“We are kings of our bikes. So, we are again really lucky to live in Rehoboth, when we park a car, we have to get back into the car. We can hop on our bikes and our ritual is that we are always biking from our home to L(ewe)s. We do a little bit of walking around, a little bit of margarita, a little bit of good food – there’s amazing food then bike right back. So the ritual, on our bikes, every chance we can, any place we can go, and eliminate the cars.”–Dan Cruce.

As of about noon yesterday, I had nothing for this column.  Was going to pull the plug for the week.

However, with two filings and a bleepload of rumors from last night’s Spotlight Delaware event, I’m now locked and loaded.

1.  D Andrew Gunnar Demarest files committee for RD 40 seat.  Currently held by the (Extreme Right-)Reverend Tim Dukes.  Which reminds me, has anyone heard of ‘The University Of Valley Forge’, ostensibly Dukes’ alma mater?  Time for some research…here ya’ go.  Anyway, Demarest is either Marketing Manager for ‘a full-service professional land surveying, geospatial, and consulting services firm’ and/or an employee of the Seaford School District (based on his e-mail address).  RD 40 (Seaford, Laurel and environs) has a solid R registration edge, 4848 D, 7810 R, 6297 I.

2.  R Matt Bucher files committee for RD 33 seat.  He’s the VP of the Milford School District Board Of Education.  Not especially impressed with his views on education.  The incumbent is R Charles Postles, who is ‘an outspoken supporter of the agricultural community’.  As opposed to a soft-spoken supporter of the agricultural community. Don’t know if this means Postles is not seeking reelection, or if there will be a primary.  Registration is 6145 D, 6481 R, 7018 I.  District tends to skew more R than the registration might suggest.

3. Rumors And Innuendo.  They were flowing freely at last night’s Spotlight Delaware event.  I’ll present them to you in the forms of questions:

Which (apparently-delusional) Delaware political figure harbors Presidential aspirations?

Which (clearly-delusional) Delaware political figure hopes to run for the same office that they ran for in 2024–and lost?

Which Pakistani resident is considering returning to the United States to challenge the representative who basically forced him off the Red Clay School Board?  (I know, some questions are easier than others.)  Uh, wouldn’t he have to reestablish residency first?  BTW, Elaine Manlove isn’t around any more to flout election law like she did with Speaker Pete’s protegee, Kathleen McGuiness.  I mean, at least Park City was in the US.

Which wealthy 2024 campaign contributor plans to spend beaucoups bucks to challenge those legislators who had the temerity to vote against SB 21?  Perhaps it’s just me, but those who did the right thing should wear this as a badge of honor.  But, it’s his money.

That’s all I’ve got this week.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?

“We are kings of our bikes. So, we are again really lucky to live in Rehoboth, when we park a car, we have to get back into the car. We can hop on our bikes and our ritual is that we are always biking from our home to L(ewe)s. We do a little bit of walking around, a little bit of margarita, a little bit of good food – there’s amazing food then bike right back. So the ritual, on our bikes, every chance we can, any place we can go, and eliminate the cars.”–Dan Cruce.

Today we feature the inspiring lineup of progressive challengers who you can volunteer for and/or donate to right now.  With one exception.  There is one race with an unannounced challenger who will excite pretty much any progressive who’s looking to eliminate Delaware Way insiders.  I can’t name that challenger although I know their name, but I will highlight the race and the odious incumbent who should be in deep doo-doo.  Later in this piece.

We start our inclusive list of challengers with these two great candidates for the Delaware State Senate:

SD 1.  Adriana Leela Bohm:

I’ve provided the link to her biography.  I defy you to read it and then think that the incumbent, who does, in fairness, occasionally visit the district he supposedly represents from his home in Rehoboth, could possibly be preferable to Adriana.  Unless, of course, your name is either Cassandra Marshall, Bud Freel, or Bobby Byrd.

SD 5: Shay Frisby

The incumbent is doing a great job of representing his constituency–the corporate executives who made this career bean-counter a wealthy man at Christiana Care, and of course Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.  If that constituency doesn’t represent you,  you’re in luck!  Shay is your kind of candidate.

“Shay Frisby is a dedicated leader with a proven track record of serving her community and advocating for working families. As a supervisor in the Delaware Division of Social Services (DSS) Customer Relations Unit, she leads a team focused on helping clients navigate benefit eligibility and access vital resources, from housing to healthcare.

Shay’s leadership experience includes her role as Lead Organizer with AFSCME Council 81, where she fought for the collective bargaining rights of over 500 childcare workers across Delaware and helped draft SB87, The Quality Care for Delaware’s Families Act. Her work strengthened protections for workers and elevated voices often left unheard.

As Program Manager for the Standby Me Financial Empowerment Program, Shay led a team of financial coaches to provide early childhood educators and schools with financial literacy services, fostering long-term economic empowerment for families.

