Delaware Liberal in 2015

As we all recover from Christmas, the Eagles losing, and prepare for New Years, it is time to look back on 2015 at Delaware Liberal. We added a new amazing writer here this year in Brian Stephan from the local blog, Those in Favor. He makes a great addition to our team of Jason300, Pandora, Cassandra, Rob Tornoe, El Somnambulo and yours truly.

Below you will find our most discussed, visited, and viral posts of 2015, and this year, they reflected the most important political stories in Delaware in 2015.

THE DEATH OF BEAU BIDEN

Breaking News: Beau Biden has Died, by Delaware Dem, May 30, 2015

You knew this was coming…, by Delaware Dem, June 4, 2015

A Thank You from the Bidens, by Delaware Dem, June 7, 2015

So what now?, by Delaware Dem on June 8, 2015.

Welcome to Plan B. The alternate reality that we had to talk about and plan for should Beau Biden not run for Governor, or not be able to run. But it is more of an alternate reality than who will fill the Governor’s seat come 2017. We might also be entering the post-Biden era of Delaware politics, which I think partly explains the large outpouring of love and affection for the Biden family, for Joe, and for Beau, over this past week. Because Delawareans thought that, maybe, this will be their last chance.

Which is why I want to talk about a modified Plan A for a second before we move on to Plan B. I’m sorry, but I love Joe Biden. He is my favorite office holder, favorite politician, and at this point, my favorite human being, my favorite example of what a father and a man should be. And I am being selfish here, but I don’t want his last 18 months in office as Vice President to be the end. Plus, not to be cynical here, but the love for the Biden family in this state is a political asset and brand you don’t just walk away from. So why doesn’t Vice President Biden run for Governor?

Think about it. It is not without precedent. President John Quincy Adams was elected as a Congressman after his Presidency and served in Congress for an additional 17 years. He also attempted to become Governor of Massachusetts in 1833, but he lost. President Andrew Johnson served in the U.S. Senate following his Presidency. President William Howard Taft was appointed to be Chief Justice of the United States.

Then again, the reasons on the “NO way, are you out of your god-damned mind?” list far outnumber the pro list. The Vice President probably views the office of Governor as a step down, a demotion. After decades being concerned with national and international affairs, would be really be interested in the small minutiae of running a state government? And after this devastating loss of his son, does he really want to continue in politics? Maybe he feels he has given enough of his life to us. Maybe is ready for the porch and retirement. Maybe he is ready for that Elder Statesman role. Maybe it is time for the Biden Era to end (or at least pass on to Hunter and Ashley if they ever want to seek public office).

I just don’t know. A man who stands for 15 hours to greet thousands of total strangers is a man that loves reaching out and loves the community.

Moving onto Plan B, the death of Beau Biden makes the political scene look like an Etch-A-Sketch. And these are the potential candidates for the Big Three statewide offices up in 2016.

My thoughts on Beau Biden and what really matters, by Pandora, June 1, 2015.

I wasn’t going to write about this, but, today, Al Mascitti made me cry. He was so choked up as he spoke about Beau and his family. So many memories came flooding back. Painful memories, but memories I wouldn’t give up for the world. I’m also publishing this today due to the comments on the other thread. We’ve obviously “gone there” so let me add my insight.

It’s no secret I was in the “medical privacy” camp, but I sorta stayed out of those debates because I could (sorta) see the other side. It was a different conversation because, imo, it removed the humanity of the obvious situation, and while I didn’t understand that side (and I’m not really here to debate that, altho that will probably happen given the comments on the “memorial” thread) my lack of understanding probably had a lot to do with how many times I’ve been up close and personal to this type of situation.

Dying trumps everything. There are no politics, no career moves, no family squabbles, no test scores – These. Things. Do. Not. Matter. At. All. If they matter to you, then that is your luxury.

Here’s the truth: There are no rules, no shoulds, no have tos, in regards to a terminal illness. Just like there are no rules to grief. Death is a solitary experience. No one can tell you how to handle this. There isn’t a “correct” way of doing this. The dying person gets to set the rules.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Delaware: The Next Colorado?, by Delaware Dem, November 3, 2015

The point is we are at a tipping point in this reform movement, just as the Hate Amendment in California was the tipping point in the marriage equality movement. The latest Gallup poll shows that 58 percent of American favor pot legalization. Kevin Drum predicts that marijuana will be generally legal by 2019. And 24/Wall Street is now out with an article that predicts the next 11 states that will legalize marijuana. Where does Delaware rank among the most 11 most likely states? LOL, 11th:

11. Delaware
> Max. fine for small amount: $575
> Marijuana related arrests in 2012: 2,912
> Marijuana arrests per 100,000: 318
> Minimum penalty classification : Misdemeanor

According to a 2014 survey conducted by the University of Delaware, 56% of respondents in the state agreed that “the use of marijuana should be made legal.” Governor Jack Markell signed in June 2015 a law officially making Delaware the 20th state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Though the law will not take effect until January, when it does, Delaware residents will face a maximum penalty of a $100 fine for possession of up to an ounce of the drug. Before the governor signed the law, marijuana users in Delaware faced up to three months of jail time, a $575 fine, and a misdemeanor on their record for the same offence.

