With four days until the Delaware 2018 Primary, the State Auditor’s race is gaining a TON of attraction this year. While some may suggest McGuiness has this locked up, I beg to differ. There are two scenarios that will play out. Whoever wins the Primary will determine who wins the General Election in November.
Scenario #1: Kathleen Davies wins the Primary and the General Election:
If Kathleen Davies beats Kathy McGuiness on Thursday she will also become the first Democrat State Auditor in Delaware in 29 years. She will also be the first woman to hold the role unless someone has information before 1970. She will beat Republican James Spadola in the General Election for the simple reason that Democrats want that seat and they outnumber the Republicans in Delaware. There is also the matter that Kathleen Davies has the crystal-clear qualifications to lead that office where Spadola doesn’t have any real auditing experience. He has openly admitted on his website the following:
Maintain the independence of the office – it is imperative that the “fiscal watchdog” office not be subject to the pressures of the governing political party. In this overwhelmingly Democratic state, the Republican Party must retain this office to maintain vital checks and balances on fraud, waste, and fiscal abuse in this state.
The Republican Party has put up the same candidate from 1990 to 2014. I haven’t seen any real maintenance of “vital checks and balances on fraud, waste, and fiscal abuse” with the exception of the time Davies was Wagner’s second-in-command. Which is exactly why it is a no-brainer for Davies to become State Auditor. With McGuiness in there, there would be ZERO checks and balances. The Auditor’s office is NOT about putting one political party in check. It is about being independent and carrying that independence into every single person in that office. Wagner has not done that and I have zero faith McGuiness can. Davies can and will maintain that independence.
Scenario #2: Kathy McGuiness wins the Primary and James Spadola wins the General Election:
There is a reason current denizens of the Auditor of Accounts office have done everything in their power to smear Kathleen Davies going on two years now. They do not want her in there. They also know if Kathy McGuiness wins the Primary, the Republican candidate wins the General Election. Here’s why- there are so many Democrats who can’t stand Kathy McGuiness. If there is one consistent thing I’ve heard over the past two months, Democrats will switch party lines and vote for Spadola. They do not want Pete Schwartzkopf’s #1 girl to be State Auditor. They don’t want her having a foothold in any state office. Republicans and enough Democrats will vote for Spadola to give him the election. In this scenario, we will have someone without the necessary knowledge to effectively run that office. And Wagner’s right-hand-man, John Fluharty, would assuredly keep his job. Who do you think has been instrumental in the leaks from that office? That becomes a key motivation when you want to keep your job. And trust me, Fluharty is having many sleepless nights if Davies wins. I think Spadola is a nice guy but State Auditor material for the sake of keeping the Republicans in that office? Nah.
As I wrote this article, I learned Delaware Liberal echoed this very sentiment on August 31st.
Park City Kathy is an unqualified political hack that was hand picked by party insiders in order to have a compliant puppet in an important office. The whole thing reeks.
The most important thing in this Primary is this: Kathleen Davies is THE most qualified of all the candidates and she will do her job, without political influence and without owing any favors. She will lead the office and will make sure folks there do their job and do it right. She will continue what she did prior to her unjust and possibly illegal termination, her job.
In either of these scenarios, it doesn’t sound like Delaware will collectively allow McGuiness to get one foot in the door over at the Townsend Building in Dover. That’s fine with me but Delaware deserves Scenario #1.
The Season Of Myths 