DL Exclusive: Rep. Bryon Short Considering Run for State Insurance Commissioner

DL Exclusive: Rep. Bryon Short Considering Run for State Insurance Commissioner

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State Rep. Bryon Short (D-Highland Woods) today told Delaware Liberal that he is considering a run for State Insurance Commissioner. While he has not made a decision on the race, he told me that it's important that the IC's office does an effective job of 'setting the marketplace' to ensure competition and consumer choices, and to 'effectively address the concerns and problems facing consumers'. He also said that the work of the office 'is very important,  but unfortunately people aren't made aware as to just how important it is, and how it impacts them'. Short has attended the last two NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) meetings in order to  extend his knowledge for both his House committee work and to possibly prepare for a statewide run.
The 62 Project: Not Better Late Than Never. But It’s Finished. Just In Time To Change It.

The 62 Project: Not Better Late Than Never. But It’s Finished. Just In Time To Change It.

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I was planning to finish this in time for...well, some time before now. However, sloth and other events intervened. So here we have it, 1-62, for each and every member of the 147th Delaware General Assembly, based on their careers, not just the past session. For those I previously profiled, you can click on the links. For the rest, the floor is open for questions and vitriol. 1. Sen. Karen Peterson: A fierce negotiator/advocate who successfully leverages her bargaining power to pass progressive legislation. Imagine that. Accruing power not for personal ambition, but to pass a progressive agenda. An easy choice for #1. 2. Rep. Mike Barbieri: Quietly does outstanding work on kids' issues, and has helped turn back the neanderthal mandatory sentencing excesses of the Sharp/Smith/Vaughn/Brady years. He's impressed me from Day 1. A thinker and a doer. We need more social workers in the General Assembly. 3. Sen. Bob Marshall: Has gotten better and more effective as he's gotten older. He serves as perhaps the leading Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party in challenging Jack Markell's DINO-ism. He's got at least one more minimum wage increase in him. 4. Rep. Melanie George Smith: Her work, along with Barbieri and others, on sentencing reform, was legislating at its best.  It wasn't easy, it required a tremendous attention to detail, plus political smarts. Forget her political roots, focus on her legislative skills. 5. Sen. Dave Sokola: Anyone who thinks it was easy for a legislator from the Pike Creek/Hockessin area to support progressive reform wasn't around when he got elected. That's what he did and that's what he does. And, while he gets criticism from some of our education people, he stood up to the 'forced busing' bashers, including his own Pro-Tem, Tom Sharp.  His sponsorship of civil unions reflects the kind of person he is.
Coming Tuesday: The Entire 62 Project Unveiled.

Coming Tuesday: The Entire 62 Project Unveiled.

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The Bataan Death March of projects reaches its ultimate destination tomorrow. Both here on DL and on the Al Mascitti Show beginning at 10 am. You can listen right here. The entire 147th General Assembly legislative roster ranked from 1-62, based on legislators' careers, not just the past couple of months. I think the project got bogged down b/c, although it's really easy to write about the best legislators, the worst legislators, and the most eccentric legislators, there was a group of legislators ranked somewhere between 40 and 50 who were not particularly interesting to me. Legislators who were just there. I lost my mojo. Finally got my mojo workin' last weekend. Anyway, once the list is posted, I'll tweak the list before the start of the 148th to account for injustices, new info, and, of course, to address both the departed and the newcomers. Since the list is completed and will not change before tomorrow, feel free to predict your #1 and #62.
RIP: Jimmy Ruffin (1936-2014)

RIP: Jimmy Ruffin (1936-2014)

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The older brother of the Temptations' David Ruffin (one of the greatest soul singers of all time), Jimmy Ruffin  recorded one of Motown's most unforgettable hits.  When I saw "Standing In the Shadows of Motown" at Theatre N, this was the song that closed the movie, and this was the song that we ALL sang as we left the theatre...
Who ‘Killed’ Sean Matthews?

Who ‘Killed’ Sean Matthews?

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No, this is not one of those comic book 'dream' issues. Somebody 'killed' Sean Matthews. And apparently 200 or more of his supporters. The 'deceased' did not know of their demise until someone from the Democratic Party caught wind of the massive tragedy.  And subsequently raised them from the dead. Here's the unbelievable story: Both Sean Matthews and Dennis E. Williams had access to the Democratic Party Voter File...until the 10th R. D. officially endorsed Dennis Williams. At that point, only the endorsed candidate had access to the file.  Until after the primary, that is.  You will recall that Matthews defeated the incumbent D Williams.  Which meant that, as of September 10, Matthews was able to access the file. Only, something had happened in the interim. Someone had gone into the Voter File and marked over 200 voters as 'deceased', including Sean Matthews. Only the Williams people had access to the file, and someone or some someones had to actively go in and change the status of these voters to deceased.  It wasn't the Party. They were the ones who spotted the mischief-making and alerted Matthews right away. BTW, virtually none of the alleged deceased were in fact deceased, if any.
Jobs For Delaware Graduates = Jobs For Political Hacks

