Volunteers, pick your candidates.  Or, better yet, spread the love around.

One of the challengers had already made it official, and has been campaigning for some time.  However, Shané Darby has now officially filed to take out Nnamdi ‘I’ve Already Retired, Just Haven’t Bothered To Tell Anybody’ Chukwuocha.

Oh, we’re just getting started.  Dr. Adrianna Bohm indeed will primary Rehoboth Senator Dan Cruce, who perhaps will have to spend more time at his second home in Wilmington than usual.  Forgetting Cruce’s insiderism, isn’t it only fair that someone who actually lives in Wilmington represent the constituents in Harris McDowell’s and Sarah McBride’s former senatorial district?  Had there been a primary for the open seat when Sarah went to DC, I’m pretty sure that the voters would have thought so.  We will now find out for sure.  Bohm filed on September 8.

Wait, not done yet.  I’ve been excited about this one for the last couple of weeks, ever since this guy knocked doors with us for Shay Frisby in SD 5 (her campaign’s going great, thanks for asking) as he wanted to experience what door-to-door canvassing is all about.  His name is Dr. Robert Bahnsen, and he has filed in, wait for it, RD 12, where he will run against the House’s prime enabler for Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Krista Griffith.  Bahnsen is a psychiatric physician, so I suspect his door will be open to both constituents and legislators alike in Dover should he get elected.  Not to mention, could anyone be better prepared to deal with the panoply of personality disorders he’ll encounter there?

Kids, I hope this has amused your bouches.  Much more goodness to come…

Hmmm, let’s see–because he’s the only Democrat who can win?  Uh, no.

Because he stands up to the oligarch billionaires and the Pedophile-In-Chief better than anyone else could?  Uh, no.

Because of his moral compass as evidenced by his blind support for Netanyahu? Uh, no.

I could go on, but you get the point.  I can not think of one single reason why Chris Coons should be our Senator.  Virtually any other Democrat would be more–Democratic than this nepo baby.

Which is why I need your help.  Tell us why we need Chris Coons in DC, and not just as a lawyer/lobbyist for WL Gore.  Which, come to think of it, he’s been as senator.

I’m serious.  But you don’t have to be.

Good:

Gov. Matt Meyer announced Sept. 5 that Delaware will join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York in a regional public health alliance.

The group was first formed by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Sept. 4, following a contentious Senate hearing that day with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During it, he faced tough bipartisan questions about his stance on vaccines.

The coalition also comes after Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, announced Sept. 3 that he would be working with that state’s Department of Health and Gov. Ron DeSantis to “end all vaccine mandates” there. This would include immunizations required for school attendance, such as measles, chicken pox and polio.

The Northeast collaborative is focused on developing evidence-based recommendations about vaccines, disease surveillance and emergency preparedness, all while supporting state public health labs.

“Science must continue to determine how we keep our state healthy, and that science says vaccines save lives and protect our communities,” Gov. Meyer said in a statement Sept. 5.

BTW, this Ladapo guy:

Florida’s Surgeon General says his team did not study what impact ending vaccine mandates in the state would have on the spread of diseases.

Ladapo has said that required vaccinations are equivalent to government-imposed “slavery”, and that ending them is a question of parental rights.

Ladapo, who has a history of promoting health-related misinformation, said on Wednesday that the Florida Department of Health and the governor’s office would work together to end every single vaccine mandate.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said.

In his case, the disdain is justified.

A real tough district, but check out the background of recently-announced D candidate Maureen Madden:

A retired federal civil servant and a multi-degree black belt-holder across several disciplines, Mo Madden served for nearly 23 years at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) and more than 7 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with a Master’s degree in physics. Mo was also a proud union member, part of Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association (GESTA) IFPTE Local 29.

Through her role as a Deputy Director for the NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) at NOAA, Mo led large teams to solve tough economic and environmental issues. This includes successfully negotiating against budget cuts that saved a coral reef restoration program from being shut down. She knows the importance of building bridges and making important connections when working to solve issues. It’s not always having the solution, it’s knowing who has the solution.

Mo’s lifelong commitment to helping her community extends beyond her career as a public servant. She founded Save Our Schools, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to raising the quality of public education as well as served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Maryland. Most recently, Mo has remained committed to strengthening her community as a member of the Lord Baltimore’s Women’s Lunch Group in Sussex County.

As if that wasn’t enough, do you know who showed up for her announcement?  Jamie Raskin, one of the few Democrats in DC worthy of being called a Democrat.

