I think everyone should read Kavips today.
His piece on the future of New Castle County, with a little recent political history thrown in, is a tour de force and it has performed a miracle: it actually made me feel a little bit better about Tom Gordon. Not enough to vote for him, mind you, but enough to be not apocalytic about what is coming…
Here is a taste, but read the whole thing.
Now, Tom Gordon is back in. We have the ascendency of the Unions, but the community associations have dried up and blown away. Deemed vestigal organs by the past two administrations, they withered on the vine and are hard pressed to find ones still actively involved in planning and development.
But Tom has his own challenges. Personal challenges. There are two types of people and everyone ranges somewhere between them. You have “good” people and “bad” people… If a “bad” person gets re-elected, he goes, “ha,ha… suckers…. This time I’m taking everything that is not nailed down.” If a “good” person gets re-elected, he goes “… wow, i got another chance to make things right; I can’t eff it up this time; I got to be careful.” Which of these is Tom, depends upon who you talk to right now. It is still close to the election. However, knowing what I know, if it were me, I would do the latter. I would know that I would be rated by my last term; memories are short. Whatever I do in my last term will erase what happened in the first. I will end well liked.
Kavips’ article is one of the most perceptive pieces I’ve read on Delaware blogs this year. I remember the Tom Gordon that Kavips describes from my time with CCOBH. I DO think he wanted to do the right thing as County Executive, but went off the tracks.
He, indeed, could be redeemed if he seeks to make things right, and to excise the paranoia, during this term.
Anyone looking for insight on Gordon must read this article.
Superb blogging, Kavips!
I supported Bill Shahan but honestly I have been thinking that I might now give Tom Gordon another chance. He clearly knows what needs to be done. I agree that if he is elected, how he governs will likely determine his legacy. This thoughtful post reinforced some of what I have been thinking and provided insight which I did not have. Thank you.
A Tom Gordon second term will be the most scrutinized and watched by journalists, bloggers, talk show hosts, and prosecutorial officials in the office’s history heretofore. Surely, Gordon has to know that. If he is elected again, the smartest thing he can do to inspire confidence in his administration is to appoint individuals who are known precisely for their high ethical standards and integrity. He should enact the most transparent NCC government that we have witnessed to date.
Golly, where are the unicorns?
When a person refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing, and attempts to explain it away, what makes you think that person will therefore act differently this time around?
At least the Greenville Republicans who used him to get rid of Clark haven’t lost their minds. They’re voting for Blake.
I would offer that there is another, (better option) than bringing back Tom. I have been actively engaged for the past 9 years as a Civic leader for my neighborhood and with GHADA both as the VP and Land Use Chairman for 5+ years and most recently as the President for the past 3 years (stepped down to run for County Executive of NCC). I’ve also remain a VP with The Civic League for NCC and have addressed many County-wide issues dealing with everything from Land Use to Public Safety and beyond.
I know full well the issues that the County is facing and have dealt with almost every single aspect in the greater Hockessin/Pike Creek area and have even been sought out by those in Brandywine 100, Bear, Middletown and others to provide insight into the County issues they faced.
I welcome the opportunity to meet with the DL folks and spend some time discussing how I would address the present issues facing NCC in the next several years (Jobs/Economy, Public Safety/Crime, Land Use, and the underlying concern – Ethics and Transparency (Regaining Trust) in our County Government).
I think you’ll find I’m the kind of person that really and truly just wants to improve things and doesn’t have an ulterior motive – I welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss my ideas and concepts, please visit my website and contact me so we can get together. By the way, while I might be a Republican, I’m not easily defined by a “label” and don’t think that’s the best way to judge a person.
Sincerely, Mark Blake (R) Candidate for County Executive of NCC
2 answers. 1- only conservatives think people cant be rehabilitated or redeemed, Geezer.
2- this is the predictable white-wash from “our side” because enough people dont have the guts to elect a republican just to prove a point. yeah, i agreed and disagreed with you, but i really dont know how i feel about the whole thing. I kind of hope Gordon wins by 1 vote and spends his whole term being reminded that his is a criminal.
Mr Blake…. you say you dont fit a label. In what ways do you differ from the guy at the very top of you party’s ticket? if i am dead set against voting for Romney based on his idea of how capitalism should work, what can you offer me to vote for you?