There were 2,912 marijuana-related arrests in 2012 in Delaware, the 12th highest rate of all states per capita. In 2012, about eight out of 10 adolescents in the state did not perceive light marijuana use as dangerous, a fairly lax view.

Yeah, Massachusetts, Nevada, California, New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Connecticut, Maryland and Rhode Island all get to get legal before Delaware. But sadly, given the pains some took to say during the Decriminalization debate that they were not pushing for legalization, it is probably accurate prediction. Unless, like in history of passing civil unions in one session of the GA and marriage equality in another, we just chuck perceptions to the wind and not care about what we said. But if that pattern holds, where we pass legalization one session after passing decriminalization, we are probably still looking at 2017 at the earliest.

THE EDUCATIONS WARS: PRIORITY SCHOOLS V. CHARTER SCHOOLS

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words, by Pandora, September 10, 2015.

Look at that! It’s almost as pretty as Red Clay’s chart.

First, can we finally put to rest the myth that charters perform better than public schools. For schools with the luxury of controlling their population you’d think this chart would look different. When it comes to poverty, even charters aren’t immune.

Second, I guess we’ll have quite a few charters being labeled Priority Schools.

I’m really not sure what else to say about charters. This chart shows that they are a failed experiment. When you look at “successful” (and boy am I using that term loosely) charters it’s easy to see that their “secret sauce” is who they let into their school and not what goes on in the classroom. And our tax dollars are funding this. Meanwhile, true public schools continue to lose money, programs, teachers, etc. – they also have to take all students, even the ones charters don’t take or keep.

The only silver lining I see with the Charter School chart is that a lot of people are going to need to sit down and be quiet about Charter awesomeness. It simply isn’t true.

THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE DELAWARE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: SHORT V. TOWNSEND

The Most Important Delaware Race of 2016 is…., by El Somnambulo on September 8, 2015

…will be the primary for US Congress between State Rep. Bryon Short and State Senator Bryan Townsend.

It is a battle of the present (and, one hopes, the past) of the Democratic Party vs. a more progressive future.

Make no mistake: Bryon Short is the chosen heir to the mantle of middle-of-the-road mediocrity personified by Tom Carper and John Carney. He, or more likely Ed Freel and his ilk, have chosen ex-Carper staffer Mat Marshall to run his campaign. Carper’s ‘Brain’, Ed Freel, is calling the shots from his UD bunker. Short, of course, served in Carper’s congressional office, and has made no bones about his friendship with Carper and Carney. You may also recall that Bryon Short bottled up a minimum wage increase in his House committee until the bill was essentially emasculated. Although strong on social issues, Short’s principal legislative focus has been on cutting yet more ‘red tape’ that, according to the Chamber and its allies, hobble businesses in Delaware. In fact, Short essentially had a committee created just for him with this run in mind: The (get this) House Economic Development/ Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee, aka The Business Lapdog Committee.

THE IRAN DEAL VOTE

Carper leaning Yes, Coons leaning War, by Delaware Dem, on August 6, 2015.

Carper and Coons both ended up voting correctly and wisely.

MURDERTOWN

The Clowning of Wilmington, by Cassandra on November 11, 2015

I hope that they get somebody good looking to play me. Seriously? The Murder Town label happened on this Mayor’s watch and he continues to fiddle while the murders escalate. So instead of taking the opportunity to actually deal with a pervasive problem that is a threat to the long-term health of the city, this Mayor continues to clown us all. I’m not as much interested in whether or not this damages the city — because these people don’t make this material with any social consciousness in mind. But we do have a Mayor and Government that is largely wrapped up in trivia at the expense of a great city that is in dire need of some leadership and vision to help pull it off of the brink. And for the record, wondering if someone good-looking will play you on TV doesn’t advance public safety at all — and that is this man’s job.

Ditch the Seige Mentality, It’s Hurting Wilmington, by Cassandra, May 14, 2015.

It isn’t news that cities like Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA are reducing their violent crime statistics. I’ve been posting that news along with most of the posts I write here about the current situation in Wilmington. What these cities have done includes re-orienting themselves to data and intelligence-driven forces, able to address crime hot spots and get out in front of crime — rather than simply wait for a phone call to respond to. Heck, even the SEPTA has moved to a data-driven policing model and is clearly bending the curve on their own crime problem.

So what’s wrong with Wilmington? Last night (May 12), there was a Town Hall where Mayor Dennis Williams presented himself to Wilmington residents to talk about the city’s issues. […]

[I]t seems that about 50 or so Wilmingtonians showed up to listen to the Mayor get belligerent, defensive, evasive, paranoid and just plain rude with them. Right out of the box, he was asked about the WPSSC recommendations and he decided to let everyone know that this report was just politics — by people who wanted to make him bad. He told folks that thee would be a “press conference” at some date to be named later to talk about what the city’s response would be. Keep in mind that this report was released on March 31. And that there have been neighborhood groups writing to Williams asking for the implementation of this report and a new petition asking for specific action to deal with the city’s violence. Chief Cummings told the world in the WPD budget hearing that they were already working on implementing most of the recommendations, but when asked which ones, he could not remember. Yet, they are supposedly doing all of this implementation yet no one can talk about it. We’re waiting for a Press Conference.

This report is the plan to address Wilmington’s crime issues that Williams said he would deliver when he was campaigning. His plan never really materialized (what he passed off as his plan is basically a copy of a bunch of programs the former Chief implemented, hoping that no one would notice), which is why the violence continues. Operation Disrupt has some mixed success (since 3 shootings have occurred within 4 blocks of my house since Easter, it is always going to look mixed to me)– but it is not a sustainable effort. The WPSSC Report (here is a shorter version of just the prioritized recommendations) focuses on providing the WPD a roadmap to transforming itself to the data- driven and intelligence-led force that has been a key strategy in places like Philly and Camden who are making some progress with crime and violence issues. This is the plan that — if implemented well — could start restoring confidence in the city and could genuinely bend the curve on the violence problem.

Yet is seems that the Mayor’s major objection to this plan is that it is “political” and somehow being used against him. It is political to the extent that Governor Markell is trying to respond to folks that Williams will not listen to, because Delaware’s biggest city cannot go the Detroit route. It is political to the extent that Williams’ rivals have embraced this report for what it is — a path to greater safety for those of us who live and work in the city. It is political because Williams promised that we would not recognize the city after two years, and the city isn’t any safer and nor is it run any better.

A Shooting happens on my block, by Cassandra, July 26, 2015.

Thursday night, a man was murdered in his home on the 500 block of W 4th St in Quaker Hill. This man was my neighbor, and this is the block I live on. A week ago — also on a Thursday — I returned home from a late run to BJs for gas to drive by a scene where a man was on the ground, being attended to by paramedics, at the corner of Lancaster and Dupont. As I drove by (just before the WPD shut down the street), I saw a friend of mine and her granddaughter who had clearly been too close to this shooting. In the days between July 16 and July 23, there have been 10 shootings in Wilmington. And for me, it is getting too close for comfort.

There’s a great deal of rumor still swirling around Thursday night’s shooting on 4th St. I do know that many of us sat outside the past couple of nights watching for something, what I don’t know. I don’t know why one man was shot in the head in his home, and I hope the WPD can find the shooter. But what I do know is that one of the most stable blocks in West Center City is feeling under siege and it would not surprise me if some of these long time homeowners find someplace to live where their safety will be more important than it is here.

I don’t want to blame the WPD for this one shooting on my own block. But I have been pointing out since Easter that WCC has been pretty bloody this year, in spite of the claims for success of Operation Disrupt. What I do want to lay at the feet of the WPD leadership is the continued lack of urgency in seriously upgrading the WPD to a 21st century police force. And I do fault them for not taking the crime mapping effort seriously. 7th and Washington needs to be addressed for this neighborhood to have any stability. And as far as we can tell, there is no such targeted effort.

“We are not going to let the Commission take credit for these ideas,” by Cassandra, May 26, 2015.

That’s a paraphrase of what Wilmington’s Public Safety Liaison, Mr. Douglas Iardella, told one of the attendees of tonite’s Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission. This, unfortunately, is the only thing that can explain the Administration’s continued and obvious delay in talking about implementing the recommendations of the Commission’s report. Tonight’s meeting was expected to feature Chief Bobby Cummings discussing the report’s recommendations that the WPD would implement and discuss the path forward. Many community members came out (again) to be a part of the discussion and several of Wilmington’s GA delegation came as well.

