Carney’s entrepreneurial advisory group has no entrepreneurs

Filed in Delaware, National by on February 16, 2017

Governor John Carney’s entrepreneurial advisory group should have been called, John Carney’s advisory group for funneling money to the usual economic development suspects.

Here is the list of the 15 members of the Economic Development Working Group who are tasked with “explore(ing) how state government can work with the private sector to improve economic development efforts in Delaware,” By looking for new ways to attract new companies, support innovation and “build a stronger entrepreneurial community.”

Please tell me who in this group is seated to represent entrepreneurs.

Mark Brainard – President, Delaware Technical Community College (Co-Chair)
Doneene Damon – Executive Vice President, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.
Mark Kleinschmidt – President, New Castle County Chamber of Commerce
Nick Lambrow – President, M&T Bank, Delaware Region
Jim Maravelias – President, Delaware AFL-CIO
Terry Murphy – President, Bayhealth Medical Cntr & Chair of the Del Business Roundtable
Mona Parikh – Community Engagement Liaison, UD Horn Program in Entrepreneurship
Sen. Brian Pettyjohn – Senate Republican Caucus
Albert Shields – Policy Director, Office of Governor Carney
Rep. Bryon Short – House Democratic Caucus*
Richelle Vible – Executive Director, Catholic Charities
Sen. Jack Walsh – Senate Democratic Caucus
Rod Ward – President, Corporation Service Company (Co-Chair)
Bernice Whaley – Director, Delaware Economic Development Office
Rep. Lyndon Yearick – House Republican Caucus

I see a lot of mammoth, deeply entrenched organizations and not entrepreneurs. I guess if you stretch your definition of entrepreneur beyond credibility you can kinda sorta count Bryon Short, but he appears to be there to represent the Dem caucus. Mona Parikh’s title mentions entrepreneurship, but she is a lawyer whose paycheck is cut by the state’s wealthiest organization.

The working group has already met, and they are going to deliver their findings Carney on April 7. Given the composition of the group, If they come back with anything that is even a little helpful for Delaware startups I’ll be shocked.

Carney.Bonini

About the Author ()

Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (24)

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  1. Bryon Short has always been a Chamber Democrat. Mr. ‘Bury Minimum Wage in Committee’. Maybe they’ll come back with that sub-minimum ‘training wage’.

    At least Markell would have provided himself a minimal amount of cover. Maybe throw Sam Lathem on there or something.

    Carney is precisely the Third Way Empty Suit that Carper envisioned. At least we beat back his Third Way Empty Suit backup plan–Sean Barney. But the Delaware Democratic Party is full of them.

  2. Jason330 says:

    Not being so transparently full of shit would be nice. Why even claim that this is intended to “build a stronger entrepreneurial community” ?

    Just come out and say that we’ll be lavishing tax breaks on any large company that says it will move 300 job here.

  3. mouse says:

    That’s the problem. How do we purge the party or get a 3 party candidate elected? If the republicans were smart they would find some old DE style liberal republicans to run instead of nutcases

  4. Jason330 says:

    Mouse – Get your head out of the clouds. If you want to do something that will actually move the needle, pledge your $25 to support a primary opponent for Carney.

    We are 2 people shy of our weekly goal. Be a hero.

  5. mouse says:

    Pledge where?

  6. mouse says:

    I agree to

  7. mouse says:

    Only blue sky here at the beach

  8. Ben says:

    If someone would just bloody announce, I’d jump on board.
    Do it Jason. If you file paperwork and run for Gov, I will donate.

  9. Jason330 says:

    Ben – No credible, legitimate challenger is going to announce this far out. But there is something we can all do to make it more likely that a credible, legitimate challenger does announce, and that is to pledge $25.00 toward supporting that, as yet unknown, challenge.

    Read the description of the plan here prior to making any further pronouncements.

    We need two more this week to make our goal. 1 more if mouse has decided to join us.

  10. Anono says:

    Delaware Dem’s should find a 3rd party, you don’t even support your own Gov., comical.

  11. jason330 says:

    Blind allegiance to authority is more of a Republican trait.

  12. mediawatch says:

    Mona Parikh is the closest you’ll get to an honest, small-biz rep on this panel. Yes, she’s a lawyer, but she had a solo practice before taking over management of the CoInLoft/StartItUpDelaware coworking space, and then she worked for a while with the Archer Group, one of the state’s best small-biz startups of the past decade.
    Her affiliation with UD’s Horn Program is an outgrowth of her work with StartItUpDelaware and her advocacy for multiple tech startups, mostly in downtown Wilmington.
    Everyone else on the committee is most definitely in the chamber’s pocket. Mona may wind up agreeing with the others on some points, but she’s not cut from the same cloth.

