You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Bryan Townsend’ category.
I got a mailer and was on my way to throw it in the trash (recycling actually) when I made the mistake to look.
“Sean Barney wants to tax the rich to pay more in Social Security Benefits…. ‘
That is awesome! It caught my attention..”Yay. ‘Bout time someone gets it… Maybe I was too hasty in writing him off… ”
(Because if you don’t know by now, you do live under a rock.. that rock could be one-sided news, I don’t know, but you DO live under a rock.)
All of society’s problems today are caused by less money being in the active economy because it is locked up in the vaults of the 1%…
Everything from schools, highways, hunger, poverty, crime, guns, abortion, religion, climate change, could be solved if we’d just move some of that money from the private economy, into the public one…
And Sean Barney is on the right path…. All our problems come from the huge amounts of money that USED TO BE ACTIVE IN OUR ECONOMY which now, are not there;… money now lying dormant which could be better served if seniors were spending it to better their lives, and everyone else for that matter.
That a former Carper aide, and former Markell aide, now finally “GETS IT” was reassuring and gave me incredible hope for our future…
But Sean is not alone in the field. There are other candidates, one of which is Bryan Townsend.
Whereas Sean Barney is “getting it” now, Bryan Townsend “got it” 4 years ago. To paraphrase someone else’s former campaign: we only send one, let’s send our best.
When we were battling the takeover of Wilmington’s schools, Bryan Townsend was there, at the meeting, not for himself, but to argue for our children.
When there was no hope to stop bad Sokolian policy from being railroaded through the General Assembly, Bryan Townsend was able to add passable amendments that put those policies under review. A review that is right now, turning people’s minds against all the one-sided crap once fed to us about how bad all public schools were.
When there was no hope to stop the horrible Smarter Balanced Assessment from being our measuring device (actually there was and his name was Greg Lavelle but that is a story for another time), Bryan was one of those arguing against it…
When we were deciding to allow marriage to include other than Men/Women, Bryan Townsend weed-killed the General Assembly by moving first to establish a ground floor of logic based on our national beliefs. The weed-seeds of dissension, divisiveness, division, demolition, were never able to take root….
Immediately upon entering the General Assembly, Bryan Townsend exhibited that he’d gained knowledge of how to manipulate the Delaware’s power structure to get progress for real people initiated…
Markell could take lessons from him. But then again, these two’s motives are completely opposite. Markell pushes corporate policy meaning he needs to sneak his diabolical and damaging policies past us We The People, because when We find out what he’s done to us, it makes us angry. His modus operandi has been to say… “oops, fait accompli, sorry you’re too late”. Bryan argues out loud and in public for how his policies better us all and the positive outcomes we can expect to achieve should we all get behind him and they get implemented. He makes things happen by consensus, by convincing the opposition they will be better off; not quick sucker punches in the dark while they sleep.
So there may be nothing wrong with Sean Barney after all. He may make a good Congressperson and carry progressive values into the Senate. But we have seen over four years that there is someone better.
For all others it would be easy to follow a crowd and be lead to cheer-lead behind a enthusiastic leader, which Hillary supposes to be… WE can expect a majority of members in both Democratic majority of Congressional Houses to do that next session. But, what we need is someone who is in advance of the mainstream, who is capable of creating and developing and not afraid of the hard work necessary to not just follow, but lead Congress forward into the unknown… For the unknown is what we face…
We only have one, and should send our best… Although all the candidates may be quality individuals and have many redeeming qualities, we can only pick one… Our best is beyond all doubt, highly visible to all, even those emerging out from under their rocks, our Bryan Townsend….
In my lifetime, covering backwards through Carney, Castle, and Carper, we have never put into the House anyone as qualified from the start as is Bryan Townsend…His track record is astounding. There is no equal comparison in abilities between him or any of the other candidates. Really, No comparison at all. His stature is so far above the rest of the field, this endorsement is an easy one and needs no further discussion.
When everyone else runs away from those with unchallenged power, he runs straight at them.
Support him. Join him. We, The People, need more like him.
Why does every bill with Scott’s and Sokola’s name at the top, mean no good for the people of Delaware? Intriguing, however, also are the names of Kowalko, Baumbach, and Townsend as additional sponsors for this same bill… ( Longhurst is there as well, but that doesn’t matter)….. One must assume for these three to endorse such a bill, that perhaps they are unaware of who is signed up as a lobbyist, and who, if a fee is required, will be shut out from personally making their case to Delaware legislators..
Contrary to I guess, public opinion, not all lobbyists are fat cats. Many of them are thin cats….
Nancy Willing is one. Darlene Battle is another. John Flaherty is a third. For you see, if anyone approaches a legislator about a certain bill, they need to be signed in as a lobbyist….
All a lobbyist is, is an expert on piece of legislation who attempts to explain it to a legislator. Of course, an expert on sneaking a poisonous chemical through the labyrinth of law, requires one kind of lobbyist. But removing the” box” from employment applications, requires another….. Whereas our legislature doesn’t need the first type of lobbyists, it absolutely really does need the second.
What this bill does, is shut accessibility to legislators to all who cannot pay. The indigent, the middle class, the workers, don’t have a voice, unless they can find a paid lobbyist who will do it pro-bono. The ducks, geese, and even the gray fox who currently have school children as advocates, get shut out allowing sportsman to dominate the conversation. In gun control, the dead children have no voice; the paying NRA has a monopoly on legislative personal relationships….
That is why as it stands, this is a bad bill.
To those on the inside, the reason for it’s proposal is obvious in light of the education fight over Common Core. Educational issues are not going as those responsible (Jack Markell) for pushing them through legislature think they should. Somehow, legislators are getting other opinions beside those carefully screened for their indulgence… This bill will stop that.
I can understand how progressives could get behind a bill to make lobbyists report who pays them, and make lobbyists pay a fee…. But a close reading of the bill does not legislate how much the fee shall be, nor does it exempt anyone working pro-bono… Yes, of course without it being specified specifically, that could still happen after this bill is passed. … But so could the opposite!… It will be solely at the discretion of those on the Integrity Commission to determine who can play, and who cannot….
“Set that fee for Nancy at a $1000, will you” said the joker to the thief……
Below are organizations currently listed as lobbyists who probably won’t be, if the fee is enacted……
- Delaware Estuary
- Stand Up For What’s Right And Just
- National Popular Vote
- Girl Scouts of Chesapeake Bay
- Associated Community Talents
- Delaware Association of Non Profit Agencies
- 9-12 Delaware Patriots
- Kent County Progressives
- Center for Inland Bays
- Delawareans for Social and Economic Justice
- Delawind
- Delaware Repeal Project
- Delaware Jobs Now
- American Lung Association
- Common Cause/ Delaware
- Pilot’s Association for the Delaware River
- Burris Firm
- NAACP
- Concerned Black Men, Inc.
- Wilmington Tug
- Blue Hen, Inc.
- Delaware Business Roundtable Education Committee
- Delaware ACLU
- Center for Popular Democracy
- Council on State Taxation
- Marijuana Policy Project
- Delaware Audubon Society
- Delaware Sleep Society
- American Traffic Solutions
- League of Women Voters
- Chimes Delaware
- PTA Delaware Congress
- Delaware Rural Water Association
- Brandywine Sprouts, Roots, and Shoots
- Delaware Council on Gambling Problems
- Autism Delaware
- Delaware Auctioneer Association
- Delaware Police Chief’s Council
- Save our Society From Drugs
- Greenwatch Institute
- Sierra Club
- Delaware Defensive Driving
- March of Dimes
- Consortium of Non-medical Privately Owned Healthcare
- City of Wilmington
- Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown
- Delaware Volunteer Fireman’s Association
- Delaware Coalition For Open Government
- Delaware School Boards Association
- Consumer’s Union of US Inc.
- AIDS Delaware
- Delaware Nature Society
- Delaware River Stevedores, Inc
- Council on State Taxation
- Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club
- Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
- American Lung Association of the Mid Atlantic
- Delaware Society for Respiratory Care
- Humane Society of the United States
- Horizon House
- American Cancer Society Action Network and It’s Affiliates
- Consumer Health Products Association
- Best Friends
- Wilmington Fire Foundation
- Film Delaware
- Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau
- Easter Seals
- Rodel
- Mid Atlantic Education Alliance
- Christina River, LLC
- Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition
- Recycling Reinvented
- Delaware State Lodge FOP
- Police Athletic League of Delaware
- Kind to Kids Foundation
- Delaware State Funeral Directors Association
- Delaware Tourism Alliance
- Commercial Industrial Reality Council
- Cigar Association of America
- Scientific Games Corporation
- Delaware Auctioneer Association
- Save our Delaware Byways
- Delaware Solar Energy Coalition
- Fort Miles Historical Association
- Atlantic Pawn
- Delaware Asian American Business Association
- City of Newark
- Alternative Energy Researching and Consultation
- Gift of Life Donor Program
- Delaware Cemetaries for Consumer Choice
- Gun Rights Across America
- White Clay Creek Watershed Management Association
- Rehoboth Art League
- WHYY Inc
- Delaware Association of Surveyors
- National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Judicial System
- Sussex Technical School District
- National Guard Association of Delaware
- OSG Ship Management Inc.
