Scott Spencer Deserves Better

Filed in National by on February 11, 2010

These back to back blizzards have allowed me to catch up on my reading, and here is something from Kavips that I missed last week:

Scott is the kind of guy who gets things done… Whether it is realistic or not, certain things like Sunday DART service, SEPTA rail to Newark, Fisker Electric Cars being built in Delaware, all have his fingerprints on them.

Single handedly, Scott Spencer has probably done more for transportation in this second smallest state, than any other person alive today… ( Joe Biden might be the exception for keeping Amtrack alive…. ) Scott goes as far back as pushing DART service past the 6:00 curfew that existed forever…. His efforts allowed banks and insurance companies to continue working past that early close up time…

In the future, we will see SEPTA go all the way to Aberdeen. There one can jump aboard a MARC and commute his way to DC… We will have commuter rail service from Philadelphia to Washington… Scott will have his fingerprints on that as well.. Soon (2011) 25,000 jobs will land in Aberdeen as the Army upgrades its operations there… With commuter rail, some of that money could find a home in New Castle County. At the same time, the demolition of the Chrysler plant and rebuilding of the University of Delaware’s Medical Center, will employ large numbers on this side of the state line.. It appears Newark will be booming soon. What a relief…. Of course, Democrats are the ones to thank… Use of government money to jump start an economy goes against every Republican tradition ever noted….

Kavips continues to go through Spencer’s proposals on Afghanistan, healthcare, and campaign finance reform, and while liking what he sees, can’t get past what is nearly certain to be a fruitless and unsuccessful campaign against the more well known former Lt. Governor John Carney.

And that is the dilemma. Scott has planned this run for a long time… He is loathe to give it up… He is a great guy, and a good Democrat… But despite his own best intentions, there must be a better spot in our state where he can accomplish more good, than running another idealistic Beiner-esque campaign across three counties… Those of us connected, must do our part to find the proper slot for this focused, intense, concrete, sharp, and visionary young man…. There has to be a position where he can do far more good for our state, than just lose to John Carney…

And while I agree it is highly unlikely that no matter his good ideas and history of good works Scott Spencer is going to beat John Carney in the Democratic primary, I am loathe to ever discourage a primary. Indeed, Scott’s good ideas deserve an airing in a campaign before any backroom deal is made to avoid a primary and place Scott in a more successful endeavor in local or state government. We here at Delaware Liberal will be providing Scott that platform in the future to air his ideas, through candidate interviews and the like, and we certainly invite Mr. Spencer to comment here and offer a guest post should he so desire. I think that is the better idea than to shuffle Scott away in order to avoid him losing to Carney. Surely Scott Spencer knows it is likely he is going to lose anyway, and yet he is continuing to run, and that should be respected and even encouraged.

I am not attacking Kavips for his concern, I just think his concern is not appropriate, for it suggests that losing to Carney means that Scott has no future in politics or government. And that is not the case.

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  1. Which State Senate and Rep districts does Scott live in?

  2. hey anonny nonny says:

    SCOTT R SPENCER City: WILMINGTON Zip: 19805
    Representative District: 04 Senate District: 03

    As has been repeatedly posted here time and time again, you can check on a person’s registration districts at http://pollingplace.delaware.gov/

    I swear, everyone here, including the usually on-top-of-it El Som, must have gone snowstupid today. I’m going to go get drunk now and wake up and hope everyone will be smart in the morning.

  3. a.price says:

    he could always win a state senate or rep election then primary Carper (in 2012?) I am totaly for getting Carper out of the senate…. and he is someone Ive met and talked to multiple times and even gone on international travel with (when he was governor). I’ve always thought he was a decent human and a nice guy who remembers everyone he meets….. just a traitor of a democrat and a failure as a representative for the people of delaware

  4. aqc says:

    He lives in my district and I would absolutely support him over the clowns we now have in office!

  5. a.price says:

    careful hey, Tom S goes all Carry Nation on people who announce they are gonna drink.

  6. If Spencer makes a good showing, I think he’ll have a future in politics. I’m glad he’s still in the race and he’s trying really hard. I see him at events all the time.

  7. John Galt says:

    DD took down her idiotic post about Sussex County asking the farmers to help in the snow plowing.

  8. Miscreant says:

    Cut and run… I would have expected that from *her*.

  9. It’ll be interesting to see if John Carney agrees to Primary debates with Scott Spencer.

    Allan Loudell
    WDEL Radio

  10. John Manifold says:

    It will be interesting to see if Scott Spencer agrees to file any candidacy papers with the FEC.

  11. Spencer could have a future in politics beginning THIS year, if that is what he wants. But, he’ll truly be an afterthought against Carney.

    Far be it from me to tell Scott what he SHOULD do, but the 4th RD is home to the man whose lies cost me my 22-year career in the Delaware General Assembly. He is the paranoid, self-confessed former drunk, Gerald Brady. He stood up in the House Democratic Caucus and told lies that cost me my job. Not shades-of-grey lies, but demonstrably untrue lies.

