Tag Archives: The Delaware Way

More Markell Cronyism

First was Blevins appointment and there is also Secretary of Finance Tom Cook becoming the new director of the Delaware River and Bay Authority as reported by Matt Bittle at Delaware State News.

… while the Delaware River and Bay Authority said it has hired outgoing Secretary of Finance Tom Cook as its new director.

[snip]

Mr. Cook has been the secretary of finance since 2009 but will leave soon as a new administration begins this month.

And what’s worse, Markell has me agreeing with State Senator Greg Lavelle in regards to Blevins, “We did a national search and we came right back to someone here who just lost an election?”

Fucking Jack Markell.

We Miss Deadlines All The Time

The Dover Post via the Community News has an article about the Video and Sports Lottery Study Commission meeting for the first time yesterday to begin their mandate of “investigating the possible effects of new gambling venues on state revenues, business at existing casinos, the horseracing industry, the job market and local communities.”

One of the first things they decided to do was hire a consultant for $50,000 to help them in their investigation. Now, don’t get me started on consultants, because in my experience, consultants only tell you what you want to hear and, to top it all off, how many gambling economists are out there that don’t have deep ties to the gambling industry?

The commission’s first meeting was August 27th and their deadline to report to the General Assembly is October 15th of this year. As reported by the Dover Post, House Majority Leader Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Reheboth) said, “I think we’re getting a late start on this thing.” Well, that’s an understatement.

You would think that spending $50,000 and starting late would be enough to get me upset, but no, Sen. Nancy Cook (D-Kenton) just pushed me right over the freaking edge. The Dover Post quotes Cook as saying, “We miss deadlines all the time.”

Seriously, Sen. Cook this is your defense? I’ve done work for the government in the past as well as worked on my projects big and small in the private sector. True, deadlines are missed or extended, but managers and executives who lead with, “We miss deadlines all the time” are usually shown the door.

Sen. Cook, the Delaware Way cannot be an excuse.

CRI An Honest Broker? — Part 3

This installment is going to get a bit further afield from the fine work that ‘Bulo has done in taking a look at this conservative “think tank”. Here we take a look at the connection of Ceasar Rodney Institute to the large and highly networked institutional apparatus that is the conservative think tank business. David Brock wrote at length about the multiple families and foundations that provided the majority of the funds to create the policy, training and advocacy institutions that exist to further their personal interests and to pull the country to the right. Markos Moulitsas and Jerome Armstrong detailed alot of this in their book, Crashing the Gates (a book that advocated that the left do some of this institution building). To be sure, there is little right now on a national level of right-wing ideology that has much purchase, but the institutions soldier on and even increase.

One of the efforts at conservative institution building is at the state level — trying to replicate their national apparatus that at one time brought us to the brink of financial ruin in every single state. Ceasar Rodney Institute is connected to one such group — the State Policy Network. Their mission (from their website):

State Policy Network is the capacity building service organization for America’s free market, state-focused think tank community. We advance a free society by providing leadership development, management training and networking opportunities for think tank professionals and by promoting strategic partnerships among market-oriented organizations.
Founded in 1992, SPN is the only group in the country dedicated solely to improving the practical effectiveness of independent, non-profit, market-oriented, state-based think tanks.

Does that language look familiar? It should — because the Ceasar Rodney Institute also labels itself “Market-oriented” as a way to avoid saying the word “conservative”.

But SPN is specifically in the business of helping to propagate this kind of conservative apparatus — complete with tools to get started and some funding help — this past year saw them get all 50 of their “think-tanks” in place. And once up and running, these various “think tanks” spend their efforts writing up ‘research” pieces trying to push their bete noirs and trying to push local policymaking efforts to the right. All while hiding behind “free-market” and never saying “conservative”.

Members or affiliates of the SPN have very similar mission wording as does Ceasar Rodney Institute — none of the ones I looked at said “conservative” , either. And they run the gamut — the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota seems to have the energy to provide links to the work and commentary of other people and organize a conference or two; while the infamous Heartland Institute is still banging the drum on the evils of tobacco control as well as poo-pooing climate change science. These are the people funded by tobacco companies and EXXON and subject of the recent NYT reporting that showed that even though their funders knew that they were wrong on climate change, they still kept on trying to discredit it. Just scroll through their member sites an you see the usual litany of conservative complaints, but this time arrayed against state-level initiatives and almost always behind a mission statement that never mentions the word “conservative”.

But back to SPN and its connections to the river of wingnut welfare — this (it is a cached copy) shows some of their major donors over the years. To those familiar with the families and foundations funding the conservative movement over the last 30 years, this list will look vary familiar. The Roe Foundation, Olin Foundation, Lambe Foundation and many others have been ground zero for what we often call “wingnut welfare”. Take a spin through the bios of the Board of the SPN and you’ll see a number of folks who have worked for some of these foundations or for some of the institutions these foundations fund — including Heritage and AEI. This is why we call it “wingnut welfare” — conservatives have established enough institutions to be able to employ those they think are talented and who pass the right litmus tests.

So how does this relate back to Ceasar Rodney Institute? Well, they do pretty openly state their connection to the SPN. According the the SPN Annual Report, the Ceasar Rodney Institute was one of the last startups the SPN needed to complete their 50 state network. Here’s what the report says:

The Caesar Rodney Institute came out of the starting blocks strong in 2008 as the organization increased its Board of Directors to seven and committed to making transparency its primary project for 2009. To date, CRI has made significant progress on its two open government efforts, “DelawareSpends. com” and “SunlightonSchools.com,” both of which are planned to go live by July 2009. CRI’s progress is noted by the fact that Delaware’s new governor declared his commitment to increase transparency in Delaware on the heels of the Institute’s announcement to post state spending online.

