Featured – Page 266 – Delaware Liberal

Delaware Political Weekly: March 11-17, 2016.

By El Somnambulo March 18, 201612 Comments

The more I think about it, the more I'm impressed with the kickoff to Matt Meyer's campaign for County Executive. It's as if the campaign emerged fully-formed out of nowhere. I'm sure a lot of people worked on preparing this, but I hadn't heard even a hint about his candidacy until yesterday. Perhaps, as an attorney, he didn't want to give Gordon the chance to threaten his employer until he was already in. The ad is brilliant, effectively lays out his message. My favorite bit: "Your search found 1 result". And his bio is compelling. Especially the stuff about Ecosandals:

Matt chose to move to Nairobi, Kenya, where he taught himself Swahili and started Ecosandals, a footwear business he created that has sold environmentally-friendly footwear to customers on 17 countries in 5 continents for over two decades. Numerous groups and organizations have recognized Ecosandals’ work in creating innovative job opportunities in neighborhoods facing extreme poverty. Those groups include CNN, the United Nations, the World Bank, BBC, Al Jazeera and Current TV, which on national TV called Matt an all-around super human. Ecosandals continues to create employment opportunities in neighborhoods of Nairobi, Kenya where residents are desperate for meaningful work.

Think about it: Tom Gordon or Matt Meyer...gotta ask my wife if we can send Matt a few bucks. Besides, Friends grad and a math teacher? Hey, that's my daughter's bio! BTW, Tom Gordon filed yesterday, so the game is on.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 17, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 17, 20166 Comments

The proposed constitutional amendment mandating that $10 mill must go to Agriculture Lands Preservation annually did not come close to a 2/3 majority in the House. 20 Y, 17 N, 4 A. The only upstate D's to vote for the bill were Gerald Brady (?) and...Bryon Short (!). Oh, did I mention that there are 8,000 Delaware Farm Bureau members? A cheap (it wasn't going to pass with or without his vote), politically expedient, and intellectually dishonest vote by the least progressive D candidate for Congress in Delaware. Guess there was no controversy surrounding SB 202 (Sokola) after all. Mitch Crane was right, the bill merely reflects the self-insured nature of the state and its school buses in this matter. Bill passed unanimously in Senate.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues. March 15, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 15, 201613 Comments

This entire session has been one giveaway after another to the corporate behemoths. Thursday's session continued the trend with the Senate voting unanimously to fatten the corporate coffers (at the expense of the state's coffers) by $10.6 mill by FY 2019. Look, I understand that we don't want to lose any more jobs, but the state has essentially become a one-trick pony in recent years. And, for all that we've doled out in corporate welfare, we've only retained a small fraction of the jobs that once were the backbone of our economy. And now the county is jumping on the bandwagon. And all the public officials are praising each other for moving so swiftly to 'save' the paltry number of DuPont jobs that were 'saved'. What is lacking is the 'vision thing', to quote Bush the Elder. Plus, a thoughtful discussion as to whether the millions we're tossing to the companies extorting us would be better spent elsewhere. Thankfully, we've got John Carney bringing his inspiring vision to--uh, never mind.

Delaware Political Weekly: March 4-10, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 11, 20167 Comments

Mayor Dennis Williams Just Won't, Or Can't, Grow Up. You're probably aware that there is a Wilmington mayoral debate on March 15. You may be aware that there are six filed candidates for Mayor. You may also be aware that none of those filed candidates are named Dennis Williams. OK, when the forum was scheduled, quite some time ago, one of the requirements for participating in the forum was that you must be filed as a candidate. Didn't seem unreasonable, still doesn't seem unreasonable. But, from a highly-placed source (wink wink) this caused Wilmington's Embarrassment of a Mayor to go into high dudgeon...how dare they require that someone must be filed as a candidate to participate in a candidates' debate? Junior high school stuff. But, the organizers relented. So, if Mayor Williams, for one of the very few times since he's been mayor, deigns to grace the crowd with his presence, he'll be welcome. Of course, if he had just filed, like a reasonable person, none of this faux-drama would have been necessary. But he just can't help himself.