In her community, Shay continues to serve as a committee member with the 7th RD, working with local leaders to organize successful outreach initiatives, including a campaign kickoff that raised over $20,000 to support Democratic efforts. She is also a small business owner in Claymont, where she has lived and raised her family for more than 30 years.

Shay is running for State Senate to bring her leadership and advocacy to Dover. She is committed to fighting for a living wage, criminal justice reform, and environmental protections to ensure a brighter future for all Delawareans.”

RD 6: Rae Krantz

“When I was disenchanted with my jobs after college, I taught myself the necessary skills to enable a career-change to software development. To make it easier for others to do the same, I then became an advocate for stronger apprenticeship programs in the industry and founded a non-profit to guide people starting software development careers. I’ve also shared my knowledge and experience as an international conference speaker.

I was raised in an evangelical, Republican community with an unchanging worldview. But once I left home, I began to question what I was taught about how our government should work. I continued to learn new ideas and meet new people, and I discovered the missing pieces in my old worldview and how fundamentally unjust our government systems actually are, particularly for minorities and people of color. These realizations were crystallized by the murder of Trayvon Martin. The failure to bring justice for Trayvon made me realize that I needed to play a role in building a better country. I committed to the issue locally, and began to volunteer for task forces aimed at delivering equitable justice.

I deeply desire to see our communities become stronger and more integrated, and believe that together we are powerful enough to improve our lives. I’ve been a foster parent and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Delaware’s foster care system. I co-founded Strong Towns Wilmington to empower city residents with a vision for how our city can be safer and more vibrant. I’ve spent many hours in Legislative Hall as a community advocate pushing our state government to do right by working people.

It was through those interactions with our state government that I grew disillusioned with the lack of transparency and accountability from our legislators. I watched our elected officials fail to protect Delawareans’ right to clean air and water, and fold when they had the chance to guarantee real police accountability and transparency. Those experiences left me disheartened but they also solidified for me the need for legislators who actually listen to constituents and create policy to respond to the needs of the people.”

The incumbent in RD 6 is Deb Heffernan.  She has advocated for (and been funded by) the chemical lobbyists who gave her an award for her efforts.   Rae would be an exponential improvement over the incumbent, who you can see here being hugged by the irredeemably-corrupt Val Longhurst.

RD 9.  We have two challengers to serial drunk driver Kevin Hensley.  Y’know, if only D’s had made at least as big a stink on Hensley as the Rethugs have on the Suxco Chair, Hensley would be gone from the General Assembly, as he should be.  Anyway, here are the two D candidates, both of whom have strong credentials:

Gemma Lowery

 

Michelle Wall

This could well be the single most important legislative race of the cycle.  If the D’s take it, it would give them a super-majority in the House.  Meaning voting rights legislation, in particular, could advance without Rethug interference since the D’s already have a super-majority in the Senate.

 

RD 12: Dr. Rob Bahnsen

 

Think I’ll just let Rob speak for himself:

I was raised by blue-collar parents who worked hard to provide their sons with the kind of opportunities they never had. They taught us valuable lessons early on. Hard work pays off. Don’t give up on the people you love. Never forget where you came from.

I was lucky to grow up in a healthy community. People who loved me made sure I fulfilled my potential. I became the first person in my family to go to college and to medical school. Because they were there, I am who I am.

These days, the same communities that lifted me up when I was young are the ones that suffer the most. As a psychiatrist, I work on the frontlines in Delaware’s largest emergency rooms, intensive care units, and hospital wards to provide care to our most vulnerable neighbors. I hear their stories of hardship and how they just can’t get ahead. I feel their despair when those in power dismiss them, telling them the answer is to work harder for less. I see firsthand how these problems lead to anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide.

When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to keep my patients healthy. I can no longer fulfill that oath until we heal our community. This is why I’m running to be your State Representative – to improve access to quality healthcare, demand excellence in education, and diversify an economy too dependent on powerful interests that don’t care about us. To fight for what people need, so our community can grow strong.

That is one of the clearest statements on why someone is running for office that I’ve ever read.  The incumbent, Krista Griffith, indeed champions ‘the powerful interests that don’t care about us’, which is why she sponsored the disgraceful Musk-pass bill and beat back attempts to make the bill fairer.

RD 38: Maureen ‘Mo’ Madden

He was among the earliest progressives who sought to challenge the Delaware Way.

Many of the ideas that he that he first championed, like the creation of an Inspector General, have come to pass.

I suspect and hope that the same will hold true of his seeking to reinstate a progressive income tax.

My deepest condolences to his family and his many supporters.

We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

Rest In Peace, John.

“We are kings of our bikes. So, we are again really lucky to live in Rehoboth, when we park a car, we have to get back into the car. We can hop on our bikes and our ritual is that we are always biking from our home to L(ewe)s. We do a little bit of walking around, a little bit of margarita, a little bit of good food – there’s amazing food then bike right back. So the ritual, on our bikes, every chance we can, any place we can go, and eliminate the cars.”–Dan Cruce.