Instead of hearing from the Chief, we heard from Iardella, who is a consultant to the Mayor and also on the WPD at the time the Mayor was. Few people know what Iardella does at the City, besides show up at meetings, but he is paid a pretty penny (in addition to his pension, of course!) to do it. This time, Iardella was sent out to disresepect the citizens of Wilmington on behalf of the Mayor — instead of starting the discussion of how to move the WPD forward, he came to push forward the story that the WPD has already been working on these ideas, well before there was a WPSSC. According to Iardella, they’ve been working on most of these ideas since October via the Violence Reduction Network program that Wilmington was named to. And they’ll be ready to talk about the work that they’ve done via the VRN next week — he didn’t know what day, what time, whether it would be a press release or a press conference or whether residents would have a chance to engage in a dialog about it with the City.

And that was pretty much it. Community members from all over the City gave up their evenings to get no briefing from the Chief (the consultant Iardella *actually* spoke for the Wilmington Chief of Police). This was especially distressing as many of us knew that there were going to be big changes in our community policing unit — as in officers being transferred and reassigned in favor of bringing in new people. Not being able to contextualize of explain that was a mistake by the Chief and Iardella. Not showing up prepared to have a robust discussion on these issues (how many more people were shot over the Memorial Day weekend?), but trying to vamp their way into next week was a mistake. But telling someone that the Administration can’t have the Commission get credit for these ideas? That’s just a tragedy.

THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP’S POWER PLAYS

In a dog-bites-man story, the despicable House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, aka ‘Pete’s Enforcer’, sought to essentially narc out someone who had the temerity to question the raises that D House leadership bestowed upon its staff. Longhurst did it by leaking an e-mail exchange and issuing a veiled threat to the constituent’s employer. This News-Journal story captures the essence of Longhurst as well as anything I’ve read.

Please read the story. You’ll see that Longhurst is first utterly disingenuous in somehow claiming that she HAD NO IDEA whether the e-mail in question reflected the official position of the University of Delaware. Her intent was clear: To get the employee in trouble, and to underline that the General Assembly, due to its infinite charity, provides funds to the University of Delaware and, gee, wouldn’t it be a shame if that relationship was threatened by this e-mail?

And, now, to the Lie of the Year. In Delaware, this is almost certainly the Lie of the Decade:

“I was just asking a question,” Longhurst said. “I’ve never bullied anybody. If that’s the perception, that’s the perception.”

“How is it intimidating?” she told The News Journal. “I just raised a question.”

‘Bully’ is not just something that Longhurst does, it is who she is.

Ex-Legislator Rewarded for Burying Death Penalty Repeal Bill, by El Somnambulo, May 21, 2015.

Remember Rebecca Walker? She’s the former chair of the House Judiciary Committee who buried the death penalty repeal bill in her committee for most of 2013 and all of 2014.

Remember Rebecca Walker? She’s the former legislator who claimed she was running for reelection in 2014, had actually filed, waited until after the filing deadline, then withdrew her name, thus denying the Democratic voters in her district the right to choose her successor via primary. Remember why Rebecca Walker claimed she withdrew? She said that her work would not enable her to continue to serve. As if she just found that out right after the filing deadline.

Well, guess what ‘good fortune’ has been bestowed upon former State Rep. Rebecca Walker?

If you guessed a $92.5K state job that required no public posting and which reunites her with her police pals with whom she scuttled death penalty repeal, you would be correct. Oh, and it’s a newly-created job that had not previously existed.

Schwartzkopf’s Budget Deal Deplorable. Was it also illegal?, by El Somnambulo, July 8, 2015.

I think the answer may well be yes.

But first, let’s talk about how Pistol Pete threw over his own caucus in order to crawl into bed with the Rethugs. According to several Leg Hall sources, Speaker Schwartzkopf had pledged to reconvene with his caucus to try to recalibrate any budget agreement that could impact core D constituencies. Specifically, those who were at risk of losing 10% in public assistance for health care. He did not hold that promised meeting. Instead, he called the Budget Bill up for a vote, which is why so many D progressives voted no. And, yes, those receiving public assistance saw their monthly stipend cut from $90 monthly to $81. Meanwhile, $1.2 mill worth of additional state police coverage to Sussex County and $3 mill of Ag Lands preservation were the booty claimed by the Rethugs and, not coincidentally, by Sussex County’s most powerful legislator, Schwartzkopf. Oh, and the $5 mill that was transferred from the Transportation Trust Fund in the name of ‘reform’, ended up…nope, not telling you yet.

Today’s Word is Petulant, by Brian Stephan, October 8, 2015

Brian offers his take on the Longhurst-UD Affair above.