That timeline looks misrepresented to me, but hey, these are the people with the money. SPN does not detail exactly the flow of funds to each of their affiliates, but they make a big deal in this report about being able to provide funds to a number of the “think tanks” for (21)Investigative Reporters and for “transparency” websites. Perhaps this is one of the places CRI is getting its funding from? This report does say that they provided startup funds for the 5 startups in 2008.

So now we are at the place that interests me. Delaware itself is a fairly insular place — not unaffected by national trends and politics, but how often does Delaware get the attention of the very big money behind some of these politics? Specifically getting a taste of the billions of dollars from the funders of movement conservatism? There is no doubt that Delaware is currently a Blue state and getting bluer. A new “think tank” with real ties to part of the traditional movement conservative funders, institutions and modus operendi seems out of character for this state where everyone asks you where you went to high school. Think tanks of any stripe exist to influence policy or to advocate for it. In a place where movement conservatism has little traction and little interest, the Ceasar Rodney Institute seems to exist to advocate for its very right wing ideas without ever having to say “conservative”. So what gives? Some of their sibling institutions won’t say the word, either. It is possible that the word is too toxic and they think that they’ll get a better listen without the label. But I wonder if Delawareans of their political stripe will be especially appreciative of lots of out of town money trying to move state policy to the right. In the meantime, though, Delaware gets its very own piece of wingnut welfare to observe up close and personal.

CRI An Honest Broker?-Part 2

Please allow El Somnambulo to apologize to the (presumably) fine folks at the Caesar Rodney Institute. Yesterday’s article was, by necessity, incomplete. He feels confident that, upon further examination, the Institute will be revealed as a great place where good folks do great things in a non-partisan manner for the citizens of Delaware.

In typically haphazard fashion, the Beast Who Slumbers had profiled only Barrett Kidner, the Chairman and CEO of CRI. It is most likely that his partisan ties and lobbying interests do not reflect the remainder of this board. So, let’s go to the record.

Ken Grant, Board Member-Without providing a scintilla of evidence or attribution, Delaware Dem accused Ken Grant of previously working for the State Republican Party. Just because his own bio reads that:

In 2001, Ken worked in the political arena for a number of years and drafted press releases, coordinated press events, trained candidates and committees on media relations, and kept an open line of communication with reporters and editors throughout the state…

nowhere does it state that he worked for the Republicans. So… oopsies… wait a minute, turns out that Ken Grant was employed by the Delaware State Republican Committee, at least in August, 2006, and represented them in an official capacity. Apologies to Del Dem, Grant was the R’s media mouthpiece. And why does that August 2006 date ring a taco bell? That’s right. Allow ‘bulo to quote from former Republican Party operative and current CRI Policy Director Garrett Wozniak:

“After graduating from the University of Delaware’s MPA program in May 2006, I began working as the Campaign Coordinator for the Delaware Republican Party. Following the 2006 election, I became the Executive Director of the Delaware GOP…”

So, both Wozniak and Grant worked for the Delaware GOP at the same time in 2006. Both now have leadership positions in CRI. However, before anyone jumps to conclusions, is it not at least plausible that these two earnest co-workers formed a pact at that time to set partisanship aside and ultimately work for…non-partisan good government?

Conspiracy theorists, please set aside your conspiratorial inclinations until all the facts are presented.

Bob Prybutok, Board Member-Mr. Prybutok has a distinguished career in business, as evidenced by his bio.

He has also lobbied the President and Congress to weaken the Federal Medical and Family Leave Act and he has threatened to cut healthcare to his employees if changes weren’t made:

Polymer Technologies, a Newark, Delaware-based maker of noise-control products with 105 employees, says it may shift to less costly healthcare coverage because of the high cost of continuing to insure employees on leave under the act. Health insurance costs the company as much as $20,000 per worker, President Robert Prybutok said. “This has occurred several times already, he said. “It’s making us rethink the offering of such an expensive benefit.”

Mr. Prybutok also is a generous contributor to the Republican National Committee:

Prybutok, Robert R. Mr. Polymer Technologies Inc./President $1,000 09/09/2008 P

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE –

Hmmm, vocal opponent of Family Leave and Republican contributor. ‘Bulo fears there may be a pattern taking shape here.

John Sigler, Board Member-Holy Toro! El Somnambulo does not believe this:

Sigler has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association of America, Inc. since 1996 and is the immediate past president of that organization.

Got that? The immediate past president of the National Rifle Association is on the Board of Directors of this non-partisan institute. Any media outlet even considering labeling CRI as an honest broker must keep this fact in mind.

But, Sigler’s more than that. From his NRA biography:

Sigler is very active in local and state politics, serving as an executive committee member for the Delaware Republican Party; a co-founder of the pro-gun Delaware Foundation for Legislative Action; a member of the board of directors of the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association; and a registered lobbyist.

As if that’s not enough, he also works for a firm that is providing private contractual services to the State of Delaware. According to his bio:

“Sigler is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in both Delaware and Maryland, currently employed as General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for the corporate group known as Psychotherapeutic Services which provides mental and behavioral health services pursuant to government contract in Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Hmm, just curious, does this firm provide services in Delaware’s prison system, perhaps even the Delaware Psychiatric Center? The one that Charlie Copeland (justifiably) helped make into a cause celebre? Did Sigler and his firm benefit from Copeland’s involvement in this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Especially since both Sigler and his wife contributed to Copeland’s 2008 campaign.

Suddenly, this non-partisan think tank is beginning to look a little–tainted. But, there’s still time to turn things around.