1. An idyllic lifestyle.  As chronicled here.  Thing is, the person waxing rhapsodic about this lifestyle purports to live in Wilmington, and represents Wilmington and parts of northern NCC as a State Senator. Hence, this quote will lead off the Delaware Political Weekly every week until Dan Cruce either drops out of the race for reelection, or is transparent with his constituents about where he lives.   Feel free to share this, especially with folks who might want a local elected official to live, you know, locally.

2.  This Rob Bahnsen Looks Like The Real Deal.  Might I also add that I just love most of the websites for our insurgent candidates.  Rob’s ranks with the best of ’em:

As a physician, Dr. Rob provides psychiatric care to our most vulnerable neighbors. But the tools he has as a doctor are no longer enough to lift people in our community up.

For too long, Delaware has been the First State for corporations, but 37th for education and 44th for employment. Dr. Rob is running to change that—to demand a new, equitable, transparent Delaware Way of doing things.

These days, the same communities that lifted me up when I was young are the ones that suffer the most. As a psychiatrist, I work on the frontlines in Delaware’s largest emergency rooms, intensive care units, and hospital wards to provide care to our most vulnerable neighbors. I hear their stories of hardship and how they just can’t get ahead. I feel their despair when those in power dismiss them, telling them the answer is to work harder for less. I see firsthand how these problems lead to anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide.

The system isn’t working, and it affects all of us.

When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to keep my patients healthy. I can no longer fulfill that oath until we heal our community. This is why I’m running to be your State Representative – to improve access to quality healthcare, demand excellence in education, and diversify an economy too dependent on powerful interests that don’t care about us. To fight for what people need, so our community can grow strong.

Where are you marching?  What are you seeing?  What are your thoughts and feelings?  Celebrity sightings?

We’re marching in Wilmington, I plan to wear my sweatshirt with Trump and Putin kissing under the mistletoe.

What I DON’T want are speeches by our pathetically-weak Washington delegation, especially Chris Coons.   Perhaps there will be a buffet there to distract him from going for a microphone…

Comment away!  And say hi if you see me.  I’ll be giving out complimentary subscriptions to DL because that’s how I roll.

1.  The Rae Krantz Campaign Goes LIVE!  As in right here:

When I was disenchanted with my jobs after college, I taught myself the necessary skills to enable a career-change to software development. To make it easier for others to do the same, I then became an advocate for stronger apprenticeship programs in the industry and founded a non-profit to guide people starting software development careers. I’ve also shared my knowledge and experience as an international conference speaker.

I was raised in an evangelical, Republican community with an unchanging worldview. But once I left home, I began to question what I was taught about how our government should work. I continued to learn new ideas and meet new people, and I discovered the missing pieces in my old worldview and how fundamentally unjust our government systems actually are, particularly for minorities and people of color. These realizations were crystallized by the murder of Trayvon Martin. The failure to bring justice for Trayvon made me realize that I needed to play a role in building a better country. I committed to the issue locally, and began to volunteer for task forces aimed at delivering equitable justice.

I deeply desire to see our communities become stronger and more integrated, and believe that together we are powerful enough to improve our lives. I’ve been a foster parent and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Delaware’s foster care system. I co-founded Strong Towns Wilmington to empower city residents with a vision for how our city can be safer and more vibrant. I’ve spent many hours in Legislative Hall as a community advocate pushing our state government to do right by working people.

It was through those interactions with our state government that I grew disillusioned with the lack of transparency and accountability from our legislators. I watched our elected officials fail to protect Delawareans’ right to clean air and water, and fold when they had the chance to guarantee real police accountability and transparency. Those experiences left me disheartened but they also solidified for me the need for legislators who actually listen to constituents and create policy to respond to the needs of the people.

I highly recommend that you read her platform in detail.  You can click on each item and find serious proposals from someone who seeks to serve.  There may have been a time when Deb Heffernan was like this.  That time has passed.  Meaning, it’s time the baton was passed.  The thought of Rae Krantz in Dover is exciting.  Oh, forgot to mention, you will see a ‘Donate’ button on every page of her website.  You know, should you be so inclined.

2.  NCC Dems Set Filing Fees.  At their meeting this week, the New Castle County Democratic Party set the filing fees for next year’s elections at 1% of the annual salary for the positions under the purview of the county party.  The County Dems have sent the filing fee information to both the County and State Department of Elections.  These are for the positions of County Council, County row-office, or State Rep/Senate within New Castle County.  Candidates may also qualify for the ballot via signature petitions, which is what Branden Fletcher Dominguez did in 2024.  This means that candidates may officially pay the fee and qualify for the ballot once the Department of Elections receives the information from the County.

