Tag: Steve Tanzer
DL Exclusive: Hundreds of Politicians/PACs in Violation of State Campaign Finance Law. Nobody’s Collecting the Fines.
Deadbeat campaigns, committees and PAC’s currently owe the Delaware Department of Elections (long pause to change the batteries in my calculator)…$769,240. I count 258 individual fines that have been assessed, but never collected.
Some of the outstanding fines are gargantuan. Some appear to have close correlation to key political events, so the committees involved not only owe the money, they have some ‘splainin’ to do.
Since the largest fines have been imposed on the Sussex County Democratic Executive Committee, and since they date back to the year (2008) when an incredible array of resources were poured into the race to elect John Atkins to the General Assembly, possibly cementing a D majority in the House, and since not a nickel has been paid back, I can only ask, “Why?”. Why no action? (Late-breaking news: According to both the Commissioner of Elections and the current Sussex County chair, that $160,000-plus fine has now been labeled an ‘error’. Because, as we all know, $160,000 fines are levied in error every day. Where is Rose Mary Woods when we need her?)
Here’s how the system is supposed to work, according to sources both within the State Department of Elections and the Office of the Attorney General. After about 60 days or so, uncollected fines/violations are turned over to the Attorney General’s office for follow-up, according to Elaine Manlove, Commissioner of Elections. It is clear that little to no follow-up has occurred since, well, 2008, at least. Multiple sources have told me that they have not even received any notification from the AG’s office that they are in violation. Not that they shouldn’t already know, but still…
Here’s what Carl Kanefsky of the AG’s office says of the way it’s supposed to work….
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes of 2014: #’s 20-11
I really hope you guys scope out some of these songs. So much great music falls under the radar. That was certainly the case this year. I almost guarantee you that you’ll find something great that you haven’t heard before. Enough proselytizing. Let’s let the music speak to you: 20. 19. Don’t let the name […]
‘Bulo’s Fave New Tunes: Sept., 2014
Best stuff to hit my ears last month, lotsa diversity:
Melaena Cadiz: Neon Drag
Elliot Bronson: New Pain
American Wrestlers: I Can Do No Wrong
Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear: Live By Water
Circa Waves: So Long
Leonard Cohen: Almost Like The Blues
Amber Run: I Found
What’d you like? What great stuff have you heard lately?
RIP: Johnny Winter & Elaine Stritch
Two serious soulful performers gone. A guitar god who sometimes placed speed (in both ways) ahead of pitch or accuracy, and one of the most galvanizing stage performers (for whom pitch was thankfully never the point) I’ve ever seen with a particular penchant for the music of Stephen Sondheim….
Delaware Political Weekly: May 3-9, 2014
<strong>Whoa</strong>. Now <strong>this</strong> is interesting. <strong>R Judy Travis </strong>has filed to run in the Brandywine Hundred district currently held by <strong>D Rep. Dennis E. Williams</strong>. Williams is facing a D primary challenge from <strong>Sean Matthews</strong>. It had been expected that two-time loser <strong>Robert Rhodunda</strong> would challenge for the seat again. Instead, Travis, who previously challenged, and lost to, Rep. Bryon Short in 2010, has jumped in. No she didn't move. She was redistricted in 2012, when I think all of the 7th district west of Foulk Road was moved to the 10th. Although Short defeated her by a 57%-41% margin (there were two other candidates) in 2010, she would likely be at least as formidable as Rhodunda. Short is more firmly entrenched than Dennis Williams. So, does this mean that Rhodunda is out, or that there will be an R primary? Somebody, anybody? I mean, <a href="http://www.bobrhodunda.com/">based on </a><strong><a href="http://www.bobrhodunda.com/">this</a>, </strong>it looks like he's running.
And Don Ayotte is back….
Before You Hoist That Next Black & Tan…
You need to know about Dick Yuengling’s public statements about labor unions and Gov. Corbett of Pennsylvania. Go ahead and read it, I’ll wait.
