Delaware Political Weekly: March 3-9, 2012
1. Primary For Insurance Commissioner Getting Crowded
Paul J. Gallagher of Hockessin joined the Democratic primary for insurance commissioner this week. He is the third filed candidate for the position, with incumbent IC Karen Weldin Stewart and challenger Mitch Crane already having filed. Gallagher has worked as an independent agent in the insurance industry for 30 years, Here is his website. I found this interesting:
While holding leadership positions in the industry, Paul often visited Washington, D.C. meeting with Joe Biden, Tom Carper, and Bill Roth to discuss and advocate important insurance issues affecting Delaware.
Would be nice to know what those important insurance issues were…
I know I’m stating the obvious here, and this is not necessarily aimed at Gallagher, since yet other candidates are rumored to be in the wings. However, if one’s purpose is to get the profoundly-unqualified Karen Weldin Stewart out of the IC’s office, the best way not to do it is to have multiple opponents running in a primary against her. Conversely, splitting the votes of dissatisfied primary voters is the one way to enable an otherwise dead-in-the-water incumbent to survive.
So, I ask this question in all sincerity, and I’d like to hear from Gallagher’s supporters and from Gallagher himself: Why is Paul Gallagher the best candidate for Insurance Commissioner?
I’m serious, and I’d like to hear that perspective.
2. Dems Get Good Candidate for New 20th RD?
Looks that way. Marie Mayor has filed to seek the seat in this Milton-area district, which previously was a Pike Creek District in New Castle County represented by Nick Manolakos. Mayor is the President of the Delaware Agritourism Association, and is a partner in Milton’s Lavender Fields Farm. Here’s an article that quotes her. And, of course, a musical interlude:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCEcm2dFvoA[/youtube]
‘Approaching Lavender’-Gordon Lightfoot
3. Bryan Townsend Interviews With DL
I know a lot of party political types enjoy this site and/or at least tolerate it b/c we do bring something to the table. If you are one of those types, and have not yet had the opportunity to hear our interview with Bryan Townsend, please avail yourself of the opportunity. He is running a serious campaign, has been attending civic association meetings for over six months, and has a real chance to defeat incumbent Sen. Tony DeLuca. That would be, to put it mildly, a huge upgrade, and would put ethically-challenged politicians throughout the state on notice that it’s not back-room business as usual. Plus, just listen to the interview. Wouldn’t you want someone like Townsend as your State Senator?
4. Can Someone Set Me Straight On that Kevin Wade Commercial?
Kevin Wade, or more specifically, a PAC supporting Kevin Wade, or more specifically, a PAC ‘not affiliated’ with Kevin Wade or any other candidate, has been running a commercial on WDEL that mentions Kevin Wade’s name something like seven times, and states that ‘we need’ Kevin Wade in Washington. I thought that PAC ads could not mention the name of candidates they were supporting, and could not specifically endorse said candidates, but could only run ‘issue-oriented’ ads. Could an attorney who may have heard this spot please tell me why this ad is legal?
5. State Rep. Don Blakey Gets D Challenger
34th District State Rep. Don Blakey (R-Dover) has a challenger. And, in typical Delaware fashion, it could be a Delaware State vs. a Del-Tech matchup. Theodore M. Yacucci, Sr., has filed as a Democrat to challenge Blakey. Yacucci hails from Camden-Wyoming, and appears to be employed as a ‘manager’ at the Terry Campus of Del-Tech, according to several links. Blakey is a ‘visiting professor’ at Delaware State University. Since he lives in Dover, doesn’t take him long to ‘visit’ there. Either way, the issue appears: Who will get that vital second state check every month? And who has the most pull with the money committees in the General Assembly?
6. Filings, We Have Filings
State Rep. John Kowalko (D-25th); Wilmington Mayoral Candidate Bill Montgomery (the only filed mayoral candidate so far); the aforementioned Blakey and Yacucci; and incumbent State Rep. Harold Peterman (R-33rd) have joined the fray this week. I have also yet to mention that three candidates have filed for Kent County Levy Court, about whom I admit to knowing next to nothing: Democrats Brooks Banta and Allan Angel (could he be one-half of the ‘Celestial Bodies’ tag team with Ron Poliquin?), and Republican Kevin McCarthy.
