Delaware Political Weekly: May 13-19, 2016
1. Mayor Williams and Maria Cabrera Remain Non-Candidates.
This charade’s getting old. Less than 4 months before the primary, neither the councilwoman nor what passes for the incumbent mayor have filed for the office of Wilmington mayor with the Department of Elections. With Wiliams, it’s of course his typical bully-boy tactics designed to prove, what, that the rules don’t apply to him? Just what we need in a mayor. As to Cabrera, it’s becoming yet more obvious that Cassandra is right–that she’s enjoying the vanity of playing the role of a candidate when, in fact, she has no plans to ante up the bucks to run. At some point soon, she’ll likely announce that she’s running for reelection to her council seat. Williams’ disdain for the people he’s elected to serve continues unabated. For the most part, he’s avoiding candidate debates, and skipping them for phony reasons. If there were only something like four candidates in the race, he’d likely finish 4th. It’s getting close to time for candidates to look realistically at their collective situations and clear the field. Wilmington simply cannot afford 4 more years of its most incompetent mayor in history.
2. Has Anybody Seen Lisa Blunt Rochester?
No, I’m not trolling the campaign. I want to know. She seems to have been invisible. The ‘latest news’ on her website is that she has filed. On March 2nd. I know that she’s endorsed by Emily list and is, as her site proudly proclaims, a ‘Woman of Color’. Is there anything else going on there? If you’ve seen her campaigning, please tell us where. I’m serious. I mean, campaigns do matter.
3. D Primary in RD 9.
OK, kids, some of you (well, LG) will remember that this was the district that Rebecca Walker vacated after the filing deadline in 2014, meaning that the voters didn’t get to pick the D nominee. R Kevin Hensley defeated D appointee and Walker choice Jason Hortiz, a former R candidate for Clerk of the Peace, 3290-2950 in the 2014 General Election. You may also remember that, back in 2010, Walker, who had lost to Dick Cathcart back in 2008, told the RD committee that she wasn’t running. Into the breach stepped one Richard Griffiths, who was endorsed by the committee. Then Cathcart ‘retired’, after his dirty dealings at Del-State were revealed, and Walker jumped back in. She defeated Griffiths handily in the primary, 970-258, and edged out John Marino in the general, 5583-5301. Then, of course, she got a job where she can help the police cover up evidence that police might, just might, have been engaged in wrongdoing. (Have I mentioned lately just how corrupt and incestuous the politicians in this state are? Oh, and did I mention that her husband is an ex-cop?)
But, I digress. Richard Griffiths has filed to run in the 9th, and he has a primary opponent, one Monique Johns. All I’ve got for Griffiths is his 2010 announcement notice. Johns appears to be, uh, the wife (‘First Lady’) to a Bible Fellowship pastor. I know that Liberal Geek was real high on Griffiths back in 2010, can you fill us in on what’s going on, Big Guy? Can a D knock off Hensley this year?
4. Perry Mitchell, 77, to Challenge Gerald Hocker in SD 20.
At least we have a name on the ballot to challenge the Greengrocer, who is one of Delaware’s worst.
Mitchell is a former Ocean View councilman and owns a computer repair business. That’s about it.
5. More D Filings for Wilmington City Council.
Anthony Miller for District 5, and Edythe Pridgen for Council At-Large. Pridgen is a Legislative Analyst for Wilmington City Council. I’ve got nothing on Anthony Miller, and I tried. Anybody?
6. Curtains for one of Sussex County Council’s Worst?
Maybe, although not from the D side. One Lisa Hudson Briggs is challenging western Sussex councilman Sam Wilson. For an R, she seems OK. In fact, it looks like party leaders are trying to force him out. Of course, it could just be a power play by Ruth Briggs King, to whom she’s related. Did I also mention that her husband is a retired state trooper? I just did. Oy.
7. The End For Rose Izzo?
She’s no longer filed for Congress, and there isn’t even a campaign sign on her zoysia grass.
8. Filings.
State Senator David Lawson (R-SD 15). If the D’s allow him to run unopposed, it’s political malpractice. State Rep. Quin Johnson (D-8th RD). Ciro Adams, R candidate for Wilmington Council At-Large. Charles Koskey, D candidate, Sussex County Clerk of the Peace. Norman Jones, R candidate for Sussex County Clerk of the Peace. Sussex County Councilman Mike Vincent (R-CD 1).
That’s all I’ve got this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
Pridgen is also a former news assistant at the News Journal. Back in the day, she would go over to the courts and gather the lists of sentencings and grand jury indictments (stuff you no longer see in what used to be Delaware’s “paper of record”). For what it’s worth, Pridgen worked at the NJ about the same time as Sherry Dorsey Walker was an intern there.
Perry Mitchell is a retired political science professor and a former officer of the Sussex County Democratic Party. He is a good candidate in this district and is already campaigning against Senator Hocker in the 20th. Sussex Clerk of the Peace candidate Charlie Koskey is owner(with his wife) of the popular and successful Chardon Jewelers on The Circle in Georgetown and is a former Georgetown council member.
Look, I understand that it’s not likely that Hocker can be beaten in the district. And it’s nice of Mitchell to run.
But, at some point, Hocker’s gonna retire. Is there a next generation of Sussex County D’s out there, perhaps even someone who could have a shot at winning the seat, or is the Party essentially doomed to field names on the ballot?
