The 2014 MVP Awards! And the winner is…. Mike Matthews.

Granted, it wasn’t a great year for progressives in Delaware, to put it mildly. A business uber alles governor, a congressional delegation that aids and comforts the enemy, more shenanigans from narcissistic elected officials, and a refusal by the General Assembly to address financial shortfalls that will soon impact Delaware’s infrastructure.

However…we began to see the emergence of coalitions that may well have a profound and positive impact on our future. We also saw some elected officials step up their game. And we saw members of the public lead in challenging some of the most wrong-headed assumptions of our elected officials.

So, here they are: The 2014 Bob Stachnik Memorial MVP Awards.   Dedicated to a man who epitomized the spirit of those who created this very blog. A man who, literally and figuratively, sought to ‘re-twinkle the stars’.

As always, in reverse numerical order:

10. Matt Denn: Stepped up to fill the (longstanding?) vacancy in the AG’s office. He was a great Insurance Commissioner, and I think he’ll be a great AG. I’m projecting here, but I’d rather have him as AG than pretty much anybody else. He may have given up a run for Governor to replace Beau Biden, but he’s pretty much always done the right thing, and he now has a platform to do the right thing.

9. Tie: Sen. Bryan Townsend/Rep. Kim Williams: They have already begun to take the lead on challenging the government/corporate education cabal that is destroying public education in Delaware. Here is their joint op-ed challenging the utter wrongheadedness of the so-called DOE ‘Priority’ Plan. If you haven’t already done so, read it. Both have laid out devastating critiques of Delaware’s one-size-fits-all testing program. Both have a strong working knowledge of the ins and outs of Delaware’s education system, and I think they’ve only started.  There are more education leaders to come on this list, and I hope and expect that the rush to destroy Delaware’s public education system is itself destroyed. Along with the reputations of those who have allowed this to happen.  BTW, here’s just a taste of their excellent op-ed:

We applaud a commitment to improving our schools, but all stakeholders should stand united in rejecting DOE’s plan and insisting on a more personalized and collaborative approach. The field of education is deeply personal by its very nature. Each day, thousands of Delaware students learn and grasp concepts at different paces and in different ways. Each day, Delaware educators try multiple methods of meeting students’ unique learning needs. To be successful in this individualized process, we must involve all stakeholders (including parents) and develop a culture in which we take no shortcuts and we reach all children.

DOE’s approach does the exact opposite, which is all the more problematic when combined with the pernicious philosophy currently driving our education policymaking – that a priority on frequently and rigorously testing our students and then tying those test results to educators’ evaluations is the best way to measure knowledge, ensure accountability and foster a love of learning.

8. Rep. James ‘J. J.’ Johnson: He sponsored and got two bills enacted into law that affords second chances and ways out for those who have paid their debt to society. #1: The Black Box Bill, and legislation offering ‘…casual seasonal employment for up to 6 months to ex-offenders who demonstrate exceptional job skills…’.  Johnson has been able to carve out opportunities for ex-offenders w/o really creating a wellspring of opposition. Not to mention he votes as a progressive on pretty much every issue.  An excellent year from one of our best legislators.

7. Delaware Chapter of the ACLU/Community Legal Aid Society: There have been over 200 responses to this thread on DL.  Many focus on whether the lawsuit alleging that ‘Delaware’s charter schools are causing resegregation and discrimination against minorities and students with disabilities’ is on firm legal ground.  I don’t particularly care. The reason why this lawsuit is tremendously important is b/c it demonstrates, in prose that anyone can understand, that the charter schools movement, as it has evolved in Delaware, has created a de facto system of haves and have nots, encompassing schools, teachers and students.  Lawsuit proponents argue, and I agree, that public education funds are going to essentially create ‘public private schools’ that serve only exclusive and racially/ethnically-circumscribed student bodies.  This lawsuit, at the least, becomes part of a growing synergistic movement challenging the dunderheaded assumptions of those currently creating public education policy in Delaware.

6. Rep. Darryl Scott: While he was not able to get death penalty repeal considered by the House, he put together enough votes that would have enabled the bill to pass had Speaker Pete and the departed and unlamented Rebecca Walker allowed it to come to the floor for a vote. He also successfully continued his push for the public’s right to privacy, especially as it pertains to materials in the digital age. Not just as good a progressive as you’re gonna get from Kent County, probably the best we’ve had in the past couple of decades.  I hope we haven’t seen the last of him.

