El Somnambulo's Latest Posts
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 5, 2014
Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf’s gonna earn his money today. Look for a l-o-o-o-o-ng party caucus for the House Majority.
At a time when key legislation needs to be worked, and worked with some sense of urgency, The House D’s will most likely feel forced to confront the (former GOP) elephant in the room. John Atkins. I can’t imagine that there will not be a serious mass of legislators outraged at his alleged actions. And, of course, this is far from the first time that the Caucus has had to address issues regarding Atkins. When you add to that the fact that Schwartzkopf personally vouched for Atkins and sold him to a skeptical caucus back in 2008 (‘People can change’), and you’ve got a real messy situation on your hands. The guy was always kinda on probation to several caucus members, and I wonder if caucus members are willing to let that continue. Yes, I know, he has not been charged with anything and he deserves his day in court. I’m just looking at the dynamics of the caucus. After all, not even the Rethugs wanted him. Betcha a majority of D’s don’t, either.
DL Exclusive: Brenda Mayrack Receives Major Endorsement from Emily’s List
Delaware State Auditor candidate Brenda Mayrack has officially been endorsed by Emily’s List. Come inside for the full release….
“I am both inspired and gratified by this endorsement,” Mayrack told Delaware Liberal. “I am running for Auditor because I intend to work to ensure that each one of our hard-earned tax dollars is used well and not wasted. All Delawareans, along with those who have placed their trust in me, deserve that, and that’s the mission I will bring to the office.”
This is a big deal for Delaware. Brenda Mayrack offers the real promise of progressive leadership for Delaware. She will be a great auditor, bringing both an incisive mind and, here’s a word you don’t ever hear associated with current Auditor Tom Wagner, competence, to effectively do the job.
News-Journal: Rep. Atkins Ordered to Stay Away From His Wife and Kids
No snark here. Just gotta hope for the safety of the wife and kids. Here are two key grafs from the News Journal story:
““His temper is getting worse and I fear that if something is not done it will effect my safety,” Heather Atkins wrote in her petition for emergency protection. “I feel that he is not able to take the best interest of our children and put that first. I am afraid that the children are at risk due to his temper and erratic behavior.”
And this:
“Court documents show Atkins relinquished 17 firearms, most of them shotguns, to Millsboro police officers Monday evening after they took a court order requiring he do so to his home.”
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 4, 2014
We need more legislative days like yesterday.
Good bills passing all over the place. The Senate passed HB 251(M. Smith) (3 Rethug nos), SB 181(Blevins), SB 185(Townsend)(5 nos, 4 Rethugs and Venables), SB 212(Hall-Long), and SB 219(Hall-Long)(unanimous!).
Every one of these bills is something that progressives can embrace. Both Senators Lopez and Cloutier voted yes on all of these. Check ’em out for yourself, and I think you can see an emerging progressive consensus in the General Assembly. I want to highlight SB 219…..
General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Admit it. Like me, you didn’t see this coming. $3 mill in funding earmarked for the University of Delaware in limbo while the Delaware General Assembly awaits word on what the U of D will decide in terms of the plan to build a data center and energy plant on university land. I have no problem in general with the General Assembly withholding funds from the University when UD is recalcitrant. I just wish they had done it to force UD to open its records to the public. Maybe they’ll do that next year.
This is clearly a power play by labor and some business interests to get this project moving. We’re talking Jobs vs. NIMBY. I ain’t got a dawg in this fight, but it’ll make for a fascinating June. WWUDD?
I also can’t believe that the General Assembly will allow a $70 million swath to be cut through DELDOT’s construction budget, I just can’t. If we’re talking about jobs, how does reducing road projects from around $190 million to about $120 million protect them? It doesn’t. Now that Valerie Longhurst’s power is on the wane, perhaps wiser heads will prevail in the General Assembly. Especially if a certain bridge on I-495 is in danger of falling down. Again, some great drama for the final month. Uh, not the falling down part, I hope, but the question of whether legislators will lay down on the job and bid a lot of jobs and important work adieu.
Delaware Political Weekly: May 21-27, 2014
Here are some names of people who haven’t yet filed, and whose candidacies may be in doubt:
State Auditor Tom Wagner: Has any statewide official ever done less work while being paid by the taxpayers over a longer period of time than Wagner? Faced with an inspiring and hard-working challenger in Brenda Mayrack, does Wagner really want to go out on his shield? We already know he doesn’t want to have to work too hard to get reelected. And he’s gonna have to work hard to have any chance of fending off Mayrack.
State Rep. Rebecca Walker (D-RD 9): This one’s real interesting. As I’ve written, Walker has not been a powerhouse as a campaigner. She is facing a credible challenger in realtor Kevin Hensley.
State Rep. Andria Bennett (D-RD 32): Andria Bennett has shown tremendous growth as a representative, and is now one of a handful of the most consistently progressive legislators in Dover. All I’d heard was some scuttlebutt that it wasn’t a sure thing that she’d run again, although the sense was that she would. I hope she does.