    Lies that I could easily disprove, except that the Delaware General Assembly has exempted itself from any and all Merit System requirements. They can simply fire someone whenever they feel like it, and you aren’t given the chance to even defend yourself. Newly-minted House Whip Valerie Longhurst told me what Brady had said, told me that my problem was that I ‘just didn’t listen to people’, meaning Brady, and ordered me to not say a word to anyone, lest I lose my job. I didn’t, but I should have.

    Gerald Brady, with Longhurst’s enthusiastic involvement, as she just couldn’t wait to use her new position to fire SOMEONE, ANYONE; and the passive acquiescence of Bryon Short, who, despite my dedication to enabling him to get the nomination, and to win both the Special Election and general election, didn’t lift a finger to help me (hey, he was in line for the Insurance, Banking and Commerce Committee Chairmanship, talk about incumbent protection), accomplished his mission. Short’s failure to stand up for me, simply to say “Steve’s my guy”, despite what I thought were close personal and professional bonds, marks the single worst betrayal I’ve ever experienced, and it’s something I’ll never get over. It haunts me every single day.

    And that is how it came to pass that Valerie Longhurst and Erik Schramm descended on my office a year ago in December, and told me I had 20 minutes to vacate the premises that had housed my over-20 year career. Longhurst tearing down posters, trying to get me to sign a letter saying that I had voluntarily ‘resigned’, a letter that, had I signed it, would have rendered me ineligible for unemployment. I was frog-marched to my car with my few belongings and, just like that, it was over.

    The firing destroyed me. It was unfair, it was done at the height of the economic downturn, and it rendered me unhirable for state government despite my career and the fact that I worked my butt off for Brady, Short, and that Caucus in helping them to secure the majority. In fact, there are regular contributors here who KNOW that I always had Brady’s best interests at heart. His brother is one of my best friends. His sister-in-law managed my campaign against Wayne Smith. I admire the family. It just turns out that THIS Brady is utterly untrustworthy.

    I now have a job that I thoroughly enjoy, albeit in a field far removed from my background, work history, and education.

    My name is Steve Tanzer. You know me as El Somnambulo. Delaware Liberal taking me on as a contributor is the only thing that has kept me sane this past year. I am telling you this now so that you understand what drives me every time I post.

    Were Scott (or any other deserving candidate) to take on Brady, who has proven that ‘blarney’ is just another word for ‘bullshit’, I would lead the fight to help elect him. I would use the truth, and believe me, I know it, to repay Brady for his lies that cost me my job.

    Payback’s a bitch, and I would love to deliver it.

  12. John Manifold says:

    Brady would be a worthy target for Spencer, who knows the city and its needs. Brady, trading off his surname, is a empty seat, with no impact except as a firm anti-choice vote.

  13. donviti says:

    a class act you are El, best of luck in your new digs. Hope to share a brew with you and have you croon in my yard this summer.

  14. MJ says:

    That’s why we love you, El Som.

  15. kavips says:

    El, I only wish I’d known while doing everything I could for Tyler in the 4th.

    Well, it sounds like we have a plan. One that will generate the best of intentions all the way around.. Del Dem wants a primary battle… I want to steer it towards where it will do the most good….

    I think Valerie Longhurst sheen as dulled a little as of this posting… We need more insight into shenanigans like these.. The public service El provided, both during his tenure, and with this posting, is worthy of a plaque of honor… a plaque coming from the General Assembly itself.. no doubt…

  16. Ken Matlusky says:

    Point #1: Scott is a very good speaker. I heard him speak a few weeks back at the Stonewall annual meeting and he was excellent.

    Question #1: for Steve Tanzer: Did any elected and/or appointed official stand up for you, or even try to stand up for you, during your ordeal with the system? Good luck and God bless.

    —-Ken Matlusky

  17. Dana Garrett says:

    While I generally agree that primaries should be seen as an opportunity that political parties should embrace, I am concerned that this year could be a big Repub years at the polls and I fear that a primary for Congress will drain resources from Carney pointlessly (pointlessly because Spencer doesn’t have a prayer of prevailing). Just imagine if we were to lose the US Senate seat and the US House seat to the Repubs. Add the DINO Carper to that mix and Delaware will have no effective representation in Congress.

  18. Ken: There were staffers who helped me, and I really appreciate them. In some cases, these were people who have been friends for quite some time. One who sent me a card saying that nobody could understand what happened, another with whom I correspond all the time, yet another who I know, from behind the scenes, has helped me immeasurably. In addition, there was one staff person (she knows who she is) who went out of her way to enable me to get my state pension. This is someone who I had never even previously met.

    Many of us who have served together in staff capacities, regardless of political affiliation, share a special affinity with each other. We’ve been where few others have ever been, and have experienced the highs and lows together. We know how transitory our situations could be. These are wonderful people, and they serve the state well. They were very kind to me when things were rough and when they could have just forgotten about me completely, and I’m very grateful to them. I know how hard it is when one of their own walks the plank. It would have been easy to look away and think, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

    But they didn’t do that. It is their friendship that I will always cherish. They know who they are, and this is my way of saying thanks.

  19. wilmINgton says:

    A word to JM and other DL posters….check Spencer’s postition on Roe-v-Wade.