She is my State Rep, although in my attempts to communicate with her over the years I’ve never had a response. Not even a canned one. So I use the term “representative” very loosely.

Anecdote time: A few years ago some housing units across the street from me burned down because a tenant flicked a lit cigarette out the back window during the middle of a drought igniting the dead grass, dried undergrowth in the wetlands, and the decks. The fire obliterated 2 units and damaged 3. In the preceding months and years, there were multiple incidents of gunfire, home invasion, homicide, and drug activity in our neighborhood. After several of them, we asked Rep. Longhurst to meet to discuss our concerns, what to do to improve our community, and how she as a State leader might help. Requests went unanswered except for one after the fire in which she agreed to meet us in front of the burned out homes. On the day of, it was rainy and cold. So she cancelled the meeting and did not respond to requests to reschedule. How can I cc everyone in Bear about this?

Petulance and leadership should not go hand in hand. Unfortunately when it comes to our State leaders, they often do. This is just the most recent example and kudos for Reps. Kowalko and Williams for addressing this situation appropriately. “..this is just a symptom of a larger illness in our caucus; this is a reflection of every one of us.” Williams wrote. There’s a bit of leadership for you. Something, something “hold our elected officials to a higher standard”. How about we do that next November?

P.S.: How not to sound petulant:

“Hi Fran, thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns over the selective pay raise process that occurred with the new state budget. I share your concerns with the overall trend of decreasing compensation for our dedicated state employees and in the coming legislative session will be seeking methods to reverse that trend not only for state workers but for state services, like education, as well. I would welcome your additional thoughts on this matter and on our budget as a whole as Delaware is facing a tough financial year ahead.”

A Guest Post from Steve Newton on how Delaware’s Government channels its inner Trump, by Steve Newton, October 31, 2015.

Secretary of Finance Tom Cook’s recent op-ed epitomizes the strategy of hiding things in plain sight. Secretary Cook and Governor Jack Markell’s revenue review panel has concealed among its recommendations for making Delaware tax revenues more “elastic” an ideologically driven agenda of tax cuts for the wealthy and out-of-state corporations at the expense of our state’s middle class, senior citizens and local business owners. That our governor could sanction such recommendations is a prime example of how politics in Delaware has been hollowed out in favor of profit taking.

Let’s first notice that in a era of declining revenues and increasingly challenging budgets to balance Governor Markell’s instructions forbade raising new revenue: “if a recommendation was made that could be expected to generate additional revenue for the state, then a corresponding revenue reduction would also be proposed to offset it.” This means (in English) that Cook’s panel was not interested in providing more money to balance our budget, but in changing who pays the bills.

First, consider the cuts. The panel recommends (in appropriately stealthy language) rolling back previous revenue-generating raises to the corporate franchise fees and reducing the corporate income tax rate. This change benefits primarily huge corporations and large institutional investors. The panel also suggests complete elimination of the Estate Tax, which is pretty much only paid by the wealthiest 1%. Here’s a multiple-choice question (in keeping with Governor Markell’s spirit of relentless standardized testing): Would these recommendations be most likely found in the political platforms of (A) Hillary Clinton; (B) Bernie Sanders; or (C) Donald Trump?

JASON’S SNARKY OBSERVATIONS

A: I can’t believe I lost to that dumbf*ck, by Jason330, January 16, 2015.

Q: What is Brenda Mayrack thinking right now?

I hope she runs again. I chalk the loss up to Tom Carper and John Carney undermining the Democratic brand and thereby giving no support to down-ticket Dem challengers with less name recognition.

Delaware’s Charles Darwin Day the first in US, by Jason330, January 27, 2015.

Kudos to Jack Markell. This is exactly the kind of crumb Markell is a master of tossing out to starving liberals. Nice work Gov! Now get back to the real work of governing and privatize public education, reduce the minimum wage, or figure out how to exempt millionaires from paying taxes.

We had 786,596 views this year, 170,580 visitors, 1,453 posts and 12,264 comments. Those statistics are all down from what we have seen in prior years, and most similar to what we saw in 2007 and 2011. Our big years in terms of views, visits and readership occur in election years, with 2012 being our biggest year ever. I expect 2016 to replace it, though.

And not because of the election, though that is part of it. In compiling this list for the year, I really am stunned at the quality of work here at DL. Cassandra’s posts on Wilmington are just superb. Pandora’s posts on education are excellent. El Som’s on the inner workings of the General Assembly lift the curtain on things that we need to see. I am proud to be a colleague of theirs. I am proud that we all collaborate to bring you and Delaware some news and opinion that you don’t often see in the Delaware media. That is the best is yet to come.