Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 7, 2016

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 7, 2016

It's shaping up as a quiet June as the Joint Finance Committee has pretty much finished up their work. Bottom line: State employees get a raise (!) but teachers don't, other stuff gets cut, no new revenue sources added to mix, corporations extort millions, which is why other stuff gets cut. Here's the News-Journal story. We discussed this last year.  There appeared to be a legitimate chance then that additional revenue could be raised via corporate franchise fee increases and/or creating a couple of additional tax brackets for wealthier citizens.  Instead, Pete Schwartzkopf cut his own deal with the Senate Rethugs, and gave the finger to progressive members in his own caucus.  That essentially doomed any new revenue streams for this year, as the legislators/lemmings were not going to raise taxes in an election year. However, they were more than willing, desperate even, to throw tens of millions of dollars at DuPont and Chemours, allegedly to 'save' jobs and Chemours' corporate headquarters.  I know it's redundant for me to point out that the sole reason for Chemours' existence is to enable serial world-class polluter DuPont to get out from  under clean-up liabilities.  The invevitable Chemours bankruptcy ('Hey, we'd love to clean up this toxic environmental disaster, but sadly we don't have the money to do it') inches ever closer to reality.  A sharp-eyed tipster shared this video account with us.  It is must viewing.  Hey, we all knew it at the time and wrote about it at the time. Doesn't bother the Generous Assembly.  This should be a crime of the highest order, but it's likely legal thanks to a bought-and-paid-for Congress.  Markell, Levin, and the General Assembly are rewarding and enabling this activity by throwing tens of millions at it.  The Delaware Way, ladies and gentlemen. But, I digress. 
Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

Last Thursday evening, there was another debate among the Mayoral candidates for Wilmington (except the current Mayor -- who apparently does not think he needs to explain or be accountable for his dismal record in this area). This one was focused on public safety and was sponsored by the News Journal and WHYY and held at the Grand. There have been quite a few debates/ public forums for Mayoral candidates in the last month or so, reflecting the very high interest in this race around town. It is a perfect situation for the kind of retail politics that Delaware is famous for and is a perfect setup for all of the organisations around town who feel that they need to work at supporting the public conversation. What you know from talking to people at these events is that there is a great deal of sensitivity about the crossroads Wilmington seems to be on and a great deal of motivation to try choose someone who will move the City in a much better direction. Public safety is a very large issue -- but it is almost always entwined with discussions on education, re-entry, jobs. This is important, I think, because it indicates that many of the most interested voters in Wilmington understand that public safety is a complex issue and that city government has not been a good leader in addressing these issues. While reducing shootings and other criminal behavior is a priority, Wilmingtonians seem ready to hear about long-term prevention strategies as well.
Delaware Political Weekly: May 20-26, 2016 (Delayed By the Holidays Edition).

Delaware Political Weekly: May 20-26, 2016 (Delayed By the Holidays Edition).

Just stop and think about what the Mayor's absence from last week's Public Safety debate says.  It says that the entire raison d'etre for his mayoralty ('You won't recognize this city in six months') has been an utter disaster. Shooting worse than ever, the Mayor turning up his nose at professional assistance and cash from the General Assembly.  His legacy so disastrous that he dare not even show up at a debate that can only serve to spotlight his abject hubris and failure as mayor. Nevertheless, the Mayor chose the week that he chose not to defend his public safety record in public to file for reelection.  Somehow, that suits him. For you completists out there, Maria Cabrera has still not filed for Mayor.  Nor will she.
Results of the Complexities of Color Wilmington Mayoral Debate Focus Group

Results of the Complexities of Color Wilmington Mayoral Debate Focus Group

You'll remember that the CoC in conjunction with the Metropolitan Urban League Young Professionals, Delaware Young Democrats Minority Caucus and IMAC hosted a Mayoral Debate at Ezion Fair on April 18. One of the potentially interesting things that could come from that debate was some polling data -- in the form of a focus group -- that might start shedding some light on the state of this race. I've permission to share this results memo on Delaware Liberal (I will post the actual memo later today -- I can't do that from here right now):
Candidate Fair Tonight – Delaware Americans for Democratic Action (DADA)

Candidate Fair Tonight – Delaware Americans for Democratic Action (DADA)

Via FaceBook:
Want to get involved in a political campaign for economic, social, and racial justice? Were you supporting one of the Presidential Candidates in Delaware and want to continue that push for progressive social change? Then come to this Political Candidate Fair for Economic, Social, and Racial Justice where we’ll have campaign teams from those running for Congress, Lt. Gov., and Mayor of the City of Wilmington. Co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Young Professionals and Delaware Americans for Democratic Action. If you’ve never been part of a political campaign, but have been curious to what it’s like then this is your chance! When: Tonight! May 23, 2016 Where: Woodlawn Library (2020 West 9th St., Wilm, DE 19805) Time: 5:00 - 6:30pm
Matt Denn Comes Right Out and Says It: Delaware Is A Police State.

Matt Denn Comes Right Out and Says It: Delaware Is A Police State.