That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
Tags: Paul Gallagher Delaware; Marie Mayor Delaware; Gordon Lightfoot; Bryan Townsend; Kevin Wade; Don Blakey Delaware; Ted Yacucci, Sr. Delaware; Steve Tanzer Delaware; El Somnambulo;
“Could an attorney who may have heard this spot please tell me why this (Kevin Wade) ad is legal?”
Perhaps not legal, but under the fiasco that is ‘Citizen’s United’ perhaps just another drip of paint on our Pollockian canvas of shame.
These days as long as you don’t have “vote for” in the ad you’re pretty much in the clear.
Marie Mayor has an unfortunate last name, unless she runs for mayor. I can just imagine the confusion that’s going to cause for the average downstate voter.
Might be an improvement if Marie would change her name to Sheriff and run for that office.
Wow, you claim you know nothing about Gallagher but
then you criticize him like you do.
Sounds like someone is scared.
Get lives losers.
Um, Charlotte. I sincerely asked the question I asked. In fact, whenever I interview a candidate, it’s the first question I ask, or a similar variation thereof. Check out the Bryan Townsend interview if you don’t believe me.
I’d like to know what his candidacy is all about. If you know him, or support his candidacy, maybe you could tell us.
I don’t believe you!
Just keep making it up as you go along.
You obviously have an agenda elsewhere.
Yes, we have an agenda, and that is to boot KWS from office. To do that, we need one challenger. To prevent that, KWS needs multiple challengers to divide her opposition.
Answer the question, Charlotte. You don’t do your candidate any good just coming on here and calling people names.
OK, Charlotte. I was and am serious. Your response is a little strange, to say the least.
Offer still stands for someone, hopefully the candidate, to articulate his vision for the office and his reasons for running.
awkward.
It is funny how Crane supporters sound like Santorum supporters: all other candidates should drop out to make it easy for our guy. Crane has not received a single vote in Delaware. He is entitled to nothing.
It is funny how Crane detractors always change the subject when asked to offer a compelling reason to vote for their preferred candidate.
I’ll repeat for the 4th time. I’d like to know what Gallagher stands for and why he’s running. Is it not unreasonable for Democrats to ask that question? There is something a little off about the response I keep getting. Mitch Crane has been asked, and has answered, those questions. Can somebody, preferably the candidate, let prospective primary voters know why he’s running?
LOL Typical Santorum, er, Crane supporter response. No one has to subject themselves to interrogations from the Crane police, who bizarrely think Mitch is entitled to statewide office. Gallagher, White, Spivak had nothing to do with Karen Stewart’s record. Yet the guy who worked for her on consumer issues is the lone person who should be given a chance to oppose her? His hands are hardly clean and he has scant public record. He is entitled to nothing–and the voters will show this when he finishes 2nd or 3rd in September after all the insider hype. No wonder Crane supporters are so angry and bitter at a little democracy. He can win the insider support game but not the voter support game in an open race.
Well, I guess it’s time to stop asking for a reasonable response. There are a lot of people who read DL who are neither KWS nor Crane supporters.
I made a good faith effort to draw Gallagher out to see what he brings to the race and why he’s running. You may not believe me, but that’s the truth.
The responses by supposed supporters of the candidate who is, after all, running in a Democratic primary and will need Democratic votes, borders on the bizarre. At some point, Gallagher is gonna have to appeal to Democrats. I am not aware of another Delaware political blog that attracts Democratic readers in the numbers that we do. Very few, if any of them, are the ‘Mitch Crane police’, another bizarre notion.
The response of Gallagher’s supporters has raised far more questions than answers, and they now have nobody to blame but themselves. Perhaps there is a single adult there who recognizes that it’s not smart to tell potential voters to bleep off. If so, I’d like to hear from them.
Want to contact him? Its simple: http://www.paulgallagherfordelawareinsurancecommissioner.com/contact Invite him for an interview and see what he says instead of implying things about him to prop up Crane, the preferred candidate of each individual taking shots at Gallagher for daring to run when Crane is entitled to the office. Why even have an election?
