Liberalgeek Reporting from the SEU Meeting

Filed in National by on May 29, 2008

I was able to make it to the SEU meeting today to see where this task force is going.  Charlie Copeland was not in attendance, but there was no problem getting a quorum this time.  It was better attended than the previous one in terms of the public as well.  There were about 25 people altogether

A piece of proposed legislation was passed around for review by all of us.  I’ll have that up for review in the next day or so.  It would have simply been agreed to without a challenge if Alan Mueller hadn’t piped in asking if McDowell was accepting public comment (he wasn’t).  The slight delay gave the opportunity for Representative Thornburg to praise the document.  Patty Blevins then asked about the need for a conflict of interest clause in the legislation.  She was assured that this was already in the code.

Turns out, that it really isn’t.  The law actually only says that the members of the board may not benefit financially from being on the board.  This isn’t exactly conflict of interest wording.  She was given a vague assurance that the board would look into it.  Nonetheless, this became an issue as the meeting progressed.

McDowell also had Frank Murphy write a legal opinion on whether or not the board was still operating legally even though their authority appears to have expired.  I’ll also post that opinion in the next few days (unless the SEU website is updated first).  Basically, it is Mr. Murphy’s assertion that the intent of the law was that the board continue until a new board is constituted to replace them.  When pressed, Mr Murphy indicated that the board could continue to meet under this condition ad infinitum.  The running joke among the board members seemed to be that none of them wanted to be on the board any longer and way, so “Sorry folks, you can’t go anywhere until you are replaced.”  So sorry it’s a drag to serve the public.

McDowell made it clear that, although he didn’t have to invite public comment, he would.  I felt so honored.  Out of that public comment came a few points:

It was still not clear whether or not the SEU was a non-profit or a public body.  It is a hybrid of the two and thus many things were unclear (accountability, FOIA, and redress of public concerns , for example).  As always, John  Falherty delivered an eloquent appeal to McDowell to use some of the existing models for the structure of these things, rather than reinventing the wheel.

FOIA came up specifically again and the discussion centered around the difference between operating as if FOIA applied to the SEU and putting into the code that the SEU must comply with FOIA.  God bless Patty Blevins, she threw it out there that she didn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be codified and she got a grudging assent from McDowell.  Murphy is going to work that up.

My favorite part, was when McDowell basically said that if this was a government program, it would fail.  And here’s the rub, he wants to insulate the SEU from the government for the valiant reason of protecting it from the taint of changing political tides.  Yet at every turn, he fights to prevent the checks and balances that would insulate the SEU from suspicion.  All the while, he says that they are open and welcome public comment.

As a sure sign of their openness, his defense for not putting FOIA in the legislation is that they get lots of requests for different ideas that are sometimes contradictory.  I ask you, who suggested that they not be open?

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  1. Frieda Berryhill says:

    I attended the meeting, just to listen and learn having been involved with Energy matters on the state and national level for more then 30 years. I came away feeling that I had just been subjected to the biggest snow job without being able to determine where the snow was coming from and who was paying for it……….

  2. jason330 says:

    great reporting geek.

    My favorite part, was when McDowell basically said that if this was a government program, it would fail. And here’s the rub, he wants to insulate the SEU from the government for the valiant reason of protecting it from the taint of changing political tides. Yet at every turn, he fights to prevent the checks and balances that would insulate the SEU from suspicion. All the while, he says that they are open and welcome public comment.

    Classic!

  3. Alan Muller says:

    My experience over a long time is that whenever McDowell and Byrne are up to something, it is usually for the benefit of Delmarva Power, not the public.

  4. disbelief says:

    This painfully obvious peeing on our legs and then telling us its raining has got to stop. I can think of no greater goal that will do more for the citizens of Delaware than to eject McDowell from office.

