Delaware Political Weekly: June 3-9, 2016.

We’re gonna do something different this week.  I’ve put together a list of candidates/incumbents who have not yet filed.  It’s an interesting list, and, in some cases, provides insight onto the candidates themselves. Especially at the very beginning:

GOVERNOR: John Carney continues his rope-a-dope with Delaware voters.  His non-candidacy candidacy reeks of cynicism and dismissiveness of the public.  He keeps coming up with rationales for pushing back his candidacy/filing. First, it was something like a 6-month deference to Beau, then it was a hip operation (or was it, more optimistically, a brain or heart transplant?). Now it’s so as to not interfere with the work of this governor and the General Assembly. We all know the real reasons: (1) He doesn’t have to do anything as the coronation is well under way; and (2) He has no vision to share, so why dredge up just how uninspiring he was eight years ago? The Democratic Party deserves criticism for not at least trying to get him out there.  By ‘out there’, I don’t mean empty glad-handing. He’s doing lots of that. No, I mean, what does he stand for?  Let me give you just one example. The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce recently bestowed an award on Carney, and Carney was only too happy to show up to receive it.  The State Chamber of Commerce is now on record as wanting and planning to gut Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act.  How does Chamber award recipient Carney feel about that? He ain’t talkin’. Cynicism all around.

Colin Bonini hasn’t filed either, meaning the only major party filed gubernatorial candidate is Lacey Lafferty. My theory? BFFs Carney and Bonini will file together and then hold a joint Bar-Bro-Que where Bonini can crack quips and Carney can try to muster up a smile.

STATE SENATE: Uh-oh. Only  two incumbent senators have not yet filed for reelection.  One of them is Sussex County Senator Brian Pettyjohn (R-19th SD).  But the other is Delaware’s Best Legislator Karen Peterson (D-9th SD). I know that she’s closer to the end of her career than the beginning, but the thought of losing both her and Bryan Townsend from the Senate in the same year is profoundly depressing. Here’s hoping that she re-ups at least one more time.

STATE HOUSE: OK, we know that Harold Peterman (R-33rd) is retiring, and that there’s a three-way R primary for his successor. We also know that a D, Karen Dee Williams, has just filed for the seat, but that her website is not yet operational. So there will be at least one new representative next term. Here are the other state reps who have not yet filed: Helene Keeley (D-RD 3), Stephen Smyk (R-RD 20), Andria Bennett (D-RD 32), David Wilson (R-RD 35) (he has a filed primary opponent in David Mitchell), Ronald Gray (R-RD 38), Dan Short (R-RD 39), Tim Dukes (R-RD 40), and Richard Collins (R-RD 41). Other than the possibility that Wilson might not run again, I haven’t heard any rumors about the other non-filed candidates. I think it’s pretty clear that those Sussex R’s, for the most part, ain’t goin’ nowhere.

WILMINGTON MAYOR: Maria Cabrera has not yet filed, nor is she likely to do so. On the plus side, she at least has participated in mayoral debates to a much greater extent than hothead and incumbent mayor Dennis Williams has.  Hey, if you can get your message out there w/o having to pony up a filing fee, more power to you.

I have not extended this exercise to row offices and the like. I like to think I have a life.

That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?