. Drops sponsorship of data center bill, goes to fundraiser sponsored by chief lobbyist for the project.  Makes it official here.

Dec. 5: State Auditor: Port Of Wilmington Board did lots of stuff wrong.

Dec. 17: Yet more emissions that the Delaware City oil refinery kept hidden from the public.

Dec. 23: Delaware State Trooper Shot Dead At DMV in Minquadale.

THE RIDICULOUS:

Jan. 9:  Delaware Rethugs fete guest speaker Nancy ‘Mace (teh trans)’ at a fundraiser.  Future acting District Attorney Julianne Murray says it’s merely something about protecting the sanctity of women’s bathrooms.

Feb.18: The Delaware Rethugs’ Battle For State Chair.  Spoiler Alert–’Incremental Progress’ carries the day over a 78-year-old’s spittle.

Feb. 20.  Karen Hartley-Nagle files for Brandywine School Board election.  She will go on to lose, but not before Marcus Henry gives her an equally-ridiculous endorsement.

March 25:  Oopsies, Wilmington didn’t get opioid funding because Mayor Mike never showed for the meetings:

“Spotlight Delaware reached out to multiple committee members, asking why they didn’t attend meetings. Most didn’t respond.

Former Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki — the most prominent absence from the committee meetings — said he didn’t have “any recollection” about being asked to participate in the Local Governments Committee.

If he was invited, he said, it must’ve “got lost in translation.”

April 6:  Doesn’t anybody want to build the Underwater City at Fort DuPont?

“The developer of a 135-acre site next to Fort DuPont in Delaware City is seeking a new partner for its RV park and campground project on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal near the Delaware River.

An Ocean City, Maryland-based company called Blue Water Development had for several years been set to develop the property with a Michigan company called Sun Outdoors. But now Sun Outdoors is no longer pursuing the project and the site is for sale.” (Note to self: Did anybody answer the call?)

April 28:  LBR and Chris Coons respond to protestors on Israel/Gaza:

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt-Rochester was echoing sentiments expressed by Coons and Meyer when she was interrupted by a heckler questioning policy regarding Israel and Hamas.

“That’s one of the–that’s one of the bigger issues–(heckler interrupts) “You told us you would listen! You haven’t listened to us!”

Coons told those who shouted questions from the audience that their behavior “wouldn’t move him in a positive way” toward their position.

April 28:  Karen Hartley-Nagle argues that we should vote for her b/c she had her car stolen from the exact same location twice:

“This morning, as I was getting ready to go door-knocking, excited to meet more neighbors across Brandywine, there was a knock at my own door.

Two of my neighbors had urgent news: around 4:00 a.m., two young men had broken into my car, right outside my home. Security footage caught them — hoods up, gloves on — moving quickly through the neighborhood while most of us slept.

Soon after, a New Castle County police officer arrived to take the report.

Standing there, I couldn’t help but think back to another morning — last Labor Day Eve — when my car was stolen from that very same spot. Found days later, damaged and abandoned just a mile away.

The young man charged was only 18. Last week, he appeared in court and was given probation.

Two incidents.

Two reminders that even in neighborhoods we cherish, challenges are growing — and we must come together to meet them.”

May 1:  General Assembly creates a Port Task Force with no legal authority.

June 30: Senate Rethugs’ attempt to hold the Bond Bill hostage dies before it ever was born.  Sad. I mean, at least Mike Ramone got some Skittles out of his hostage-taking efforts.

July 3: Stephanie Bolden, outing herself as a petulant would-be police officer.

August 26:  A joke of a NCC Council meeting.

Sept. 16: Five Delaware legislators take part in blatant pro-Israeli propaganda–in Israel.

Sept. 30: The barely-read Blue Delaware blog implodes after its sole proprietor is revealed to have plagiarized articles from The Downballot blog for all of 2025.  Said proprietor used to be Hillary’s resident ass-kisser here on DL.

October 3:  Former drug mule Lauren Witzke calls out a Black woman apparently taking advantage of the limitless soda privilege at Costco.

October 7:  James Spadola joins the Democratic Party.  Nobody but Cassandra Marshall cares.

Dec. 11: Julianne Murray resigns as acting Attorney for Delaware.  Blames Coons and LBR.