Jenl: One thing that troubled me about Shahan’s candidacy was that he became part of the “anybody but Clark” crowd when he should have been saying “I’m clean; Clark and Gordon are not.”
I’ve read Kavips post. I agree with Kavips and El Som that, if he wins a third term, Gordon has a chance at redemption. However, like Geezer, I’ve seen nothing from Gordon during this campaign to indicate that he would behave any differently this time around.
I would not bet on Gordon appointing persons with high ethical standards and integrity, in part because those who have such high standards are not going to want to associate themselves with Gordon. I can safely predict that there will be a new Sherry Freebery in the next Gordon administration — we just don’t know who she is yet.
“only conservatives think people cant be rehabilitated or redeemed, Geezer.”
When have I said he can’t be rehabilitated or redeemed? I said that based on his behavior he has no intention of changing, because he avers that he didn’t do anything wrong, except for trying to oust two people from County Council “the wrong way.”
MW: Don’t worry, there aren’t any more Sherry Freeberys.
socialistic ben – It amazes me that an honest person that only wishes to make our County a better place and restore responsibility and ethics is considered the lesser choice than a previous office holder. You, “…kind of hope Gordon wins by 1 vote and spends his whole term being reminded that his is a criminal.”
Is that what is best for the people of NCC? To have their CE worrying about past issues, or actually working to resolve the problems we’re having today and address them and work to improve the local economy; Help brings jobs to people seeking (needing) employment; work to reform the land use process and make it truly uniform and fair for ALL?
As to the difference to me and Romney it’s simple, I’m putting myself in the contest LOCALLY in an attempt to address LOCAL issues and help people LOCALLY. Romney has bigger fish to fry in that he’s attempting to address the entire country, something that I hope he succeeds in addressing the stagnant economy and record unemployment issues, but frankly, I live here in NCC and unless we have honest people willing to tackle the local problems, how can we expect our State and Federal governments to fix it? The difference is, I’m here in NCC and I’m willing to do my best in an effort to make things better for everyone living and working here and I’m willing to challenge the status quo and try new things that have worked elsewhere in the US – Best practices that have already been proven to work and all we need to do is immplement them and tweak them to work for our local situation.
My perspective is more about preserving the quality of life and uniqueness that makes NCC a great place to live while making sure we don’t become a bedroom community for Philly, South Jersey, and Maryland – read that as rapidly escalating property taxes or overdevelopment. We need a vibrant employer base and our land use process doesn’t properly promote “build your company here” nor does the rising violent crime wave that could be addressed with a different style of policing effort. The housing bubble burst here in NCC and the overbuilding has slowed to a crawl, remember that the County derives most of their revenue from the RTT, (Realestate Transfer Tax) and in case you missed it, the housing market tanked and we have around 4,500 to 5,500 homes currently for sale in NCC and no sign of that changing anytime soon. We’ve got plenty of houses, just not many employers left and it seems employers are exiting the County and Delaware like rats on a sinking ship. (Chrysler, GM, LL Bean (plus another 35-50 “national/chain” stores and scores of small businesses), etc. Jobs will impact housing and crime and provide the catylst needed to start turning our local economy around.
I’m optimistic that I and the concerned people of NCC can turn things around and get our local economy moving; bring new jobs here; and address the crime issues that have spread county-wide in the past year and half. Make no mistake, all politics are local and in that regard, I’ve never held public elected office before and I know I can do better than the choices that were offered in the Democratic Primary election. I believe that no one, NO ONE, should have an unfair advantage or receive “special treatment” over anyone else, be it a neighbor; business; developer or a bidder/supplier for providing county services or products needed.
I believe that everyone should be treated equally and fairly and respected by our governments, local local, State, and Federal. Our government should be fair in ALL dealings and ANY issues of illegal or ethical matters dealt with publicly and swiftly – no exceptions.
Ok so the Republican candidate for CE is plowing DL for votes. We have officially entered an alternate universe. Somebody call Protack and Mobley:)
LOL. Mobley just contacted us. Hey, I don’t blame them. It is a smart political move on their part.
Why shouldn’t he? It’s not too difficult to be more liberal than Tom Gordon.
Yea and will further erode your tenuous cred. you guys are acting like the little kids that picked up their ball and ran home.