John Stapleford, Board Member-No less an authority than Dave Burris has described John Stapleford as Delaware’s economic ‘go-to guy’. Here is proof that John Stapleford is the Teabaggers’ economic ‘go-to guy’:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwn0HTWGWXw&feature=related[/youtube]

Which raises the question: Is the teabaggers’ economic go-to guy someone most Delawareans would go to for impartial and methodologically-sound information? He’s who the Caesar Rodney Institute goes to for its information. Perhaps it is time for what passes for the respectable Delaware media to ask themselves why the teabaggers’ ‘go-to guy’ on the economy is also their ‘go-to-guy’ on the economy.

Donna Stone, Board Member-Mongo Santamaria! No bio is available on the CRI website, but El Somnambulo don’t need no steenkin’ bio. Former State Rep. Donna Stone, who was defeated by Brad Bennett for reelection in 2008, singlehandedly (and underhandedly) did more to bury Matt Denn’s package of insurance reform measures than anyone. She proved especially adept at burying his bills in committee. As Chair of the House Banking/Insurance Committee, Stone was the industry’s best friend and the consumer’s worst nightmare. Enabling small business to purchase health insurance for its employees at state pool rates? Not on Stone’s watch. Giving the Commissioner real teeth to examine health insurance rate increases? Puh-leeze. No wonder she seriously considered a run for the IC spot last spring.

Which perhaps explains the strong support she received from the insurance industry in her finance reports:

30-Day Report

8-Day Report

2008 Year-End Report.

The Beast Who Slumbers is sure that it is coincidence that Stone also received exceptional support from the clients of lobbyists Scott and Rebecca Kidner. And he’s equally sure that it’s coincidence that several campaign checks emanated from their 9 E. Loockerman Street address, which also is home to the office of CRI Chairman and CEO Barrett Kidner.

James Ursomarso, Secretary-*Sigh*. The Beast Who Slumbers officially gives up. He was sure that his research would demonstrate that CRI was an even-handed, aboveboard, good government honest broker. He has searched in vain for the would-be Diogenes seeking the truth, but he now throws in the towel. As the blatantly-partisan Delaware Dem pointed out, Ursomarso ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2004. And though one could read plausible deniability into this excerpt from Ursomarso’s bio:

“Jim ran unsuccessfully for Lt. Governor of Delaware in 2004 as the nominee of a major Party.”

the ‘major Party’ obliquely referenced turns out to be the Republican Party. John Carney garnered 62.1% of the vote to Ursomarso’s 36.3% in that race.

And, it turns out that the Ursomarso family just lo-o-o-oves themselves some Charlie Copeland as this list of contributors from Copeland’s 2008 report demonstrates. The first # is the aggregate figure:

09/16/2008 Catherine Ursomarso 13 Brandywine Falls Rd. Wilmington DE 19806 $300.00 $300.00

06/07/2008 Frank A. Sr. Ursomarso 2311 West 6th St. Wilmington DE 19805 $1,200.00 $1,200.00

06/25/2008 James P. Ursomarso 6 Kentshire Cr. Wilmington DE 19807 $900.00 $300.00

08/11/2008 James P. Ursomarso 6 Kentshire Cr. Wilmington DE 19807 $900.00 $200.00

09/11/2008 James P. Ursomarso 6 Kentshire Cr. Wilmington DE 19807 $900.00 $400.00

Oh, and “People for Ursomarso” ponied up an additional $86 for the duPont heir.

People may ask why this is relevant. The Beast Who Slumbers is not sure. He IS sure that Charlie Copeland has extraordinarily close ties to many of the people associated with the CRI.

He ALSO knows that Copeland has praised CRI on his blog and has even invited his cabana boy former campaign manager to write a guest column about CRI’s exploits. As you can also see, he and his BFF Garrett Wozniak use the occasion to blister the Markell Administration for its alleged lack of responsiveness. All in a non-partisan manner, no doubt.

So, with Copeland’s fingerprints all over CRI, El Somnambulo has these questions for Charles Copeland: In what capacity, if any, are you involved with the Caesar Rodney Institute? Are you supporting CRI in any financial capacity and, if so, to what extent? What role did you play, and do you continue to play, in the choice of staff and/or board positions for the CRI? If you are involved in CRI, why have you chosen not to provide the same transparency to your role as you demand of state government, for example?

El Somnambulo offers Senor Copeland as much space as he needs here to answer said questions and to expound on his vision (if, indeed, it is his vision) for CRI. The only caveat is that he must answer the questions first in order to be afforded the opportunity to expound.

Speaking of answering questions, El Somnambulo has some for the one remaining board member, Jonathan A. Patterson, Treasurer. The Caesar Rodney Institute has made a fetish out of the notion of ‘transparency and accountability’ on the part of state government, a sentiment with which all assuredly agree. It has even gone so far as to post online the salaries of people who work for the State, not just the non-merit position appointees of elected state officials, but salaries of ordinary hard-working Delawareans.

The facts presented in this series demonstrate that, while it’s possible that the Caesar Rodney Institute technically qualifies as a ‘non-partisan think tank’, it is in fact a vehicle being used by Republicans to promote what appears to be a virulently anti-regulatory and anti-governmental agenda.

As such, Senor Patterson, El Somnambulo respectfully asks you to provide the same information that you have printed about state employees: Please name any and all personnel, past or present, full-time, part-time, and contractual, who are or were on the payroll of CRI. Please provide each individual’s name and individual remuneration, be it annual, weekly, or other. Please provide records on any and all compensation paid by CRI to members of its Board of Directors.

In addition,please provide any and all sources of financial support for CRI, and the specific amount of financial support that said sources have provided and/or are continuing to provide. Since the CRI has built its reputation on ‘accountability and transparency’, the Institute has an obligation to the public to ensure that it abides by the same standards it would impose on others. If you would prefer to point Delaware Liberal to existing complete records that already provide said information, that would be acceptable as well.

