Parker Blames Dems (Updated)
Several commenters, including UI and ‘Bulo, speculated that if Parker’s withdrawal was not due to some procedural disqualification (like not living in the district), then the prospects for a split party in the 19th SD and in Sussex County are huge.
Well, it looks like the latter rather than the former:
[Eddy Parker] said today he didn’t receive sufficient support from some parts of the Democratic party. [He] wouldn’t say whose support he lacked but denied rumors that anyone from the state Democratic Party pressured him to leave the race.
Given the conventional wisdom that Adams himself would have probably endorsed Booth to take his seat, since they were old friends, I wonder if many in the Democratic Party and in the Senate are following that wisdom. This reeks of the same lack of support given to the succession of unsuccessful House candidates challenging Castle through the years, because of the friendship between Carper and Castle. The Delaware Way strikes again. And it is disgusting.
Now I want Mervine to run. That will pose a conflict to those bowing to the feet of the Delaware Way: who to support: Adams’ friend or Adams’ daughter?
UPDATE:
More:
“We’re having another meeting tonight to, I guess, have Polly Adams thrown down our throats,” said Pat Green of Lincoln, a committee member from the 35th District who said she opposes Mervine’s selection.
[…]
“I think any Democrat who gets placed on the ticket expects full support from people who are important to the Democratic Party, whether that be elected officials or families of elected officials or former officials,” Parker said today. “As we went through this process, it became apparent that wasn’t necessarily the case. Realistically, there are certain factions of the system out there that you have to be able to depend on,” he said. “I just didn’t feel that that support was going to be there.”
Mervine has remained silent, not returning multiple calls for comment since Tuesday evening.
County committee members will hold an emergency meeting tonight behind closed doors at the Greenwood CHEER Center to discuss their options, said chairwoman Pat Ewing of Bridgeville. The public and press will not be allowed in, she said.
The plot thickens.
What passes for the Sussex County Democratic Party has really always been the Delaware Way Party.
When Adams’ Pro-Tem position was challenged back in 2002, he basically threatened to switch to R, take Venables, Vaughn and one other D with him, and flip the chamber. Adams never gave two bleeps about the Party.
Adams quietly ‘cut’ Ken McDowell when he ran to replace the deceased Brad Barnes. This led to the undistinguished career of Ben Ewing, who worked for Adams, and who became Uncle Thurm’s carpool to Dover buddy.
El Somnambulo has no idea what is behind Parker’s withdrawal. It could be as simple as he went to the meeting never expecting to be nominated and, once he was, he realized that he just wasn’t up to it.
But, bulo has come to the conclusion that there is only one person who can rejuvenate the Sussex County Democratic Party. And, although he’s got his hands full in Dover, he has demonstrated that he’s up to the task. And that’s Pete Schwartzkopf.
He seems like the only Sussex County D remotely capable of bridging the East/West gap in the County.
Maybe the Party will have to totally disintegrate in central/western Sussex first. But Schwartzkopf has already proven himself to be a strong leader during tough times, and people like him are always seeking more challenges, not fewer.
If Booth is elected Senator, it will be interesting to see what the House D’s might have planned for Booth’s seat. You can bet that THEY won’t be sitting on their hands.
It’s unlikely that Parker could’ve won that race. While he has some name recognition from the school board, his job in the assessment office wouldn’t make him renowned in any way. Honestly, I don’t even think Mervine could win the seat.
As a Democrat, it’s hard for me to say this, but another Republican in the senate doesn’t hurt the balance as much as another Democrat in the House would help the balance. I’d rather see a half assed atempt to win the Senate seat while laying in wait and working on a strategy to win Booth’s House seat. Winning a Sussex west Democratic seat would be like re-visiting what we just had.
Undistinguished career of Ben Ewing? He was both effective and on point legislators in the chamber. Maybe you should review his legislation again. You may not agree with all of his issues but let’s not pretend he was a guy who showed up to vote.
I find it interesting that he choose to drop out rather than call in reinforcements.
How distinguished could Ewing’s career actually be if this commenter can’t cite a single accomplishment.
More info on the race:
http://tinyurl.com/mxrb9s
Well, Ewing DID earn the sobriquet “Buffet Ben” legitimately. Anyone who was ever bumped out of the way at the chow line at a fundraiser or conference well knows that his belly should have been registered as a lethal weapon.
Not only did the man have the uncontrollable urge to masticate in public, he commanded a wide berth while piling high his spoils. Proof that two shovels are better than one.
If Booth wins, look for former Sussex County administrator Bob Stickels to run in the 37th as the Democratic candidate.
Wow, good name, MJ!
The third bizarre resignation this week, after Palin and Pfeiffer. From the fragments over the past two weeks, we have seen an earnest 57-year-old first-time candidate who had enough community reputation to earn the nomination despite an understated address to the district committee.