You know, JP, even though I write under the name Delaware Dem, this site is called Delaware Liberal, not Delaware Dems. If the Democrats nominate two people who are corrupt and incompetent and do not stand for liberal and Democratic values, it would erode our tenuous credibility if we did not speak up. We are not an arm of the Democratic Party, much as that infuriates Daniello.
Way to take the opportunity to make personay attacks, keeping it classy. You made an accusation against KWS around nasty robo calls that was entirely baseless before the primary. why stop at 2 accusations of corruption why not root out everybody that disappointed you by having the support of the voters?
Dear Mr. Blake,
“just not many employers left and it seems employers are exiting the County and Delaware like rats on a sinking ship. (Chrysler, GM, LL Bean (plus another 35-50 “national/chain” stores and scores of small businesses), etc.”
In a weak moment I was thinking I ought to listen to what you have to say but you kindly reminded me in your post — it was the Republicans who scuttled that ship. For decades you managed to sell the myth that you were the party of fiscal responsibility but nobody is buying that anymore. Your party created these precarious times and it would be foolish to trust you to fix them.
“why not root out everybody that disappointed you by having the support of the voters?”
You’re the one with little credibility. “Having the support of the voters” is the only criteria you apply in deciding whom to support? Isn’t that just front-running?
Lots of us knew Gordon and Stewart were likely to win their races. Neither one is liberal, but they won their primaries and now are running against Republicans who are unlikely to be more liberal than they are.
You really don’t understand what this site is about. It is NOT about electing people just because they are Democrats. It’s for liberals. You don’t seem like much of a liberal yourself, so maybe this just isn’t the place for you.
Auntie: Good point. If someone is going to demagogue the closing of the auto plants, it’s a pretty good sign that he’s playing politics with the truth. Those plants were on borrowed time for 20 years before the economic crash finished them off.
Just left the SEIU protest in front of Wilmington Trust @ Rodney Square. Not a chance I will vote for you Mr. Blake!!!
If he freezes development/makes the process more difficult then the transfer tax declines further. When development was booming that tax is what allowed the big donations from the coffers to the city and others and created Wild West at Carousel among other things.Seems like a catch 22 for whoever is in that office. The unions are also expecting the money to start flowing freely again as one union rep alluded to in yesterday’s News Journal about accepting cuts Clark imposed, and that is an expensive workforce!
Didn’t Gordon start his first administration with a development moratorium?
The moratorium Gordon instigated in the late ’90’s was necessary in order to lawfully enact the Unified Development Code. That by-right, code compliant system replaced the old each-plan-gets-a-council-vote. Older plans were grandfathered in to pre-UDC law.
Gordon isn’t going to stop plans or install a new code but he will be working with Council to fix the code that Pam Scott-Paul Clarky worked so hard to twist in the industry’s favor. The loopholes need to be filled and unintended or not, the consequences of many of the Coons-Clark era text amendments to the UDC REALLY SUCK for constituents – at least those not making money in the industry.
It will be interesting to see what evolves as far as fiscal policy and how Tom will keep his promises.
@Mark Blake–
You mentioned GHADA. Do you know why that organization was formed? Hint–the answer lies beneath the Hockessin Public Library.
Mr Blake, I recommend door-knocking. Right now you’re not “the devil we know.”
Here’s my local Republican litmus test. Ready?
Michelle Rollins. 5 minutes, you may begin
@Auntie – It might have been “my party” but it wasn’t me. I’ve turned business units around that were targeted for closure by my employer. I was hired to phase out a plant/facility with over 200 folks working there. I thought there was a possibility to turn it around and had 1 year to phase it out, I chose to address the poorest performing product line and revamped and reintroduced it to the market in 3 months, long story short, profitable by year end and increased sales to boot, which meant new life for the plant. That earned me another such assignment in the Midwest and same story, only it took a bit longer to turn that one around, but still prior to the deadline. Point is, you can hang National party issues and history on anyone but I’m still an individual and I dance to my own tune. It just so happens I’m a fiscal conservative that has some rather liberal stances on other issues. I hope to have a chance to actually talk live with people, but understand your skepticism of a ‘R’, hey, I used to think all D’s voted a straight ticket no matter who was on the ballot (j/k).