So, like many great scientific experiments, El Somnambulo set out to prove that the Caesar Rodney Institute was a non-partisan organization that would become the ‘go-to guy’ for impartial research and analysis. Instead, he discovered that it was but another partisan organization seeking to distort facts and to manipulate public opinion. ‘Bulo is sad.

He will take a day to cogitate upon this unfortunate happenstance, and will return soon with context, analysis, questions remaining to be answered, and subjects for further investigation.

He will also make this forum available to Senor Copeland, Garrett Wozniak, and anyone else associated with CRI to say what they want. Provided, of course, that they first answer the questions that El Somnambulo has posed. The clock starts…NOW!

Caesar Rodney Institute an Honest Broker? We Report–You Decide

PART ONE:

The Caesar Rodney Institute, aided and abetted by the usual suspects like David Burris, has been working overtime to portray itself as some sort of non-partisan good government honest broker. Kinda like Common Cause or the League of Women Voters. Do the facts warrant this narrative? Let’s take a closer look.

In its mission statement, CRI describes itself as:

…a 501(c)(3) research and education organization dedicated to the measured improvement in the quality of life, the degree of individual liberty, and opportunity for personal fulfillment for all Delawareans.

CRI seeks to become Delaware’s preeminent non-partisan, free-market oriented think tank. The Caesar Rodney Institute’s vision is to be the catalyst for improved performance, accountability, and efficiency in Delaware government. Being the catalyst means providing quality information, solutions, and critiques to Delaware government spending and policy decisions in an effort to improve the lives and liberty of Delawareans.

The mission of the Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI) is to influence public policy in Delaware by helping every Delawarean understand and put into practice the fundamentals of a free society: individual initiative, personal responsibility, private property, voluntary agreements, informed choice, the rule of law, and strong local communities.

It appears that CR is dedicated to eliminating those pesky regulations as well, presumably because deregulation couldn’t have worked better in, say, ensuring the integrity of the financial markets and in protecting our fragile environment:

It is clear that Delaware needs a strong voice to research and propose new roles for a constitutionally limited government that is less intrusive, less costly, more enabling of individual initiative, more open, and more responsive to the needs of the individual.

“It is clear”. Who can argue with that airtight logic? Well OK, CR’s a fierce advocate for free markets and deregulation. Still, they probably come at it from a non-partisan perspective. ‘Bulo is sure that a careful perusal of CR’s key players will demonstrate strong non-partisan qualities. Let’s go to the record.

According to its own press releases, one Garrett Wozniak is the Policy Director for CRI. Here are his ‘non-partisan bona fides’ , in his own words, and direct from his University of Delaware Institute of Public Administration bio:

“After graduating from the University of Delaware’s MPA program in May 2006, I began working as the Campaign Coordinator for the Delaware Republican Party. Following the 2006 election, I became the Executive Director of the Delaware GOP, a position I held until June, 2007 when I became the policy director for the House Republican Caucus. In this position I implemented an extensive district operations plan for incumbent legislators and advised on numerous policies. In May 2008, I left the House to take on the role of Campaign Manager for State Senator Charlie Copeland in his campaign to become Delaware’s Lieutenant Governor.”

Hard to imagine a more textbook definition of non-partisanship than that.

Still, the Beast Who Was Born at Night But Not Last Night is positive that CRI’s Board of Directors will prove to be fair and balanced:

Barrett E. Kidner, Chairman & CEO: Here’s the official CRI Bio. Hmm, either current or former ‘Chairman, Republican Comm. 23rd Rep. District; Various Delaware Election Campaigns’.

BTW, ‘bulo is certain that it’s purely coincidental, but the Barrett Group contributed to Charles Copeland’s 2008 campaign for Lieutenant Governor, and Kidner himself once contributed $$’s to the Republican National Committee.

His bio also describes Kidner as President of the Barrett Group, Inc., a provider of administrative services to trade associations and other government affairs organizations headquartered in Dover, Delaware. In other words, a guy who helps the lobbyists lobby.

But surely someone chairing the beyond-reproach CRI is just doing it in his capacity as good government watchdog. Oops. Turns out Kidner is a lobbyist himself:

Region 1: Delaware
Delaware Apartment Association
Barrett Kidner, Association Executive
9 E. Loockerman Street, Suite 309
Dover, DE 19901

El Somnambulo found it interesting that the Association has a Resource Center for Landlords, but not for renters. He’s sure this must be an inadvertent oversight.

He’s having a more difficult time overlooking the following coincidence, however. It is not by accident that the Beast Who Boldfaces to Excess boldfaced Kidner’s Loockerman Street business address. It’s b/c that exact same address just happens to be the home of one of Delaware’s highest-powered and most notorious lobbying firms. And, get this, check out the last name here:

C.S. Kidner Associates Capitol Strategies
C. Scott Kidner
President
9 E. Loockerman St.,
Suite 309
Dover, DE 19901

But surely, C. Scott Kidner, like his namesake, is merely a forceful advocate for good government. Let’s just check out who he and his wife (Becky Batson Kidner) lobby for. From the oxymoronically-named Delaware Public Integrity Commission:

Cristofer Scott Kidner 3 Shinnecock Road Dover , DE 19904	CARL M. FREEMAN COMMUNITIES RR2 Box 577J Ocean View , DE 19970	Cigar Association of America 1707 H. Street, N. W. Suite 800 Washington , DC 20006	Comcast of Delmarva, Inc. 5729 West Dennys Road Dover , DE 19904
	Commercial Industrial Realty Council P. O. Box 1789 Wilmington , DE 19899	DELAWARE APARTMENT ASSN. c/o Naaman’s Associates 799 Montclair Drive Claymont , DE 19703	DELAWARE ASSN. OF REALTORS 134 East Water Street Dover , DE 19901
	Delaware Charter School Network 100 West 10th Street Suite 403 Wilmington , DE 19801	Delaware Film Company, LLC 408 Victoria Ave Wilmington , DE 19804	DELAWARE HOTEL & LODGING ASSN. PMB 115 251 N. Dupont Highway Dover , DE 19901
	DELAWARE OUTDOOR ADVERTISING, INC 207 Golding Court Hockessin , DE 19707	DELAWARE PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION 120 Church Lane Wilmington , DE 19808	DELAWARE Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association 777 Delaware Park Blvd. Wilmington , DE 19804
	DELAWARE TOURISM ALLIANCE %Roy Klien – Kline Development P. O. Box 619 Dover , DE 19903	Delmarva Power & Light Co. 401 Eagle Run Rd. Newark , DE 19702	Dewey Beach Enterprises P.O. Box 649 Dickinson St. Dewey Beach , DE 19971
	FIRST STATE MANUFACTURED HOUSING ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 1829 2 North State Street Dover , DE 19903	HOME BUILDERS ASSN. OF DE 5151 W. Woodmill Dr. Suite 19 Wilmington , DE 198084067	Scientific Games Corp. 750 Lexington Avenue, 25th Fl New York , NY 10022
	The Coalition of Natural Health, Inc. 1220 L Street, N.W. PMB 100-408 Washington , DC 20005	TIDEWATER UTILITIES 1100 S. Little Creek Rd. Dover , DE 19901	U. S. English, Inc. 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite 1050 Washington , DC 20006
	Unison Administrative Services, LLC Unison Plaza 1001 Brinton Road Pittsburg , PA 15221

Rebecca Batson Kidner
Rebecca Batson Kidner, PA
9 E. Loockerman Street, Suite 309
Dover , DE 19901

American Express Company
801 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 650
Washington , DC 20004

AMERIHEALTH INSURANCE CO.OF DE/AMERIHEALTH HMO, INC. Legislative Policy Office
500 N. 3rd Street
Suite 500
Harrisburg , PA 17101

DELAWARE ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETIST
9 Suffolk Road
Rehoboth Beach , DE 19971

DELAWARE STANDARDBRED OWNERS ASSN., INC.
830 Walker Rd.
Dover , DE 19904

PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURERS ASSOC.
28 West State. St., Ste. 719
Trenton , NJ 08608

REBECCA BATSON KIDNER, P.A.
9 E. Lockerman Street, Suite 309
Dover , DE 19901

Lessee…the insurance giants, credit card industry, horsemen, utilities, manufactured housing and hospitality industries, cable TV, nothing says good government more profoundly than those stalwarts.

Evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, El Somnambulo is absolutely convinced that this snippet provides an unfair portrayal of the wannabe quote machine known as the Caesar Rodney Institute. He encourages anyone with information to write the Delaware Liberal Tipline. All tips will be thoroughly investigated by ‘bulo’s fact-checkers.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 as the Beast Who Slumbers, in the interests of investigative journalism, demonstrates the honorable and above-board nature of CRI’s efforts. Or at least tries.

Pushing The Issue: HB253

John Kowalko chairs the Joint Sunset Committee and he’s trying to challenge the Delaware Way from that vantage point. Case in point: HB253 (restructuring the Victims Compensation Board). From the presser:

House Bill 253 is identical to Senate Bill 144, which was developed by and sponsored by the members of the Joint Sunset Committee, a legislative panel that reviews various state boards and commissions and determines what, if any, changes need to be made. SB 144 was introduced in the Senate on June 4 and sits in the Senate Executive Committee.[…]

“This is too important of a bill to let it languish considering the time constraints we are under,” said Rep. Kowalko, noting that there are only four days of session left. “Staff and legislators have spent more than 100 hours reviewing this board, listening to testimony and crafting the legislation to create a body that will better serve the victims. The energy and efforts of the Joint Sunset Committee in restructuring this board should not go to waste.”

So how does this tie in to our budget problem?

The bill also would have a cost savings aspect. By merging the board with the Department of Justice, it would eliminate the need to rent office space, saving $53,000 annually. Also, board members who are appointed or re-appointed would be paid $100 per meeting. Currently, board members receive $10,000 annually, while the vice chair receives $11,000 and the chair receives $12,000 annually.

And lest you think that the Sunset Committee acted alone in this, disconnected from the realities of the world, as The News Journal seems to believe:

The proposed changes recommended by the Joint Sunset Committee are supported by numerous police agencies, including Delaware Police Chiefs Council, Delaware State Fraternal Order of Police and seven police departments. Other groups endorsing the changes include Child Inc., Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, state Department of Correction, state Department of Justice, MADD and Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council.

So who is against it? The Delaware Way. As El Somnambulo pointed out, this is a cushy 10K/year position that can be done a lot cheaper. But, of course, Thurman Adams’ friends would have to find other work that might actually make them… you know… work.

Del-Tech Has the Joint Finance Committee Wired. Here’s How…

“DTCC Grunt”, over at the Delawareonline board, posted the following from Delaware Technical & Community College President Orlando J. George, Jr.:

I am pleased to share with you that on Tuesday, June 2, the Board of Trustees unanimously passed the Employee Compensation Resolution, giving them the flexibility to preserve College employee salaries at existing levels while making budget cuts required by the State. As I outlined in my message last week, this is the first of five approvals we will need to be successful. We now await a vote from the Joint Finance Committee. As always, I will keep you posted.

Lonnie George

Lonnie George knows that he has nothing to fear from the Joint Finance Committee. Not when two Del-Tech employees, whose salaries (and employment) could adversely be impacted if they don’t go along, and who owe their hefty second paychecks to the hefty college President, sit on the Joint Finance Committee.