5. Rep. John Kowalko: Probably his most effective year as a legislator.  While others point to his being out front on controversial issues, including the so-called generating station in Newark, he makes my list b/c he also passed two pieces of legislation this year that I doubted would ever be passed. Yes, both bills were weakened a bit, but they’re now law, and I expect that subsequent legislation will only strengthen them. First, HB 13,  which prohibits a former member of the General Assembly from acting as a lobbyist for a period of one year after such person’s term of office ends. The Senate changed the effective date from January of 2015 to January 0f 2017, so be on the lookout for legislators turned lobbyists when the new session starts. Second, and most shocking, HB 331, which ‘removes the exemption from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and thus fully applies FOIA to the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.’  I never expected such a bill to pass in my lifetime.  A great legislative year for one of Dover’s most forceful advocates.

4. Delaware Repeal Project: A superb grassroots effort that actually generated enough votes to repeal the death penalty in Delaware.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome Speaker Pete, the police troglodytes, and Rebecca Walker, to get the bill to the House floor for a vote.  And, like most superb grassroots efforts, they are you. They’re gonna be back in January, we can do this if we come together and lobby effectively.  If you, like me, support death penalty repeal, start here.  Check out all the organizations, religious leaders, and individuals who are already involved. Sign the petition, get involved, maybe donate some money and/or do some canvassing. Those involved in the Project are dedicated to the cause and they’re good, and victory is tantalizingly close.  It won’t be easy, but nothing worth achieving ever is.

3. Shailen Bhatt, Delaware Secretary of Transportation: He earned his position for three reasons: (1) His department repaired I-495 long before I had ever imagined possible; those who ridicule the ability of government to function effectively, take note. (2) He spoke truth to power, noting that legislators want all kinds of projects for their district, but won’t find a way to fund them. (3) He pretty much laid out the sheer folly of having the state fork over a bunch of money for a supposed athletic complex in Kent County.  I doubt that he’s long for his DELDOT position precisely because he doesn’t sugarcoat his words. But that, along with his demonstrated competence at getting stuff done, is why I like him and why I think you should as well.

2. The Green Party of Delaware: For the last two or three election cycles, the Green Party of Delaware has offered me and, I suspect, people like me, something that no other party has provided: People I can vote for w/o holding my nose. This November, I voted for three of their candidates: Andrew Groff, Bernard August, and David Chandler. In 2012, I voted for Andrew Groff and Bernard August. (Say…I just saw Andrew Groff.  He stopped by where I work this weekend. Nice to put a face with the name, but I digress…) If they had run someone for Insurance Commissioner in 2012, I would’ve voted for that person as well.  But it’s not just the individuals who are worth supporting.  Head on over to their website and check out the US Green Party Platform.  That’s a progressive platform, and a platform that the Carpers and Carneys of this world would laugh at.  Which is the problem.  These positions should not be out of place in a Democratic Party that honors the heritage of the Party.  But in Delaware, that Party no longer exists.  While there are progressives deserving of support who run on the Democratic ticket, the malign influence of the corporatocracy has long since overrun the vestiges of social and economic justice that used to be at the Party’s core.  Members of the Green Party understand that winning elections remains a daunting task.  But they’ve taken steps that deserve our respect: They’ve developed a true progressive agenda, and they’ve offered candidates for election who stand for that agenda.

1.  Mike Matthews, President of the Red Clay Education Association & Blogger Supreme: I’m sure that he will be the first one to argue that many others deserve praise for their blogging on Delaware’s education issues, and, of course, he’ll be right.  Our very own Pandora has done award-worthy blogging from a parent’s perspective. Mike earns this spot for fearlessly challenging the educational hierarchy for its ‘Emperor Has No Clothes’ positions. He quietly lays out the ‘insidious and offensive’ top-down arrogance of the state officials looking to force their ill-conceived ideas on schools. I could listen to him talk sense on education all day, and my kids are already out of school. He’s a great teacher.  I wonder if the governor and members of his corporate education cabal are listening. If not, that’s too bad. They would learn something.

Here are a couple of Mike’s best from this year:

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/11/15/teachers-must-deal-studies/19089451/

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/12/13/education-departments-solution-work/20331407/

and here’s a must-listen video from Mike, absolutely galvanizing, get galvanized!:

http://delawareway.blogspot.com/2014/10/red-clay-educator-mike-matthews.html

All I can say is…run, Mike, run!!