I like her campaign priorities as well.

Look, this is gonna be a tough lift.  The registration figures are daunting:  7511 D; 11,510 R; 7666 I. 

But the incumbent, the aptly-named Ronald Gray, is a back-bencher who merely chimes in with the Rethuglican chorus.  Nothing more.

So. When you click on Mo’s website, included here for redundancy’s sake, you’ll notice a green DONATE button.  You know what to do.  Maureen’s demonstrated leadership abilities would make her a significant upgrade in Dover.  This area has elected Democrats before–Shirley Price and, um, ‘Democrat’ John Atkins.  Let’s create some Mo-mentum!

To me the answer is an obvious YES.  Rep. Eric Morrison just shared the following:

Three NCC councilpersons have introduced a resolution calling for an audit of Tyler Technologies, how the company performed their property reassessment work, how the county instructed them to do so, and if the company followed those instructions.

The resolution will be voted on TOMORROW evening, August 26, at a NCC Council meeting.

ASAP, please email and/or call your councilperson and let them know you support this resolution. Also, please consider attending the meeting either in person at the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, 800 N. French Street, in Wilmington, or via Zoom here.

Please note that this audit would be carried out by the county auditor. The audit would not cost taxpayers anything.

To learn who your county councilperson is and/or how to contact them, click here. Or you can visit the NCC Parcel Search site here, locate your property, and your county council person is listed. Then, for contact information, look up your councilperson here.

Thank you to Councilpersons Dave Tackett, Brandon Toole, and Dee Durham for your leadership in this matter.

All my best,

Representative Eric Morrison, 27th District

eric.morrison@delaware.gov

302-744-4351

I’m calling my councilperson.  Feel free to do the same.

Shoutout to Spotlight Delaware for reporting this positively delicious story:

The Police Athletic League of Delaware, a celebrated and taxpayer-funded nonprofit, is facing an upheaval after its prominent executive director – former House Speaker Valerie Longhurst – announced her resignation this month.

It is not immediately clear why Longhurst is leaving her post, but she does so just as the organization she had led for more than seven years faces a precarious financial future.

Two board members told Spotlight Delaware that the nonprofit’s cash reserves have dwindled recently, even after the group received a record $5 million from taxpayers in 2024, as well as hundreds of thousands more in 2025.  

Exacerbating the financial precarity is the state’s decision last month to freeze more than $500,000 in additional grants that lawmakers awarded in June to the PAL of Delaware, as it is commonly known.

Rep. Kim Williams (D-Stanton), who serves as chair of the legislative committee that awarded a portion of the grants, said she pushed for a funding pause because of “inconsistent information,” provided by Longhurst to various Delaware officials regarding the amount of money the PAL had requested.

On July 15, Delaware’s Controller General Ruth Ann Miller sent Longhurst a letter stating that the PAL of Delaware needs to submit financial records to the state before any of the newly approved dollars could potentially be distributed.

Those records – some of which were delinquent – include copies of a recent audit, and of project-completion reports for nearly $4 million worth of taxpayer-funded construction going back to 2022. 

The nonprofit also has been an integral piece of Delaware’s political landscape, with elected officials regularly making public appearances at its locations.

And, up until last year, it also was one of several prominent Delaware organizations led by a state lawmaker.

That ended last September when Longhurst – then among the most powerful politicians in Delaware – surprisingly lost her seat representing the Bear area to now-Rep. Kamela Smith, a Democrat, after just a year in the top spot for the House.

Though the PAL of Delaware may be facing a drought of private donations, it received substantial cash awards from the state, federal and county governments in recent years. Those include a $1.8 million federal subgrant award in 2024 that was distributed through then-Gov. John Carney’s office, according to Delaware’s Open Checkbook website. 

When asked about Longhurst’s requests in recent months to elected officials for funding, Witmarsh said he has not spoken with her about that. But he noted that part of nonprofit work is “about leveraging your contacts and hoping they can help you do good work.”

Asked if her value as an executive director was her role as a legislator, Whitmarsh said, “For me, no.” (Fact Check:  It was her only value as Executive Director–unless being delinquent in filing required reports was part of the job description.)

As long as we’re on the subject of Our PAL Val–somebody, somebody, must investigate the use of state funds for the Underground City At Fort duPont.  Whether the State Auditor or the eventual Inspector General.  I can’t imagine such an investigation not turning up graft and corruption, likely on a massive scale.  No more hands-off when it comes to these public miscreants.

Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton to Host Property Tax Press Conference

WILMINGTON – On Friday, August 8th at 10:30 AM, members of the Delaware House of Representatives, New Castle County Council, and Wilmington City Council will share several legislative proposals to address widespread issues with the recent property tax reassessment.

Elected officials from state and local governments are committed to working together to ensure that the reassessment values are accurate, commercial properties pay their fair share of county and school taxes, and that no homeowner loses their home during this process.

WHAT: Discuss legislation to correct the property assessment numbers and protect homeowners from unaffordable tax increases.

WHEN: Friday, August 8th

   10:30 AM

WHERE: Carvel 820 N French St Wilmington, Delaware 19801 (Auditorium)

WHO: Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, Rep. Sophie Phillips, Rep. Larry Lambert, New Castle County Councilman Brandon Toole, Wilmington City Councilmember Christian Willauer, and others.

You perhaps were expecting something else?:

Delaware’s new federal prosecutor has asked a judge to force state labor officials to hand over local businesses’ payroll information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to court documents.

Court records indicate the office of Delaware’s U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray filed a court petition last week seeking to enforce a subpoena issued by federal immigration authorities upon the Delaware’s Department of Labor. The subpoena demands payroll information for more than a dozen local businesses that federal authorities suspect may employ undocumented people, according to court filings.

Murray, who recently led Delaware’s Republican Party and who Trump once described as “MAGA all the way,” appears to be serving as the local muscle in the federal government’s expanding effort to impose Trump’s agenda on so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions.

Attorneys representing the state’s Department of Labor have been summoned to Delaware District Court Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly’s courtroom on the afternoon of Aug. 6 to give cause as to why the state shouldn’t be forced to produce the documents.

The petition appears to be the first local court battle over President Donald Trump’s unprecedented campaign to round up more than 3,000 undocumented people each day, an effort that is set to accelerate after the president’s recent budget measure passed by Congress and increased ICE detention funding four-fold to $45 billion.

That campaign has already seen masked ICE agents across the country rip people from their workplaces, courts and other public places while fast tracking deportations and detaining individuals in inhumane conditions and without respect for due process. It has sometimes snared people with protected legal status, American citizens, international students engaged in protest, sought to cancel birthright citizenship and is increasingly leveraging personal data collected by both government and non-government entities.

Perhaps Alonna Berry will address this the next time she runs.

It was close, but Berry won:

Alonna Berry: 4653

Nikki Miller: 4532.

The margin appears to have been due to the absentee ballots:  469-193 for Berry.

Dear Governor Meyer and Members of the General Assembly,

In 2024, New Castle County completed its first full property reassessment in over four decades, a court-ordered process meant to restore fairness and transparency to the tax system. Yet rather than relief, many residents were met with confusion, frustration, and sticker shock, particularly over increased school tax bills.

Much of this public unrest stems not from the reassessment process itself, but from long-standing flaws in Delaware’s property tax and education funding systems. These structural issues, rooted in outdated laws, inequitable funding models, drastically shifting commercial and residential property values and state-level preemptions, have created a situation where tax burdens fall heavily on those least able to pay, while counties are blamed for policies they don’t control.

It’s time to move past scapegoating and seize this moment to enact the bold, equitable reforms Delaware has needed for more than 50 years.

What the Reassessment Did, and Didn’t Do

Reassessment, by law, does not increase the total revenue collected by New Castle County. Instead, it redistributes the tax burden based on updated market values. Properties that were undervalued under the 1983 system, especially suburban homes and rural residences, have seen increases. Meanwhile, some commercial and industrial parcels, particularly office and retail properties, have seen much smaller increases in value due to market shifts like remote work and vacancies.

The goal was fairness and accuracy, not revenue growth. Indeed, the County was required to reduce its tax rate following reassessment to remain revenue-neutral.

Yes, some individual assessments may need correction. With over 200,000 parcels assessed, approximately 5,000 appeals have been filed, about 2–3% of all properties. These appeals are part of the process, not proof of systemic failure. A functioning system must allow for due process, and this one does.

The Big Issue: School Taxes and State Policy

While County property tax rates dropped post-reassessment, school taxes, now comprising about  80% of the average property tax bill, often rose. That’s because school districts, under state law, were permitted to raise local tax collections by up to 10% after reassessment without a referendum. Counties have no control over this process.

To be clear:

• Counties don’t set school tax rates.
• Counties can’t alter or forgive school tax bills or penalties.
• Counties are required by law to collect school taxes on behalf of districts.