@Geezer – I agree, the plants might have been on borrowed time, but didn’t GM (and Chrysler) just re-tool not too long before they shuttered Boxwood? I seem to recall that Fisker used their few hires to remove all that equipment and sold it elsewhere for a tidy profit. Delaware’s auto plants were ideally situated on the east coast for reaching the broadest market for their vehicles. I was trying to say, that Delaware’s government failed those plants and all the workers – there is always another option to try and I believe our Governor, Senators, and Congressman could have done more to save them. Those were good paying jobs that will be very difficult to replace and losing both plants was just devastating to our local economy and all those people. It’s easy to say they were on borrowed time, but just how difficult would it have been to try to extend their life and thus keep them open and people working? Carper was able to “save” the USPS Hares Corner facility, but not a private company, yet Markell has given millions of taxpayers money to other private companies and we’ve yet to see any jobs materialize even a year later (Fisker & Bloom) and don’t forget Blue Water Wind that never happened – check your Delmarva bill from July and August, you should have seen the refund from that surcharge. Don’t bother looking, it was consumed by the new Bloom surcharges that we’ll be paying for the next 20+ years, regardless of whether Bloom ever makes a Bloom Box or not.
@Roland – yes, I know of several of the reasons why GHADA was formed, of which clean drinking water from the Cockysville aquifer was the major concern – the primary source of most of northern Delaware’s drinking water and quite a bit of SE PA’s too. The Limestone aquifer is one of the greatest natural resources in all of DE and it lies under all of “downtown” Hockessin. There are many other issues that brought about the formation of GHADA too. I received my history lessons on the area from the son of the founder of GHADA and from the ‘Old Hockessin’ folks that have lived their entire lives out here going back several generations. It helps that I have a keen interest in history,along with other interesting topics, but listening to people will yeild some wonderful insights on local issues of all sorts.
@Brooke – With the population of NCC, it would take over 1 1/2 years to hit every door if you could reach every door in 5 mins and not spend than 5 minutes at each one, never sleeping, eating or drinking, etc. Plus not having to ever drive from one neighborhood to another from below the canal to northern Wilmington. I can’t recall anyone, even the beloved Scranton Joe, that ever door knocked the entire county and certainly not the entire state. Hopefully I’ll get to your door, but the odds are against me and I know it. “not the devil we know” I’ll take that as a compliment, I know what I’ve done and haven’t done in my past and present and I don’t have a criminal record and haven’t stolen, cheated, or wandered outside of my marriage. I’ve heard that Mrs. Rollins now officially resides in Florida, so I guess I’m missing your cryptic point of a litmus test, but I am a bit sleep deprived tonight so it must be me.
@mark blake “just so happens I’m a fiscal conservative that has some rather liberal stances on other issues.”
Like what, Mr Blake? Do you support marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose? How about collective bargaining rights for workers?
Now, as far as wanting Gordon to squeek by and his term, if everyone is waiting and watching for him to act like the criminal he is again, he’s not likely to screw up is he? He might actually feel pressure to perform. That could end up serving the county well. I dont give a rat’s ass if he doent have a fun time, he’s lucky he didnt go to jail.
You told me the difference between you and Romney is the office you’re running for, then said you want NCC to be prosperous. Who doesn’t? Will you aim to be to attack teachers and firefighters and cops? (oh my) or will you have an approach that doesnt damage our society?
I would also like to thank you for commenting here. It’s more than Tom Gordon will ever bother to do. You are certainly in a lion’s den filled with cranky lions.
Mr. Blake, you seem like a nice guy. Don’t waste your time here. Unless you think the 60-75 votes lifetime max that can be wrung from this bitter batch will make the difference versus reaching out to 200 people a night by knocking on doors. Lace up your shoes and get the job done. Come down to Smyrna and then work your way back north. Make sure every hand you shake knows about you and knows about Gordon.
Delaware is a deep blue state Mr. Blake, but not above voting for unicorns….. i mean moderate/liberal republicans. Not too long ago, being a republican used to mean something very different than it does today. What does it mean for you?
“Delaware’s government failed those plants and all the workers – there is always another option to try and I believe our Governor, Senators, and Congressman could have done more to save them.”
