BREAKING: Gay Agenda — 1,593,422; Shaun Fink — 0

BREAKING: Gay Agenda — 1,593,422; Shaun Fink — 0

I've probably undercounted the Gay Agenda wins. Still. Mr. Fink has resigned his position on the Indian River school board, surrendering to the vastly superior ground and air forces of the Gay Agenda. No word yet when the Gay Agenda will actually control the Board:
Shaun Fink, an Indian River School District school board member who spent much of the school year debating against the merits of teaching homosexual terms in the district's middle and high school classrooms, has resigned. "I've decided to resign because of acquiescence to the homosexual agenda within the district," he said.
Thursday Open Thread [5.28.15]

Thursday Open Thread [5.28.15]

Finally, someone starts talking some sense about Delaware's tax rates. Seriously, it makes no sense to raise the taxes of the people who did not gain much during the recovery (the plan to eliminate deductions) -- taxes should be raised on the folks who did get the money:
Delaware's personal income tax is the largest source of state revenue, generating $1.2 billion this year - enough to fund almost 32 percent of total state government operations. Delaware's top income tax rate of 6.6 percent is charged on incomes $60,000 and above. Some lawmakers now say adding a tax bracket for wealthier Delawareans could help solve the state's budget problems, while more fairly spreading the state's income tax burden.
Wilmington’s Leadership and Education

Wilmington’s Leadership and Education

It is pretty normal to go to any Wilmington civic meeting and have at least part of that meeting focused on a discussion of improving educational opportunities for kids in the city. This is a good thing, because it is pretty clear that residents know that education is important for this kids; they know that the city is full of kids who need some additional help here and they know that it will be easier for the city to stabilize if it has great schools available to all of its kids. City Leadership from both the Administration and the City Council enthusiastically join in these discussions, carving out their own place in the Amen Corner here and showing themselves as on the same page with what their constituents want. It is a bad thing because none of these meetings is a school board meeting and I have never witnessed one of these discussions where any government official: 1) explained that the City of Wilmington has no authority over the schools in the city; 2) encouraged people to actually take all of this energy to a school board meeting where something could be done to address those concerns or 3) encouraged people to get out to vote in a school district referendum.
“We’re Not Going to Let This Commission Take Credit for These Ideas”

“We’re Not Going to Let This Commission Take Credit for These Ideas”

That's a paraphrase of what Wilmington's Public Safety Liaison, Mr. Douglas Iardella, told one of the attendees of tonite's Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission. This, unfortunately, is the only thing that can explain the Administration's continued and obvious delay in talking about implementing the recommendations of the Commission's report. Tonight's meeting was expected to feature Chief Bobby Cummings discussing the report's recommendations that the WPD would implement and discuss the path forward. Many community members came out (again) to be a part of the discussion and several of Wilmington's GA delegation came as well.
UPDATE: When Bad Math Emerges from the Bunker

UPDATE: When Bad Math Emerges from the Bunker

The Tuesday Town Hall meeting had a couple of handouts, apparently. I only got one that didn't make much sense, but there was a packet that I missed that had some additional data not on my handout, ostensibly showing the percent decrease in Class A crimes in the city. One of folks attending this meeting was Clayton Stacey, a Cool Springs resident who was brutalized in a robbery about a month ago. Mr. Stacey got one of these other handouts and he took a good look at the stats presented. And then he checked the math:
A Requiem for the Wilmington City Council

A Requiem for the Wilmington City Council

The Wilmington City Council passed the budget for the next fiscal year -- 7-6. Other than the 600K that Bud Freel made sure got added to deal with cameras and to be sure that the WPD could run an Academy if needed, this City Council passed a budget utterly free of any opportunity for asking for better accountability from the Williams Administration and utterly free from dealing with the big issues the city has: improved safety, accountability for programs and departments and a better reckoning of a projected surplus -- $2M surplus even though this fiscal year will end with a $500K deficit.
What A Difference An Actual Report Makes, Right Mr. Mayor?

What A Difference An Actual Report Makes, Right Mr. Mayor?

Yesterday, Mayor Williams had his last Town Hall. I'll say more about that in another post. But he said to WDEL yesterday:
Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams is making it clear he's not a huge fan of the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission. "What's the big deal about this crime commission?" Williams posed on WDEL's Delaware's Morning News. "Everybody that put a few dollars up, talked about this crime commission being so great," Williams said. "Where were these people when I asked them to support Wilmington many years ago?"
But when the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission was authorized by the Governor, this is what he had to say:
"Since taking office in 2013, I have recognized the value and necessity of State assistance in fighting violent crime," Williams said in a written statement. "I have consistently lobbied for Governor Markell and the State's support in tackling the violent crime in Wilmington. I would like to thank the Governor and City Delegation for their steadfast support and commitment, as we work collectively on the issue of eradicating the crime and violence in our city."
Mayor Williams Holds Another Town Meeting

Mayor Williams Holds Another Town Meeting

This one is tomorrow, Tuesday May 19th at P.S. duPont. Please come out to ask the Mayor about the status of implementing the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission recommendations (some of these recommendations are largely in line with President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing report. Or just ask him about the political agendas that are somehow more proactive about the safety of Wilmingtonians than his own plan is. Handcuffs are optional for this event, but if you got 'em, wear 'em!
Camden Gets the Kudos for Community Policing that Wilmington Could Have Had

Camden Gets the Kudos for Community Policing that Wilmington Could Have Had

So you've heard me talk about the successes that Camden has had in bending the curve of their crime and violence issues -- and today, President Obama travels to Camden to recommend the Camden Community Policing approach as a national model. This accompanies the release of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing report today:
The report endorsed Thomson's view that "community policing cannot be a program, unit, strategy or tactic. It must be the core principle that lies at the foundation of a police department's culture. "The only way to significantly reduce fear, crime and disorder, and then sustain these gains is to leverage the greatest force multiplier: the people of the community," Thomson testified.
Ditch the Seige Mentality, It’s Hurting Wilmington

Ditch the Seige Mentality, It’s Hurting Wilmington

It isn't news that cities like Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA are reducing their violent crime statistics. I've been posting that news along with most of the posts I write here about the current situation in Wilmington. What these cities have done includes re-orienting themselves to data and intelligence-driven forces, able to address crime hot spots and get out in front of crime -- rather than simply wait for a phone call to respond to. Heck, even the SEPTA has moved to a data-driven policing model and is clearly bending the curve on their own crime problem. So what's wrong with Wilmington?
You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Populism. That's the word and that's the word in the title of a piece that appeared in The Atlantic this week authored by Governor Jack Markell, called, Americans Need Jobs, Not Populism. In fairness, he may not have provided the title to this thing. But it is less an argument against populism than it is an argument for working class and middle class people to sit down and shut up about the very real squeeze we find ourselves in. It is an argument for his own political philosophy -- privileging businesses over the people who are the consumers for these businesses -- a philosophy that certainly wasn't on display (IMO) when he first campaigned for Governor. In this, the Governor wants you to know that it is globalization that is the root of today's economic issues. Which couldn't be more wrong.
Just Fix Them

Just Fix Them

Seriously, stop the high school hallway belligerence and just fix Wilmington's cameras. Today, Mayor Dennis Williams and Councilman Mike Brown decided to have an argument via WDEL about the amount of money spent on the city’s cameras currently monitored (in theory) by Downtown Visions. The Mayor says that Councilman’s Brown’s figure on the amount of money spent on the cameras is wrong and Brown provides some detail showing that the number he gave was rounded, but not far off from right. Both of them highlight a few of the City’s key problems in dealing with its safety issues: