Competence over Soundbites: Our Meeting with State Treasurer Jones-Potter
Last evening, Nemski, Cassandra and I met with State Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter. I am sure my colleagues will offer their opinions of the meeting as well, but I wanted to offer my take. I was impressed with her, and also the simplicity of her message. LiberalGeek has met Chip Flowers and is impressed with him and his plan to remake the Treasurer’s office. It looks like the primary for the Democratic nomination features two able and bright candidates with two different visions of the office and what it can and should do.
I hope that is enough to occupy us and the candidate’s partisans without resorting to personal attacks upon each other, which as occurred in the past here and elsewhere whenever the Treasurer’s race has come up. But I digress.
In thinking about this race, I am reminded of a Simpsons episode where Homer Simpson is not impressed with the city garbage collection service, and challenges the City Sanitation Commissioner for election. Homer premises his campaign on the slogan, “Can’t someone else do it?,” and promises that the city sanitation workers will now wear uniforms, provide round-the-clock garbage service and do all the cleaning around the house.
Homer is elected in a landslide. And he proceeds to enact his campaign promises, but unfortunately spends his annual budget of $5 million, in one month. With no sanitation services now, the city is awash in garbage, and the entire city of Springfield has to relocate. The citizens of Springfield, seeing the error of their ways in electing Homer in the first place, beg the competent former Sanitation Officer to return, and he says “nuts to you, it’s your mess, you clean it up.”
State Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter is not looking to promise you the world in her campaign for election to office in her own right. She wants to modernize the office, make it more efficient, and eliminate redtape, but she is not looking to bring new responsibilities to the office, as the Treasurer has enough to do as it is. She touts her office’s work in maintaining Delaware’s Triple A Credit Rating, which results in low interest rates for when the state borrows money, one of only seven states in the U.S. to do so. She is proud of her work in getting vendors to agree to automatic deposit, which will save approximately $600,000.
She is also excited about a pilot program that is about to go state wide to all state agencies that will change the way revenue is collected by the state. In various state agencies, you have to pay a fee to access a service, like license renewals at the DMV, a fishing license at the DFW, etc. Normally, if those fees are paid by check or money order, there can a delay of service days or more in transferring the checks to the Treasurer’s office for deposit, meaning that often the checks are sitting around at the state agencies not collected interest for the state they could otherwise be receiving if they were already in a bank account. There is now handheld scanning devices that can scan the checks and deposit them into the state’s bank account immediately.
I asked her opinion of making these kinds of Row offices, like that of Auditor and Insurance Commissioner and Treasurer and Attorney General, appointed offices rather than elected so that politics is taken out of process, and she surprised me wanting to keep it the way it is. She believes it is right for row officers to be accountable to the people they serve, and also believes that by having each office elected separately, you enshrine checks and balances into the Executive Branch.
The sense you get from Mrs. Jones Potter when meeting with her is that she is proud to be a public servant and is only interested in doing her job, doing it well and better than before, and not doing someone elses’. She wants to educate the public about what her office does and citizens themselves can better manage money in their own lives. If her campaign is to have a slogan, I would suggest “competence over soundbites.” But that is just me.
There are worse problems than having two highly qualified candidates.
Velda was endorsed this week by the 23rd RD, the members of which echoed many of the supportive sentiments listed above.
I indeed am pleased that we have two good candidates here, and am hopeful that they will both work hard to keep their campaigning clean, with no mudslinging.
Should she win the primary, Velda needs to refine her presentation and messaging, to beat Bonini. I have heard that Velda has steadily improved her public speaking in the past months.
To win in November, we need a candidate with competence AND soundbites.
I worked with Velda when she was Wilmington’s finance director. She’s one of the finest executives I have ever worked with. I’m delighted to see her in the treasurer’s office.
DE Dem just can’t help himself, as usual. He’s impling Chip Flowers is incompetant? What a tool.
Where do I imply that Chip is imcompetent? To the contrary, I say he is bright and able, meaning that he is competent. So either you can’t read, or you are a scumbag liar, Nancy. Which is it?
“I asked her opinion of making these kinds of Row offices, like that of Auditor and Insurance Commissioner and Treasurer and Attorney General,”
… except none of those are Row Offices.
Correct, technically speaking. The term Row offices refers to the Recorder of Deeds, Sheriff, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Peace, and Register in Chancery at the county level, which I also believe should be appointed positions instead of elected ones.
There are no state wide Row offices per se, and that is why I said “these kind of Row offices.” I using it as a descriptive term.
Calling Chip Flowers “highly qualified” for the Treasury spot is quite a stretch.
WTF Nancy?
“…the Democratic nomination features two able and bright candidates with two different visions of the office and what it can and should do.
The implication is that Chip is Homer … or did I read that wrong?
Ah, now I see that Nancy and Geezer are talking about. Yes, Chip is Homer, but that does imply not Chip is incompetent. The analogy I was trying to make was between a steady as you go civil servant who does the work efficiently and correctly versus someone who wants to completely remake the office. Homer wanted to transform the garbage pickup service into a maid service.
We can argue as to whether Chip’s ideas are good ideas or not, and I am not sure they are good ideas, but just because I disagree with you doesn’t mean you are automatically incompetent because of my disagreement. I wish I had that power.
I’m pretty sure that anytime you compare anyone with Homer Simpson, you automatically imply that person is incompetent.
Perhaps the better comparison would be with Colin Bonini, who is campaigning for a treasurer’s office that doesn’t have the authority he claims it does.
Well, Homer Simpson has been working at the Nuclear Power Plant for 20 odd years and Springfield has yet to suffer a meltdown. Dare I say, he is competent at his job? 😉
What exactly does the title of this article mean Delaware Dem? I am trying to figure out how it relates to the content of your article (including the Homer Simpson analogy).
I am of the thought that just because a candidate wants to make an office better – by not only continuing with current duties, but adding more to make one’s self more useful to the people is not a bad thing. I have heard Velda speak a couple of times and what I hear from her is that she is fine with the status quo. She has no plan or a vision….well no scratch that…her plan and vision is to continue the status quo. Frankly, the fact that she “does her job” doesn’t mean she should get my vote. What’s worse is that there are many people who look at this as a reason to vote for any candidate.
Delaware Dem, have you met with Mr. Flowers in the same type of environment that you met with Ms. Jones-Potter? Just curious to see, because I didn’t see a write-up of that meeting, if it occurred.
TGMV, and everyone,
By calling someone competent does not mean someone else is incompetent. I mean, really, what part of the following sentence do you not understand???
[T]he Democratic nomination features two able and bright candidates with two different visions of the office and what it can and should do.
I believe Velda has demonstrated competence in her job. And she said it is hard to devolve what the Treasurer’s office does into a soundbite. Thus, the title of this article and my suggestion of a campaign slogan is “competence over soundbites.” Yet still you think I am calling Flowers incompetent.
I mean, I really cannot be any more clearer on this point.
As to your second point, TGMV, it is perfectly fine to debate Chip Flowers’ plan to have the office of the Treasurer do more than it currently is even authorized to do. That is fine. I disagree with it, but we can have an honest debate about it.
Finally, I personally have not yet met Mr. Flowers but LiberalGeek and others at Delaware Liberal have, and Geek wrote up a similar article to this one concerning Flower’s bold plans, which I linked to in the article.
“adding more to make one’s self more useful to the people is not a bad thing … [Velda’s] plan and vision is to continue the status quo”
The status quo is all that the job is designed for. What Chip wants to do with the job would require several changes that would mean taking power away from other offices. There is virtually no chance of that happening.
Are you aware of this, Flowers backer, or were you unaware of this?
If you are aware of this, what’s his strategy to effect this power grab?
If you are not aware of this, why should anyone listen to you?
“Homer Simpson has been working at the Nuclear Power Plant for 20 odd years and Springfield has yet to suffer a meltdown. Dare I say, he is competent at his job?”
You need an emoticon there or it sounds as if you’re serious. I haven’t watched in 15 years, but Homer’s incompetence at his job used to be a running joke.
😉 Yeah, I was being half serious. We all know the image of Homer Simpson. The analogy I was presenting was to the story, not to Homer Simpson. Got it? Great.
From what I understand from the incumbent’s mailings and web site postings, here’s a simple explanation of the differences:
Velda will make sure the checks get signed on time and, when she’s not doing that, she’ll ask local banks to offer some extra perks to state employees who have accounts with them.
Chip will make sure the checks get signed on time and, when he’s not doing that, he’ll seek to maximize returns on the state’s accounts and strengthen our economic development programs.
If free checking for state employees is vital to you, Vote Velda.
If you want a stronger economy for Delaware, pick Chip.
Thanks for the response DD, I actually did read that article composed about your colleagues’ meeting with Mr. Flowers. Please let us know your thoughts if and when you are able to actually meet with Mr. Flowers.
Actually Geezer, I have not decided who I am voting for but I can tell you who I am leaning towards (as is probably obvious). Frankly, I am not impressed with Mrs. Potter. Her delivery is weak and the substance of the content of her speeches is minimal. She is simply happy to be in a job counting money – curiously that she publically said she did NOT want – and doesn’t bother to offer any kind of information about what she would do to better the office.
Further, what the heck is a “power grab”?? How exactly is what Mr. Flowers is offering interfering with the power of other offices or exceed the power of the Treasurer’s office. Here’s my newsflash: the Constitution of the State of Delaware has NO such limitation. This is an example of another ridiculous arguement that Velda and crew have been espousing.
Are you aware that you a part of proposing such a ridiculous argument Geezer?
If you are aware of this ridiculous argument, why should anyone listen to you?
I am a member of an RD which recently voted to endorse Velda by an overwhelming margin. I feel Chip clearly is the superior candidate but I was forced to endorse Velda due to immense pressure from the machine. We all know how this works because we saw it in 2008 when Carney won over 90% of RD endorsements yet only 49% of voter endorsements. The process is broken. We look to have another Jack-John on our hands, ironically with Markell’s appointee playing the role of John. I have spoken to people from other RD’s as well as mine and I am not alone among people who personally support Chip, like we supported Jack, but were forced to vote another way in our RD meeting. I am ashamed of myself and the process. We call ourselves the Democratic Party? I guess that I’m a secret Homer Simpson supporter. LOL.
Seriously DD, you didn’t know that Homer was the epitome of incompetence?
Let me give you an analogy. Let’s say that you are a political pundit commenting on a politician’s published plan and you compare that published plan to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” — don’t you think you’ve associated said politician with Hitler?
Sacred Endorser or To Get My Vote or whoever you are:
Please stick to one name. Logging on as multiple names will NOT be tolerated.
I knew Homer was the epitome of stupidity, not incompetence, but before Chip’s supporters start screaming that I am calling Chip stupid, I am not. For the last time, the analogy concerned the story, not the characters.
But as to your last question, Nemski, yes, I do think said politician is being compared to Hitler.
Nice try nemski, those of us who have seen the video know that is not the analogy Chip was making. That was pretty weak, you got something else?
And by the way, I am not the same person as Scared Endorser. But if you must know, Scared Endorser is my husband. Wow, have you gotten so desperate that you are abusing the privacy of the blog? I really thought that was against DL’s policy….nonetheless, I have my opinons and you have yours (flawed as they may be).
TGMV, Nemski saw that you and SE had the same IP address, hence his comment. Sockpuppets (posting as two commenters) are against DL policy, and that is usually determined by 2 commenters having the same IP address.
We will take you at your word that you are not a sockpuppet.
Sigh… another F/P thread.
Sockpocket…interesting concept.
Nonetheless, I am more willing to voice my opinion than the hubby. I was actually surprised he commented, it’s not his style. But I guess he felt strongly enough to put his two cents in!
F/P?
Flowers/Potter. Or make it F/J – Flowers/Jones-Potter.
There will never be peace between the two sides.
BTW I call bullshit on Sacred Endeavor’s comment.
LOL anon. Interestingly enough the Flowers’ “supporters” really know how to bring it. See above.
but I was forced to endorse Velda due to immense pressure from the machine
If this is true, then you are the piece that is broken. If you thought Chip was the better candidate, going along with the pressure is not how you fix the problem. Going along with the pressure just makes you part of the machine. And if that is not your intent, you are the only one who can make that known — and make it easier for people around you to join you.
I was one of two Markell supporters in a “machine” district with an RD committee that went big for Carney. Guess what? My tires were not slashed and my knees caps remain unbroken.
Use common sense.
RD endorsements: 92-8% for Carney
Voter endorsements: 49-51% for Carney
92% of RD’s, often by embarrassing margins, just thought Carney was better? You have to be Homer Simpson to believe that.
Treasurer, Delaware’s legal no-show job.
show up on the first day, sign your signature for the computer that prints state checks, and you have completed your official duties for your 4 year term.
Now nemski, why are you calling bullshit on my hubby’s post?
Let me tell you what’s bullshit:
(i) calling committee members multiple times begging for their vote during the endorsement meeting for an RD; (iii) trying to get people who have been involved with an RD committee by name only to attend the candidates forum specifically to vote for you, after the numerous calls of course; (iii) having the speaker of the house stand up in front of the forum for the candidates saying that the “status quo” is fine; and (iv) using good old “Wilmington politics” to try to get endorsed for a job you didn’t want and don’t have a message on which the people can judge you and your performance (except I am good at signing checks as Mediawatch pointed out).
Actually, the bullshit is in claiming that you were forced to do something that you clearly were not. Campaigning for committee votes is campaigning for committee votes the world over. You get lots of calls from the candidate and their supporters. Since you don’t claim that anyone held a gun to your head or threatened to kidnap your kids, your vote is your problem. If you took up a leadership position as a committee member and couldn’t bother to lead, then you get what you get, I’m thinking.
You know Cassandra, hubby could have gone against the status quo and voted his conscience. We argued before and after about this. I do believe he ultimately regrets the decision. But, after my anger subsided he reminded me of one simple thing…Mr. Flowers will get his vote in September, and that’s the one that REALLY counts. It appears that’s in the mind of a few committee members (no matter how many calls are made).
The naivete of some is alarming. Explain to me how Carney got 92% of RD endorsements, often by ridiculous margins, but only 49% of voter endorsements? Does his magic touch only work in front of seven people in a room? Most of us know how politics works and what kind of pressure is brought to bear in such situations. No one was going to shoot me for voting for Chip or Jack in 2008 but it is no coincidence Velda won my district with 93% support. John won my RD by a big margin as well yet he lost it during the primary. Let me guess: Velda is such an electrifying speaker and such a great politician that she will win 93% of my RD in September? Or is something time and again “skewing” the results? Again, can anyone explain this:
RD endorsements: Carney 92%, Markell 8%
Voter endorsements: Markell 51%, Carney 49%
Why was the party off by such an absurd number? Did Markell lack competence and soundbites too? This is not endemic to Delaware. It happens across the country. Look at the endorsements faux Democrat Arlen Specter received in the Democratic primary. Democratic leaders suddenly fell in love with Specter, both in DC and in PA after 30 years of opposing him? Or was something more at work?
The naivete is yours, really. It isn’t much of a surprise to anyone that Jack Markell ran specifically outside of the Dem machine. He had to. The fact that the party came up with lots of RD endorsements for Carney told you who was successful campaigning with the Dem party usual suspects. Those RD endorsements are never a measure of a campaign that specifically looks for its votes outside of the usual machine.
Yep. What Cassandra said. Scared Endorser is confusing cause and effect. The committees are made up of Democratic Party functionaries. it is not at all shocking that they would reflect the party’s conventional wisdom. It would be shocking if they didn’t. They don’t have to use pressure because they have the numbers.
When I was one of the only Markell on my committee, I figured that five dedicated progressives working together could take over the committee. That observation and $3.00 can get you a latte at Starbucks.
“If free checking for state employees is vital to you, Vote Velda.
If you want a stronger economy for Delaware, pick Chip.”
I asked what he intends to do. You cannot answer it. Neither can he, for that matter — he’s asking the public for ideas. ROFL. Further, you have attacked not only Velda but anyone who isn’t ready to endorse Chip Flowers right this minute.
There is nothing at all in the duties of the state treasurer that allow the person holding that office to do anything to give the state a “stronger economy.” I have never spoken to Velda, I don’t give a rat’s ass who endorses whom, but I know the way the office is set up. There’s no money budgeted to do any of the things Chip claims he wants to do, and he is not authorized by the code to do any of it.
I have asked once already for details. You have none, but you have plenty of nasty, negative stuff to say.
Helluva case you’ve got there. Same MO as the last batch of unknown CF supporters, too. Either make the case or realize that you’re poor representatives for the candidate.
Pretty funny that once office hours ended, the Flowers supporters disappeared.
Funny that. How funny is it that DD is (kinda) scolded by Homer Fanboys for getting a Simpsons quote wrong?
Here’s the entry on that Simpsons site for those who ignore pingbacks:
First up, they get the slogan right: Homer premises his campaign on the slogan, “Can’t someone else do it?,”
That’s excellent usage. This, however, is not:
The citizens of Springfield, seeing the error of their ways in electing Homer in the first place, beg the competent former Sanitation Officer to return, and he says “nuts to you, it’s your mess, you clean it up.”
The actual quote goes, “You know, I’m not much on speeches, but, it’s so gratifying to leave you wallowing in the mess you’ve made. You’re screwed. Thank you, bye.” So that’s poor usage. Hey, one outta two ain’t bad.
DD, it’s good to know they have your back.
LOL, I should have said I was paraphrasing that last quote, because who the hell knew there were Simpson quote nazis out there.
We try to be very gentle quote nazis. Mainly we’re just happy to see people citing stuff from the good years of the show. Tell Joe Biden I said hello.
I’m actually on an RD committee and you’re free to vote your conscience. The RD endorsement goes to the person with the most votes but the overall party endorsement for statewide candidates is by the number of votes, so every vote counts in dissent. In the Treasurer’s race my committee was not unanimous, and that is recorded in the minutes of the meeting. I’m sorry Sacred felt he had to go along with everyone else – my committee is more mellow.
GOOD JOB DELAWARE DEM. Great post .You got my day off to a fantastic start. I have been laughing so hard I have spilled my first cup of coffee twice now . Iam Treasurer of 38 th RD which voted not to endorse in this race . We did not feel pressure from the party or anyone . We just felt we had two good candidates and wanted to hear more .We have invited both to our picnic in OCEAN VIEW tomorrow (noon to 4pm) .Please bring a “open” mind and enjoy some good BBQ and company of fellow Democrats .
Reposting this comment:
As is so conveniently forgotten around these parts, the IC’s Captive Insurance Bureau was heralded by DEDO and the Governor’s office as a hoped-for economic development engine for the state (the presser with Karen, Jack and Alan can easily be googled online). Those so blinded by the rhetoric and hate of KWS probably won’t believe it but the word is out that the Bureau is doing a slammin’ business these days.
There is plenty of money out there and evidently, our Captive trusts are being successfully ’sold’ as a safe place to keep it and the business is going like gang-busters. Place a call to Alan Levin or Jack Markell if you don’t believe me.
What this tells me is that it is not at all far fetched for the Treasurer’s office to also create products for potential economic development and as such, Chip Flowers should be sharpening up his ideas and selling the crap out of them to the public. Even Geezer admitted that he hasn’t paid much attention to Chip’s ideas. He is wrong that all of the scope and authority of the proposals need legislative action. Only two of them do – Bill Dunn asked the question directly when Chip presented to the Civic League last month.
Chip has a long way to go to solidify his proposals and I wish him well in getting people used to the notion of the Treasurer’s office taking on some creative programming. But it is wrong to say that our economic engines have to be restricted to the executive’s staffers and appointees nor is it particularly reasonable to limit the state with that mind set.
And the Captive Business was started by the current IC’s predecessor and the current IC is not adding captives at the same pace as previously. Certainly the current IC is capturing the performance of the business as a whole, which she has little to do with. And has made an investment in additional infrastructure over there that is not covering its own nut in terms of *new* business which has been demonstrated repeatedly.
But it is true that Chip’s proposals in the main will certainly need the Executive to agree to include the Treasurer in all of those things that Chip wants to do. And I think that this is a *very* tough row to hoe. But at the end of the day, the Treasurer’s office has a list of mandated functions and I want to know what functions get neglected while empires are being built or how many people have to be added to this office.
If there is enough capacity in this office to take on all of this new stuff, then I think that we should be talking about how to get further efficiencies out of this office — not in how to create busy work for the staff. If there is not enough capacity for these new tasks, then I want to know how many people — and what cost there is –to add these functions. What I am not going to do is to pretend that you can have all of this new government stuff for no cost. Because we already know — we already know this, gang — that this is simply not true.
I don’t have any objection to the new programming — I, for one, am not buying that you can have all of this new programming for no more money.
Good grief Geezer, still not listening. How the heck is Mr. Flowers asking the public for ideas. That’s just silly….I don’t believe his framework sets forth this request at all. If you had read it, maybe you would understand.
Nasty, negative commentary? Only when engaged in this manner. For the record, I don’t think anyone is saying Mr. Flowers should be endorsed immediately, most folks just want the process to be fair for both candidates. The stories I have heard from others, including my hubby, let me know this is far from the case. Politics as usual…sure.
“Meet Chip and share your suggestions for Delaware’s financial future at one of the stops on the Restoring Prosperity Tour”
What part of that don’t you understand?
Now let’s look at Chip’s “ideas.” See if you can figure out which are power grabs:
1. “Using information obtained from federal agencies, the state Departments of Finance and Labor, the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) and internal forecasts, the Treasurer’s
Office will be responsible for implementing a state financial early warning system to notify state agencies when key financial indicators trend downward.”
This is already done by DEFAC; Chip apparently is unaware how that body does its work. He is inserting himself, or his office, into something that’s already done quite well.
2. “Working with each State Department and Agency to Create a “Rainy Day” Spending Plan.”
Again, this is inserting the office into territory rightfully claimed by the administration. With all due respect, I think the folks running those departments have a pretty good idea how to run their departments without the help of Chip Flowers. And this line — “By having the Treasurer’s Office put guidelines in place, agencies could begin to scale back spending as soon as a warning is issued. Such prompt action would offset reductions in revenue resulting from the financial downturn in the subsequent fiscal year.” — is pure, unadulterated bullshit. Where is the money going to come from to hire all the people who would review every department? This is delusions of grandeur.
3. “Shifting Management of the Strategic Fund from DEDO to the Treasurer’s Office.”
Do you really think the administration is going to agree to this? This takes power from the governor’s office and tries to appropriate it for the treasurer.
Fuck it, I could do this all night, and I have better things to do. Let’s just skip to:
“Revamping the State Treasurer’s Office.
Transforming the Treasurer’s Office from a traditional 20th century traditional model to a 21st century finance and economic development model is a key priority.”
There is not a cent in the budget for this, or any of the other stuff he proposes.
Look, I’ve met Chip Flowers. I’ve talked with Chip Flowers. He’s a bullshit artist, plain and simple. The next important thing he accomplishes will be the first, and the chances that I’d vote to give him the kind of power he wants to grab are slim and none. If he wins the primary I’ll vote for Bonini, who at least won’t piss away money on the scale Flowers would like to.
I encourage anyone who wants to see delusions of grandeur in action to visit his web site. Check his resume. Ask yourself if you want to give this sort of operator the kind of power he likes to imagine he deserves.
And thank you, Flowers supporters, for encouraging me to check him out. His plans are worse than I could have ever thought possible. I lived through the Dave Levinson years, so I have some idea of a modestly talented individual’s delusions of grandeur when I see them.
As for Nancy’s endorsement of Chip’s ideas, she was a big backer of Karen Weldin Stewart’s delusions of grandeur, too. Lord save us from the dreamers.
As for Nancy’s endorsement of Chip’s ideas, she was a big backer of Karen Weldin Stewart’s delusions of grandeur, too. Lord save us from the dreamers, and those they so easily dupe.
Five reasons why Mr. Flowers will lose his election badly. They are as follows:
(1) Lawyer vs. Money professional Manager
(2) Infringing on many, many departments
(3) Never informs voters he is a lawyer
(4) Flawed vision of Treasurer’s office
(5) Is he a plant of the GOP?
If Mr. Flowers continues to hang around like an unwanted mother-in-law, his political career will become a mere foot note known as the “Flowers effect”.
Responses to Fire Ant:
(1) Who cares? Markell wasn’t a professional money manager.
(2) Valid criticism.
(3) Bullshit! “After completing his work at the White House, Chip worked as a mergers and acquisitions attorney at the Wilmington office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, and served as chairman of the Multicultural Judges & Lawyers Section of the Delaware State Bar Association.” – from chipflowers.com
(4) Valid criticism.
(5) He was a 2004 delegate to the Democratic National Convention, so the GOP includes some pretty far-thinking planners.
You’re only hurting Velda when you make stupid, easily-rebuttable statements such as this. Back off and act smart, asswipe.
Nothing to do with Velda at all Chris. When you view the facts voters vote for the best qualified candidate. We need not get into name calling because I make a statement from mere observation.
You need to grow up a little boy. I have also noticed how the slanted postings trickle off after 5pm Meaning office workers are posting for Chip. There boss will be upset. One more important observation. Chip’s campaign manager has totally failed him by not telling him the truth about his chance of winning and the strategy of his campaign which is dead on arrival. Chip & Chris, perfect together or the blind leading the stupid. Take your pick.
Geezer, I am going to stop talking to you. It is clear that you don’t like Mr. Flowers or his plan which is why you spent an hour crafting that last repsonse. The way I understand, he wants the people to be a part of the process sharing their views and ideas about the Treasurer’s office. Unfortunately for a tool like yourself, you take that to mean he needs help in running the office and thinking of ideas which is flat out crap. I am not really even sure why you discuss this since you seem to be so “incensed” by his campaign. In fact, your diatribe sounds down right personal, but I am sure of one thing – you’ll keep all this dialogue to a blog and won’t say any of it to his face. Do me a favor, let me know the next time you talk to Mr. Flowers, be sure to mention how much a bullshit artist he is.
Either you like his ideas or you don’t. This is a democratic process and no one has to convince you which way to vote. Hell if it is your pleasure to do vote Bonini, do so. Frankly I don’t care. I know who I am voting for – and I also know I don’t interpret his ideas as you do.
Moreover, since when are ideas delusions of granduer? Will all of his ideas be implemented? Probably not. Can some be? Sure. But it’s folks like you who don’t want to see change (under the guise of oh there is no money). I guess the worst part about people like you is your’re more worried about someone saying NO instead of just trying something new that may be a benefit to all.
Maybe I should stick to how I started this response – let’s stop corresponding. You’re getting downright nasty and I don’t have time for the BS.
Have a lovely day.
Fire Ant: I don’t know why you think my name is Chris, but it isn’t.
You wrote: “I make a statement from mere observation.” – except that two of your five statements are absolutely incorrect! So I logically question the rest of your alleged observations.
I call anyone who engages in that type of mudslinging and outright lying an asswipe. So you still are, in my book.
I didn’t spend an hour crafting a response, idiot. Do you think I sit around waiting for you to respond? I checked the blog before I went to bed.
And yes, I’ll say it to his face. Mark your calendar for Tuesday.
I understand why you won’t respond — you can’t. I say “no” because I have years of watching politicians under my ample belt. Chip Flowers, as someone above noted, was in mergers and acquisition at Skadden Arps. It’s not a job someone leaves when he’s successful at it. And if he were successful at his current one, you would have heard of him from somewhere beyond WHYY’s defunct Delaware news.
He’s a bright, charming guy, but there’s no reason to believe he can achieve any of the things he has laid out. I don’t begrudge him running, but I”m not interested in turning the office into anything like his vision for it.
Frankly, the “21st century” treasurer’s office is an oxymoron. As I wrote recently on a different thread, the office should be abolished — it’s an unnecessary money-waster. A 21st-century government should get rid of 19th-century anachronisms. This would require a constitutional amendment, but it should be undertaken as soon as possible — and insurance commissioner should be turned into an appointive office at the same time.
I am an idiot?
Gee, thanks.
I could respond, but as I noted, dialogue with you is a waste of time. It is quite clear that you have a personal issue with Mr. Flowers, his resume, his experience and his ideas.
Perhaps if you examined his resume more closely you would see that he started Harvard the same year he left Skadden Arps. But you ignore that fact as well becuase you want to bash him in some way. How the heck do you know why someone leaves their job? I guess you have a crystal ball too..can you read my palm?
Like I said earlier, more power to you…vote your pleasure!
And good luck on Tuesday with letting him know how you feel.
I am really sure you won’t make an ass of youself…NOT.
I don’t care where he went when he left — nobody on a partner track leaves Skadden Arps M&A to go anywhere. It’s a license to print money — if you’re good enough to cut it. Chip had his chance, and he wasn’t.
My problem isn’t with Chip. It’s with the people coming here to tout his “credentials” for this job, which amount to little more than wishful thinking.
Geezer, I am done with you and your prick attitude. How is it that you think yourself credible behind this anony handle ‘know it all’ delusion? Pretty sad that this site has become a permanent perch for your egotistical bile.
Have you asked yourself why Velda Potter left such companies as DuPont and MBNA?
Chip has no competent campaign that’s why he can’t win. Everyone knows it but the candidate and his manager. Real sad state of affairs. School board campaigns are run better then his. I don’t think it’s Chip’s fault. Wrong place, wrong time and wrong race. Sorry campaign and sorry people. So sorry.
Am I the only person who’s seen this article?
http://stuffboston.com/stuffboston/archive/2008/03/24/what-do-you-want-stuff-night-readers-share-their-favorite-splurges.aspx
I googled “Chip Flowers” to find out more information about his campaign and this article came up… One word – WOW!? Before I get persecuted like many of the other commenters, I want to clearly say that I don’t have a dog in this fight… That said, this interview, in his own words, doesn’t exactly excite me about him protecting and investing my tax dollars… Looks like Mr Flowers will be buying “Gucci Trenchcoats” and “Armani Suits” while saving up for his “2-month Parisian Vacation” and “French Villa, complete with private vineyard”
Yikes!