  13. Jason330 says:

    So.. “Carney’s entrepreneurial advisory group has one token entrepreneur”

    More accurate?

  14. mediawatch says:

    I don’t know that I’d call Mona Parikh an entrepreneur. More accurately, she’s an advocate and a resource for entrepreneurs. (She’s also a minority, good, but a minimal counterbalance in a group that’s at least two-thirds white male.)
    The rest of them are as interconnected as you can get. The nonprofit rep is a former bank president.
    And there’s hardly any difference in viewpoint between the state chamber and the county chamber. If Carney really wanted to hear a different voice for small business, he would have gone to Bob Older and gotten a rep from the Delaware Small Business Chamber, most of whose members are solo practitioners or have just a couple of employees.

  15. SussexAnon says:

    Dems ignoring small business’ and entrepeneurs? Shocking.

  16. Get It Over With says:

    This group is a joke. Expect it to conclude that Del Tech needs their own revenue stream, which will be another school tax line on your property tax bill that will go up without referendum every year. The U of D will just have the bulldozer pull up and drop the cash on their front step.

    None of this will create one job, but everyone in the group will feel really good about themselves when they submit their recommendations. We’re f*cked.

  17. Carney’s got a group for everything that his own small mind can’t envision.

    Looks like we hired him to put together groups to tell him what he would think if he could think. I mean, check this one out:

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/16/carney-efficiency/98000364/

    How would you like to be one of the cabinet secretaries NOT on this group of insiders?

  18. Jason330 says:

    ..because, you know… when you think “efficiency” you automatically think “committee”

    Jack Markell opened his term with a couple of advisory committees, but with him, it was fairly obvious that he was just getting a little cover for what he planned to do anyway. Whereas Carney doesn’t have any plans, so that can’t be what is motivating him.

  19. Dana says:

    Well, I finally figured it out: the reason Jason hasn’t re-banned me is that he wanted to try to kill me by giving me a heart attack! Mr 330 was about the last person I ever expected to write an article complaining that a Democratic governor didn’t include any actual entrepreneurs on a entrepreneurial advisory group.

    However, I’ll throw in the obvious monkey wrench: if Governor Carney were to have included real entrepreneurs in this advisory group, he would have been including Republicans. The things that most people starting businesses want are fewer regulations on businesses, lower tax rates on businesses, and no increase in the minimum wage.

    The businessmen in the group are all big businessmen, men who don’t want to see any competition from small businesses and start-ups. Jim Maravelias, President of the Delaware AFL-CIO, is concerned with businesses large enough for union organization, not the new restaurant with three cooks and fourteen part-time waiters. It could be argued, I suppose, that this group’s mandate is to look for ways to attract established companies from elsewhere to relocate to Delaware, but that isn’t anything to help start-ups.

  20. Jason330 says:

    You were banned for stupidity once and you seem to be working on being the only person ever banned for stupidity twice. I gather from this dumb comment that you spent your working life in the cozy confines of some make-work job. Maybe you delivered mail? Don’t answer that. The particulars of your dumb life don’t interest me at all and neither do your half-baked thoughts.

  21. SussexAnon says:

    It would refreshing, if not scandalous to have a Governor concentrate efforts on organic job creation and start ups. You know, the people that are here. In this state. That want to be here and start a company.

    Flying around the world with 6 packs of Dogfish Head begging for work is so last decade.

  22. Jason330 says:

    Vermont’s economic development is entirely based on backing low-interest loans to Vermont-based businesses. From micro-capital for home based startups to millions of dollars for major capital improvements. All of it goes to Vermonters and all of it creates good long-term jobs for Vermonters. The default rate is low, and because there are more winners than losers, the losses are well covered. There is none of this trying to lure companies in with low tax rates.

    The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA)

    is Vermont’s statewide economic development finance lender. Created by the General Assembly in 1974, VEDA’s mission is “to contribute to the creation and retention of quality jobs in Vermont by providing loans and other financial support to eligible and qualified Vermont industrial, commercial and agricultural enterprises.”

    Since 1974, VEDA has provided over $2.288 billion in financing assistance to thousands of eligible Vermont entrepreneurs, manufacturers, small businesses, and agricultural enterprises, helping them to realize their business growth goals, create jobs, and enhance the vitality of Vermont’s economy. Working in partnership with Vermont banks to help meet the financing needs of Vermont businesses, VEDA’s low-interest programs help Vermont’s economy grow and prosper.

  23. Bob Cartwright says:

    This is sad reading this but then again we will see him again when he needs few bucks for his campaign…..
    Our business’ here in Delaware were built without him and will continue the growth without him. Handing out beer has gotten old since now everyplace you go the governor should realize now has its own local brew.
    He should be ashamed of himself for even putting this “advisory committee” together.. look more like a campaign donor list to me.