3. Ballot-Qualified Candidates From Kent And Sussex.  I’m guessing they already approved their filing fees?  Anyway, here’s what we’ve got:

RD 20 (Sussex):  Both incumbent Alonna Berry and challenger Ruby Keeler Schaeffer have filed as Democrats. (Only official primary so far.)

SD 14 (Kent):  R Mark Pugh has filed.  The incumbent is Kyra Hoffner.  Figures to be a competitive race.

RD 14 (Sussex): D Rep. Claire Snyder Hall has filed for reelection.

RD 20 (Sussex): R Nikki Miller (again).  Third time’s the charm?

RD 38 (Sussex): D Maureen Madden. The incumbent is R Ronald Gray

4.  Rumblings Of Coons Opponent(s)?  I’m hearing said rumblings.  All I can say is, if you’re gonna run, you simply must make Coons’ inability/unwillingness to focus on the Fascist takeover of the government the centerpiece of your campaign.  Don’t worry about early polls, daunting fundraising numbers, or anything else.  Coons has been an enabler and, at best, a reluctant critic, of this unprecedented attempted takeover of the country.  His version of ‘bipartisanship’ won’t and can’t fly any more.  Take it on directly.  If you’re not willing to do so, then don’t run.  If you are,  then welcome to the race!

That’s all I’ve got this week.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?

1. James Spadola Is Suddenly A Democrat.  Here’s why, in his own words:

In his post, Spadola said that he weighed the decision to stay Republican.

“Other than staying the course, I could not find a reason that fit my values or my vision for Wilmington, certainly not under the GOP’s nostalgic claim of fiscal responsibility,” Spadola wrote Monday.  

Asked if he is now worried about the lack of representation for the Republican Party on city council, Spadola emphasized that “voters elect people, not parties.”

BTW, because Spadola was elected as an R, he doesn’t have to relinquish his seat mid-term.

Spadola told Spotlight Delaware he’s been thinking about changing parties since 2021, but went through with the decision after finding himself in disagreement with policy directives that have come out of the Trump Administration, such as tariffs, ICE enforcement, and federal troop deployments in cities.

“I’ve always been a moderate, always will be. And at some point, you have to look at where the parties are. And with Trump 2.0, I find myself certainly identifying more with the Democratic platform,” he said.

While I’m glad he says he’s seen the light, he remained a Republican throughout Trump’s first term and, for that matter, throughout Biden’s time in office.  Oh, and he’s ‘always been a moderate’.  Music to the ears of Cassandra Marshall, Bud Freel, The Chamber, and their, wait for it, ‘ilk’.

Then I read what Cassandra Marshall has to say and try not to cringe:

“He doesn’t indulge in pre-packaged partisan wrangling or disrespect: he puts on his problem-solving hat and gets to work for all Wilmingtonians every day,” Marshall said.

Allow me to stipulate that I don’t trust Cassandra Marshall. Said distrust is based on first-hand experience.  Meaning, I think that reporter Brianna Hill, who is an outstanding reporter BTW, might have overlooked a more likely eventuality when she wrote:

Spadola said he has not decided on whether he will run for office again during the 2028 election, which he acknowledges will put him in a different position: he would have to contend in a likely more crowded primary while shouldering his former Republican Party status.

I think it’s possible, if not likely, that Spadola runs as a Democrat in a 2026 primary.  As in RD 1.  Clip and e-save.

2.  THIS is How You Introduce Yourself To Voters.  From my e-inbox to you:

Wilmington, DE — Dr. Adriana Leela Bohm, a longtime activist for equity and inclusion, former school board member, and college professor, has announced her candidacy to represent Delaware’s State Senate District 1.

Dr. Bohm is running for state office because she is deeply committed to advancing equity, justice, and opportunity for everyone in our community at this time of mounting political anxiety. Drawing on her lifelong experience as an educator, activist, and community organizer, she aims to address pressing issues such as protecting education from MAGA attacks, fighting to strengthen the economy – particularly jobs and housing – and defending the environment.

Her candidacy is motivated by a desire to bring bold leadership to the State Senate and to help revitalize the Democratic Party in response to the current political climate. “In all my work – in education, labor, community organizing – my focus has been coalition-building,” she said. “My teaching and my community involvements are born of the same interests: how to overcome society’s divisions (e.g., economic, educational, racial, gender-wise, etc.) in order to build the momentum necessary to be heard by the powers that be.”

Growing up in Wilmington, at 17, Bohm joined her mother on the Boxwood Road GM assembly line but was encouraged to pursue higher education. She earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of Delaware and later earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Temple University, where she helped organize the first graduate employee union in Pennsylvania.

For nearly 25 years, Bohm has served as a sociology professor at Delaware County Community College and is a tenured faculty member and National Education Association member. She and her husband Shane raised their two children in Wilmington, where both attended public schools. Their son is now at the University of Delaware and their daughter attends Howard University.

In addition to her teaching career, Bohm was elected twice to the Red Clay Consolidated School District Board, serving for ten years and working to expand wellness centers, strengthen equity policies, and keep schools safe and inclusive. Her work led to appointments on statewide education initiatives and recognition with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteer service.

