Delaware
![Friday Daily Delawhere [4.18.14]](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/13894868325_bb288bc0cc_z.jpg "Friday Daily Delawhere [4.18.14]")
Delaware Political Weekly: April 12-18, 2014
Beau Biden’s ‘letter to his supporters’ announcing that he would not run for reelection for AG but, rather, would run for Governor in 2016, was an act of breathtaking cynicism. So let’s make one thing totally clear: He is not running for reelection because of his health. Period. With perhaps a dollop of ‘I suck so bad as AG that maybe people will forget just how bad if I’m out of office for a couple of years’.
So, let’s first look at 2016 and work our way backwards, shall we? With all that money in the bank, Beau hopes to scare off would-be challengers. If Biden’s successful, this would make it almost a certainty that your Democratic nominee for governor in 2016 would either be Beau Biden or…Tom Gordon. You see, Tommy’s waiting in the wings with the implicit blessing of the Bidenistas. Either way, Joe Biden gets to play kingmaker. You like that? Neither do I. That’s why I find this maneuver so cynical. And so typical of all involved.
OK, let’s become Matt Denn for just a second. He’d like to be governor, but he’s enough of a realist to recognize that waiting for 2016 in (a) the oft-chance that Biden won’t run and/or (b) the hope that he’ll somehow be able to raise enough money to be competitive with Beau are possible but far from sure things. The position of AG has just opened up for this November. I betcha Matt Denn thinks he’d be a great AG. I agree. I also betcha that leaders in the Party are already beating a track to his door. I don’t think anyone could come close to defeating Denn, should he run for AG. With no information whatsoever, I think and hope that that’s what he’ll do. He’d be an effective and progressive AG. Which is better than what we have now.
Thursday Daily Delawhere [4.17.14]
![Thursday Daily Delawhere [4.17.14]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/13895282794_1cdcc27c98_z.jpg "Thursday Daily Delawhere [4.17.14]")
From xzmattzx:
Hidden in a subdivision is a little bit of railroad history. The New Castle & Frenchtown Railroad was chartered in 1829 and began operating in 1832. The railroad connected New Castle to Frenchtown, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay. The western part of the railroad was abandoned in 1859, but the right-of-way remained cleared and functioned as buffers between parcels of land. Since railroad require flat ground, embankments were built for the railroad during construction, and some of these embankments still exist. Arguably the best remnant of the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad is this embankment off of Forrestal Drive in Pencader Hundred. This view looks east along the embankment, with the natural contours of the earth seen on either side.
![Wednesday Daily Delawhere [4.16.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Capture2-240x180.png "Wednesday Daily Delawhere [4.16.14]")
It’s Official. David Tackett to Challenge Bryan Townsend.
Tackett sent out this e-mail to community leaders. I swear I have not changed one letter of what he wrote. This is (presumably) his own syntax:
Well I am reaching out to share some exciting news, I have decided to run for the senate seat in our area, As you know I have been the councilman for going on 10 years now and I have used this experience and time to build my relations in the communities and helping our residents on the county level and I am now ready to move to the state side and use my experience with the multitude of state issues we are facing. We have worked on many issues in Breezwood over the years and we will have many more.
I have watched as Dover has done nothing for our economy and jobs and they only dealt with a bunch of social issues while we have been hurting and struggling just to maintain. I fell it is time to carry our voices into Dover and demand this struggling economy be addressed. I promise I will be this voice!
The guy we have now that beat DeLuca last year still lives with his parents and while he is a nice guy I just feel he does not understand the pressures we face as homeowners, parents and ever increasing pressure of inflation.
![Monday Daily Delawhere [4.14.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Capture-240x180.png "Monday Daily Delawhere [4.14.14]")
What If Beau Doesn’t Run?
It has been widely assumed that Beau Biden would coast to reelection for Attorney General this year, then set his sights on a gubernatorial run in 2016. Why else would he be sitting on a gargantuan campaign war chest? To defeat a non-existent Rethug challenger in November? No.
However, I think that anyone other than the terminally-gullible can recognize that there is a reason that Beau has remained largely out of the public eye since his emergency medical stop in Houston last summer.
I think someone needs to say it, after all, the election is less than seven months away: What if his condition, whatever it is, prevents Biden from running in both 2014 and 2016?
Who runs for Attorney General in 2014?
![Sunday Daily Delawhere [4.13.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/DD.4.11.14-240x180.png "Sunday Daily Delawhere [4.13.14]")
![Saturday Daily Delawhere [4.12.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/n7te-240x180.jpg "Saturday Daily Delawhere [4.12.14]")
Delaware Political Weekly, April 5-11, 2014
Apparently there are self-appointed grown-ups amongst Sussex County Rethuglicans. Party leaders (an oxymoron, I know, but bear with me), endorsed a resolution stating that they would not “endorse or support” Phillips should he run for reelection to Sussex County Council. The News-Journal quotes Sussex Republican Chair John Rieley as telling Phillips in a letter:
“This situation has the strong potential to bring disrepute on the party if we do not take a proactive moral position and are seen as lending support to your candidacy.”
Sometimes the jokes write themselves. The Sheriff of Nuttingham. Bodie. Disrepute has, to put it mildly, not been a stranger to the Sussex County Republican Party. But, I digress. This did not stop Phillips from filing yesterday.
Meanwhile, Colin Bonini will not run for Treasurer. This, of course, was inevitable. A guy who has gotten paid for 20 years to do nothing was not about to risk that gig for another job where he’d basically do nothing. Since he would have to give up his Senate seat to run for Treasurer, Colin Bonini was never gonna run for Treasurer this year.
![Friday Daily Delawhere [4.11.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/DD.4.10.14-240x180.png "Friday Daily Delawhere [4.11.14]")
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.
Yesterday was a light day. The Senate worked and passed a series of noncontroversial measures, some of which I previously discussed here. The Gun Down the Gray Fox bill made it out of committee. The Dream Act bill didn’t. Priorities, people. BTW, projected annual cost of the Dream Act bill, according to the Fiscal Note? Just over $40K/year. Here’s the entire Session Activity Report.
The Governor has 51 million reasons to root for passage of HB 265(Schwartzkopf) in the Senate today. The bill raises $51 million in increased annual corporate fees. Since the bill requires a 3/5 super-majority vote, 13 yes votes are required. Don’t think the bill would be on the Senate Agenda if all 13 D’s were not on board, but we shall see. The over/under on how long it takes Governor Markell to sign the bill? 30 minutes. I’m taking the under.
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