Given your work history, I suppose you weren’t in Delaware and don’t know the history of Delaware governors going to Detroit on bended knee. When I said “borrowed time,” that’s what I was talking about. The GM plant was targeted for closure at least twice in that time. You apparently are unaware that those plants were at a disadvantage in terms of location, as they are hundreds of miles from all the suppliers who produce the parts that go into the finished products.
I’m not even getting into the general tenor of panic that surrounded the auto industry’s near-collapse. You really think that with the entire industry on the verge of bankruptcy, that was the correct time for a Delaware governor to say, “To hell with the survival of the industry, you have to keep those Delaware plants open!”
Furthermore, I’m a little puzzled by the insistence of a “fiscal conservative” that government had a duty to cater to industry in order to protect jobs. It makes me wonder what changes you have in mind to bring jobs to the county.
I wonder what Delaware (the government, citizens, and even the candidates) think about Delaware’s job prospects. What kind of jobs, what kind of industries? In Sussex County, which is largely argricultural and survives on that and tourism for the beaches, probably does not even consider any other industries except hard manufacturing jobs. But considering the state of manufacturing in this nation, the better suitability of other areas in the nation because of supply lines, etc, as well as the qualifications of the workforce, I wonder what kind of industry does everyone hope to attract in any of the 3 counties.
I think that what many folks fail to consider is Delaware’s proximity to larger cities in adjacent states, the lower cost of living here, and the ability to telecommute, while only traveling to those cities a few days a month.
I happen to be one of those who works(ed) for the federal government and consulting firms from a home office in Delaware. Why does Delaware seem to seek out only manufacturing jobs and not information/financial/and other knowledge work jobs?
Wanting to do the right thing but consumed with paranoia anybody remember Richard Nixon
Well, Tom, that’s indeed a good point, and something I continue to take into consideration.
I do support equal legal rights for LBGT couples, I think the government ought to stay away from the term “marriage” (and the whole marriage business in general) and stay the course with Civil Unions and let the churches decide if they want to go towards that last step of actually calling it marriage. From what my LBGT friends have discussed with me, the issue is rights of the couples to be legally recognized by insurers, banks, and our government when it comes to visitation and custody rights, etc. in the event something happens to one of the spouses. I think by trying to go that last inch and get the label of “marriage” it’s going to difficult to get there and the government shouldn’t be in the “marriage business” to begin with. Let’s leave it to the Churches to address that last step and have the government address the legal issues as it relates to two people that have a life together and need to be able to live their lives without undo hindrances that the current legal attributes unfairly impose upon them. A committed couple, whether man/woman, man/man, woman/woman, etc. they should all have the same legal standing and protections under the Constitution.
Collective bargaining is something that I feel is a much more difficult issue due to the stark differences between public services and private companies that have union representation. If our local government treated the workers better, we wouldn’t have that problem to begin with, hence the need for unions still today. So to answer the question about supporting collective bargaining, I see both sides and as a potential County Executive, I cannot (by standing of the position) walk/stand on a picket line against the government I’m supposed to oversea, just as you’ve never seen the Chairman of (insert company name) out protesting with the worker against his own policies and proposals. This is a topic that can’t be encapsulated in this space.
If you check out my website, you’ll see I’ve been advocating for hiring more police and paramedics here in NCC from the beginning. As taxpayers, we’ve been “paying” for about 370 county police but we’ve only ever had about 320+/- staffed. Let’s get the staffing levels up ASAP! By way of comparison, the City of Wilmington has just slightly more than NCC, around 330+/- and they cover a little less than 10 square miles (less if you don’t count the water in the river). Anyone else see a problem here? I’m all for increasing public safety staff levels since it will help propel the economic recovery. I’ve never seen a company relocate to an area with a rising crime problem, employees have and property have to be protected and safe.
County Government doesn’t have the ability to affect/impact education, they just collect the taxes and pass them along to the school districts, but I believe too much money is spent at the Administration level and instead, that money needs to get to the teachers and students in the classrooms.