Wow. Pulling out all the stops. No dog in the race huh?
So…..
Bonini had a tax lien put on his house for not paying his taxes.
Potter put the Wilmington PAL Center $150K in debt almost causing them to go bankrupt and also has a failed business as a small business owner.
Flowers has a successful business and likes to shop at Gucci and take trips to Paris.
Of the three, I’m going to vote for the guy with the money who is apparently able to make money for others! And the best part…he’s only 35 years old!!
Wow SaltGrl, you just made the Flowers case even stronger!
Is that the same Chip Flowers? Clearly that name is not very common, but the picture doesn’t look like the Delaware Chip Flowers.
Is this guy worth all this time? I am finished with him.
I should confess that I am leaning towards Flowers before I begin. I think on this blog, people should be upfront about who they are backing. No one believes that a person “has no dog in the race” after researching a bunch of things about a candidate and then knock them down. So, let’s try to be more respectful.
First, this blog post started about Velda and has slowly turned into a blog about Chip. As a person with a political background, this is very bad for Velda. It seems that Chip’s message is at the forefront of the campaign – whether or not the Treasurer’s Office should be involved in economic issues. In simple terms, Chip has managed to define the message in the race. Velda’s supporters (excluding the Bonini people who clearly are on this blog to cause trouble – too funny) should try to refocus the message to her strengths instead of attacking Chip. It just doesn’t work in Delaware and Chip is likely to pick up voters who don’t appreciate the attacks.
Second, with respect to attacking Chip on Tuesday at a speech or wherever, that is disgusting to plan to hijack any candidate. It is not what our party stands for. Furthermore, part of the reason that I am leaning towards Chip is because he is very good on his feet. If Velda or Bonini would attack Chip, it would provide him with a forum to attack Velda and Bonini. “To Get My Vote” is correct that it will allow Chip to compare his opponents attacks against their flaws. Again, not a good strategy for Bonini or Velda.
Finally, it seems that the best strategy for Velda is to be Velda and Bonini to be Bonini. There is a strong anti incumbent sentiment in Delaware and in the U.S., so Bonini and Velda should not try to give voters a reason to turn to Chip as the “change” candidate. Other than this blog, I have been impressed by both Chip and Velda’s ability to just stay out of the mud. I am a supporter of Chip, not because Velda is bad. Rather, Chip seems like he has some clever ideas for an office that most of us find out of date with the times with respect to how it is structured. Plus, on a couple of occasions, i saw Chip start his speech by commending the fact that he and Velda are having a clean race and then Velda would make a slight comment against his education or say that the race is not about jobs. While Velda may have some points, it was like she wanted to take a cheap shot after Chip refused to attack her. In short, I don’t like dirty politics and I don’t care where a candidate shops. However, I do care about what the candidate can do in the office without trying to bring down the other person.
Let’s keep it clean, state our preference and not allow the Bonini people to destroy both of these good candidates.
Too funny, Nancy. Don’t get upset because we don’t agree. I haven’t started on Velda or Bonini yet. You know the reasons for my anonymity, and you ought to know that I take this skeptical attitude towards all of them except those I can personally vouch for one way or the other. I like Chip; I don’t like his plans for the office, but I’m willing to let him try to convince me.
“No one believes that a person “has no dog in the race” after researching a bunch of things about a candidate and then knock them down.”
I don’t give a damn what you believe. Those who know me know I’m not fronting for anyone.
I don’t know a thing about Velda. But I’m not inundated by people telling me what a wonderful candidate she is, either. As someone noted above, this started out as a thread about Velda, and a Chip supporter hijacked it.
If Chip can’t take this mild amount of heat, he ought to stay out of the kitchen. Or is it his tender supporters who are wilting?
BTW, Velda’s other jobs didn’t offer vast riches should she succeed at it, as a Skadden, Arps position would. Apples and oranges. And h/t to whomever found the Flowers stuff from Boston (looks like him to me, Jason). I never searched for information, whether “dirty” or clean, anywhere but his own web site.
Flowers has a successful business and likes to shop at Gucci and take trips to Paris.
*
Chip looks like he is doing great financially. I heard him on the radio today making his case for expanding the mission of the office of treasurer to where it had been in the past. Nothing radical there.