This is one of the most important stories of the year. Attorney General Matt Denn admitted that the main reason why no officers were charged in the shooting death of Jeremy McDole was b/c the law enabling police to shoot first and face no consequences is so broadly written that it's virtually impossible to charge police in any shooting.  From the News-Journal article:
Denn's decision didn't rest solely on the facts of the case. Hamstringing the AG's efforts was that Jeremy "Bam" McDole was killed in Delaware, a state that essentially immunizes law enforcement officers from criminal responsibility when they use deadly force in response to a perceived threat. Here, a police officer doesn't have to prove the use of deadly force was "actually necessary to protect the officer against death or serious physical injury," according to the recent state Department of Justice report. "All (the officer) must show is that he believed that to be the case at the time that he used deadly force, whether that belief was reasonable or unreasonable."
So, am I missing anything here? If an officer states that they 'believed' there was a threat, even if no other reasonable person would believe such a thing, he can shoot at will and w/o fear of consequence. 

Delaware Political Weekly: May 13-19, 2016

We have a Democratic Primary in the 9th RD. OK, kids, some of you (well, LG) will remember that this was the district that Rebecca Walker vacated after the filing deadline in 2014, meaning that the voters didn't get to pick the D nominee. R Kevin Hensley defeated D appointee and Walker choice Jason Hortiz, a former R candidate for Clerk of the Peace, 3290-2950 in the 2014 General Election. You may also remember that, back in 2010, Walker, who had lost to Dick Cathcart back in 2008, told the RD committee that she wasn't running.  Into the breach stepped one Richard Griffiths, who was endorsed by the committee. Then Cathcart 'retired', after his dirty dealings at Del-State were revealed, and Walker jumped back in. She defeated Griffiths handily in the primary, 970-258, and edged out John Marino in the general, 5583-5301. Then, of course, she got a job where she can help the police cover up evidence that police might, just might, have been engaged in wrongdoing.  (Have I mentioned lately just how corrupt and incestuous the politicians in this state are? Oh, and did I mention that her husband is an ex-cop?) But, I digress. Richard Griffiths has filed to run in the 9th, and he has a primary opponent, one Monique Johns.  All I've got for Griffiths is his 2010 announcement notice. Johns appears to be, uh, the wife ('First Lady') to a Bible Fellowship pastor.  I know that Liberal Geek was real high on Griffiths back in 2010, can you fill us in on what's going on, Big Guy? Can a D knock off Hensley this year?
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 17, 2016

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 17, 2016

I'm back from Oregon, and I see that I didn't miss much. The General Assembly is currently in collective thumbs-twiddling mode.  I now understand why they took a week off recently.  It's not like they have nothing to address (like minimum wage), it's just that they've chosen not to address much of consequence. Cowardice in an election year, who'dathunkit? Can we just talk about minimum wage? Please?  While places across the country are passing $15 an hour minimum, idiot/legislators like Andria Bennett and Quin Johnson turn up their noses at a far less ambitious proposal by accepting Chamber talking points w/o even looking on their own at how higher minimum wages have impacted communities that have implemented them.  Plus, if one of them should 'falter' and eventually go against the Chamber, there is always the no-longer-running-for-Congress business lackey Bryon Short waiting to deep-six the proposal. When it comes to minimum wage, Delawareans did better when the R's controlled the House than they do now. As to the notion of raising taxes on Delaware's wealthiest, I wrote about this last year. If it wasn't even gonna be considered in an off-year (thanks, Pete), it certainly isn't gonna be passed in an election year. The General Assembly made the decision to give more to the 1%, hence the corporate bailouts that were rushed through in January.  More and better Democrats are few and far between in Dover.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 3, 2016.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 3, 2016.

By far the most important bill on the House Agenda is SS2/SB 130(McDowell).  The bill:
defines criteria for a local government to enter into an agreement with the Department of Transportation (“Department”) to create transit-oriented development districts, called Complete Community Enterprise Districts (“District”), for the purposes of promoting economic development. A District may be designated in downtown or urban core areas, traditional towns or villages, or regional activity centers. A District is characterized by its mix of land uses, efficient use of public infrastructure, efficient use of public services, and multiple modes of public transportation combined with environmentally friendly private transportation.
I  look for this bill to pass some time this week.
Why Lisa Dean Moseley Matters–Even If Her Death Doesn’t.

Why Lisa Dean Moseley Matters–Even If Her Death Doesn’t.

Sherry Freebury. Elmer Setting. Lisa Dean Moseley. We all know that Freebury and Setting, at the time they accepted favors from Moseley, were/are among the most powerful people in New Castle County and deeply connected to the county police. Freebury received, and publicly admitted that she would never have had to repay, a $2.3 million sweetheart loan from Linda Dean Moseley allegedly in exchange for county approvals for a country club that Moseley wanted.  At the time she received that loan, she was Tom Gordon's CEO, as she was from 1997 to 2004. She previously was the head of NCC police, as was Gordon.  There's so much more on Freebury and Gordon.  This article serves as a good starting point. More recently, the longstanding 'rent-free' deal that current NCC Police Commissioner has enjoyed from Moseley was documented in the this WDEL story.  He claims he provides 'security and maintenance' for the property.  (BTW, didja know that one of Lisa Dean Moseley's marriages was to her gardener? Another was to her gynecologist. But more on that later.) Lisa Dean Moseley died recently.  Here is the obit from the paper. I searched for anything recent in the News-Journal to place her life and death in context.  After all, context is everything.  So far, nothing.  If she had merely had the two clearly inappropriate relationships with Freebury and Setting, that alone would have warranted such an article.  Two law enforcement officers at the highest level being paid off for their 'services'. But here's another reason why anyone from law enforcement should have had nothing to do with Moseley, and perhaps a reason why they did.