General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 3, 2014

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.
New Legislation Proposed to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession

New Legislation Proposed to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession

Yes, this is actually happening in Delaware. Rep, Helene Keeley (my rep!) has sponsored HB 371, legislation that would allow Delawareans to possess less than an ounce of marijuana and makes public consumption of marijuana a civil (rather than criminal) offense. Should this pass, Delaware would join 18 other states and multiple municipalities in helping to de-escalate the War on Drugs. People with small amounts of marijuana are a wasteful target for law enforcement (unless, of course, they are suspects in other crimes) and it is well past time to refocus limited dollars and resources for law enforcement on the crimes that actually harm people or property. I support this effort. Here is the press release on this bill:
Why Wilmington Is Experiencing Financial Hardships

Why Wilmington Is Experiencing Financial Hardships

That is the title of an opinion piece published in the NJ yesterday from Dace Blaskovitz -- a member (until very recently) of the WEFAC (Wilmington Economic and Financial Advisory Council). He's had an up close and personal look at Wilmington financial trends for quite a few years, and recently quit the WEFAC (this isn't news?) -- according to him -- after Mayor Williams announced he was going for a 9.9% property tax increase. His POV of Wilmington's financial woes is worth reading -- much of it is very familiar. I can't vouch for his numbers on the trends he discusses, but total payroll *has* gone up -- this is due not just to the hiring of people but also due to increased health care costs. That last one is true for most employers who provide health care benefits. Note also that most of the city employees have not had COLA increases in several years and I believe that all of the city's unions are working without a contract.
Delaware Political Weekly: May 21-27, 2014

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...
Are Progressive Politics Being Redefined?

Are Progressive Politics Being Redefined?

There's a great article in Vox magazine about Andrew Cuomo -- Governor 1 Percent -- the Governor of New York who is seen in many circles as the future of the Democratic Party. What this article does well (I think) is show the strategy of the so-called moderate Democrats -- fight for socially liberal causes and values, but spend your legislative time and energies catering to the 1%. This glances by the question of whether these Democratic politicians who are proudly Blue for marriage equality, but looking to provide tax cuts and special subsidies to the 1% are actually becoming the face of what passes as progressive in this country.
The 62 Project: #’s 20 and 42

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!

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.....
What happens when you’re in a Twitter ‘spat’ with Chip Flowers and don’t even know it?

What happens when you’re in a Twitter ‘spat’ with Chip Flowers and don’t even know it?

According to Jonathan Starkey over at the News Journal, I was in a Twitter spat with Chip Flowers over a tweet I sent on Sunday about one of his challengers, Sean Barney, getting a choice spot on msnbc while the network scrambled to cover President Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan. Apparently, Flowers wasn't too keen on my innocent joke that he was "pissed" at Barney's free airtime (or, in true Flowers fashion, one of his employees was pissed, since he blamed the now-deleted tweet on an unnamed staffer). According to Flowers, Memorial Day is "above politics."
Memorial Day: Sean Barney Talks About His Iraq Experience

Memorial Day: Sean Barney Talks About His Iraq Experience

We all know that Sean Barney is challenging Chip Flowers for the office of State Treasurer. Sean is a veteran of the Iraq war -- one who signed up to serve after 9/11. I'm a big fan of Sean and his leadership -- this video is his interview yesterday with Patrick Murphy on the MSNBC show Taking the Hill:
Congressman John Carney’s Fraudulent Fiscal Conservatism

Congressman John Carney’s Fraudulent Fiscal Conservatism

On Friday, Congressman Carney took to Facebook to burnish his cred in the Fiscal Austerity Games, to tell us all that he was named as one of the "Fiscal Heros" of the front group Fix the Debt (Senators Carper and Coons are in this group, too):
I’m humbled to have been named one of Fix the Debt’s Fiscal Heroes, but there is much more work to be done. For far too long, both Democrats and Republicans have spent trillions of dollars the nation didn't have. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the tough decisions necessary to put the country on better fiscal footing.
Unfortunately, Congressman Carney just voted YES to authorize the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization bill -- a bill that specifically INCREASES the budget for the DoD. Increases DOD programs over the objections of the DoD: