Ok…. so I decided to try out Delaware’s best voter’s guide ever, (already #2 on Google) to see just how good it was… Just to give it a qualifying run, you know, to see if it needed any tune up or additional work… Basically I just wanted to see what it could do…. Since I was discussing the Fourth Representative’s race on Down With Absolutes new site… I decided to carry it over here and put it through its paces…
We’ll approach this challenge alphabetically…. start with Brady..
So we go to the page at the top of my blog listed, I believe as 2008 Delaware’s Voter’s Guide… and let’s see we scroll down past the words until we see a long list of names…. whoops too far…. back it up a bit……State Rep 17…. go up a little more… there…State Representative 4…. Tyler Nixon and Gerald Brady….. Click on Brady and presto…..we have a google page of all Brady….
Oh look who’s on top? Dana Garrett at Delaware Watch with a story about how Gerald Brady kicked Gary Fulcher out of his campaign event… When Fulcher stammers….”when did this event become private….” he gets the proverbial answer….” just now…” And this is the guy who represented the fourth district for the past two years…..All too often we think of those for whom we vote, to have high personal and moral standards….. They don’t. Actually they are a lot like you and I… See the details here…
Ok..move on to the number two spot… Its Gerald Brady’s Legislative Hall dossier… Oh… That’s what he looks like… Looks like he was in the sun a bit too long with sunglasses on… Kind of looks like a backwards raccoon, wearing a light mask, not a dark one….(lol) So lets see what legislation he sponsored…If he is going up against Tyler, it must be earth shattering to be sure….
Wow… looks like he has a thing about dead people……hmmm. that’s different…
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 20, DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BURIAL IN A DELAWARE VETERANS CEMETERY. HB 55
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 2, TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF A PERSON’S LAST REMAINS. HB 156
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 20 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BURIAL OF WAR VETERANS. HB 281
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 2, TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF A PERSON’S LAST REMAINS. HB 384
Ok so lets see what else Gerald Brady is capable of…. He got hearing aids for children to be covered by insurance companies.. He got liens against property to be valid for ten years, instead of the previously approved five, he got additional paid leave for state employees who were assigned by the military to a position overseas… he got cities and municipalities the power to place a lien against your property based on the allusion that you owed someone, something… He also tried to get those in Homeless shelters to apply for a free fishing license…
So we check his occupation…. Oh, look! He’s the state director for the AFL-CIO…. Oh look… he is on the Land Use Committee… I wonder where he stands on eminent domain and workforce housing….? No doubt he is in line with DeLuca who came from IBEW and was the only person to stand in favor of developers taking your home by eminent domain, until Minner vetoed it…and the Senate Democrats refused to overturn her veto….
Ok, next site… Oh, I see Tommywonk is happy (although he doesn’t say it directly… you just have to know how to read him..) that Brady represents him…
Oh, look at this… the Hockessan CommunityPub.com has a piece on Gerald Brady.. Let’s see… they got all that from his Official State website, which we just looked at… oh..here we have something in first person….Let’s see…he wants to build up infrastructure..as well as transportation… Uh..how does that stack up during our current budget crises? Storm Drains need upgraded.. water supply needs upgraded due to new development… um… no mention of developers picking up the cost… I guess it fall on us taxpayers again….
Oh…He knew I was coming… Someone tipped him off! He knew I was going to be poking around…! The final Bluewater Wind contract, along with the legislation establishing “sustainable energy units” (SEUs) was the best possible deal for Delawareans, a fact which is confirmed by the recent drastic turbulence in the various markets. Careful consideration should be focused on contracting and permitting process to ensure project is satisfied in a timely fashion. Oh well, can’t argue with truth… That’s a mark for his good side…
Another mark.. Open government… That doesn’t squire to well with his relationship with the Senate’s Adams and DeLuca, but here he champions Open Government… A good thing…I speak with special conviction and demonstrated this by consistently voting in favor of all open government bills during my two years as a state legislator. (What about this one?) “Say” and “Do” aren’t lining up on the same side here, are they?
And fiscal crises….we should focus on maintaining national leadership in this area by funding core priorities, such as excellence in public education, health and cancer prevention programs as well as aggressive economic programs that continue to attract jobs to our state. My priorities would be to continue funding education reforms, increase resources for police and homeland security needs and secure additional capital funding for surface water drainage needs in and around the City.
Next Link.. Ha! There’s a Gerald Brady holding some office in North Dakota.. Not our Gerald Brady.. moving on.. Let’s see what’s on the next page… Oh… Here we go Project Vote Smart… Lets see where Brady stands.. Ok, his list of organizations is here….
Leader, Boy Scouts of America Troop #285
Member, Delaware’s Workforce Investment Board
Board President, Graham Senior Center
Executive Board Member, Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
Executive Board, Friends of Woodlawn Library
Board Member, Wilmington Free Library
Past President, St. Ann’s Home and School Association
Former Member, St. Ann’s Church Parish Council.
So how did he vote?
He voted for the budgets as they were dropped on the desk…
He voted for an alcohol tax increase…
He voted for State Employee Collective Bargaining.
He voted against an admendment that required State Employees to know whether their wages were attached beforehand…
He voted for an increased cigarette tax….
He voted against an amendment that waives state employees’ and institutions’ immunity from those provisions of SB 29 (the Child Victim’s Act), which repeals the statute of limitations on civil suits involving child sexual abuse. (Worried more about liability… than children)
He voted yes to bring sports betting into Delaware.
Next, we have Steve Newton, professor extraordinaire or Delaware Libertarian, poking around the campaign finances of Gerald Brady.. Of course being head of the AFL-CIO he will have SOME union contributions… Steve wonders whether it should be a illegal, or at least a conflict of interest to solicit or collect money from those groups you are overseeing…. in a word… no.. I would certainly support my boss were he to run for some office… My guess, when put from that perspective… so would he? But everyone should know that were a choice needed in order to decide on developers right’s to eminent domain, to decide on developers bonuses for short cycling our current highway structure, and educational capacities, and water and sewage capacities, ….. we know which way Gerald Brady will go… Pro development.
Oh, here we go… Someone with the same name, Gerald Brady, who lists himself as CEO of Liberty Cab company, obviously somewhere in Houston TX, last election gave $550 to Bush and as of February… has given $330 to of all people….Obama… This bit of random information solidifies the view that Americans all over recognize that Obama better represents those American values previously believed to have been better represented by the Republican Party… You know… instead of debating whether they are Democratic or Republican values… we should all bury the hatchet and recognize that Obama represents middle class values… The rich can go to hell.
Ok so back to the race at hand… let’s see here is something from Delaware Way… Gerald Brady and Hazel Plant, has sponsored legislation, HB 161, that would allow the City of Wilmington to change its charter and make Wilmington residents responsible for the maintenance and repair of sidewalks and curbs adjacent to their property. [I have heard that Helene Keeley is removing her co-sponsorship of this bill. There may be others who are second-guessing their support for Baker’s initiative]
So Gerald Brady tried to get Wilmington’s homeowners to be responsible for the upkeep of the sidewalks in front of their house.. The same sidewalks that the city of Wilmington has neglected to repair since their creation (almost). Therefore, the city plans on sending out inspectors, to look at the sidewalks they haven’t fixed, and issue you, the homeowner, a fine they they spend elsewhere, and you still have to pay a “union” laborer money to fix your sidewalk…..
Brady sponsored this bill.. Lets see how much of Brady’s district lies in Wilmington? What all of it? That’s not good.
Ok, now here is something from the Community Pub.com again from Hockessan (he’s got to lose that picture) … Brady said his focus during his second term would be to make the presence of alternative energy sources a reality in Delaware. Brady said he also hoped to see the passage of recycling legislation that helps divert waste from the state’s landfills. “I had a major role in bringing recycling to the City of Wilmington so I know it works,” he said. Brady said he was proud that all 10 pieces of legislation he introduced during his first term passed in the House of Representatives. He said he was particularly proud of legislation that requires health insurance providers to offer as much as $2,000 to children and young adults for hearing aids. Brady, who suffers from hearing loss, said ensuring proper hearing during developmental years was important. “Studies have shown that those with hearing loss are an average of two years behind their age group developmentally,” he said.
Here is his resignation from Wilmington’s City Council, upon his last election two years ago… And here is a copy of an email sent to Dave Breakiron and ABATE regarding the current status of motorcycle helmet laws in Delaware. (I didn’t know Mike Castle wanted helmets worn by every motorcyclist?) And here is a piece by Steve Crockett, now joined at the hip with Dana Garrett of Delaware Watch in Democratic Talk Radio…mentioning Brady’s assistance in getting project CLEAN off the ground in its efforts to deal with toxic chemicals in the employee environment… (I didn’t know Steve was from Earleville, Maryland…)
OK, Let’s Check Out “The Other Guy”.
Click on Tyler Nixon:
First listing is his own website… lets click and see.…
Wow, this is a help.. There is a lot here… Obviously this candidate is savvy with us who use the electronic media to research candidates… We have two of the CommunityPub highlights of his campaign, and we have a recent Comcast Newsmaker Interview detailing his candidacy, and further down, we have the WHYY blurb on last years sidewalk responsibility crises….one his opponent was directly responsible…. and Tyler makes the case that the city…should be the one responsible for the maintenance of sidewalks.. WE HAVE AN ISSUE, HERE. Also we have links to donate or volunteer for Tyler’s campaign…
On single factor is apparent from the beginning.. Whereas we had to scramble through many postings of Gerald Brady just to find the essence of the man, on one sight at the top of Tyler’s list, we can feel the strength of who he is…..Wilmington Native – Attorney – Small Business Owner – Public Service and Reform Activist – U.S. Army Combat Veteran
Also spread out are the agenda which he plans to progress if elected into General Assembly….
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs by Attracting Clean Energy Technology Companies to Delaware
Þ Clean, Renewable Energy Independence for Delaware
o Invest in renewable energy on all state facilities and for fleet vehicles
o Allow households and communities to join in “bulk-buying” when state government purchases renewable energy systems
o Create statewide hydrogen infrastructure for motor vehicles
o Property tax rebates and incentives for private investment in renewable energy systems
o Remove any local administrative or legal barriers to clean energy entrepreneurs and installers
o Public-private partnerships to demonstrate new technologies like tidal power
o Exempt all DMV fees and costs for zero emission vehicles
Þ Protect Delaware’s Environment with Enforcement of Real Penalties for Violators
Þ Quality Choices in Education – Consolidate and eliminate top-heavy bureaucracies
Þ Protect Property Rights – Eminent Domain Reform
Þ Reform and Accountability – Open Government
o End the “desk drawer veto”
o Make the legislature subject to Freedom of Information
o Pass transparency legislation – make finances available online
Þ Initiative and Referendum So CITIZENS Can Directly Make or Repeal Law by Election Ballot
Þ Constitutional Limits on Incumbency Time for All Public Officials in Delaware
Þ State Inspector General with Prosecutorial Powers
Þ Eliminate ALL Taxes and Fees For Lower Income Households
Þ Hold Counties, Cities, and Towns Accountable to Citizens
o No more heavy-handed schemes for parking and other fines
o No more “double” licensing for businesses with State licenses
o No more “instant” ticket schemes that deny due process
Þ Protect Citizen Rights from Government Abuse & Encroachment
Þ Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentences – Drug Policy Reform
So what are others saying about Tyler Nixon… Ok, we have some nut (I kill me) from 2006 ranting on his view of a comment Tyler made about the JFK assassination plot…which instead of looping Tyler into a conspiracy theory, casts considerable doubt upon the Warren Commission’s report… here is Tyler’s reply….
When I was in the Army Infantry I was (even in spite of being slightly near-sighted) a sniper-quality marksman, always hitting 38-40 out of 40 pop-up targets as far out as 300 meters at every qualification round. I consistently carried firearms almost every day of the week, 24 hours a day, for over 2 years while on active duty. These included the M16A2, the M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), and the M60 7.62mm machine gun. I have handled firearms of all varieties since fairly young and have fired at least 100 different types, from the best to the worst, including the 6.5 mm Italian Carcano rifle identical to the one purportedly used to murder President Kennedy. I also know, from experience, what it takes to hit a moving target, even with a superior firearm and under ideal conditions. Having said that, the Carcano rifle purportedly used is one of the worst, most inaccurate, and shoddy rifles I have ever handled. The one I fired was so shoddy, even as a rather pristine specimen, that we simply couldn’t get it properly sighted and zeroed no matter what we tried.
Next we have a collection of the most popular blogging apparatus, WordPress, collection of posts tagged Tyler Nixon… We see him connected to the Public Meeting against the Unified Development Code, that the the Libertarian Party endorsed him as well, we see he was linked to the blockage of Harris McDowell’s secret attempt to steal the profits from the SEU, we see he would have made Theodore Roosevelt proud, we see Tyler’s acknowledgment that Republican in Congress, are just as morose as the General Assembly’s democrats, showing non-partisan fevor in correcting governments wrongs…
WE see Delaware Watch come out with this Republican’s comment back in 2006….“Perhaps it’s this capacity that prompted one Republican to say to me, “The problem with Tyler Nixon is that he is ahead of his time” and still another to opine “Nixon’s progressivism won’t sit well with some Republicans.” That was then.. Today is now… The past has done us no good… forward thinking needs to placed out of “neutral”, and into “drive”. “He not only possesses the vision of what we need in Delaware, but he also tells us how to actualize the vision.”
Next we see Shirley, our favorite Curmudgeon (unfortunately still under the spell that Copeland cast upon her at the Brandywine Hundred Meeting) is reverentially supporting Tyler Nixon.
We have the Libertarian Party saying they endorse him as their candidate.
Whoops… That’s not his facebook.….
We have an old interview… from Delaware Watch… He is a Gulf War Veteran, a graduate of University of VA Law School, an advocate for solar; wind power, opposes nuclear power
and supports extending Delaware’s FOIA Open Meeting laws to the Delaware Legislature.
We next have an old archived piece again from Delaware Watch, describing the political forum held again in 2006 against Tyler Nixon and Harris McDowell, who if he were running this term would carry the epithet “most hated man in Delaware” but because of that one fact.. he is not running, Charlie Copeland must bear that heavy burden… as being the one person who tried to kill offshore wind from coming to Delaware…. here is a moment of revelation dawning in the mind of its author: Dana Garrett. Tyler Nixon repeatedly pointed out. It’s time for a change. It’s time for a new generation of leadership. Although Nixon is almost a generation younger than me, I realized that night for the first time that he was correct. My generation and the generation before me have left Nixon’s generation a mess, environmentally, economically and socially. And after I’m long gone, Nixon’s generation will still be dealing with the mess my generation left them. Since it will be their burden, it’s time now to left the Tyler Nixons take charge. It’s time for the Harris McDowells to retire.
Another blog, DelawareLiberal.net points out Tyler’s sense of humor… this time regarding the sidewalk issue…
What? The Tyler Nixon Band? One of them even looks a little like Tyler… lol
Finally we have the News Journal version of the Sidewalk controversy,a win for property owners, and a loss for city government, at its defeat… Tyler Nixon led the charge… Here is one of the early exchanges that may have led him in that direction…
So after a brief perusal of three Google pages each on the two candidates, you, by now should have a solid feel of which candidate will better represent you during the next two years in Dover… To all citizens everywhere, if we have learned anything from this election’s extended season, it it that voting matters.. IT REALLY MATTERS WHO WE PUT INTO OFFICE… Each voter has a serious responsibility to pick the person representing the way he wants this nation, state, county, district to go…. We can ill afford to put Joe Schmoe in because he says “hi” to our kids….and walks in a parade.
The Inevitable Conclusion?
That depends entirely upon you… But if you want my brief synopsis, here is how it appeared to me as I plowed through this task.. Both candidates appear to be motivated, and basically extremely good guys.. They agree on energy management, open government, and bringing jobs to Delaware. (of course who would ever campaign on the opposite).. So now the question depends upon degree… Who will move us forward faster…
Those of us who deal in state government know how the current power structure animates downward from the “closed drawer” of the Senate… Any threat by the owner of that drawer, stifles good legislation from going forward… Right now, if Delaware is to move forward…. that drawer needs to be opened so a majority of bills opening up government can move forward.. Gerald Brady by his union connection is joined at the hip with fellow Unionists Tony DeLuca, Terry Spence, Dori Conner, Bob Marshall, Harris McDowell, Mike Mulrooney, David McBride, Margarette Rose Henry, Bethany Hall-Long, Hazel Plant, Dennis Williams, John Viola, as well as by nature connected to those of county government embedded in the Union’s plan: Chris Coons, Mike Kosikowski, Bill Bell, Penrose Hollins, and George Smiley…and Ruth Minner, in keeping the shennigans of government from being seen too clearly…
Nothing can change, until that switch at the top takes place… So having a nice guy support the Evil Empire, or having a tribal warrior fighting for the Jedi, is our choice in the Fourth District…
If you like how things went down during the Minner administration then Gerald Brady is your man..
If you want to take a stab at making it better, you cannot go wrong with Tyler Nixon. From all the evidence around, he is the one on your side of the “big battle”.
kavips 
35 comments
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October 29, 2008 at 11:09 pm
kavips
Sure beats the News Journal’s Voter’s Guide, does it not?
October 29, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Mike Matthews
Kavips,
Don’t have your email and I know this is ridiculously late notice, but I’d love to have you call-in to the show today to discuss some of the things you’ve got going on here (in particular, your voters’ guide).
Email me at downwithabsolutes@gmail.com
I couldn’t find an email on this page.
October 30, 2008 at 12:27 am
anonone
If you want to elect a McCain-Paiin repub, then vote for Tyler Nixon. In spite of the rosey picture that Kavips paints of Tyler, it is clear from Nixon’s record, political parties, and judgment that he should not be elected over the Democrat, Gerald Brady.
Tyler and his supporters will try to tell you that he is a “good republican,” and Tyler Nixon has spoken out publicly against Bush and Cheney, and claims that he did not vote for them. Nevertheless, he served on the Bush/Cheney transition team after the stolen election in 2000, helping Rumsfeld get approved by the Senate. Today, he is publicly supporting the McCain-Palin ticket, in spite of the fact that McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time. It speaks volumes to his political and policy judgment that he would support McCain-Palin after he has spent the last several years denouncing the very policies McCain has supported. Furthermore, that he supports putting the ignorant theocrat Palin (a “whackjob” according to a McCain Official) a 72 year-old heart beat away from the Presidency shows clearly that he puts his repub party interests over those of his country.
But why would we expect differently? Tyler’s political mentor and former boss was the very corrupt Newt Gingrich, who resigned from the House in disgrace. Furthermore, prior to supporting McCain-Palin, Nixon supported the very-far right wing social conservative Ron Paul, who gained quite a bit of notoriety for the extremely racist writings in his personal newsletter in the early 90’s. Years later, Paul claimed that they were written by a ghostwriter, yet it is clear he did not denounce them at the time they were published under his name.
In spite of Tyler’s long list of promises, it appears from his record of support of far-right wing extremists such as Gingrich, Palin, and Paul that Tyler is one of them, too. As many right-wing repubs do, Tyler is trying to put campaign on a reform package that hides his far right-wing repub roots.
If you want to continue promoting republican economics, social conservatism, theocracy, and the corrupt republican party, then vote for Tyler Nixon. Otherwise, Brady is the far better choice.
October 30, 2008 at 1:19 am
kavips
Points taken…
But you are using national politics to color a very locally issued race…
Who should pay for sidewalks… the government….or individual homeowners..?
Who should be in charge of your money… the government… or individual homeowners..?
Who is a better spokesperson for open government… one hooked to the Democratic House that VOTED AGAINST IT… or one aligning himself with the party that led the charge for open government (Sorry, Karen… I didn’t forget you, just was speaking of “the party” that led the charge….?
Allow me to address the Bush/Cheney transition piece…
You remember that the Bush who ran in 2000, is not the one we have today… In fact, one could argue effectively since Tyler is too busy to weigh in, that the close experience in dealing with the core of the Bush Cheney supporters, is exactly the disfranchising influence that made Tyler set out independently…
I doubt anonone is the same person he was eight years ago… People change. It would be silly to preclude one Tyler Nixon to be the same…
Record shows that Tyler broke with the official Party viewpoint in 2001. If I had to work with those knuckleheads who believe Cheney walks on water, I think I would be disillusioned as well….
So much so… that when you call out “his supporters” you are calling out DelawareLiberal.Net, Delaware Watch, myself, Down with Absolutes, Delaware Libertarian, Delaware Curmudgeon, Delaware Politics (FSP) all of which are downright hostile to Cheney/Bush policies…..
Apparently you are alone in your opinion.
October 30, 2008 at 1:54 am
anonone
What’s the saying? “Think globally, act locally”.
Tyler has said that his experiences working on the Bush/Cheney team did give him a very negative impression. Now, does he need to work on the McCain/Palin team to understand what they’re all about? It is all about judgement. Even you can see what a disaster McCain-Palin would be.
Bush was the same liar in 2000 that we know today. Maybe you couldn’t tell, but a majority of the voters could. You’re trying to re-write history again.
Nixon supported Ron Paul last spring and supports McCain-Palin now. You say he broke with “the official Party viewpoint” in 2001, but he is lock, stock, and barrel with it now. It appears that he has changed to join back with the “the official Party viewpoint” in 2008. Maybe that is the kind of person you want to get started in a political career in Delaware, but I don’t. Particularly when there is a perfectly good Democratic alternative.
October 30, 2008 at 2:00 am
anonone
By the way, I am not “calling anybody out”. I keep wondering why people keep using this elementary school expression in the context of a political discussion. Is that all they got?
See how many votes Brady gets on election day before you tell me I’m alone in my opinion.
Not that I mind being alone.
October 30, 2008 at 3:05 am
TommyWonk
If you’re interested in what I think:
http://www.tommywonk.com/2008/10/gerald-brady-and-tyler-nixon.html
October 30, 2008 at 3:48 am
FSP
What is a “Sustainable Energy Unit?” I thought it was the “Sustainable Energy Utility.”
October 30, 2008 at 4:20 am
kavips
It took me forever to find out what you were discussing… What? Sustainable Energy Units”… what are those…
Although it doesn’t work on the written page, if spoken to the ear, I guess an apt interpretation would be: the energy old ladies use to keep knitting..
October 30, 2008 at 4:22 am
kavips
Mike Matthews:
I tried calling while Kilroy was on the phone and got continuous ringing.. (damn twenty minutes) … I suppose another time will do….
Tell Maria “hi” for me…
lol
October 30, 2008 at 4:24 am
kavips
Tommy’s post (link listed 4 above) adequately describes why he would vote for Gerald Brady.
My post gives you enough information to make up your own mind…
October 30, 2008 at 4:31 am
anonone
Nice write-up, TommyWonk.
For some reason, Kavips failed to look beyond Google for Brady’s campaign website. Here it is for those interested:
http://www.geraldbrady.com/
And here are the issues that he is interested in:
– Enhance community policing through increased state aid for local law enforcement.
– Improve access to health care, especially primary care providers and improve preventive services like blood pressure and diabetes screening.
– Ensure that school districts are managed efficiently and effectively to provide the greatest support for teachers, who know best how to educate our children.
– Continue to take a leadership role in promoting statewide recycling to reduce landfill accumulation in Delaware — taking the lessons learned in Wilmington’s pilot curbside program.
– Preserve the quality of life that makes Delaware special through Smart Growth and Brownfield initiatives that control suburban sprawl and focus economic development in existing communities that already have the infrastructure to accommodate growth..
– Work to further open the deliberations of the General Assembly to public oversight, just as all City Council sessions and committee meetings are publicly televised.
– Provide the best constituent service for the citizens of the 4th Representative District.
October 30, 2008 at 8:47 am
kavips
What did you do, just throw that together?
It is still not coming up on Google, at least to the 8th page..
But on Google page 5, was this post by Shirley at Delaware Curmudgeon… Since it is pertinent I’ll refer you to it here and publish the highlights…..
Who are “the people” of Representative District 4?
Ask Gerald Brady, who is running as an incumbent for that seat. According to Gerald Brady’s campaign contribution record “the people” are:
Clear Channel Worldwide – San Antonio, TX – $500.00
Sunoco – Philadelphia, PA – $200.00
Bank of America – Atlanta, GA – $300.00
Walgreen’s – Deerfield, IL – $200.00
Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 19 – Philadelphia, PA – $200.00
USW D-4 NY, NJ, DE, ME – Cheektowaga, NY – $600.00
Who supports Gerald Brady? Is it “the people” of District 4?
Mr. Brady has received $15,850.00 in contributions from 36 donors.
Only 18% were from “the people”.
The remaining 82% ($12,950.00) were from 29 special interests, corporate PACS, and political cronies. The report can be found here.
Who owns Gerald Brady? It doesn’t appear to be “the people” of District 4. Those people in such diverse neighborhoods as Trolley Square, Little Italy, Alapocas, and Greenville. Yeah, all those people.
I think it is those people, in those neighborhoods, who ole Lincoln was talking about.
VOTE TYLER NIXON to represent the people of Representative District 4, because, as he says in this interview, “Dover can’t fix Delaware until Delaware fixes Dover”. Nobody owns Tyler Nixon but “the people”.
Shirley Vandever
Delaware Curmudgeon
October 30, 2008 at 9:08 am
kavips
FYI
Here is Brady’s 30 day finance report.
And here is Brady’s 8 day finance report…
Here is Tyler’s 30 day finance report.
And here is Tyler’s 8 day finance report….
Did I see Ed Osborne’s name there? I’ll throw my lot behind who he is backing…..
October 30, 2008 at 5:20 pm
anonone
No, I didn’t “throw that together”; it is from his website’s “Issues” page.
Brady does not appear to spend much (maybe any) time writing in blogs, so he does not have the same Google presence as Nixon does. That is probably why his website did not show up in the Google search – it does not have a fraction of the links pointing back to it that Tyler’s does.
October 30, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Mike Matthews
Anonone,
Would you mind explaining all those special-interest donations Brady has received?
October 30, 2008 at 7:11 pm
anonone
Mike Matthews,
Yes, there are people and organizations that have special interests and they make donations to candidates. I donate to candidates that I hope will support the interests that I am especially interested in.
Is there anything illegal about that? Can you point to anything illegal or unethical that Brady has done? Or is this just about innuendo?
Mike, I believe that we should have public campaign financing. Until then, we are stuck with the system that we have, and the incumbency protection racket that it spawns. I don’t know anybody who donates to candidates that doesn’t have some “special interests” be them social, economic, personal, or political. “Special interests” is a bogey man phrase that has become essentially meaningless. Everybody has a “special interest.”
October 30, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Tyler Nixon
Looks like a big Brady contributor, ExxonMobil, did quite well for themselves last quarter :
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20081030/BUSINESS/81030014/-1/updates
Exxon Mobil posts biggest-ever U.S. quarterly profit
By JOHN PORRETTO • Associated Press • October 30, 2008
HOUSTON – Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, reported income today that shattered its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation, earning $14.83 billion in the third quarter.
Meanwhile :
Del. behind in planning for clean energy
Task force report expected in ’09
By JEFF MONTGOMERY • The News Journal • October 30, 2008
Left in the slow lane by its more energetic neighbors, Delaware is racing to finish a long-range plan for powering the state into the future while reducing fossil fuel use and emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20081030/NEWS02/810300391/1007
Thanks for covering the race, kavips. I am honored to have your confidence.
October 30, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Steve Newton
kavips
Just a small quibble with your presentation of what I said about Brady’s contribution from the DE AFL-CIO: it was not employees of the AFL-CIO who contributed to his campaign, but the DE AFL-CIO office of which he is Executive Director. Presumably the ED has check-signing authority and at least some control over how the money is spent. I don’t think it passes the smell test for someone to have the office he supervises and gets paid by writing a check to his campaign.
anonone dismisses special interest contributions by arguing that anyone who contributes to a campaign has a “special interest”–true but misleading. As a taxpayer I may have special interests that I want to encourage the candidate to pursue, but that is completely different from being a legislator working on environmental issues who takes money from oil companies, working on building codes who takes money from builder’s associations, and for whom a significant percentage of his union contributions come from out of state. Is it illegal? No. Is it fair to examine and raise questions about? Absolutely. Otherwise, on the national stage no one would be raising John McCain’s contributions from oil companies.
Of more concern to me was that I was able to find at least one corporation that brags in its own literature that it contributed money to Brady’s campaign, but which is nowhere listed on his finance reports. Certainly that should be cause for some concern.
October 30, 2008 at 11:10 pm
anonone
Steve,
Then am I to assume that you also support public campaign financing?
Corporations and individuals that work in corporations aren’t taxpayers? I ask the question rhetorically, but where do you draw the line between “special” interests and “non-special” interests? What about a legislator working on environmental issues who takes money from Greenpeace? Do you want the government to draw that line?
We desperately need election reform in this country, including public campaign financing. As I see it, that is the only way we can get the public interests put above private interests, special or otherwise.
By the way, I agree with raising the questions if one has evidence of a quid pro quo relationship, but merely accepting legal campaign contributions from so-called “special interests” is not unethical or immoral.
October 30, 2008 at 11:16 pm
anonone
Tyler,
Since you brought it up, in your opinion, are ExxonMobil’s profits good news or bad? What is your position on oil company profits?
October 30, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Tyler Nixon
Good news for ExxonMobil and Gerry Brady. Bad news for the millions of Americans who paid through the nose based on speculation and trading frenzy.
Not that a state representative in Delaware can exactly end it and not that Gerry Brady would ever answer the same question (much less why he took donations from Sunoco and ExxonMobil), but no more corporate welfare for these petro-multinationals.
I would sooner tax these corporate profits directly than take the Minner-Brady approach of taxing gas purchases, a regressive tax if there ever was one. Brady already raised alcohol and cigarette taxes….also not exactly progressive taxation of those who can afford it. Look for a gas tax hike if Gerald Brady gets re-elected.
I support some form of public campaign financing, to level the playing field and invite people into the process. To actually have a healthy, accessible, clean election system is worth the relatively-minute expense to taxpayers overall. I would support prohibiting donations not from individual citizens, i.e. no more corporations, PACs, and unions buying incumbency and access by funding campaigns like Gerald Brady’s.
October 31, 2008 at 12:57 am
kavips
I used to support public financing of elections… but the more I learn the answer is not as easy as it seemed at one time….
Face reality… money is a big part of our lives… Shutting it out might make government less capable of controlling those it most needs to control.
The single party analogy and their treatment of big businesses, would be a barometer to check out what might happen if all elections were publicly financed…
October 31, 2008 at 6:02 am
Steve Newton
anonone
Sorry, didn’t see your question for several hours….
No, I don’t support public financing. I support immediate and total transparency in campaign donations, no matter how small.
Immediacy [within, say, 48 hours] is now possible with the internet.
Total transparency is necessary to cover abuses like the PAC the Delaware Democratic Party runs that delivers money to virtually every Dem incumbent in the state in a lump sum from a PAC that doesn’t name any of its donors because it claims that every single person who gave to it handed over $99 or less. This would mean that several thousand anonymous individuals or companies intentionally contributed to this PAC to influence elections throughout the state anonymously. I have a real problem with that.
If every donation had to be recorded, this would at least allow us to see who was attempting buy our politicians.
In a perfect world I would love to see every piece of legislation passed accompanied by a breakdown of which company, union, etc. affected by that legislation had contributed to which legislators who voted for it. We’re not going to get that. But with mandatory, real-time, 100% transparent donations, we’d be able to work it out for ourselves.
Please note: you may not usually agree with my answers, but I do try to avoid ducking your questions.
October 31, 2008 at 6:56 am
kavips
Steve a PAC is required to list their donors if over 100 dollars…
Here is an example of their contributors and their receivership………
October 31, 2008 at 7:26 am
anonone
Tyler, Steve, and Kavips
Thanks for your responses. I was particularly interested in the CFR question from the Libertarian perspective.
Personally, I think that in the absence of full public campaign finance reform we might be able to provide some kind of hybrid such as providing air time on the public’s airwaves, providing matching funds, and giving third and fourth party candidates a seat at the debates.
Full and fast disclosure? Absolutely agree with that. The question becomes “how fast?” 48 hours may be too fast to process, vet, and post every small contribution. Then, as you point out, we get into the question of PACs and 527’s. What a mess!
I don’t think that you could break down every piece of legislation as you described (well, maybe in a perfect world!). What if you could keep legislators completely blind to their campaign funding sources? Kind of a “blind trust” idea. Maybe that’s my perfect world!
I agree with Tyler’s approach to taxing energy profits at the corporate level, but I also think that we should tax gasoline at the pump, too. The money from energy taxes should go to fund alternative energy research and infrastructure, as well as heating fuel subsidies. I haven’t checked lately, but it used to be that a gallon of home heating oil was more expensive than a gallon of gas when you took away the gasoline taxes and surcharges.
I also think that a pump tax would help drive conservation. When we see how high the price went over the summer, it was clear that there was a consumer surplus in the previous prices that could have gone to the government as a pump tax instead of to the oil companies as profit.
Did you know that if we had electric cars tomorrow that our current power grid could not handle all the batteries being charged? Whether we go to hydrogen or electric, the infrastructure investment costs will be high. But I think that the efficiencies that it will bring will be worth it, much as pollution controls in the 80’s helped to generate jobs and increased efficiencies as old dirty plants were retired.
I appreciate and enjoy the discussion! Take care, gentlemen.
October 31, 2008 at 9:02 am
kavips
It’s a good plan with a few holes that need tightening up, but as a start there are a few good planks to begin building…
For the sake of shortness assume everything you mention is good, except for the points made here..
I can see a problem with the third and fourth candidates being invited at a late date, but early on may be applicable… The question is degree of worthiness.. whether or not it is a waste of the public’s time… (Often the two major parties are a waste of public’s time)… Allow me these specifics…It would be enjoyable to have someone like Mike Munger offering a viewpoint that resonates with many of the electorate…I have enjoyed Steve’s bringing him to us… But after sitting through Tom Savage’s rant at a candidate hearing, (Independent Party) I see for the first time why there is hesitance on the part of major party candidates to debate someone who is for want of a better word…. clueless… At least the major parties have a process to vet out the inconsistencies before being seen by the public… So something needs to be done there…
I see structural problems with candidates running without knowing who it is who’s paying their way… As a candidate I certainly would not want to piss off my contributors and not knowing who they were, …. it could happen easily…
Better is the openness so that nothing is hidden… Pulling out Brady’s Sunoco contribution is an example… Ok, Sun Oil Company supports him.. that’s where he is coming from… WE, the people know where he is coming from, and we are fine.. we agree, or disagree with his position.. There has been many a candidate who has told a contributor, sorry, I can’t do it… the political water is just too hot right now… And as Tyler will attest, on a large budget, the percentage of any one contributor is minimal.. “ok, so I just pissed off .06 of my contributors…..” Those decisions really do not weigh when it comes time to cast a vote… What does weigh, is this question… “If I vote this way…. will it cost me a re-election?” Despite our whinings, it is really the citizens who the politicians fear… not the contributors….
And since money is in tight supply for all urban governments it might be realistic to include hookers into the net thrown by the pump tax as well..
Do you have a link that electric cars would bring down the grid…That is one I have not stumbled across… Most electric cars contribute to the grid when they are not being driven…
Delaware needs someone to develop Hydrogen near the proximity of the offshore wind farm to take advantage of the surplus energy lying dormant in that area… When the wind blows, and the grid is saturated, the very cheap electricity can be zapping hydrogen and oxygen out of sea water….
October 31, 2008 at 5:05 pm
anonone
Here ya go:
Article about aging power grid versus demand and new sources:
Best regards.
October 31, 2008 at 5:12 pm
kavips
Thanks.
November 1, 2008 at 7:11 am
Steve Newton
kavips
You make an excellent point about unprepared third-party candidates. I cringe every time I see that happen (remember the VP debate in 1992 with Ross Perot’s running mate? “Who am I? Why am I here?”).
One of the major issues I am working with in the Libertarian movement is to develop a consciousness of the fact that you can’t just have a philosophy, you’ve got to become a policy wonk. You have to know the facts and figures, even if only to discount them.
A lot of third party folks don’t want to hear this. As Al Mascitti said in another context, they confuse running for office with doing the things necessary to get elected to office.
On the other hand, there is probably an element here you have not considered. In order to maintain ballot access status in Delaware, minor parties are required to run somebody for statewide office every four years. So in order to be able to endorse Tyler Nixon in the 4th House District, we have to have somebody run for Congress, Senate, Governor, Lt Governor, State Treasurer, or Insurance Commissioner, which are (I think but I am not 100% sure) are the only offices that satisfy the requirement.
So sometimes the minor party candidates are, quite literally, sacrificial lambs willing to step up and risk looking extremely foolish–essentially, to take one for the team.
November 1, 2008 at 8:49 pm
kavips
Steve, thanks for bringing up that point that third party candidates must fill a ballot position to remain viable in future elections
It explains a lot, and does a lot to reassure voters that those representing the third parties, are not so much the fringe after all….
November 2, 2008 at 1:09 am
Steve Newton
It’s funny, in a parliamentary system (which I’m not advocating) in the US I think that if we had, say, 500 seats, that the Dems and GOPers would be splitting something like 450 of them right now, and that about fifty would be going to the Greens, Independents, Libertarians, what have you.
Even in our own system I think what primarily prevents this is the arcane and repressive ballot access laws in most states, and the fact that most third party candidacies are cash-strapped because they either (a) reject the idea of public financing or (b) couldn’t qualify based on the rules adopted by the two party duopoly that effectively rules them out.
I find it interesting, for example, that Bernie Sanders in the House and then the Senate has remained something of a curiosity rather than the head of a movement to get more socialists elected.
I personally believe we are so attached to a two-party system in this country that we’re going to have to have one of the major parties nearly disintegrate to be replaced by one of the third party movements. Obviously, this year that candidate appears to be the GOP, but we should remember that only a few years after Watergate they had an astounding resurgence in 1980.
I stick with third parties at the moment because, quite simply, there are things too offensive–both in moral and pragmatic terms–about both the Dems and GOP for me to support them as parties, even though individual candidates often win my vote.
November 2, 2008 at 5:08 am
anonone
“I personally believe we are so attached to a two-party system in this country that we’re going to have to have one of the major parties nearly disintegrate to be replaced by one of the third party movements.”
Let’s hope so, Steve. I wouldn’t mind seeing both the Dems and Reps competing in a multi-party system. But republicans first, please.
November 2, 2008 at 5:16 am
kavips
Unfortunately I foresee this happening to whichever party rises to take the place of the Republican one…
Our nation contains both good and bad people… one or the parties will have to cater to the bad to earn its majority…
November 3, 2008 at 4:01 pm
DEwind: The Week That Was October 27th
[…] this week, you missed his review of the following contests: Paradee-Thornburg, Baker-Deaver and Nixon-Brady. You also missed his brutal post about Charlie and Buying the Black Vote Factory and cutting […]