John Kowalko Booted Off Education Committee By Speaker Schwartzkopf and He Is Not Happy About It

In a shocking announcement today, John Kowalko has been kicked off the Delaware House Education Committee.  As Kowalko reported to WDEL today, Schwartzkopf told him in a phone call this weekend he was given the boot and “You’ve become an activist.  You carry your message to the blogs, to the papers, and on the radio, and you can’t be a legislator and an activist.”

Is this even in Delaware state code?  Politicians talk about issues they are hot about all the time.  This comes at a very odd, yet opportune time for Governor Markell.  He has two years left, and while many say he is a lame duck, I think he will use his power to the utmost in the next two years.  Kowalko recently released many FOIAs to different bloggers, this one included.  He has also been very passionate about his opposition to the priority schools.

If there is one thing Markell doesn’t like, it’s anybody messing with his eduation initiatives.  It’s a shame the first state to sign the constitution is no longer a state where people can say or think what they want without retribution from the almighty Markell.  This punishment isn’t just for Kowalko, it’s for all the politicians who would dare to go against Jack.  Schwartzkopf may be the speaker for the house, but we all know who runs the show.

There is a very interesting list of legislators on the education committee led by Earl Jacques as chairman and Kim Williams as vice-chairman.  The other 12 members has some new faces on it, so this should be interesting.