Look down ballot to help clean up the Democratic Party: Carter, Pusey, Durham poised to make an impact

Filed in National by on May 23, 2018

Yesterday I wrote that voting in the upcoming September primary is the best way to change the Democratic Party for the better.  The New Castle County Council primaries provide us an unprecedented opportunity to get involved and change the Democratic Party, the County, and America, for the better.

We have three change makers running for New Castle County Council, David Carter (6th District), Jordyn Pusey (1st District), and Dee Durham (2nd District). ALL THREE OF THESE CHANGE MAKERS ARE RUNNING AGAINST NO SHOW INCUMBENTS who rarely show up. A review of 2016 & 2017 NCC Council meeting attendance shows that the biggest no-show loser is Bill Powers, who missed a whopping 55% of the council meetings.

Ken Woods is a competitive runner-up with his dismal record of missing 44% of the meetings in his first year in office (2017). And Weiner is not much better with his record of missing 29% of the meetings. Here is the 2016-2017 attendance record rankings for all regular council and committee meetings.

While many of the missed meetings are committee meetings, keep in mind that these are where the real work gets done. Or in the case of these NO SHOW Council Members, does not get done.

The job of our elected NCC Council members is to represent the interests of voters, but how can they do that when they don’t even bother to show up.

Beyond the benefits manifest in cleaning up the Democratic Party, a large number of significant issues face the incoming New Castle County Council.  The county government sets property taxes, provides parks, libraries, sewer and other services that at times take a back seat to hot button issues.

Finally, it isn’t glamorous, but the county government is in charge of land use and development.   Once zoning is fucked up, and the land developed, we are stuck with the consequences pretty much forever. 

These primaries are vital.  Take some time to put Carter, Pusey, and Durham on the top of your list of candidates that will get your financial and volunteer support.  

About the Author ()

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

Comments (13)

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  1. RE Vanella says:

    Leftist are crushing it in local races. Just last night as well (see also Lisa Ring in the GA 1st and Maureen Skinner for the Arkansas State Senate). Thanks for this reminder.

    N.B. Although endorsed by Our Revolution Misses Ring and Skinner are not misogynists so far as I know.

  2. mouse says:

    Hopefully this will bare fruit. The factory boys in middle America losing jobs to cheap foreign labor and outsourcing to child labor aren’t going to be turned around on hard left cultural issues while economic security is ignored by the corporate Democrats who run the party. All the 45ers have to do is spew some bigoted crap about welfare moms or illegals and all the factory boys vote for that since the dems really offer nothing to them. If there was a viable left leaning 3nd party, I would for them every time

  3. trueblue says:

    This is pretty telling in my opinion, if I don’t show up for work guess what? I get fired. Delaware voters you have the power to fire them, do it.

  4. RE Vanella says:

    Just to pile on, because it’s fun, how about Amy McGrath?

    Not a huge fan of the ex-military candidate, but she’s another insurgent that the DCCC shunned. In fact the DCCC coaxed the millionaire mayor of Lexington to challenge her in the primary.

    DCCC is totally irrelevant. McGrath won.

    https://www.vox.com/2018/5/22/17382790/amy-mcgrath-victory-speech-kentucky-primary-2018-midterms

    Please note another female. She may or may not be a misogynist.

  5. Alby says:

    OTOH, Laura Moser lost her runoff in Texas.

    Tuesday’s results let national Democrats breathe a sigh of relief; groups like the DCCC had made clear that they saw Moser as a fatally flawed candidate who would have taken a winnable race against Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) off the map. Culberson’s district is historically very Republican but Hillary Clinton narrowly won it last election cycle, and Democrats are hopeful they can beat him with the more moderate Fletcher as their nominee.

  6. RE Vanella says:

    I’m not looking to be undefeated. I don’t expect to walk away from brawls without a scratch. Frankly I don’t expect to walk away from all of them. Sometimes we’ll be carried out.

    .300 batting average get you into the Hall of Fame.

    The irony of DCCC calling Moser “a fatally flawed candidate” isn’t lost on me either.

  7. SussexWatcher says:

    A lousy record doesn’t send an incumbent packing if the challenger isn’t willing to make hay of it. Dave Carter appears to so far be silent on Bill Powers’ slackerdom. You’ve got to give voters something to vote against at the same time you give them something to vote for.

  8. When you start a run for office against an incumbent, you generally first introduce yourself to the voters. Unless you’re an Al D’Amato, who can only win by making the other candidate even less appealing, you first build up positive name recognition.

    I’ve got a sense that Dave Carter has a pretty good feel for his district. He sure shouldn’t be going all negative on his opponent, especially since others are willing to do it. When it’s time, he’ll have plenty to compare and contrast. Now is not that time.

  9. jason330 says:

    I agree with El Somnambulo. I walked this district with Carter to help put Markell over the top v Carney. He knows what he is doing.

    That said – Jesus H CHRIST!! Bill Powers, you suck! I always sensed it, but seeing your no show attendance record in black and white is still shocking.

    If you don’t want the job, just drop out.

  10. jason330 says:

    I mean..think of it this way; Powers could only be bothered to make it to 4.5 meetings out of ten. 4 and a half OUT OF TEN. There is no area of human life in which 45% is an acceptable effort.

    (Save maybe political blogging in which giving 45% has gotten me this far.)

  11. That’s Colin Bonini territory. BTW, Bonini still doesn’t have a challenger.

  12. spktruth says:

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/3/17290902/dccc-2018-midterms-primaries-democrats-nancy-pelosi-laura-moser

    DCCC still meddling, they want to make sure their corporate owned candidates with weak agendas make it casting out progressives who have a message citizens believe in. Trump play acted his “support” for the working man, when in fact he was a conman and liar, while Sanders was the working mans candidate…the feud between Perez, Pelosi, Schumer et all center right demorats isn’t falling on deaf ears.

  13. spktruth says:

    From our favorite Senator…think he isn’t worried.
    May 24, 2018
    Dear Friends,
    Last week, at a roundtable event celebrating “infrastructure week,” I was asked if President Trump made a mistake by not making infrastructure his first policy priority on January 21st, 2017 – and instead working to undermine the Affordable Care Act. My response: Absolutely.

    From our transportation infrastructure including roads, highways and bridges, to our water infrastructure of waterways, ports, beaches and drinking water systems, these networks are the lifelines of our economy, and it’s not too late for those of us who are serious about making investments in our infrastructure to make progress. Investments in these networks don’t just create jobs, they support nearly every aspect of our daily lives, helping goods and people move more efficiently and delivering vital services like water and sewer systems and even storm and flood prevention and management.

    In Delaware, the lowest lying state in the country, we rely on our water infrastructure more than most. Our port in Wilmington moves four million tons of cargo each year and supports 5,900 direct and indirect jobs and our coastline and beach communities employ 59,000 Delawareans – a full tenth of our total workforce. That’s why I’m not waiting for the president to invest in Delaware.

    For months, I have been negotiating a bipartisan bill that invests in our country’s water infrastructure systems, including our port, our beaches and our drinking water systems across the First State. The America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 reauthorizes the operations of the Army Corps of Engineers, which helps manage most of our nation’s waterways, ports, coasts and beaches, while also making a number of improvements in their operations that will help Delaware and states across the country better manage their water infrastructure in the years ahead.

    Earlier this week, the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, on which I serve as the top Democrat, voted unanimously , 21 in favor and zero opposed, to advance my water infrastructure legislation to be considered by the full Senate. At a time when partisanship has nearly brought Washington to a stand-still, this bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Republicans John Barrasso (Wyoming) and Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma) and Democrat Ben Cardin (Maryland), focuses on something everyone can agree on – that investing in our water infrastructure is crucial for our economy and helps every American community.

    Along with smart investments in water infrastructure across the country, this bill includes many of Delaware’s top priorities that will continue to drive our economy forward and positively impact every community across the First State. Specifically, in the bill:

    We increase the existing height limit authorization for the deposit of dredge material from the Delaware River dredging project from 10 feet to 35 feet, a necessary development to expand the Port of Wilmington at the new Edgemoor location and double its annual output;
    We create a new $50 million dollar program for groundwater and well water testing and treatment, and enhance Army Corps emergency assistance authorities to help Delaware communities recover faster, better and stronger after disasters;

    We create a $25 million dollar water resiliency grant program to help Delaware communities invest in their drinking water infrastructure;

    We authorize $75 million in appropriations for a new Mid-Atlantic beach nourishment and shoreline protection pilot program;

    We permanently exempt beach renourishment projects from the Army Corps’ budget-to-cost calculations, which previously delayed or stopped a number of these projects;

    We require the Army Corps to consider natural infrastructure alternatives – like the dune systems protecting Rehoboth and Bethany Beach – in studies addressing flood and storm damage reduction;

    We require the Army Corps to maintain a balance sheet of local funding contributions and expenditures and to either return unspent state and local funds for use in future projects or apply those funds to another local project;

    We push the Army Corps to complete feasibility studies for new projects in two years, including the “Delaware Back Bays” study, designed to help with inland flooding;

    We reauthorize the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act (WIFIA) which provides low-cost loans to states and look to enhance the drinking water and wastewater financing tool for local communities;

    We authorize the Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now (SRF WIN) Act to allow rural and small communities to better leverage existing funding;

    We invest in the development of a strong water utility workforce in Delaware and across the country;

    We provide state and local leaders an increased role in prioritizing Army Corps projects; and,

    We require the Army Corps to examine the Port of Wilmington and all ports of call as possible locations for offshore wind deployment.

    Our water infrastructure legislation isn’t across the finish line yet, but our bipartisan efforts are helping us make progress where others have failed. In the end, I hope our work can be used as a model for the rest of Congress and that Delaware’s economy and communities will experience the benefits of this legislation for years to come.

    Stay Connected with Senator Carper