Do You Support Public Education in Delaware?

By Brian March 11, 201614 Comments

Christina has absolutely awesome programs. From the REACH program, to Gauger’s Business Professionals of America Team, to our outstanding arts programs, fantastic drama and performing arts programs, band and music programs, to Lego Robotics and Engineering clubs (YES! That’s a thing and makes me want to be in elementary school again!), career pathway programs like the new Forensic Science STEM program at Glasgow High School, Language Immersion programs to our amazing student athletes and budding philanthropists and advocates for those in need! These school programs are directly supported by operating funds raised through property taxes. And all of them depend on Christina’s operating referendum passing.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., March 9, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 9, 20168 Comments

In the Senate Executive Committee is yet another giveaway to business, this one the so-called (is Frank Luntz coming up with names for these bills?) "Delaware Commitment to Innovation Act". The bill basically is yet another $10 mill or so annual giveaway to corporations in addition to all the other giveaways that have taken place in less than three months. Hey, I've got some time, let's see how many of these giveaways I can list: 1. Right out of the box, THIS bill, aka the 'Delaware Competes Act of 2016' was specifically designed to keep Chemours, you know, the company that DuPont spun off specifically to avoid liability for its environmental wreckage, here. Passed and signed. Loss of revenue to state's coffers? About $50 mill over three years, according to this fiscal note. Requirements that Chemours clean up its mess? Zero. 2. Then we've had the Council on Development Finance scurry to throw yet more $$'s at the new behemoth, which may well reward the CEO's who carved out this merger dual CEO's with an $80 mill payoff. A relatively paltry $9.6 mill of taxpayer money. 3. In the same article, we read that:

New Castle County officials are in the process of approving their own five-year, $7.5 million commitment to DuPont. The plans, which still must pass the County Council, would create a strategic economic development fund for the first time in county history and commit tax reserves to that fund.

Once again, that's taxpayer money. 4. But that's not enough for the would-be chemical conglom-o:

County Executive Thomas P. Gordon last month said DuPont officials also have asked him to use his authority to lower its property tax bills.

5. We're even acting as their real estate agent. (I know I'm missing some more. Isn't Wilmington being extorted as well?) 6. Which brings us back to this $10 mill annual giveaway. Practically everybody is on the bill as sponsors, so it will sail right through. Delaware and its local governments have been reduced to paying extortion in order to salvage jobs here. We used to bribe companies (the banks) to come here by throwing people who need credit under the 18.6% bus. We're now reduced to paying any and all kinds of extortion to get giant corporations to stay here, at least until someone bribes them with even more. Guess it beats providing living wages for people who live and work here. Except, the extortion never stops, and the wages never go up. Pretty much defines 'The Delaware Way'.

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues. March 8, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 8, 20164 Comments

We already know what won't be addressed by the returning General Assembly this week: Abolition of Delaware's death penalty. However, it's for the best of reasons. It's quite possible that the United States Supreme Court has already sounded the, um, death knell for Delaware's capital punishment statute. The ironies involved in this are dee-lish. The Delaware legislative hardliners some twenty years ago decided that juries were sometimes too namby-pamby when it came to doling out the death penalty, so they decided to give the judges (who must come before the State Senate for nominations and renominations) the exclusive life and death authority. Which is precisely why Delaware's statute appears to have run afoul of the recent Supreme Court ruling, which 'deemed unconstitutional part of a Florida statute that grants exclusively to judges the right to determine a sentence of death in capital cases'. Delaware has the same language in its statute, which is why the Delaware Supreme Court has placed a moratorium on any capital case moving forward until it can review the statute and determine whether Delaware's statute can pass constitutional muster.