- St. Francis Hospital/Catholic Health East
- Westown Movie Theater
- Red Frog, Events LLC
- Woodlawn Trustees
- Prestige Academy
- Communities in Schools of Delaware
- Punkin’ Chunkin’
- CRI
- Arcadia Wind Power
- National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices LLC
- Teach For America
- Civic League for New Castle County
Just to name a few… You see, lobbyists are the oil inside the engine. They reduce friction, and are what keep legislators capable of staying ahead of multiple issues at any given time…. So, yes, some may be paid very well. But quite a few of the above will not be back if this law is passed and signed….
I have included lobbyists for both sides, to show that they are indispensible to the operation of government as we know it… This bill will affect the postions held dear by both Republicans and Democrats. Essentially those hurt will be all those who cannot afford to pay for representation … Those helped will be all those who can easily pay for the privilege of meeting with a legislator….
That is why I am not surprised to see Sokola and Scott at the top of this bill. I am surprised to see Townsend, Kowalko, and Baumbach as additional sponsors…. Someone should tell them…..
And here is the meat of the bill…..
====
Section 1. Amend § 5832, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 5832. Registration of lobbyists with the State Public Integrity Commission.
(b) The information recorded in the Commission’s lobbyist docket shall include for each separate employer:
(6) Whether the employer pays or promises to pay compensation, as defined in § 5831(a) of this title, to the lobbyist. The amount or value of compensation is not required.
(e) Upon registration, and between January 1st and January 15th of each subsequent year, each lobbyist shall pay an annual registration fee per employer paying or promising compensation to the lobbyist. The fee is not prorated for compensated lobbyists or their employers who are registered for only a portion of the year. At the beginning of each calendar year, the Commission shall establish an annual registration fee which shall approximate and reasonably reflect all costs necessary to defray the expenses of administering § 5832, § 5833, § 5834, § 5835, § 5836, § 5837, § 5838 of this title. The Commission may not impose a fee on lobbyists who are not paid, or who are not promised, compensation from the employer of the lobbyist. The fee is payable through the Public Integrity Reporting System database maintained by the Commission. All revenue generated by registration fees shall be deposited in an appropriated special fund account for the Commission. These funds shall be used to fund all costs necessary to defray the expenses of administration of § 5832, § 5833, § 5834, § 5835, § 5836, § 5837, § 5838 of this title. Nothing in this section shall relieve a lobbyist from the registration requirement in subsection (a) of this title, whether required to pay the annual fee or not.
Section 2. Amend § 5838, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§ 5838. Violations and penalties.
(d) Any person who fails to pay a registration fee required by this subchapter shall be deemed to have voluntarily cancelled registration as a lobbyist and shall be prohibited from reregistering or acting as a lobbyist until all delinquent registration fees are paid.
Section 3. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2015.
Bruce Ennis put forth a bill (SR8) requesting Delaware go forward with formally supporting Glass Steagall re-implementation by the US Congress.
Bryan Townsend kind of came out against it. Here is Nancy’s copy of his emailed response to her.
One must understand all legislative members in Delaware are somewhat compromised. We are a banking state. In the words of Gov. Howard Dean, MD. himself… ” Any candidate who challenges Wall Street’s status quo is going to come under an avalanche of hateful attack ads this year –“
So there is considerable reason not to be an ardent Delaware fan of the return in 2013 of Glass Steagall….. One must give the courageous Bruce Ennis a plug for being one.
But it makes so much sense. There are times in our life when one can willingly chose a very risky path of action which will occupy 100% of ones attention, as in driving a mountain road along the cliffs in Montenegro at over 100 km/h. Or, we can choose to put ourselves into a safety bubble, such as cruise control on a major interstate highway, and relax and enjoy the other things in life, since all our effort is not involved on monitoring what otherwise could become a life or death scenario.
I have read Mr. Townsend’s statement and it is accurate. However my criticism is that it deals with banks. His and our responsibility is to the people whose money is in those banks. And who are on the hook when those banks fail.