This legal framework, districts set taxes, counties collect them, has fueled public misunderstanding.

Decades of Consensus, Time for Action

For more than five decades, commissions, consultants, task forces, and court cases have pointed to the same structural flaws: an overreliance on local property taxes for education funding, a failure to target funds based on student need, and a lack of transparency in how dollars are distributed and used.

 A Timeline of Reform Efforts

1978–1980: Governor’s School Finance Task Force
Recommended shifting more responsibility to the state to reduce inequities between property-rich and property-poor districts. The proposal was not adopted.

2001: Augenblick & Myers Cost Study
Found that Delaware’s “unit count” funding model ignored key student characteristics like poverty, English learner status, or disabilities. Recommended a weighted student funding approach to align dollars with student needs. Not implemented.

2008: Vision 2015 Initiative
A public-private partnership emphasized student-based funding, early childhood investment, and accountability. While influential, its most ambitious proposals were shelved during the Great Recession.

2015–2016: Wilmington Education Improvement Commission (WEIC)
Proposed bold reforms to address chronic underfunding in Wilmington, including realignment of district boundaries and new funding formulas. Approved by the State Board of Education, but ultimately blocked by the General Assembly.

2018: American Institutes for Research (AIR) Report
Reinforced the call for weighted funding and emphasized the volatility and inequity caused by Delaware’s heavy reliance on local referenda. Recommended greater transparency and accountability.

2020: Delawareans for Educational Opportunity v. Carney Settlement
Resulted in $60 million in Opportunity Funding for high-need students and created the Equity Ombudsperson role. While a step forward, this was a legal settlement, not permanent policy reform.

2022–Present: Redding Consortium for Educational Equity
Named after civil rights leader Louis L. Redding, the Consortium has renewed calls for sustainable funding for disadvantaged students and a statewide transition to a needs-based model. These proposals remain under consideration but are not yet law.

Despite decades of consensus, Delaware still lacks a weighted student funding formula. School districts remain heavily dependent on the strength of their local property tax base, and the willingness of voters to pass referenda. That means some children’s educational futures are determined not by their needs, but by their zip code and political circumstances.

The Growth Paradox: State Preemption, Local Consequences

Compounding these challenges is Delaware’s statutory preemption of local authority to manage school concurrency. New Castle County is legally barred from slowing or denying residential development, even in areas with overcrowded schools, if a developer pays the Voluntary School Assessment (VSA). Codified in 9 Del. C. § 2661(4), this law prohibits tying development approvals to school capacity.

The VSA, administered by the Department of Education, covers only a fraction of the costs for new schools or classroom expansions. In high-growth districts like Appoquinimink, this disconnect results in new developments fueling overcrowding while taxpayers shoulder the costs of expansion through higher school taxes.

The result is a vicious cycle: new homes strain schools, inadequate VSA revenue leaves gaps, districts raise taxes via referenda, and property owners pay the price. Meanwhile, the County is blamed, despite having neither the authority nor the tools to address the root causes.

What Reassessment Revealed and Why it Matters

The reassessment has exposed uncomfortable truths. Lower-income and moderate-value homes, especially in fast-appreciating neighborhoods, often saw large increases. The process uncovered major shifts in property values, particularly between residential and commercial classes. On average, all property types saw substantial increases in assessed value, about 353% overall. However, residential property values rose even more sharply, increasing by 433%, while commercial properties rose by an average of just 173%. This imbalance reflects market dynamics that accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, including surging demand for suburban and single-family housing. In response, both New Castle County and the City of Wilmington implemented separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties to mitigate the impact. Commercial parcels, which haven’t always kept pace in market value, sometimes saw reductions. These are not errors; they are the outcome of applying modern, market-based valuations to a system that hadn’t been updated in four decades.

    Blaming the reassessment for these outcomes distracts from the real issue: an outdated and inequitable tax and education funding system.

Cherry-picking examples of commercial properties that saw reductions may feel satisfying, but it’s not sound policy. It’s a policy position disguised as critique, one that ignores legal requirements for uniformity and constitutional fairness. If we want progressive taxation, it should be pursued via income or gross receipts taxes, not through unequal property assessments.