And not when Lonnie’s own daughter, whose district was created by current Del-Tech pensioner and current Speaker of the House Bob Gilligan, sits on the same committee.

That’s three out of the 12 JFC members, including the only two legislators who are also current DTCC employees.

And, if all else fails, there’s always the Big Head Committee, where Speaker Gilligan is front and center.

To her credit, Melanie George Marshall has reportedly stated that she will not vote on the Del-Tech appropriations b/c of perceived conflicts-of-interest. However, due to the closed-door nature of the JFC proceedings up until now, it is impossible to gauge what role she or the other DTCC legislators have already played in crafting Del-Tech’s budget. Plus, as former JFC member Lonnie George and purported grocery store beer/wine sales opponent Gerald Hocker well know, it doesn’t matter if one member abstains from voting as long as the votes for passage have already been lined up.

Welcome to the Delaware Way.

According to the State of Delaware legislative website, JFC members Senator Margaret Rose Henry and Representative John Mitchell both have cushy jobs at Del-Tech.

Henry is the Assistant Dean of Student Services at Del-Tech, according to her biography. She has served in a series of jobs in the public and not-for-profit sectors during her years in the General Assembly, all of which have depended on the General Assembly for some of their funding. Getting a job at Del-Tech is her golden, and ‘bulo means ‘golden’, parachute.

Mitchell, a retired New Castle County cop, is the Chief of Public Safety at Del-Tech, according to his biography. Mitchell was appointed to the JFC by Del-Tech pensioner and long-time employee Bob Gilligan, who also moonlights as Speaker of the House. This despite the fact that Mitchell is just beginning his second term in the House. Seniority generally plays a role in appointments to powerful committees like JFC, but not in this case.

Neither Henry nor Mitchell have publicly stated what role they have played, or will or will not play, in considering or furthering DTCC’s budget requests. Someone should ask them.

Long-time House watchers (and readers of Cris Barrish’s excellent article) also know that Lonnie George and Bob Gilligan served as the House Democratic leadership team until George got his long-sought college presidency. Gilligan replaced George in leadership with Rep. John Van Sant, who also enjoyed a second (third? State police, legislator, and…) career in security at Del-Tech. Anyone seeing a pattern here?

As for Melanie George Marshall, then-Minority Leader Gilligan had already hired her as staff attorney to the House Democratic Caucus, and she was serving in that capacity in 2002, when the House leaders cut their deal on reapportionment, a deal that enabled Wayne Smith to gerrymander several districts in Brandywine Hundred, enabled him to add more Kent/Sussex and Republican districts at the expense of New Castle County (by grouping the smallest allowable number of residents in the downstate districts while grouping the largest allowable number of residents in the New Castle County districts). In exchange, Melanie George Marshall got her district. And at least two Democratic legislators, Rick DiLiberto and Dave Brady, got screwed. Now, Bob Gilligan has appointed her to the Joint Finance Committee.

In other words, the current Speaker of the House has consistently placed the well-being of his former employer ahead of his party’s own fortunes in the Delaware State House of Representatives. Thanks to this kind of deal-making, the Democrats languished in the basement of Legislative Hall for 6 more years than necessary while Republican JFC member Dave Ennis found gainful employment at Del-Tech.

But why not? Del-Tech has been veryvery good to Bob Gilligan and a steady stream of legislators, although it’s been even better to Lonnie George.

Now, if only his Caucus would take notice…or care.

Cris Barrish’s Story on Lonnie George is Must-Reading

Anyone who truly wants to understand the Delaware Way simply must read Cris Barrish’s superb piece on Orlando J. George, Jr. from Sunday’s News-Journal.

Lonnie George is an exceedingly brilliant and accomplished person. That is not the issue. However, like Orson Welles, he is a man of gargantuan appetites, and he has demonstrated his need (and capacity) to have more and the most of everything. Barrish captures George’s gourmandesque predilections as well as how he has navigated the system to create his own inflated fiefdom. It is an accurate and essential road map of the Delaware Way, and it is the single best piece of journalism that the News-Journal has published this year.

Some key highlights:

George’s pay has nearly quadrupled in 13 years, but few lawmakers would comment publicly about a former colleague whose political career was intertwined with his rise at DelTech, at times raising the suspicions of fellow lawmakers.

Of course, dating from his legislative service, first as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, and subesquently as Speaker of the House, George has always looked out for Del-Tech:

In 1975, his first year in the House, George convened his panel in secret after the budget had been passed. When the doors opened, DelTech had an additional $622,238. Weeks before the school got the cash infusion, George had been promoted to chairman of the math department.

During a debate about the extra money to DelTech and other agencies, Republican Rep. Joseph Ambrosino told George the increases seemed “preferenced to certain people.”

In 1978, the panel added an extra $1 million to Gov. Pete du Pont’s budget for DelTech. At the time, George said he was not involved in the decision. That same year, Republican Rep. Jack Billingsley engaged in a war of words with George over the budget, noting that while education spending was being cut, DelTech’s appropriations were rising dramatically — along with George’s salary.

Today, Billingsley said, he stands behind his complaints of 30 years ago, adding: “Lonnie knows how to look after Lonnie.”

That, senors y senoras, is the money quote, literally and figuratively.

Here is how the Delaware Way works:

Between 1980 and 1989, George was promoted four times — becoming assistant to the director of the Stanton and Wilmington campuses, dean of instruction, assistant campus director and campus director.

George next began campaigning for the school president’s job, just as then-Secretary of State Mike Harkins was angling for another plum patronage post — head of the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Harkins got his wish in 1992. George would have to wait.