Until now, I’ve neither known nor cared about Yuengling’s politics. I have enjoyed the occasional Black and Tan. However, it was Dick Yuengling, not anyone else, who made his views public. He did it on purpose. In a speech before the Pennsylvania Press Club, Yuengling reportedly called for the adoption of ‘right to work’ laws in Pennsylvania to disenfranchise unions and to enable him to make beer more cheaply. He also called Gov. Corbett ‘a great man’, according to the Associated Press.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 21, 2013
Wow, where to start? Action everywhere. Here is today’s session activity report (it’s all here).
We’ll start with gun control. HB 35 (Longhurst) cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-4 margin. Democrat Trey Paradee(!) voted against it. Why? It’s the slippery slope to gun registration and Big Brother argument. From today’s News-Journal:
Many opponents of the background check proposal at Wednesday’s hearing said the private-sale-record-keeping provision is a precursor to government gun registration, which could lead to firearms confiscations.
Damn! Where were these folks when what remained of our civil liberties were flushed down the drain in the name of ‘homeland security’? Anyway, it looks like an amendment will address this issue, and I hope and expect that Paradee will vote ‘yes’ when the bill comes to a vote. There no doubt will be other amendments, and some will likely be ‘killer’ (pardon the expression) amendments. Stay vigilant, my friends.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wed., March 20, 2013
Doesn’t look like anything got done on Tuesday. Here is the session activity report. Until further notice, consider it a misnomer.
Two huge committee hearings today.
We’ve already talked about the continuation of the hearing on HB 35, which would mandate criminal background checks for almost all gun purchases in Delaware. Starts at 11:30 am in the House Chamber.
The Senate is wasting no time in taking up the death penalty repeal legislation. The Senate Executive Committee will consider SB 19 in the Senate Chamber beginning at 1 pm. And here’s something that’s pretty cool:
Sen. Bryan Townsend, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, will be live tweeting during the hearing. His twitter handle is @BryanTownsendDE, and he will be tweeting with the hashtag #DErepeal. I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m sure virtually everyone else reading this does. (Update from DD: I added the links to Senator Townsend’s twitter page and the DERepeal hashtag for those of us who use Twitter. El Som, your training begins this Saturday. 😉 )
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 19, 2013
Go ahead. Pick a hot-button issue. Any hot-button issue. This year’s General Assembly is considering it. Can’t remember this many controversial issues under consideration.
Gun control? Check. Gay marriage? Check. Death penalty? Check. Minimum wage? Check. I’m not sure if there’s enough time/political capital to go around.
So. Please allow me to prioritize. To me, there are no excuses for the Delaware General Assembly not passing gun control and minimum wage legislation this year.
The votes are there for minimum wage. Only the Governor’s (a) unwillingness to get on board, and/or (b) the Governor’s opposition to minimum wage stand in the way. Last year, it was (b), and friendly house leadership buried the bill in an unfriendly House committee. This year, the Governor has stated that he’s excited about the debate (Truthometer says? BZZZT), but won’t take a position. Only with Jack Markell could that be considered as progress. Let’s be practical here. Markell’s best chance to stop the bill, and it’s not good, is in the Senate. But, the Senate voted for minimum wage last year and, other than Sen. Venables, I think it’s unlikely that any other D’s will vote no. The margin of support for minimum wage is even larger in the House, so Markell’s only chance there is to get the bill buried in committee.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 14, 2013
Ladies and gentlemen, to the barricades! Or, at least, to your phones, your e-mail, you know the drill.
The Forces of Ee-vil are afoot in Leg Hall. The gun nuts, the Chamber of Commerce shills. Their goal: Stop progressive legislation from passing. For the gun nuts, it’s the backgrounds check on gun purchases. For the Chamber fat-cats, it’s minimum wage. I believe that there is enough legislative support to pass both bills. But it won’t happen unless you contact your legislators, and either let them know that you’ve got their back, or that you expect them to do the right thing.
