Delaware
Matt Meyer Polls the NCCo Executive Race
He had a poll done by Public Policy Polling and the result (as reported in the NJ) is at Gordon 33%, Meyer at 30%, Undecided at 38? This is a statistical tie.
Delaware Political Weekly: Filing Deadline Countdown Edition
The filing deadline is this Tuesday, July 12 at 12 noon. After Tuesday, parties may file candidates, but individuals cannot file on their own separate from the party. The deadline for withdrawing one’s candidacy and getting one’s filing fee returned is this Friday, July 15 at 4:30 pm. Friday is also the deadline for candidates to switch from one race to another. I’ll likely be out campaigning for the candidate of my choice (Bryan Townsend) at the Tuesday deadline, so please keep us posted on any last minute developments.
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
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.
Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 30, 2016
It looks like the General Assembly has scrounged up enough money for the Bond Bill by finding figurative money under the seat cushions. Complete, of course, with dire warnings from Chamber worry trolls:
“It tells me that they are clearly focused on short-term remedies for something that is a long-term problem,” said Robert Perkins, executive director of the Business Roundtable and a former aide to Republican Govs. Pete du Pont and Mike Castle. “This is the equivalent of looking under the cushions of your sofa to find loose change to pay your electric bill.”
The Roundtable, which represents various Delaware business owners, released a study late last year that called for legislators to find more stable sources of revenue and stop the continually growing cost of things like education, Medicaid, and employee health care costs.
“If people did not recognize last August when we released that study that there was a structural problem then, they must now,” Perkins said. “Cobbling together a state budget, which has many, many important programs that must be funded, is not a practice that is sustainable in the long-term.”
You remember that ‘study’, don’t you? Paid for by the Business Roundtable to provide pro-business talking points. Cut corporate taxes, do away with the estate tax, raise taxes on seniors. That’s the one. No mention of raising taxes for Delaware’s wealthiest. And not a peep from the General Assembly this year.
Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 29, 2016
Colin Bonini had company this year. The Annual Operating Budget passed the Senate, but only by a 15-6 vote. All the nos were from R’s with only Cloutier, Lawson and Lopez voting for the budget. An amendment failed that would have removed a $290,000 to the Center for Energy & Environmental Policy. The center is run by McDowell ally Dr. John Byrne. The amendment predictably failed on a straight party vote, 9 yes, 12 no. I may have time to slog through the Epilogue Language which, as longtime legislative observers know, is often where special favors for legislators and their pet projects are buried. However, today is not that day.
500
On June 26, 2016, a 15 year old young man was shot in the arm in the area of 27th and Moore Sts in Wilmington. He was taken to the hospital and I presume he is recovering. You would be forgiven if you read that and thought that this is the normal flow of criminal activity in Wilmington. This young man was the 500th victim of a shooting in Wilmington since Mayor Dennis Williams took office.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 28, 2016.
Final three days for this General Assembly. Here’s what HAS to happen: Pass Budget Bill, Pass Bond Bill, Pass Grant-In-Aid Bill. (Actually, they don’t have to pass a grant-in-aid bill, but who wants to tell the local volunteer fire companies and senior centers that they didn’t pass the bill?)
The budget is a done deal. The bill has been introduced and has been laid on the table, aka DeLuca’d, in the Senate. It can be lifted any time via a motion. I expect the bill to reach the Governor’s desk before Thursday. The final DEFAC numbers are causing some issues with the Bond and Grant-In-Aid bills, but nothing that some kick-the-can-down-the-road fiscal legerdemain can’t solve.
Before we examine today’s agendas, let’s look at a last-minute bill that made me go ‘Hmmm’.
Delaware Political Weekly: June 17-23, 2016.
Dennis Williams can’t defend himself, so he won’t defend himself. He still wants to be reelected. Anyone else see the disconnect here? This News-Journal article lays it out there for all to see. In fact, city resident Erin Lee exposes the mayor better than I could:
Wilmington resident Erin Lee: “Why won’t you show up at the debates??”
Williams: “Why should I when all I will be is the punching bag. I will not get a word in because the deck is stacked against me.”
Lee: “If you don’t have a spine and can’t stand up and defend your plans and ideas for our city against a few other people, how can you say you can stand up and be a LEADER of our city?? You aren’t a leader, you’re a little boy.”