Being a Republican means to me, be honest, hardworking and above all else represent the people, all the people, which to me means engaging with folks to get their input and opinions – my record at GHADA speaks to how I’ve worked with many, many people over these past 9 years. It means living within your means and making sure that every penny of taxpayers money is used wisely and isn’t wasted. Treat everyone fairly in all dealings and make sure the playing field and rules are the same for everyone – yes we’re all unique and some would like to say “special” but to give an advantage to one person or group over another is not right, it’s not fair, and it’s just not something I support. Now for those with true physical and/or mental disabilities that falls under social programs and I believe in making sure those needs are addressed. I’m talking aboutpeople and businesses from Joe’s barber shop to the new BJ’s that wants to build a store – they should each have the same rules and regulations to adhere to, scaled on their impact to the area, environment and their overall development size. Neither one should be given a “deal” that no one else can get. Fair is fair – period.
As to GM/Chrysler plants, government shouldn’t pick winners and losers in the business world, however, since the current elected D’s decided to give away millions of our tax dollars to both Fisker and Bloom and neither has yet to make product one, wouldn’t it have been more prudent to offer a tax abatement (abatements with a “claw-back” clause can be collected later, once their back on their feet or if they fail to meet agreed upon achievement/milestones). Let’s ask Markell how many people Fisker employs today and how many Bloom has working in Newark? I can tell you it’s about zero. In that instance, I believe that our current government officials didn’t want to work on saving the auto plants, or they would have at least tried something.
Markell was framing himself and Delaware as the new “green state” and was scampering around trying to find businesses that fit his plan and when he found something, anything, he literary gave them buckets of our money, all in an attempt to build his dream. Unfortunately, those jobs never came but those checks got cashed; now he’s trying to spin it differently. My being a fiscal conservative means that jobs we already have are worth saving, versus starting from scratch, hence it costs less to keep jobs and facilities we already have built, then to repurpose a plant and re-tool it. There’s were it would have made more economic sense to provide some short term loans, tax abatements, etc. You can make the argument that these “green” technologies would also be at a distance disadvantage for parts suppliers, since most of the components for Fisker and Bloom come from suppliers out in California.
Since we’ve got a few existing locations with the needed infrastructure, such as rail, roadways, utilities, etc., we could use a multi-pronged approach and try to attract some heavy manufacturing and some technology industries, that way we won’t be top heavy in the auto industry as we once were. We could double down on the leading position that DE has as the “corporate capital” of the US before Nevada overtakes us in that area. We could invest in technology related businesses, PC boards, electronics, insurance and banking – we once were a banking credit card juggernaut, call centers (use the former MBNA buildings in Newark) no more overseas customer service reps! There are no simple answers, but there are options and I’d like to see us expand our thinking and try several approaches and get things moving in the right direction (no pun intended) and start adding jobs and ticking up our employment figures. Doing something, that has good chance of succeeding, is better than doing nothing and watching things get worse.
The problem today is that the top 3 employers in Delaware are Government all supported by taxpayers; State of DE; The 19 School Districts (rather top heavy with administrators); followed by NCC Government. We need to do better and we better start now.
I also want to add that I am appreciative of everyone’s comments, there are some good dialogs here and those conversations should be heard by the elected officials. Since it’s another late night and I didn’t address all the issues, we’ll have to save it for another sleepless night Thank You.
I just noticed that my comments in the first paragraph of the 2nd posting cut chopped out in my c&p’ing. …or they would have at least tried something other than just begging to keep the DE plants open in lieu of those companies closing other plants in the US. They should have worked diligently to find a way to possibly find a medium duty truck buider (GM or Ford) to retool a plant, since that market has held steady and has shown strong, consistent sales increases. Maybe (gasp) even courted a foreign company (other than Fisker as a newbie startup not viable) such as Nissan, Daewoo, Hundai, etc. with the port of Wilmington, we coud have been exporting those econoboxes and mini trucks overseas. Just an idea.
@ Blake – Fisker and Bloom deals both have clawbacks for state money.
@ Dave – Delaware’s strategy of making bedroom communities out of our precious farmland for the Mid-Atlantic city commuters and retirees has been costly.
Nancy, true there are some clawback clauses, but the Bloom surcharge on all Delmarva Power customers doesn’t and that was approved by both the PSC and our state officials. I dug into that portion of the Bloom funding and even if Bloom leaves, Delmarva Power customers will be paying them for at least 20 years. I would hope the legislature would do something about that, if that happens, but the way those surcharges were added don’t inspire confidence since the power bill doesn’t have a separate call out of the surcharge so most won’t even know (where’s the surcharge -“it’s in there”.)