Dave Tackett (for State Senate District 11): It was with great fanfare and not-so-great grammar that New Castle County Councilman Dave Tackett announced that he would primary State Senator Bryan Townsend this year. That was well over a month ago. Since then, no filing nor, as far as I can find, any type of campaign website. Could it be that Tackett’s realizing that going up against Townsend would be a fool’s errand? I dunno, but his campaign seems to be in limbo.
And there are others…
The 62 Project: #’s 20 and 42
John Kowalko’s pluses: A true progressive, unafraid to take unpopular stands, willing to be a public gadfly when needed, almost always a dependable vote for progressive principles, and a willing sponsor for progressive legislation.
Bob Venables’ pluses: A good Bond Bill chair who understands that capital investment in roads and schools is a good thing, first to really blow the whistle on the cost of prison expansion and minimum mandatory sentences, a genuinely nice person.
The 62 Project!
Yes, it still exists, although it’s been in limbo for awhile.
For those of you who were too young and/or didn’t read this blog religiously or atheistically at the time, the 62 Project is/was designed to rank all of the legislators based on their effectiveness, accomplishments, and progressive principles. These are/were career rankings, not simply snapshots of a given period. Clearly, those with longer careers have more of a track record, for better or for worse, and are less subject to major changes in the rankings.
I now realize that there’s no way that I can continue to write the type of extensive profiles I’ve been doing, and complete this project by (my newest deadline) the September primaries. So, I will write shorter profiles that I hope capture the reason for each legislator’s ranking. Let’s first recap those I’ve already ranked…..
Gov. Markell Breathes A Sigh of Relief
Well, I wasn’t there, but I have to guess that this was great news worthy of a gubernatorial exhale, if not a celebratory inhale. That’s right. Pfizer has said that it has given up on its attempts to acquire Astra Zeneca.
So all’s right with Delaware’s pharmaceutical ‘jobsjobsjobs’ creator.
Until the next time.
Breaking News: Delaware House Leadership Team A Team No More
According to literally dozens of sources, Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst are no longer allies, to put it mildly. In fact, they’ve had a major falling-out.
Their ‘breakup’ is the talk of Legislative Hall, and it could impact legislative deliberations during the final month of session.
You will recall that, when running for Speaker, Schwartzkopf insisted that he and Longhurst were running as a team, and that it was either both of them or neither of them. It’s the only way that Longhurst could have been elected Majority Leader. By a narrow margin, it turned out to be both of them.
I’ll be right upfront and once again tell you that I dislike Val Longhurst intensely. She has proven that she takes delight in intimidating people and in exercising power over anyone who gets in her way. I will also tell you that she is perhaps the most universally reviled legislative leader with whom I’ve come in contact. Joe Petrilli, also a former House Majority Leader, albeit on the R side, was the previous champion, IMHO. She is despised by many staff people and by many of her colleagues in both the House and the Senate.
While I don’t know why they’ve finally stopped working together, I have to think that Speaker Schwartzkopf, if he wanted to remain Speaker Schwartzkopf next session, recognized the need to jettison the toxic Longhurst.
I, of course, would welcome any and all inside skinny from Leg Hall.
Bulo’s Fave New Tunes: April, 2014
Quality over quantity this month, admittedly a little late:
Ought: ‘Habit’
The Boston Boys: ‘Become Like One’
Rosanne Cash: ‘Modern Blue’
Eels: ‘Mistakes of My Youth’
Stone Cold Fox: ‘Darling, Darling’
Come inside for the music….
Delaware Political Weekly: May 10-16, 2014
Robert Keesler has filed to take on incumbent Gerald Brady (D-4th RD) this fall. While the district is more hospitable to an R than the other city-based districts (the bizarrely-gerrymandered district goes from Wilmington to Hockessin) it’s still a D-leaning district. Registration figures show 8200 D’s; 5097 R’s; and 4537 I’s. Keesler is a new name to me. He has written a couple of entries on the blogs, including our own. IMHO, Gerald Brady is a hack, but he’s in a district that has elected him a few times now, and my first impression of Keesler doesn’t make me think that he’ll have any better luck than Tyler Nixon did vs. Brady.
Colin Bonini Files…
…for reelection to his State Senate seat in the district drawn just for him by Tony DeLuca. His official listed name on the ballot is Colin RMJ Bonini. Which, of course, raises the question, what does RMJ stand for? It’s contest time!
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., May 15, 2014
Today’s House Agenda features HB 308(M. Smith), ‘create(s) an Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman’ to address disputes between developers and residents in communities ‘created by legal documents drafted by the developer and…intended to be managed by those living in these communities. As someone who did a lot of constituent service work, I can tell you that there were a lot of issues that could have used this mechanism to resolve w/o going to court. I think this is a real good bill. Once again, excellent legislating from Melanie Smith, one of the General Assembly’s best.
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