Solutions: What We Should Consider Now

The reassessment was a necessary first step. What’s needed now is meaningful, systemic reform.  Policy options that could be considered:

For Education Funding:

1. Adopt a Weighted Student Funding Formula – Reflect student needs like poverty, English proficiency, and disability.
2. Reform Equalization Aid – Provide stronger state support to property-poor districts.
3. Modify or Replace the Referendum System – Explore automatic inflation indexing or state-funded baselines.
4. Broaden the Revenue Base – Use tools like education surcharges or income tax adjustments for high earners.

For Tax Equity and Growth Management:

1. Repeal 9 Del. C. § 2661(4) – Restore local control over school concurrency in development decisions.
2. Eliminate the 10% Post-Reassessment School Tax Increase Allowance – Require referenda or stronger justification.
3. Expand Homestead Exemptions and Circuit Breakers – Protect seniors and low-income households.
4. Allow Property Tax Deferrals for Income Eligible Seniors – Enable payment of increased taxes upon property sale, based on means testing for eligibility.
5. Cap Annual Property Tax Increases – Stabilize taxes in fast-changing neighborhoods.
6. Consider Split-Rate or Tiered Taxation – Target underutilized land or high-value parcels without harming small businesses.

Time for Bold and Equitable Action

The 2024 reassessment was not the problem; it was a mirror. It revealed how outdated our property tax and school funding structures have become. It surfaced decades of inaction and policy avoidance. And it gave us a clear mandate: fix what’s broken.

Now is the time to act. We must resist the short-sighted impulse to blame the reassessment itself, pursue costly and ineffective audits, or deflect attention from the deeper issue, a broken and outdated system. The time for finger-pointing has passed. We need to shift the conversation from assigning blame to advancing real solutions, from court-mandated fixes to proactive, forward-looking leadership. Delaware doesn’t suffer from a lack of research or viable policy ideas, it suffers from a lack of both political will and thought leadership to implement them.

Let’s change that. Let’s modernize our tax system, reform school funding, and build a structure that reflects our values: equity, transparency, and opportunity for every Delaware student and taxpayer.

I respectfully urge you to make these issues a central part of your deliberations, both in the Governor’s Office and starting at the upcoming Special Session of the General Assembly on August 12, 2025.

I look forward to working collaboratively with you to address these long-standing challenges and to advance solutions that serve all Delawareans with fairness, foresight, and equity.

Sincerely,

Councilman David Carter, PhD

Guest Post By Jason330:

Sarah,

I just finished reading your latest newsletter, and I hope you’ll take this message in the spirit of urgency and shared concern with which it’s written.

To be honest, the newsletter could have been written in 1990 — and that’s what unsettled me most. It lays out important policy updates and district-focused accomplishments, but it says nothing about the most dangerous reality of our political moment: Donald Trump’s increasingly explicit, unapologetic assault on democracy.

From his call for redistricting maps in Texas to his threats of political violence and promises of authoritarian revenge, Trump is no longer hinting — he’s declaring. And yet, far too many Democratic leaders are still behaving as if normal politics can be played around the edges.

I know you feel your role in Congress is to fight for Delaware. But I also believe that showing courage, naming the threat plainly, and demanding moral leadership from within your own party is one of the most meaningful ways you can serve our state, and the country. I worry that history will judge this moment not just by who had a strong voting record, but by who raised their voices when it counted most.

Please speak out. Not just in votes and quiet conversations, but in statements, interviews, and action. Many of us are looking for leaders with the guts to tell the truth and the spine to call their own party to more.

I’m still hopeful. And I still believe in your leadership. But I’m asking you to meet this moment with the urgency and moral clarity it demands.

Sincerely,

Jason Scott

Middletown

–Is the State Democratic Party Running The Race It Should Be Running?  First, my answer:  I don’t know.

However, based on the relatively few published comments from the two candidates, they both seem to tout their community and professional experience.  Period.  Nothing more.

Which I suppose would be fine under ordinary circumstances.  Which these are not.

I’ll be specific,  any campaign between an R and a D that does not emphasize the following is committing political malpractice:

“Of the two candidates running, only one can and will fight the excesses of the Trump Administration that is placing so many of our friends and neighbors at risk.”

Special elections are won or lost on turnout.  If there is little difference between the candidates, D turnout in particular will be depressed.  Especially after L’Affaire Stell Parker Selby.

But if the D’s make this a referendum on Trump’s overturning of democratic norms, I think they should win handily.  With early voting starting today, the question is:  Are they and will they turn this into such a referendum?

This race is being run by the two political parties, not the candidates.  It is up to both the State and Suxco Democratic leaders to stress this fundamental difference between the two candidates and between the two parties.

What are you guys hearing?