But, when he got the job, he made sure that he earned a king’s ransom:

Though someone else got the presidency that year, political insiders believed George would eventually prevail. That happened four years later, and George, then 49, resigned from the House mid-term to run DelTech.

In February 1995, George and DelTech’s seven-member board — gubernatorial appointees who do not get paid — ironed out a five-page contract outlining his compensation and duties for a three-year term.

George would get a salary of $125,000 a year, plus a vehicle with all expenses paid, $2,500 toward the premium for a life insurance policy and $5,000 a year for expenses.

George’s starting salary alone made him the state’s highest paid state employee — far more than Delaware’s governor, judges, school district superintendents and medical doctors such as the director of public health.

El Somnambulo would love to quote the entire article verbatim. But you really need to read this in its entirety. You need to see how George has brought political movers and shakers onto the Board and into positions of power at the school. People like the highly-overrated Democratic quote machine James Soles of the University of Delaware, who has been Celia Cohen’s D quote go-to guy for three decades now. His avuncular and enjoyable low-key style notwithstanding, Soles’ singular accomplishment (?) has been to assist in the creation and enabling of the Carper Machine (Carper’s ‘Brain’ and former Soles acolyte Ed Freel is firmly ensconced at the U of D now, courtesy of Soles). He is an inside player masquerading as an observer. And Ruth Ann Minner’s ‘Brain’ (‘bulo knows that’s an oxymoron, but bear with him) Mark Brainard, who bailed out of his disastrous reign as Minner’s COS into a $125K golden parachute at Del-Tech.

As comprehensive as Barrish’s article is, he doesn’t mention how George used legislative henchmen Bob Gilligan and John Van Sant, both of whom had Del-Tech ties, to draw a House district shaped like a barbell expressly for his daughter, Melanie George Marshall, and how George and the Democratic ‘leaders’ didn’t think twice about screwing incumbent Democratic legislators Dave Brady and Rick DiLiberto in order to pave the way for yet another Del-Tech mouthpiece to join the family business in the Delaware General Assembly.

Which brings the Beast Who Slumbers to this closing point (for now) about the Delaware Way. For far too many members of the Delaware General Assembly, party identification is merely a matter of expediency. While Bob Gilligan is technically a Democrat, he has proven that, time and time again, party and principle take back seats to the kinds of political quid pro quos described in Barrish’s article. All at taxpayers’ expense. And he is far from the only one.

Cris Barrish has performed a public service with this article. If you’re really interested in reforming government, you must first know its dirty secrets. Barrish has shone a light on some of the dirtiest. Read the article, and get involved!

Paying Delaware’s Civil Servants

Today’s NJ has a long story on the salary of the President of DelTech — Lonnie George. It’s a long article, but worth the read. George is not only the state’s top earner, but apparently at the top of the salary list for community college presidents nationwide.

I’m not so interested in whether or not he is overpaid (I think he is) but more in what the heck the Board of Trustees was thinking? All too often these kinds of Boards can become enablers of the Indispensable Man theory — convincing themselves that whatever performance they are seeing demands some extraordinary compensation. And this being Delaware, the instincts to take care of “one of our own” are awfully strong. Because most of them will be in a position to reciprocate at some time or another. But that doesn’t take away from my larger point that there is Board of Trustees here who have apparently lost sight of the ball on this, so it seems fair to wonder what else they are basically rubber stamping to the overall detriment of the system?

It doesn’t matter where the funds come from to pay George — there are habits of responsbility that ought to be on display here that are Not. But as we recently learned, state employees are certainly asked to live with the burden of reduced revenues and some of those employees are persistently underpaid for crucial jobs. Yet here we find someone paid by taxpayers who is making well over his competitive worth and does so with the approval of some of the same folks making decisions on underpaying other state employees. You definitely need to be able to entice good leadership to positions like the President of Del Tech, which means a competitive salary and bennies are on order. But there is no way to talk about the current situation as competitive. It seems time to review this Board of Trustees and make some changes there to get them to reorient their thinking.

DOI Wired RFP Saga Episode III

Intro: Let me start by saying that I’m not crazy about the fact that I let myself fall into the DOI’s rabbit hole. Nevertheless, by viewing the RFP I drank from the little bottle labeled “drink me” so there appears to be no turning back now. Anyway, here is the latest in what will no doubt be a 100 post saga about the shady “management consultant” RFP issued by the Insurance Commissioner.

In response to my email to Mr. Gould, I heard back from Elliot Jacobsen who characterized my post and questions submissions as an “attack” and said that the blog was undertaking some kind of “scorched earth approach” to dealings with the office. So now, in addition to knowing that the RFP is not meant to initiate a best-value procurement, we know that asking quite a few legitimate questions is an “attack” and putting up a blog post which makes a case that the “management consultant” RFP issued by the Insurance Commissioner’s office appeared to be a set up to transfer money to insiders is a “scorched earth” policy. Positions with multiple ironies, I think.

Below is the latest “DL Consulting” email to Mr. Gould.

Dear Mr. Gould:

We are in receipt of a response from Elliot Jacobson who asks us a number of pre-qualification questions that were not part of the requirement listed in the RFP to establish standing to ask questions about this RFP. Since this RFP does not provide any limitations on who may ask questions, we would wish to see answers to these posted on the website. Or we would like to understand the procurement rules that would allow you to ignore questions submitted in accordance with the RFP requirements.

We respond back to you on this since you are the officially named contact on this procurement and we don’t understand Mr. Jacobson’s relationship to the DOI, since his correspondence does not come from a state email domain, but from Comcast. We expect that people conducting official business of the State would correspond under its web domain. Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, you should know that we will not be bidding on the contract, but have posed the questions about the RFP as citizens and taxpayers using the humorous conceit of a consulting firm to underscore what we feel is the sketchy nature of the RFP.