Bohm has also dedicated herself to broader community service, serving on several boards including the ACLU of Delaware, Kentmere Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing, Inc., the Delaware Law Related Education Center, and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Bohm’s Legislative Priorities

1. Strengthening Public Education for All
Delaware’s educational system must ensure every child, regardless of zip code or income level, has the opportunity to thrive. Her priorities include:

• Universal pre-K for all children

• Free school meals to support student health and learning

• A more equitable, weighted funding formula

• No censorship of educational materials

“If we want education to work, we must create economic stability,” Dr. Bohm says. “Students learn best—and educators teach best—when basic needs are met.”

2. Building Economic Stability for Families
We need bold policies to uplift working families, including:

• Livable wages for all workers

• Safe, stable and accessible housing

• Access to reasonably priced groceries and utilities

“If we want our neighborhoods and community to be strong and thrive, we must create economic stability in these and other daring ways.”

3. Public Health, Environment, Infrastructure and Safety

• We need healthier neighborhoods to live in

• We need cleaner air, fewer emitted toxins, more pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure, more green spaces, and more public health services, which all result in healthier people and neighborhoods

• No ICE harassment of immigrants and families

A New Era of Leadership

“An old political era has ended, and an unsettling one has arrived,” Dr. Bohm says. “This period requires a reborn Democratic Party fueled by new voices unafraid to think outside the box and develop bold strategies for implementing a politics rooted in the values of ‘We the People.’ This is the vision I will bring to Dover if elected.”

Bohm’s opponent in the primary is likely to be incumbent Sen. Dan Cruce, who will almost certainly be visiting Wilmington more from his Rehoboth residence as he now is forced to be seen in the district he represents.  

Oh, you say you want a link to her site and/or to donate?:

https://www.adrianafordelaware.com/

You’re welcome.

3. Rae Krantz(!) Files To Run In RD 6.  Here’s her profile from the Delaware Call website:

Rae works in the tech industry as a software developer and international conference speaker. Her interest in journalism started in Ohio, where she was a founding member of the cooperative community news website in Akron called The Devil Strip. Since moving to Delaware in 2020, she’s volunteered on progressive political and issue campaigns, and focused her investigative writing energy on racial justice issues.

While at the website, check out the topics she chooses to write about.  They reflect the kind of person she is and the kind of legislator she would be.

RD 6 is currently (barely) represented by incumbent Deb Heffernan, whose presence and involvement in the RD has diminished significantly in recent years.  Rae would be a significant upgrade. To put it mildly, I’m psyched!

4. There IS no #4.  Thought I’d been clued into another story that was, to put it mildly, hard to believe.  Turns out it was hard to believe because it wasn’t true, but rather was a case of someone thinking they heard something that wasn’t said.  I’m relieved–although it would have made quite the story.  Buy me a drink some time and I’ll tell you the story-that-wasn’t-a-story.

That’s all I’ve got this week.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?

1.  Dan Cruce Wants You To Know That He Reallyreallyreally Lives In Wilmington:

He just resurfaced there after having been invisible since, well, since the Special Election.  He’s trumpeting his Wilmington residency in a hastily-started door-to-door.  Far be it from me to raise any questions about where he lives.  I’ll leave that task to Dan himself.  BTW, yes, his name is Dan.  Someone thought it was Pablo because he’d ‘found his place in the sun’ in Rehoboth.

In Dan’s own words:

There’s a different beach for everyone and if you like all of them, you can pick your menu so to speak. And it’s the perfect way to do a little bit of everything then recharge and you’re ready to be back to your busy lives that we have.

We are kings of our bikes. So, we are again really lucky to live in Rehoboth, when we park a car, we have to get back into the car. We can hop on our bikes and our ritual is that we are always biking from our home to Lewes. We do a little bit of walking around, a little bit of margarita, a little bit of good food – there’s amazing food then bike right back. So the ritual, on our bikes, every chance we can, any place we can go, and eliminate the cars.

Uh, what’s the deal, Dan?  You might be able to technically qualify as a resident of Wilmington (or not, were anybody to litigate the question, or were the Department of Elections to do their job).  But, you refer to yourself as a resident of Rehoboth.  An honest answer, please:  Where do you live, and what percentage of the year do you spend in SD 1?  Your sudden resurfacing in Wilmington was no doubt completely coincidental with Adriana Bohm filing for the Senate seat.  Perhaps Cassandra Marshall, Bud Freel and their, wait for it, ilk, will bail you out again.  But all the Democrats in SD 1 are entitled to vote this time, not just the most insidery of insiders.  Most don’t also have homes in Rehoboth.  Perhaps they’ll prefer someone they can get hold of year ’round.

