Senator Cory Booker Endorses Eugene Young for Wilmington Mayor

Senator Cory Booker Endorses Eugene Young for Wilmington Mayor

This happened on Friday and is certainly impressive. Senator Booker has been on some lists as a potential VP candidate for Hillary Clinton, and there's been plenty of cheerleading for him. He's a solid progressive and defeated a fair bit of Newark public sector corruption and cronyism to win the Mayor's seat. Here's his pitch for Eugene Young, candidate for Mayor of Wilmington:
Wilmington Mayor’s Race — Undecided Leads the Pack

Wilmington Mayor’s Race — Undecided Leads the Pack

The News Journal released the results of their poll last night, which shows the race being much closer than the common wisdom (including mine) would have suggested. Here's the numbers: Kevin Kelly 18% Mike Purzycki 14% Dennis Williams 13% Theo Gregory 11% Eugene Young 9% Norm Griffiths 8% Robert Marshall 2% Maria Cabrera 2% Undecided 21% The margin of error on this poll is 5.8 and reached landlines only. This surveyed likely Democratic voters. This polly also asked about registration and primary practices -- where we find that this group of likely Democratic voters think that it should be easier to switch parties to vote and that primaries should be open.
Poll in the Field for Wilmington Mayoral Race!

Poll in the Field for Wilmington Mayoral Race!

I took a call this evening from Public Policy Polling who was conducting a poll on the Wilmington Mayoral Race. And I am excited to see the results -- if there is polling in Wilmington it is for candidates and I don't think this one was. Here are the questions asked: 1. Likelihood of voting (I answered very likely) 2. Read a list of candidates (in alphabetical order by last name), with instructions to push a number for the candidate you will vote for 3. Wilmington Right Track/Wrong Direction question
The City of Wilmington Just Lost $1.5M in WPD Funding and All Mayor Williams Can Manage is the Usual Okie Doke

The City of Wilmington Just Lost $1.5M in WPD Funding and All Mayor Williams Can Manage is the Usual Okie Doke

At the end of the legislative session last Thursday, the GA took back $1.5 million it was holding at the behest of AG Matt Denn to finance more WPD foot patrols in hot spots in Wilmington. AG Denn helped the City to fund foot patrols last spring and then the JFC met in a special session to allocate more funds this time for both Wilmington and Dover. The additional $1.5M would have paid for 20 weeks of foot patrols and other overtime and would have added in $75K for crime analysis of hot spots by the Delaware State Police. The legislators conditioned Wilmington's award to the city providing some data on current WPD deployments and it would require that the city meet with the WPPSC consultants again so an assessment could be made of the City's progress in implementing the recommendations of the commission.
Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

Last Thursday evening, there was another debate among the Mayoral candidates for Wilmington (except the current Mayor -- who apparently does not think he needs to explain or be accountable for his dismal record in this area). This one was focused on public safety and was sponsored by the News Journal and WHYY and held at the Grand. There have been quite a few debates/ public forums for Mayoral candidates in the last month or so, reflecting the very high interest in this race around town. It is a perfect situation for the kind of retail politics that Delaware is famous for and is a perfect setup for all of the organisations around town who feel that they need to work at supporting the public conversation. What you know from talking to people at these events is that there is a great deal of sensitivity about the crossroads Wilmington seems to be on and a great deal of motivation to try choose someone who will move the City in a much better direction. Public safety is a very large issue -- but it is almost always entwined with discussions on education, re-entry, jobs. This is important, I think, because it indicates that many of the most interested voters in Wilmington understand that public safety is a complex issue and that city government has not been a good leader in addressing these issues. While reducing shootings and other criminal behavior is a priority, Wilmingtonians seem ready to hear about long-term prevention strategies as well.
Results of the Complexities of Color Wilmington Mayoral Debate Focus Group

Results of the Complexities of Color Wilmington Mayoral Debate Focus Group

You'll remember that the CoC in conjunction with the Metropolitan Urban League Young Professionals, Delaware Young Democrats Minority Caucus and IMAC hosted a Mayoral Debate at Ezion Fair on April 18. One of the potentially interesting things that could come from that debate was some polling data -- in the form of a focus group -- that might start shedding some light on the state of this race. I've permission to share this results memo on Delaware Liberal (I will post the actual memo later today -- I can't do that from here right now):
Late Night Video — Argentinian Sports Channel Trolls Donald Trump

Late Night Video — Argentinian Sports Channel Trolls Donald Trump

Oh yes, this is completely brilliant. The Copa America Centenario is a major soccer event -- this year is its 100th anniversary and this is the first time it is being hosted by the United States. So this Argentinian sports channel decided to make use of Trump's xenophobic and racist BS to showcase the skills of their team -- especially Lionel Messi.