Williams then goes on to insult her. A little boy with anger management problems and a disastrous record. The article also demonstrates how Williams takes credit for stuff that happens in the City even when he has had nothing to do with it. As to the arts community he touts, the city’s involvement has gone to hell ever since he got rid of Tina Betz, who actually knew what she was doing.
The problem, though, is, he will almost certainly win reelection unless the field of challengers shrinks considerably before the primary election. I sincerely hope that there is serious polling going on, and that the projected also-rans drop out. I mean, let’s face it, Williams has been even more disastrous than Karen Weldin Stewart. And he could well be reelected the same way that she was.
Is Speaker Pete Pulling A Fast One?
By ‘fast’, I mean before June 30.
This ‘tip’ speaks for itself and raises all sorts of questions about a bill that Schwartzkopf is rushing through the General Assembly. The subject may appear to be arcane, but looks like it’s designed to enable a lot of people who are not permanent residents of Rehoboth to vote in elections there. The bill, HB 395 (M. Smith), does not specify Rehoboth. Schwartzkopf is a sponsor. The bill in question was introduced on June 2. Already passed the House, already out of a Senate committee. Interestingly, unlike every other piece of legislation on the LIS system that I’ve seen, there is no PDF link to this bill. Coincidence? You decide. Here is the tip in its entirety….
Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 22, 2016
Something rare: An important bill passes and goes to the Governor. And the sponsors threaded the needle with this one. HB 325 (Osienski), which ends the ridiculous practice of automatically granting a gun permit if a criminal background check cannot be completed in three (!) days, barely passed the Senate with a Senate Amendment, and barely passed the House for a second time. It now goes to the Governor. For some reason, the bleeping legislative information system no longer enables me to provide a direct link to the roll calls. So let me point out that, in the Senate, one R voted for the bill (Cloutier) and one D voted against the bill (Ennis). In the House, not a single R voted for the bill, and the following D’s (remember their names) voted against the bill: Andria Bennett, Lumpy Carson, Mike Mulrooney, and Trey Paradee.
Oh, and yet another important bill heads to the Governor. SS1/SB 163 (Peterson) removes the requirement that those convicted of three non-violent felonies (‘Three Strikes and You’re Out’) automatically be sentenced to life in prison. Several R’s voted yes during yesterday’s House vote, and I salute them: Hensley, Miro, Ramone, D. Short, and Yearick. Only one D voted no: Lumpy Carson.
Oh, and one notable bill was defeated or, more accurately, didn’t achieve a 2/3 supermajority vote. SB 262 (Townsend) would have created a regulatory framework for the Uber and Lyft networks, among others. Specifically, the bill would seek ‘to ensure the safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness of rides provided by Transportation Network Company Drivers within the State of Delaware and to preserve and enhance access to these important transportation options for residents and visitors to the State.’ The bill had 13 yes (the 12 D’s plus Cloutier) and 8 no. One vote short of a 2/3 majority. Guess which side is getting those campaign contributions.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 21, 2016
Welcome to a Very Special Primal Scream Edition of the Pre-Game Show. Time to cue my best Howard Beale/Howard Dean…..
Delaware Political Weekly: June 10-16, 2016
aren Peterson Retires. Who Will Succeed Her?
You can’t replace her. She really has been Delaware’s Best Legislator for perhaps as long as she’s been a legislator. And let’s talk about the term ‘legislator’. To me, she was such an effective legislator because she took on the big issues, and was successful in enacting some of the most progressive legislation in recent memory. No one has meant more to equal rights for all Delawareans than Karen. She is truly an historic figure, and deserves to be recognized as such. Her combination of idealism and legislative smarts simply can’t be replaced.
Someone, however, will succeed her. If I had to bet, I’d bet on Tim Sheldon. Sheldon, you may recall was Tom Sharp’s hand-picked choice to replace Sharp, who basically was living at the beach when he left office. You may recall that Peterson had her car tires slashed during that campaign. It’s not fair to place the blame on Sheldon. But it’s pretty clear that the construction trade goons who backed him had no problem employing such intimidating tactics. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had pretty much a clear field going into the general election. The only other name that I’ve heard who might actually run is Val McCartan, who is Patti Blevins’ Chief Staffer. I like Val, but I don’t see her as a glad-handler who is going to go door-to-door in a tough campaign. She is a highly professional and skilled Senate staffer, but I don’t think she has the candidate gene. I mean that as a compliment.
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