Crane lovers don’t get it: campaigns aren’t going to play according to King Crane’s demands and desired scenarios. There is plenty of time to run this race. Gallagher hasn’t been running for months like Crane. There will be ample time for each candidate to express their views, talk about their backgrounds (it will be delicious to see Crane explain his record as KWS’ consumer protection guy!), etc.
The anxiety–all coincidentally among Crane supporters–is a recognition that Crane is going to finish 2nd and 3rd. Too bad…
Besides, if it is all about beating KWS why not put forward the most electable alternative? That person is not named Mitch Crane. He has zero name recognition, he has never won a single vote in Delaware, he has limited Delaware roots, he can’t prosecute the case against KWS because he was a key co-conspirator, etc.
I intend to do that although, I might point out, we don’t owe him, or any other candidate, anything. I hope that his response is more…lucid than what you and Charlotte have provided.
It’s up to the candidate to generate support for his campaign. We have no obligation to do so. We do it so that we can try to give voters information they might not otherwise have. We interviewd KWS four years ago even though she might not have had the support of the majority of DL contributors.
I’ll admit that many of us are impressed with Mitch Crane. He has reached out and courted those who might consider voting for him in the primary. We’ve been impressed with his vision for the office. We might well be impressed with what Paul Gallagher has to offer.
I’m more than willing to chalk up what I’ve seen from the Gallagher supporters as just an ill-considered start to the campaign.
I will simply point out that those doing the ‘implying’ in this case are the Gallagher supporters. Not me. Hopefully the candidate will be more open than his surrogates. We’ll soon find out.
Looks like Jpconnorjr and Just Some Guy morphed into sock puppets Charlotte and anon. Obviously they have no more to say about their straw man Gallagher to commend him as a candidate for insurance commissioner than they do about the corrupt incompetent incumbent. Karen Weldin Stewart will lie and cheat to get another four years of ripping off Delaware consumers, just like she did to get elected in 2008. That includes engaging detractors like Gallagher.
As we know, Joe is currently dealing with a health issue, and all of us here wish him a speedy recovery.
We have extended an invitation to Paul Gallagher for an interview. Sometimes supporters go overboard on behalf of their favorite candidates, and it’s not always a true reflection of the candidate.
Gallagher deserves to be heard, and our readers deserve to hear him, and we intend to give him that opportunity.
Aside from the inadvertent error last week my posts have been transparent and even that one was clearly moi:).I am taking a break from serious posting for a bit. But thanks for the credit “anowhoever: 🙂
KWS is crazy. I met her once. CRAYYZEEE
Reading anon/charlotte’s posts, it is becoming apparent, at least to me, that these might be from the self-styled adonis who haunted the IC’s office for a few years. My guess is also that anon/charlotte don’t even live in Delaware and have some sort of personal grudge against Mitch.
You should take El S’s advice – your anti-Crane rants aren’t going to win your candidate any votes or support.
“He has zero name recognition, he has never won a single vote in Delaware, he has limited Delaware roots…” So, Gallagher has run for office before and has higher name recognition? Prove it! And I didn’t know that having “Delaware roots” was a requirement for holding office. Where is that in the Delaware Constitution?
Preston, it is astute and insightful commentary like yours the will extend my break from this forum. Thank you so much for your invaluable contribution.
All these KWS … er, Gallagher… supporters, yet not one word about why people should vote for either one of them.
You can whine about the “Crane police” all day, but none of you have put forward a single word that did anything but attack him. That’s a pretty definitive sign of who’s afraid of whom here.
If you want to talk about who’s going to finish 2nd or 3rd, look at your gal KWS. Even her supporters can’t find anything good to say about her.
I have a lot of experience with sock puppets, some of it going back to the days before the internet, when the sock puppets wrote letters to the editor. The last batch of clowns who put great stock in anonymous shows of “support” ended up in the docket in Philadelphia.
KWS isn’t too worried about not getting reelected. She always said David Levinson told her all she needs to retire very comfortably to Florida is one term. That’s up from near bankruptcy when she got elected. Good result for the only four years in her life she’s ever had a job. What perfect timing now that she’s almost 65.
Ok….I’m ready for the onslaught. But you all know I’m right.