2. Chris Coons Once Again Earns AIPAC’s Blood-Soaked Endorsement:

In their own words, here’s why:

In his fifteen years representing Delaware in the Senate, Senator Chris Coons has been a backer of the U.S.-Israel relationship. A member of the Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees, Coons cosponsored and supported a resolution standing with Israel and condemning Hamas. He also said that day, “I unequivocally condemn Hamas’ unprovoked invasion and attacks against Israel. This violence against civilians is reprehensible, and I will work with the administration to ensure the people of Israel have what they need to defend themselves against these atrocities.” Coons voted for supplemental security assistance for the Jewish state, and he voted against three resolutions which would have blocked arms sales to Israel during its war against Hamas. He also signed letters urging the inclusion of Israel in the Visa Waiver Program and calling for the U.S. to pursue a comprehensive agreement with Iran addressing its nuclear weapons program as well as its terrorist activities and its ballistic missile program. Coons traveled to Israel with AIPAC’s sister foundation in 2013.

3.  The Unlikeliest Democrat Files To Primary Alonna Berry.  

As in the wife of disgraced former Mayor of Smyrna and Suxco Council member Mark Schaeffer.  Who, I perhaps neglected to mention, is a lifelong Rethuglican.  Her name is Ruby Keeler Schaeffer.  Like her namesake, she’ll have to do quite a bit of dancing to gain more traction than she did in the Democratic selection process.  OK, I’ll come out and say it–she literally has no chance to win in a Democratic primary for this seat.  Nor should she.   My take?: Just another realtor trying to drum up business.

4. A Semi-Interesting PAC Filing.  The PAC is called ‘Justice For All’.  It’s stated purpose is as follows:

Justice for All PAC is dedicated to supporting leadership that promotes public safety, upholds the rule of law, and advances fairness and equity in the administration of justice across Delaware.

That, of course, could mean anything, depending on who interprets it.  What makes this PAC semi-interesting is that it has been founded by one John Cohill.  Kind of a Democratic political nomad. As are, to be fair, lots of political staffers.  Here’s his LinkedIn.  Make of it what you will.

That’s all I’ve got.  What did I miss, and whaddayathink?

And, yes, it differs greatly from what John Carney and Claire DeMatteis have schemed out.  Here is the press release in its entirety:

Housing Advocates Share Their Own Recommendations for Addressing Homelessness

WILMINGTON, DE September, 2025 — On Tuesday September 30th several homelessness advocates, including Housing Alliance Delaware, Friendship House, H.O.M.E.S. Campaign, Delaware Poor People’s Campaign, Tide Shift Justice Project, Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrews and Matthew, Stop the Sweeps Mutual Aid Organization, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and members of Wilmington City Council share recommendations to the Mayor and Wilmington City Council on how to address homelessness in the city.

The federal government has shifted to using a punitive approach to address homelessness. A 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision allows cities and states to arrest people for sleeping outside, even when there are no safe alternatives. In July, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop following the “Housing First” model, and authorized the involuntary institutionalization of people living outside. Additionally, in a recent Spotlight Delaware article, Mayor Carney announced his intentions to ban encampments in certain areas of the city.

Unfortunately, Delaware does not have enough shelter beds or housing resources for everyone. According to a 2024 Centralized Intake Report from the Housing Alliance Delaware, even though more than 7,100 households needed homelessness assistance, only 952 got referrals to homeless assistance resources.

The Wilmington Homelessness Task Force recently released their recommendations on how to deal with homelessness in the city. While they address issues such as trash pick up and bathrooms, they do not direct the city to use its own resources to expand shelter access. Advocates are calling for a different approach.

Coby Owens, 1st District Councilmember & Wilmington Homelessness Task Force member: “We have to rebuild the community’s trust in knowing that the city cares about all of us— regardless of our housing status. Too many families are experiencing homelessness. Rents are high, mortgages are out of reach. It’s the responsibility of the city government to dedicate city resources to this issue– not just lip service. I’m committed to doing that.”

Branden Fletcher-Dominguez, Co-Coordinator of H.O.M.E.S. Campaign: “There aren’t enough shelter beds for all the unhoused people in Wilmington. Punishing people for living outside is unfair and an ineffective way to deal with homelessness. We caution Mayor Carney and Wilmington City Council from adopting the Trump Administration’s approach of banning encampment and arresting people. Instead, Wilmington should put city funds and resources into housing people, working with service providers, and making the city more affordable to live in.”

Meryem Dede, Executive Director of the Tide Shift Justice Project: “The criminalization of people experiencing homelessness will only deepen the trap of poverty and incarceration— making it almost impossible to secure housing. Furthermore, the use of police in dealing with homelessness only serves to deepen the mistrust between unhoused people, service providers, and the police. We’re hoping the city will adopt these recommendations that will rebuild trust and prioritize pathways to housing that don’t criminalize people experiencing homelessness.”