“7. The End For Rose Izzo?
She’s no longer filed for Congress, and there isn’t even a campaign sign on her zoysia grass.”
Izzo’s Twitter account @realRoseIzzo looks like she is the only Progressive in this race.
The 9th is (barley) Blue at the top of the ticket, and Red as name rec fades down ballot. That said, Simpler was the best overall vote getter in the 9th with 3,760 to Carney’s 3,429 and Coons’ 3,228.
As Walker proves, a dem can win in the 9th, but the wind needs to blowing just right, and the top of the ticket needs to be pretty strong.
Indecently, I had doubted this… but I guess the sign stealing did hurt BHL in the portion of the 9th RD that is also in the 10th SD, she lost big to Marino: 556 (42%) to 773 (58%)
“councilman Sam Wilson”
My favorite Sam Wilson quotes from who said his eyes were opened during a recent trip along backroads in the Lewes-Rehoboth Beach area.
“I’ve never seen so many homes,”
“I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
So all these years he’s been making these decisions and apparently had no clue about the consequences of his decisions?
I’m going to the farmers market in Lewes tomorrow. I’m going to by a turnip. Said turnip will be filing for Sam’s seat because really, the turnip is cheaper and actually has the capability of making way better decision than Sam Wilson.
In RD9 it sounds like Rick Griffiths has gotten the seal of approval from the local D organization (although I don’t know if he has officially been endorsed – they would have voted on that last night). I understand that Dickie Burris is going to hold a fundraiser for him in the next few weeks and that should help solidify his finances and his standing. I assume that it also means that the word of mouth among the influential clubs down there (Hunters, farmers, social) will help Rick.
I have literally heard nothing from Hensley in the last 2 years (I’m not in the district any more, FWIW). Maybe he has some pull among the R’s down there, and there are a lot of them. But if this is a Democratic wave year, I suspect Hensley is the kind of politician that gets washed away like flotsam.
Found this on Izzo’s website:
Video: Burn Baby Burn
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QgN4dTvyTtM
Video: Not Me, Us
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=INpC-vzPtVU
The issues on Izzo’s website are supported by “Crazy Bernie” & The Berniecrats Network.
The DEGOP must love this.
The current registration in the 9th RD is 7332 D, 5517 R, and 4595 I. A classic swing district in which a lot of the D’s are of the below-the-canal variety. Can’t say I’m encouraged by that.
So, Get Money Out of Politics, is Izzo running or not? I mean, you would know, right?
Rose Izzo has been a pain in the ass to the status quo establishment for over 17 years. According to the Federal Election Commition, the Delaware Department of Elections and Izzo’s own web & Twitter pages she never stopped running.
Update: A source has told me that Griffiths was endorsed by the 9th RD last night.
Another source tells me that Hortiz was slagging for Monique Johns in recent weeks.
Turnip 2016!
I don’t know anything about Anthony Miller and haven’t found anyone who does know him.
This is from Edythe Pridgen’s announcement email:
I am unsure as to the protocol here, but shouldn’t she quit her city job to run for Council?
Pretty sure the fact that Griffiths has an opponent has a lot to do with him buddying up with John Marino and sharing an anti Bethany Facebook post in February on his page. He apparently took it down recently.
That sounds like jibber-jabber to me. As LG said, if Dickie Burris and the 9th committee has cleared him to run, he is cleared to run.
With Trump on the ticket, Hensley will win re-election in in there………..
Below the canal, Trump on ticket will help local candidates
I just Googled news for “Lisa Blunt Rochester.” Her most recent public comment was about Sean Barney:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/defense-ptsd-sean-barney-delaware-223098
Where does her website “proudly proclaims, a ‘Woman of Color’”? The home page shows in large font “a strong voice for Delaware.” Her biography mentions that she was Delaware’s first African-American woman Secretary of Labor. But, that’s worth a mention.
Too many damn cops in power in DE
Yo, Get the Money Out, you wrote:
“According to the Federal Election Commition, the Delaware Department of Elections and Izzo’s own web & Twitter pages she never stopped running.”
According to the Department of Elections page of qualified candidates, Rose Izzo isn’t filed to run for anything this year. So I’m not sure what you mean. So, could you tell us what she’s running for?
LBR’s campaign manager wrote that she’ll be attending the 25th Democratic RD meeting this Monday at 7 pm.
Lisa Blunt Rochester will not win her run for Congress ( No surprise to anyone.) She should have exploded out of the gate instead of meandering. I think that she also suffers from the same blind spot I see in other African-American candidates from this neck of the woods-lack of understanding statewide politics. That said, I think that with more visibility and learning the inside game outside Wilmington, she would be a good candidate for a statewide office next cycle. As for me-not very interested in the Wilmington clown car or the, “Vote for me because it’s my turn-qualified or not” syndrome. Also have not heard from the one campaign in which I have an interest. I’m generally tired and frustrated by our politics (double meaning there!). Looking at other interests. May be my opening farewell!
BTW, why am I getting these inserts about drug treatment?
Got a virus?
Uhh, look above… you said…”blunt”….
You kicked in the algorithm….
Hey
Found out that the drug treatment stuff a came from my google clip tray. Removed ut