Jobs For Delaware Graduates = Jobs For Political Hacks

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Does anybody here remember the inception of Jobs For Delaware Graduates? I do. Pete duPont created this repository for some of his less-qualified lackeys back in 1978. It was basically modeled after other Federal jobs programs, but with the bar set so low that it could claim success even when said success was dubious at best, and would never have been accepted under federal requirements:
It was designed in 1978 by five working groups in Delaware, drawn from business, educational, workforce, labor union, and community leadership. The purpose of the organization was to address simultaneously with Delaware’s unemployment rate and the dropout rate (?).
So, you're saying to yourself, well, Steve, this is all well and good, but, so far your headline is false advertising. Ladeez & Gentlemen, meet the new President of Jobs For Delaware Graduates...STATE SENATOR NICOLE POORE. major conflict: Didja know that this ostensibly 'private non-profit' gets about $1.4 million annually from the Grant-In-Aid bill? Taxpayer money appropriated by the same General Assembly to which Sen. Poore belongs? And now she's drawing a salary from them. From the same $1.4 million?
‘Bulo On Al Mascitti Show Tuesday

‘Bulo On Al Mascitti Show Tuesday

We'll talk the 2014 Delaware election results, look at how 2016 might shape up, and maybe even look at the issues facing the upcoming General Assembly session. I'll even talk about how Tom Carper is showing some signs of vulnerability. All this and your calls, this Tuesday, 10 am to 12 noon, WDEL 1150-Newsradio.
Delaware casinos bailout

Gambling News Not ALL Bad For Delaware

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We're attracting lots of degenerates from NJ and PA who just have to get their fill of betting on NFL games: From the Philly Inquirer:
The total wagered on NFL games in Delaware _ with barely one-tenth the population of New Jersey _ was $31.5 million last year, more than triple the mark set in 2009, according to Vernon Kirk, the director of the Delaware Lottery. Kirk added that the state's share was $5.2 million, with casinos and the state's horsemen also getting a portion of the net revenues after expenses.
El Somnambulo Predicts ‘Em All For You!

El Somnambulo Predicts ‘Em All For You!

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The tough races are really tough, the easy races are really easy. I know I'm not running the table, but I don't know where I'll falter. I just know that I will. If there's a unifying theme, I think it's that D's will struggle in Delaware more than usual, which is exactly what I expect to happen nationwide. Hope I'm wrong. These predictions are also going up a week out, and there's plenty of movement in some of the races. With that depressing, but not hopeless, forecast out of the way, here we go: United States Senate: Chris Coons over Kevin Wade, 58-40%, with Andrew Groff of the Green Party at 2%. I'll be among the 2 percenters. US Representative: This provides the true measure of how many people will vote Republican no matter what.  Does Rose Izzo get over 30%? I'm going Carney 67%, Izzo 29%, with the Green and Libertarian candidates maybe getting 4%.  For me, it'll be August in November. Attorney General: Matt Denn will win, does he break 60%?
Will Phils Hire Best Manager in Baseball?

Will Phils Hire Best Manager in Baseball?

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Well, if not the best, at least 1 or 1A along with the Giants' Bruce Bochy. Joe Maddon  opted out of his contract with Tampa Bay today. He has taken that chronically-underfunded team to great heights, four times in the playoffs and one World Series appearance. This is not a pipe dream. He is from the area. In fact, his mom is still a waitress in his home town of Hazleton, PA. He's a Lafayette grad, and he comes back here often. This is Pat Gillick's call, not Ruben Amaro Jr's. Pat, for the sake of what's left of my sanity, Make That Call!
KWS Goes to Bat For Mega Insurance Company

KWS Goes to Bat For Mega Insurance Company

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Our purported insurance regulator, Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart, is instead trying to run interference for Met Life.  Check out this article from the state government website: fer cryin' out loud:
DOVER, DE  – In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other federal regulators, Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart has urged them to reconsider their vote to propose that MetLife be labeled as a “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI) and therefore subject to tougher federal regulation. “Based on my experience as an insurance regulator (insert joke here), and a regulator of one of MetLife’s larger insurance subsidiaries, I do not believe that MetLife’s businesses and corporate structure create the kind of systemic risk that Dodd-Frank’s SIFI designation process was designed to address,” she said. Stewart argues explicitly against the designation of MetLife and said state regulators are capable and competent to continue the oversight of the company (insert joke here).