Then came time to organize the four-week bolt to the special. [And why on earth did Matt Denn schedule it for a Monday?] Parker is a lifelong native, from the last class at Bridgeville HS, a former state cop, a long-time county worker, 10 years the school board president, a leader at Sen. Adams’ church, a leader of the fire company. That kind of background is significant, to friend and stranger.
Now comes the energy and organizing, on which he should not necessarily rely on the local party apparatus, such as it is. Sure, some committee members will produce, but as a whole, the Democratic committee in that area has atrophied. Bridgeville itself is ideologically forbidding – Clatworthy and O’Donnell beat Biden in the 35th – but Obama got 42 percent there, so hard work, good community repute and coordination can reduce the carnage, and can erode the GOP vote where it is usually strong.
If the old guard didn’t help much, they wouldn’t have helped anyone else either. You have to build on a wasteland, if necessary. That’s what Blevins and Sokola did in 1990, producing Democratic Senators where none had been before. [Don’t count Elsmere’s wretched party-jumping Cicione]. Lazy committeemen? Dave Brady had to beat a Reed Sr. puppet in ’82, then unseat an incumbent. He did, then got some workers onto the committee afterwards. John Schroeder performed a comparable feat at the Cape in ’88.
Parker signaled that he is undoubtedly one of the good guys when he called himself a moderate. That’s bold stuff in Western Sussex. With Ruritan-style civic folks, upstanding fellow parishioners, school supporters and other relatively non-political sources of strength, plus some of the savvy younger Downstate folks who’ve actually been trying and winning in recent years [Lee Ann’s got a Rolodex of political muscle], I would have counseled Eddy to ignore the slugs, even the ones who call themselves Democrats.
Eddy Parker sounds like a fellow who brought much to the race. He could have brought much to the GA. Many Democrats with a future, including many outside the district, would have done much for his campaign. My bib overalls were primed.
Yet, almost no circumstances could justify what happened here. Wresting a nomination from among several apparently qualified candidates, for a very short, high-energy but low-turnout campaign, one that is winnable but eminently loseable as well, then dropping out, for any reason short of a horse’s head, is inexcusable.
There has been serious division in the Sussex Dem Party for the ten years I’ve lived here.
The Adams branch is a radical, socially conservative branch of the party, from which position they garnered significant support from the Repubs, like Senator Simpson, like Representative Hocker, like Rep Joe Booth, like Council President Vance Phillips.
Therefore, this sizable faction would be voting for Joe Booth, not Parker, let us not kid ourselves.
I agree with anon, Eddy Parker would need significant financial support from the Del Dem Party, which did not appear to be forthcoming according to Mr Parker. A few weeks is insufficient time to obtain funding, so without funding, without name recognition (both of which Joe Booth has), Mr Parker had little chance to win.
He was wise to pull out. The only chance for the Dems is with Ms Adams-Mervine running!
PS: Stickles running on the Dem ticket for Booth’s seat is an interesting thought!
I agree with Perry. How would Parker be able to raise money in the short amount of time? He needed to be out meeting voters, not fundraising. Since there aren’t any other races going on right now, why couldn’t the Democratic party send some his way? It sounds like some dirty politics to me.
I think the selection of Parker over Mervine showed a serious split, but I do think Mervine is probably the only Dem that can win that seat. I have no idea of her politics, is she as conservative as her father?
I don’t know anything about her, UI.
El Somnambulo doesn’t buy the argument that the Party wasn’t gonna help him raise money. Each State Senator could/would’ve maxed out, Markell’s crew would’ve come through, and the State Party probably not only was helping with $$’s, but probably was already putting together a lit package w/him.
There IS, after all, some requirement on the part of the would-be candidate to show some initiative (except Bill Carson, who is/was both lazy and totally smitten with himself). People don’t want to work for someone who doesn’t want to work for themselves.
It may be true that the ‘Old Guard’ in Bridgeville wasn’t gonna go to the wall for him, but he no doubt realized it when he challenged the Old Guard and still got the nomination.
His stated reason for dropping out sounds more like an excuse than the real reason.
The party split in Sussex is East vs West, moderates/progressives in the eastern part vs Dixiecrats in the western part. Throw in a good sized gay & lesbian community, and you have a “split.” While those of us in the East would love for those in the West to moderate their views on some issues, it’s not going to happen anytime soon. I’m not saying that all of the Dems in the West are conservatives, but they are in the majority in that part of the county.
Now, some of those in the western part are coming around. Pat Ewing attended the Stonewall Dems fundraiser on 6/27 – that was the first time she had ever been there (never seemed interested before).
As for Stickles, I have my sources.
I have no idea of her politics, is she as conservative as her father?
Will issues make a difference in this race or will it be seamless transfer of office?
There are quite a few elected officials in the state whose official party affiliation means less than an army of lifelong friends.