Delaware Political Weekly: Feb. 26-March 3, 2016

By El Somnambulo March 4, 20166 Comments

After missing much of the last session due to health reasons, State Rep. Harold Peterman (R-33rd RD) somewhat surprisingly sought, and won, reelection. He first survived a primary challenge from Charles Postles by a 64.5 to 35.5 margin, and then defeated D John Kevin Robbins, 58-42. However, two Republicans have already filed for this seat, which they likely wouldn’t do if Peterman didn’t give them the go-ahead. Postles is once again seeking the seat, and one Morgan Ann Hudson has also filed. Hudson’s website seems…incomplete and kinda weird. All I can say is that I could find nothing about her doing a Google search. Anybody out there with any info?

Delaware (Let’s Face It, Not Really…) Political Weekly: Feb. 5-11, 2016

By El Somnambulo February 12, 20162 Comments

1. Joe Daigle Enters Three-Way D Primary for 7th RD Seat. I must say I'm impressed. If the name seems familiar, it is because Daigle and his husband Dan Cole…

Consulting is Not Policing

By cassandra_m February 8, 20164 Comments

We've been talking for a few weeks now about former Philadelphia Chief of Police Charles Ramsey providing consulting services to the WPD. The NJ provides some detail on his $16,000/month contract -- namely, that there is a very ill-defined SOW for Ramsey's services, and that one of his Deputies from Philly is means to be on the ground here working. Working on what is still the question -- which is the question for all of the consultants that the Williams Administration has hired for the WPD.

Delaware Political (More Or Less) Weekly: January (More Or Less) 22-28, 2016

By El Somnambulo January 29, 201613 Comments

Kathleen McGuiness is for real. Except for that whole residency thingy. BTW, turns out she moved out to Park Slope b/c a couple of her kids are competitive snowboarders. Yes, she raised a lot of money. What really surprised me is that almost all of the money comes from Delaware. Pretty much every D in Sussex County with money has ponied up. Guess there are more D's with money in Sussex County than I thought. Bethany Hall-Long has raised a lot of $$'s as well. Ciro Poppiti has enough money to be competitive. Sherry Dorsey Walker, Greg Fuller, and Brad Eaby don't. Trinidad Navarro better get his ass in gear. Those who deal with the insurance commissioner's office have apparently resigned themselves to, or more likely, fallen in love with the idea of, Incompetent Karen Weldin Stewart serving as Insurance Commissioner. He's only raised $11K? Vs. $83K?

UPDATED: NCCo President Chris Bullock Not Running for a Second Term?

By cassandra_m January 20, 20168 Comments

That's what my sources tell me this evening. I talked to a couple of typically excellent sources this evening who tell me that NCCo President Chris Bullock will not run for a second term. A variety of reasons were offered, not the least of which is that his church is experiencing some turmoil and he wants to address that full time. According to these same sources, NCCo Rep Penrose Hollins would run for NCCo President. If so, I'd say it's about damned time. Announcements from both men are expected as early as tomorrow.

Delaware Political Weekly: Jan. 8-14, 2016

By El Somnambulo January 15, 201610 Comments

Denise D. Bowers has filed to run against State Senator Cathy Cloutier for the 5th SD seat in Brandywine Hundred. Based on registration, this projects as a competitive race. Current figures: 13,703 D; 11,169 R; and 8790 I. Her candidacy does not come without questions. She is a 21-year veteran of the Wilmington Police Department, although it's not entirely clear that she was on duty for all that time. She filed at least two legal actions concerning her job during her time on the force. The first deals with compensation for a scar on her knee, aka a ' serious and permanent disfigurement'. The second was a prolonged litigation concerning her 'involuntary retirement' from the force. In fact, even though she allegedly was a police officer until 2008, it is not clear whether she was on the job after 2005, when she suffered the knee injury mentioned in the second suit. A swift Google search also reveals several actions brought against Bowers and her husband for unpaid taxes on rental properties in Wilmington. OTOH, Bowers is president of the Northwood Civic Association and is currently the State Director of the Treatment Access Center, the liaison between the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and the courts system. I'm sure that some of you must have met her. I need feedback, pipples!