We look forward to your responses to our questions or a detailed explanation as to the State regulations that allow you to not answer legitimate questions on this procurement.

Jason330
DelawareLiberal.net

Quote of the Day

Now we are seeing the credit card banks — one of Delaware’s most important industries — pleading poor mouth and dire financial straits if Congress put a cap on the top interest rates they charge customers. And in typical Delaware Way special interest response, Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman voted against the idea.

[snip]

Delawareans deserve better from their senators.

— News Journal Editorial

Only in Delaware: Guess Who’s Handling the Gambling Bill Signing Logistics?

Gov. Markell will sign the Sports Gambling bill into law at Delaware Park (?!) tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. The person handling the logistics from Delaware Park’s side is…Jennifer Oberle, daughter of Rep. Bill Oberle. She is the Director of Advertising and Public Relations at the Park.

Jennifer Oberle is an accomplished professional. She may well have gotten her job without the family connections, although she got it long after the relationship between the Park and the Oberles had already been established.

However, the connections between Delaware Park, Bill Oberle and Sally Oberle’s Blue Hen Promotions are, to put it mildly, ethically questionable.

Fortunately, Cris Barrish and Merritt Wallick wrote one of the best investigative stories on a legislator that El Somnambulo has ever read. It is all about those connections and was published on September 17, 2007. ‘Bulo just reread it, and it grows even more powerful as time goes by.

UI, this is a must cut-and-paste for you. And, anyone who is skeptical that the Delaware Way is ‘all that’, read this article. It just might change your perspective.

Jeff Montgomery’s ‘Must-Read’ on Harrington and the Delaware State Fair

El Somnambulo believes that nothing demonstrates the moral and ethical decay at the core of the ‘Delaware Way’ more than the cozy relationships between the Delaware State Fair/Harrington Raceway and the state’s political powerbrokers.

In today’s News-Journal, Jeff Montgomery writes an essential investigative piece outlining what’s there once the rocks are lifted. It is must-reading for any serious Delaware Liberal follower, and should be read in its entirety.

One of the recurring themes in Montgomery’s story is the secrecy that shields what should be public information from the public:

While the recession has battered casinos and racinos nationwide, public records paint a picture of Harrington Raceway & Casino Inc. as a steady profit center. Harrington’s gambling operations have boosted the nonprofit state fair’s asset value dramatically, under the guidance of boards that include three state lawmakers and a long list of prominent and politically connected figures.

The nonprofit state fair owns 76 percent of Harrington Raceway and its casino, a relationship that shields the casino’s private business deals, contracts, and stock owners under rules designed to support local farmers and agriculture.

This secrecy leads to questions begging answers like how does one explain this:

Since at least 2004, the fair also has reported exactly $3,020,898 each year in dividends and interests from securities, although specific sources of funds and income attributable to ownership of the raceway was not itemized.

The secrecy shrouding the finances of both Harrington and the Delaware State Fair made it difficult for legislators to make informed decisions on the legislation:

Some lawmakers said specifics about the raceway’s profits, partially detailed in various IRS and Security and Exchange Commission documents compiled by The News Journal, never came to light before Markell’s plan was amended and sent to the Senate. Nor was the profit guarantee Harrington recently negotiated for its manager discussed with some key decision makers in Delaware.

But House Minority Leader Dick Cathcart sums up the stench (he’s far more diplomatic than ‘bulo) emanating from Harrington:

“From a political standpoint, there are probably more people, political people, involved in the Harrington Raceway and fairgrounds and have an interest in the casino operations there,” Cathcart said. “There are legislators on the boards. It makes that piece of it a little more political than Delaware Park or Dover Downs.”

A little more political?:

Senate President Pro Tem Thurman G. Adams Jr., D-Bridgeville, and Simpson are unpaid directors and members of the Delaware State Fair’s executive committee and holders of nondividend-paying fair stock. Rep. David Wilson, R-Bridgeville, who initially voted against Markell’s proposal, also is a board member of the fair. The fair also has several thousand shareholders whose only compensation is a free pass to the fair and a “chicken dinner,” Simpson said.

But tucked into that equation is dividend-paying Harrington Raceway stock, which Adams and Simpson also own. The Fair Board controls 22,800 shares of that outstanding stock. The other 7,200 shares of Raceway stock pays dividends at $33 per share, per quarter. Simpson’s ethics disclosure form on file with the Public Integrity Commission doesn’t indicate how much Raceway stock he owns.

Nearly $1 million in Raceway dividends are paid out every year to undisclosed recipients.

Other fair board members include William J. DiMondi; former Delaware Republican Gov. Pierre du Pont; Bayard, a prominent Sussex County attorney; longtime Sussex County Democratic leader and current election commissioner Kenneth L. McDowell; and former State Police Superintendent L. Aaron Chaffinch.

El Somnambulo ends this post with a public call to ethics watchdogs to add whatever you can to Montgomery’s superb story.

And to Thurman Adams, Gary Simpson, and any other legislators with their grubby paws in on this: By both House and Senate Ethics Committee rules, it is unethical for any legislator to engage in deliberations or negotiations on any legislation where they might have a financial self-interest. Simpson states in Montgomery’s article that he intends to be involved in negotiations on the legislation. Adams hasn’t said anything, but it is hard to imagine that he doesn’t intend to pull strings behind the scenes. If there are any remaining legislators in Dover concerned about even appearing to be ethical, they should file complaints with the Ethics Committees when and if they see such shenanigans going on.

Of course, any complaints going to the Senate Ethics Committee will be considered by its chair, Thurman Adams, and its ranking minority member, Gary Simpson.

And THAT is why the ‘Delaware Way’ has to go.