Deianna Tyree-McDuffy, Director of Advocacy & Policy at the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence: “Domestic violence contributes to victims’ homelessness because abusive partners deliberately limit the victim’s economic stability by forcing victims to quit their jobs, refusing to provide childcare so that the victim can work or simply by taking the victims’ earnings. Victims might also have poor credit due to the abusive partner insisting on the use of credit and then not paying the credit card bills as a means of control.”

Rev. Patrick Burke, Rector The Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew and Matthew (SsAM): “As a faith leader, and specifically as a Christian Pastor, I see the report from a moral and ethical perspective. We face an important moment in our common life together, where we choose whether we take bold steps to forge a community built on love, mutuality and care for each other, or continue to double down on criminalizing those who are poor, those who are sick, and those who are marginalized. It is our choice and we charge our leaders to lead courageously so we can be the community that we want to be-one built on love and compassion.”

Housing Advocates’ Recommendations:

● Commit to not implementing criminalizing or discriminatory policies, practices, and laws against people experiencing homelessness, including but not limited to sweeps, encampment bans, unnecessary arrests, or fines.

● Ensure services provided are trauma informed, low-barrier, use a housing first model, and center on the person in need and be respectful. Individuals should have the right to decline services and still receive housing.

● Provide city funding, land, and other public resources to:
○ Increase the number of low barrier emergency beds and permanent supportive housing units to cover all unsheltered individuals.
○ Increase the number affordable housing units.
○ Establish more low-barrier and easily accessible day centers across the city, with trauma-informed staff.
○ Establish a city-based homelessness prevention program that includes: emergency rental assistance, security deposits, and first-month rent.
○ Require a 30% affordable housing set-aside for any housing development or renovation projects receiving any city funding, subsidies, or tax breaks.

● Establish a city-run Homeless Services Office to coordinate services and programs:
○ Invest in a coordinated system of care at the City level where all resources are accessible to unhoused people.
○ Invest in low-barrier programs and shelters, alongside a continuous investment in existing and new housing programs, shelters, etc.
○ Use professionally-trained, trauma-informed outreach workers who will address people’s needs without threatening arrest, sweeps or fines.
○ Encourage outreach workers to meet unhoused people where they are.
○ Encourage organizations to share data across sectors through the existing Community Management Information System.
○ Provide oversight and technical support to ensure that all housing and shelters in the City of Wilmington adhere to Delaware Fair Housing Laws.
○ Develop a strategic plan to address housing stability in the city.
○ Provide financial support for people to get necessary documents to achieve housing (social security cards, birth certificate, ID).
○ Commit to supporting unhoused people in the City of Wilmington regardless of their place of origin.
○ Prioritize people experiencing homelessness in the City of Wilmington for WHAhousing vouchers or public housing units.

● Prioritize public health through improved access to hygiene and sanitation:
○ Establish public restroom facilities and maintain 24/7 access and ongoing maintenance.
○ Increase access to showers.
○ Provide mobile health clinics that use harm-reduction practices.
○ Provide daily trash clean-up all areas in the city with high populations of unhoused individuals (that does not target personal belongings).

For more information please contact:
Shyanne Miller
Delaware Working Families Power
smiller@workingfamilies.org
302-345-5182

Just-wow.  Got this in my e-mailbox this morning.  I’m cutting and pasting the entire thing because I couldn’t find it on the Downballot website:

I discovered something yesterday that gutted me: A site called Blue Delaware has been stealing our content all year—verbatim, hundreds of words at a time—and publishing it as their own.

After we called them on it, they hastily deleted tons of posts. If you want an example, click here. And no, they didn’t acknowledge their theft or apologize in any way.

But what really wounded me is that the proprietor of that site, whose name is on the stolen posts, was a community member at Daily Kos—the same place where I got my start, and where I built the site that is now The Downballot. How could someone we once shared a formative political home with do this to us?

We work exceptionally hard here to produce quality, original journalism daily. We link and credit every source we rely on. And we make absolutely certain that we never, ever improperly use anyone else’s work. I couldn’t live with myself if we were anything but maximally scrupulous.

Yet so many people just don’t give a fuck. I’m not naive. I know stuff like this happens, all too often. But I’ll never understand the mindset of someone who engages in behavior like this, and I don’t want to.

I don’t know how many subscribers or how much traffic we lost because of this theft. But I do know, speaking as the publisher of a tiny independent news outlet, that every act like this makes an already challenging enterprise even harder to sustain.

So today, I hope you’ll help us recover from this violation by supporting us as a paid subscriber. I’d be extremely grateful.

Like us, Blue Delaware often functions as a news aggregator.  The same type of content that Blue Delaware churns out is pretty much the same content that the guy who used to post here, but now pretty much is Blue Delaware, used to churn out here.  It was always pretty much devoid of personality.  Something that, apparently, cutting-and-pasting without attribution lends itself to.