  5. legaldork says:

    Levinson set up a similar ‘quasi’ governent body years ago. The purpose was to provide lower cost workers compensation insurance to businesses in Delaware. What it did was pay large, unjustified salaries to a few political cronies, then go broke, then go away. However, a handful of people did make a nice chunk of change from it (but not Delaware businesses).

  6. jason330 says:

    Anything in the News Journal on this today?

    …I kid.

  7. anon says:

    Levinson set up a similar ‘quasi’ governent body years ago. The purpose was to provide lower cost workers compensation insurance to businesses in Delaware.

    Copeland has a idea to subsidize employer-provided health insurance, which would no doubt end up administered by a similar board.

  8. Von Copeland Express says:

    I think you people are forgetting that Harris McDowell is an expert on energy related matters.

    Maybe we should just trust him on this.

  9. anon II says:

    The SEU is a scandalous train wreck and it’s not even out of the station. The General Assembly and Governor better put their foot down on this mess, or the courts may do it for them. In the meantime, McDowell and Byrne got to the District of Columbia’s City Council with a bill to establish their SEU model there. It is up for a vote soon, if it hasn’t passed already. Will Washinton DC get sucked in too?

  10. legaldork says:

    Will DC get suck in too?

    Two hicks who resemble Mr. Hainey on Green Acres wearing plaid pants with white shoes and nylon sports jackets are going to sell a fly-by-night get-rich-quick scheme to DC? The Beltway Boys would have to be dumb enough to start a fake war for the purpose of enriching a few defense contractors to fall for that.

    Wait a minute….

  11. No Name for Privacy says:

    Geek…Thanks to you and the others who sat through this and let ‘them’ know people are watching and are concerned about this…..

  12. Rebecca says:

    Thanks to Dave and Freida and Alan and John and all the rest of you who are keeping watch on behalf of Delaware’s citizens. You are the true public servants!

  13. disbelief says:

    I can’t wait for one of these greedy morons to try to solve the problem of their own dishonesty by trying to pass anti-internet legislation.

  14. Frieda Berryhill says:

    Disbelieve, that has already been tried.
    ICANN – (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) takes care of that . Of course there is still room for mischief

  15. kavips says:

    Note to those listening in surreptitiously. Please note that those paying your salaries do not represent America at its best…

    Truly the grumblings of everyday people who actually have to live in the state of Delaware, should take precedent over the financial obligations of those elected to office?

    Use your judgment when reporting back. If the information you send back up the ladder will eventually cost your children, and grandchildren tons of money, skip over that line….

    And after your shift, tell Nelson the first round is on me…….. 🙂

  16. Tyler Nixon says:

    Thanks for being our eyes and ears, geek.

    This whole SEU thing…the unlawful ad hoc board meetings…

    the smarmy veneer to impart legitimacy by assembling a bunch of public officials, quasi-bureaucrats, and a lawyer or two…

    the lurching, cryptic legislative wranglings and maneuverings…

    Harris McDowell’s single-minded role as head manipulator-in-chief and bully-protector of shaded interests…

    the knee-jerk default against any conceivable presumptions that there might be legitimate public questions, much less the slightest good faith effort to act on them….

    the manifestly-vested interest in ramming this thing down the throats of the Delaware citizenry with as little public involvement as can be accomplished with a straight face….

    the nod-wink power grab for control of massive public resources….

    It all makes me almost too sick to think about. It makes me want to start campaigning for Harris McDowell’s seat again starting yesterday. At least I can kid myself that this would be a productive way of fighting his ilk.

    The comment above about a “scandalous trainwreck” is all too accurate and would be funny if it the public wasn’t being laid across the tracks, bit by bit, piece by piece…set up for the fleecing.

    Really, I am just too utterly disgusted to offer any positive affirmations. Our system seems just hard wired to act contrary to public interest and sentiment, to the bitter end.

    Ughh.

    (Speaking of cryptic…kavips, what in the hell are you talking about?! Just remember we must find the jade monkey before the next full moon….)