The background check bill is in House committee. An outpouring of gun nuts prevented the bill from moving out of committee yesterday. So, the committee meets again, next Wednesday, starting at 11:30 a.m. until…whenever all those who wish to speak have spoken. Here’s what you can and should do. Contact your own State Rep and politely tell them that you support HB 35 and ask them to do the same. The odds are that you will speak to a staffer first. These are good people. Be polite and friendly. Make sure that they’ve gotten the message correctly. If you wish to participate in the discussion, either directly or via correspondence, here’s how….
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up: Wed., March 13, 2013
Delaware now has a proposal to eliminate the death penalty for capital crimes. I support it. In the past, I have been an agnostic when it came to the issue of the death penalty. But when I saw Thomas Capano, who carried out one of the most vile and grisly homicides/cover-ups in Delaware history, escape the death penalty (though not death) through legal legerdemain, my decision was made for me. The Tom Capanos of this world don’t get the death penalty. Therefore, those with less influence shouldn’t, either. Any death penalty statute should be administered equally, not on the basis of the (lack of) legal resources that one has at their disposal, IMHO. It’s not, it never has been, and it should go.
I note that police of virtually all stripes have aligned in near-unanimity in opposition. Need I remind you or them that, thanks to DNA projects all over this country, death row inhabitants are being cleared of homicide convictions, often caused by ‘thin blue line’ corruption and/or ineptitude? Yeah, yeah, I know, not in Delaware. Really? How can you be certain?
This is a courageous stand by the sponsors. In case you haven’t noticed, police are a potent political force in this state. Legislators, in general, prefer to take the path of least political resistance. They haven’t done that here, and I thank them. By name: Senators Peterson, Simpson, McDowell, Bushweller, Henry, Sokola, and Townsend; Reps. Scott, Miro, Barbieri, Baumbach, Keeley, Potter, M. Smith, Williams, Kowalko, B. Short. Thank you.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Coming off its six-week break for Joint Finance Committee, the Delaware General Assembly begins in earnest its legislative sprint to…Easter break, three weeks hence.
At least, this should prove to be an action-packed three weeks–especially when it comes to the introduction of key bills. Assuming that the Attorney General’s and the Governor’s legal counsel are productive, we could well have the major pieces of the gun control package finalized and introduced. Marriage equality could also surface. We’ll also get a much better sense as to what budgetary issues remain to be resolved.
Plus, we don’t need to wait for some intriguing story lines to develop. Take today, for example. Please. HB 10 (Keeley), which would immediately restore voting rights to convicted felons who have paid their debt to society, is scheduled for floor debate. This is the second leg of a constitutional amendment, meaning that it has already passed both houses of the General Assembly during the preceding legislative session. Should it pass this time, it will become law. I think it will. In fact, the only obstacle that could stand in the way of its passage would be near-unanimous opposition from House R’s. With Republican Rep. Don Blakey a certain yes, I don’t see it happening. And, with Senators Lavelle and Cloutier co-sponsoring the bill, the Senate looks solid as well.
Much much more inside….
Lest There Be Any Doubt…
I am not going back to Dover or anywhere else to work for the General Assembly or, for that matter, state government.
In the past day, we at DL have had to moderate allegations from one poster that I’ve cut some sort of secret deal with candidates for me to get a job back in Dover. Not because of the allegations, which are false, but b/c this serial outer once again outs where I work.
This person is not affiliated with the Cloutier campaign, the moribund DeLuca campaign, or any other campaign. He simply blames me, along with numerous other people in my community, for his own situation. Which is not true, but that’s neither here nor there. He’s done this many times before, and he’s been moderated for it.
My statement should be obvious to anyone who has read my work for the last four years or so. I’ve held nothing back as far as my opinions regarding what I believe is good and bad in state government. I am neither delusional enough to believe that what I’ve written would be forgiven/forgotten, nor masochistic enough to want to work in that environment.
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