Unlike Blue Delaware, not only do we credit any and all sources when posting material (except those who don’t want to be credited), we view at least part of our role as being amplifiers.  As a news communications major myself,  I love the local journalists who are doing great work under trying circumstances.  I like to think that our respect creates some synergies when it comes to getting stories out to both our and their readerships.   I respect the national journalists whose great reporting often runs against the grain of what the corporate ownership of their journalistic vehicles might prefer.

Believe me, there’s so much more I’d like to say.  For now, however, I can only hope that we’ve heard the last of Blue Plagiarizer.

I was able to scrape together this list of currently filed and/or announced candidates as a starting point.  I know of several more real good candidates who are running, but I honor embargo requests:

SD 1: Adriana Leela Bohm has filed for this seat.  She will challenge part-time Rehoboth resident Dan Cruce.  Wilmington Party insiders have twice denied Bohm’s nomination–first, when she sought to fill out the term of disgraced former State Rep Gerald Brady, and second when she sought the nomination to run for the Senate seat that was vacated by Sarah McBride.  Meaning, for the first time, Democratic voters will get the opportunity to select a non-drone over the machinationss of the insiders.  Check out her background.  I mean, she’d be perfect in the State Senate.

RD 1: Shane Darby will run against Nnamdi Chukwuocha.  Yes, Nnamdi apparently is running, whether he has his heart in it or not.  How do I know?  Because the House Democratic Caucus ‘leadership’ is sponsoring a fundraiser for him later this month.  At the home of a top Richards, Layton & Finger litigator.  Make no mistake–the ‘House Democratic leadership’ is/are well aware that their iron fist control of the Caucus is at risk here and elsewhere.  Nnamdi has been a passive enabler of this crew.  ‘Passive’ describes the kind of legislator he’s been. The ‘Musk-pass’ legislation is likely why a corporate litigator is hosting this event.

A brief detour: A new PAC has filed with the Department Of Elections.  It is called ‘Wilmington Strong’.  It is merely a front for, well. I report, you decide.  While its stated purpose is, and I quote, “dedicated to advancing bold, community-centered, and forward-looking leadership in Wilmington and across Delaware”, it is in fact run by one Javier Horstmann, whose curriculum vitae suggests that ‘forward-looking leadership’ is the last thing this PAC is seeking.  By my count, he’s been tied to Delaware’s Worst Governor Ever, now Wilmington’s Most Uninterested Mayor ever, since 2017.  Before that, he was an intern for, wait for it, then-Congressman John Carney.  Gonna go out on a limb here–the purpose of this PAC will be, in part to keep drones like Nnamdi and Dan Cruce in office.  Prove me wrong.  (Hmmm, guess I reported and decided.)

RD 4: D Gregg Lindner, who ran in 2024 for this Suxco seat, has announced that he will run for this seat in 2026.  The incumbent is Rep. Jeff Hilovsky (R).  Lindner got 42% of the vote in 2024.

SD 5: Much like what happened in SD 1, Ray Siegfried was chosen at a Democratic Party Caucus to run for the seat being vacated by then newly-elected Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay.  He triumphed over Second Amendment gun-nut Brett Burdge in the Special Election.  Challenger Shay Frisby, who lost an exceedingly-close vote at that Caucus, has been running ever since.  While Ray, as a retired Christiana Care Bean-counter, has predictably used his office to try to foil the efforts of the Hospital Cost Containment Board, Shay has run on a progressive platform.  Truth In Advertising: I’ve been volunteering for Shay since her campaign began (Yes, that’s me in that profoundly-disturbing Christmas sweater).  I knock on doors pretty much every Saturday as part of our team.  Shay has also been sponsoring community events, including food giveaways.  She has quite the inclusive personality, which is reflected in her campaign.  She reminds me a lot of Kamela Smith.  That’s a compliment.

RD 9: Two Democrats have filed to take on R Kevin Hensley in this Middletown-area district.  In alphabetical order by last name, we have Gemma Lowery. Looks to me like she’s pretty well-qualified.  And Michelle Wall. Looks good as well, although I don’t know whether her service on the Appoquinimink School Board will prove to be a liability.  I honestly don’t know either candidate.

RD 12: D Dr. Robert Bahnsen has filed for the seat currently held by D Krista Griffith.  I briefly met Dr. Bahnsen while campaigning for Shay Frisby.  If he’s willing to knock doors, he should have an excellent chance to take out Elon Musk’s preferred incumbent.

SD 14: R Mark Pugh, who has run for office before, has filed for the Senate seat currently held by Kyra Hoffner.  Pugh got 48.2% of the vote in that 2022 contest, so he could be a rare R challenger with a chance to win.

RD 38: D Maureen Madden has filed.  The seat is currently held by the aptly-named Ronald Gray.  Madden is a retired NASA Physicist.  That’s right–a rocket scientist.

If I missed anybody, please share.  However, please don’t share names of those who have not announced yet.  Also, if you’re aware of anyone who will not seek election, please share.

That’s all I’ve got.  What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?