Welcome To The New Age Of Secrecy In Delaware’s Public/Private Partnership Marriage From Hell

Imagine a division of state government that no longer reports to the Governor.  It reports to the Secretary of State.  But this division will have a director from the private sector.  This director will not have to make their financial information public.  The activities of this division will be considered a non-profit agency deliberately removing itself from Freedom of Information Act requests.  Welcome to Governor John Carney’s non-transparent public/private partnership where anything can happen behind closed doors and the public will never know about it.

Will Jack Markell Run For Congress?

This is the question that doesn’t seem to be on anybody’s mind, but it should be.  It also makes all those letters going out to Democrat Primary Candidates in Delaware much easier to understand.  Delaware Senator Bryan Townsend started the letter reveals today, and it was quickly revealed all the primary candidates got them.  Sounds like a Chair of the Democrat party going rogue, right?  Or maybe not.  Why would Bryon Short drop out of the race months ago?  He was endorsed by half the House Democrats and Governor Jack Markell last year.  Sure, Townsend may have been racking up the campaign contributions, but Short seemed to have the political edge for the race.  But he dropped out, all of a sudden to the shock of many.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is running for President.  To say she is the front-runner would be a bit of a misnomer.  But a strong rumor in Delaware was that Jack really wanted to be her Secretary of Education.  Like really, really bad.  But if there is a chance she might not win, what’s a Jack to do?  How about jumping into the race for John Carney’s seat in Congress?  It keeps him in politics, it is still a lofty position, and he doesn’t have to pull a Murphy and go work for one of those dime-a-dozen education companies.  We will know by July 12th if has any intentions.  But given the fact that a) Bryon Short dropped out, b) all the candidates got their “think about it and drop out if you can” letters, c) the one to the Congressional candidates specifically says the words “like Bryon Short”, and d) it would be Jack’s logical next move if he isn’t sure the Hillster can pull it off.

Daniello’s letter ticked off a lot of candidates.  Enough to cause self-doubt and angst?  Probably not.  But it does set up the chess board for Jack to enter, pissing off a lot of people in the Democrat party.  Especially folks like Townsend.  This wouldn’t be the first time Jack did something like this.  Those who remember, Carney was the favorite in 2008 for Governor, until Jack went against the party and entered the race.  But I hope the outcome is different should he choose to run.  I would love to see Jack in a primary… and lose!  I’m sure the DOE will have some openings by then!

Did you vote in the Brandywine Referendum yet?

The Brandywine School District is having their second attempt at a referendum today.  To say both sides have come out swinging for the fences would be an understatement.  Politicians like Delaware Governor Jack Markell, Senator Tom Carper, and State Reps Bryon Short and Sean Matthews have all come out in support for the referendum.  Brandywine father Patrick Wahl appeared on the Rick Jensen show yesterday along with referendum leader James Hanby.  Wahl is claiming the district gave out absentee ballots to an assisted living home along with a host of other issues about the referendum.  The Delaware Dept. of Education came out with a letter yesterday indicating it erred with the number of administrators that show on the DOE website.  Teachers in and out of the district are urging citizens to get out and vote.  Brian Stephan wrote a post on Delaware Liberal yesterday addressing many of Wahl’s allegations.

We will know tonight if this attempt passed or failed.  It is getting very hard to keep track of what is truth and what is not, from both sides of the issue.  As of 12:55pm today, the New Castle County Dept. of Elections verified 2,085 people have voted already in 18 out of the 22 polling stations.  I’m not taking sides on this one folks.  There is too much mass confusion surrounding this one.  Most likely, the truth is somewhere in the middle in certain areas.  The important thing is to get out there and vote if you live in Brandywine.

The Delaware DOE Danny Short Theme Song

Delaware DOE Comes Up Short In Their Lobbying Against House Bill 50

From Mike Matthews Facebook page.  I must have been so busy typing my article about the bill passing that I completely missed this.

Mike Matthews

Best comment of the HB 50 vote came just after the vote, when Rep. Danny Short from Sussex said that there’s some real education discussions we need to have in this state. He alluded to a serious disconnect with DoE when they called him recently to lobby him to not support the opt out bill. They told him “Representative, we can meet you in Wilmington any day.” Only problem? Rep. DANNY Short lives in Sussex. Rep. Bryon Short lives in North Wilmington. DoE couldn’t even differentiate between the Shorts in the House. Huge. Dis. Con. Nect.

All I can say is … WOW!  And these are the people we are supposed to trust to oversee education in our state?