Delaware
What A Crisis in African American Leadership Looks Like
“Our communities have fared better over the past 24 years (under an African American mayor) than under previous administrations, at the expense of those who previously benefited, and there is a strong effort by those others to regain control of City Government,” wrote Fullman.
“So much so that folks have paid candidates to enter the race or are paying black individuals to garner support for white candidates in the African American communities (Norman Oliver for Mike Pryszicki [sic]). Don’t be fooled. Join us Wednesday evening to converse directly with Mayor Williams to get the real story.”
SevOne to Delaware: “Thanks, Suckers!”
Perhaps Jack Markell’s favorite poster child for economic development has given Delaware the finger. SevOne is conducting a series of ‘brutal layoffs.’ And, of course, the Delaware Economic Development Office doesn’t know how much money the state won’t get back. Here’s the (no) money quote from the News Journal story:
“They are laying off so many people I had to wait [hours] to get my severance,” the worker said. “It’s like standing in a line for a guillotine.”
It’s not clear where Delaware will stand in this line. Here’s what we know….
The Murdertown Chronicles — Finale
Part 3 was released some time back and I apologize for not posting that. See the end of this post to see details on the release and wrap party for the final episode. Have you heard about this new podcast? Sponsored by the Delaware Center for Justice, this is a long-form reporting project that is meant to explore the role that poverty plays in Wilmington’s crime problems. This will be in four parts — and so far includes voices from young men wrapped up in crime as well as voices from the ACLU, Dr. Yasser Payne, Charlie Copeland and others who are illuminating the larger picture involved with Wilmington’s crime problems. I’ve listened to the first one (this is about 20 minutes long) and it is riveting. Give it a listen and I hope you’ll come back to this thread to discuss this work and the issues it raises.
BREAKING: Former NCC Councilman Chris Roberts Commits Suicide
This just came across the WDEL Newswire.
“Sources told WDEL that Roberts took his own life at his home on his family farm, the Roberts Farm, near Odessa, which was preserved by private non-profits in 2015.
No DelDems Statewide Endorsements
So finally someone heard me! The DelDems Executive Committee decided to not endorse for statewide candidates this season. This is an excellent decision and one that recognizes that it is the voters’ job to vet and select the candidates that they thnk will best represent them in government.
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:
Oopsies!
Don’t you just hate it when you’re a Democratic candidate for US Congress from Delaware, and something like this happens?:
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.
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.
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