The FDIC insures deposits now up to $250,000. It should not be responsible for funds placed in hedge funds, As Elizabeth Warren accurately stated:
If we are going to insure the people’s money, it should be kept in safe investments. What point have we in insuring by default hedge funds, swaps dealing, and other risky investment banking services. When the same institutions that take huge risks are also the ones that control your savings account, the entire banking system is riskier.
The funds for checking and savings accounts of America’s families and businesses, should not be handed over to the London Whale. If a crash occurs, and the money is safe, then the losses are only on paper. But when yours and my monies are in Bangledesh, China, or Antarctica on some risky get-rich scheme, and fail… our tax money needs not be thrown away because our American Banks were involved.
Banks cried the economy was safe enough for the repeal of Glass Steagall.. History showed them wrong. Even the most vibrant time of economic growth ever seen in America (92-00), could not prevent the collapse 9 years later after 8 years of Republican control..
The only way to keep citizens money safe, is to insure it. We are lucky we have a rich nation which can do that. We barely survived the financial collapse of late 2008. Our employment numbers still show the cost.
Yes, one can take the bank’s side and say things were different in 1932 than they are in 2013. But doing so, puts one in contrast with what is best for We, the people. The simple solution is to make it clear to all, that the FDIC will only insure safe investments used for checking and savings accounts. For risky investments banks are on their own. For them a bank must use other funds it can easily afford to lose if it wants to play at the crap table… It should not be throwing our money away because it assumes the taxpayers will simply replace their losses for free.
We should not be in the business of arguing what or what not banks should or should not do. They can do that within whatever parameters we choose to give them. However our concern is simply over how much we should insure. The new Glass Steagall Act of 2013 will make that clear.
Two big hearings in Dover today. The first was on banning guns. The second was on banning the death penalty… The crazies couldn’t attend both. The Death Penality was civil, honest, and mostly (9 to 1) in favor of the ban..
Here were some of the reasons offered to abolish the death penalty.
First the moral: punishing someone by doing to them exactly what you are punishing them for, is convoluted logic. God is against killing, so how does one tell a child killing is wrong when ones government does it?
Then there is the practical… Killing a killer does not bring back the dead. In fact, it makes the family wait 25-35 years for a resolution. Every appeal, makes them relive it all over. Life imprisonment is so much easier on a victim’s family, one verdict; it is done forever… Time to heal.
Delaware spent $2.3 million legal costs on appeals. Just give that to the victims family. Not really, but get the point? That money is a waste and is only spent because we have the death penalty.and therefore must give every option to make sure we are not killing another when other options are available. That money can be better spent on other things.
Criminals who are only in for a year or two, are more dangerous to correctional officers than those in for life. Life imprisonment is a greater punishment than dying. Dying is the easy way out.
Now, for the reasons why we SHOULD keep Capital punishment…. There were two. One, it worked in the movie True Grit (seriously) and second…. there are some really sick Dexters out there who like to watch people die….
.
DCAS is rotten to the (Common) Core.
“I called over another adult in the room. That adult who specializes in math thought the question was just as inappropriate. Sharing the question details would be a violation of the rules, so you won’t be seeing the question here. All I will say is this test is bad. Very bad. And our students and teachers are being judged on it.”
=======
This folks is too close to home… these our our kids. Delawareans….
We have see reports across our country of how bad this test is. Now we have our first example on the home front. Here I believe is what is now required.
The test needs to be vetted by General Assembly. We are being asked to spend one third of our state budget on education. If we are getting bunk for our $1.3 billion of money given to the state by residents and businesses, we all have a stake in this too. A very big stake…
Dave Sokola and Catherine Cloutier, Bethany A. Hall-Long, Margaret Rose Henry, Ernesto B. Lopez, Nicole Poore and Bryan Townsend, members of Delaware’s senate education committee, need to vet the test.
Of course, tests need to be kept secret to cut out cheating. We know that. However this secrecy appears to be such that no one, except I believe Pearson, the educational company that is in charge of producing, distributing and grading these tests, knows both the questions and the answers…..
What if Pearson is wrong? Someone has to vet the test.
It would be a good piece of publicity as well as serve parent’s peace of mind, if the entire Senate Educational Committee in a public session, were given the 5th grade test as if they too were in elementary school, and then, and only then, would we be able to discuss whether or not it is more appropriate for a New York firm trying to manage its bottom line, or a teacher who knows every student personally, to make up the questions and grade the test…..
Perhaps we could raise the stakes at little by putting some accountability into this exercise and say… oh btw,… if the legislators didn’t pass the 5th Grade test, and weren’t deemed “smarter than a 5th Grader”, they’d be tossed off the committee…… and publicly embarrassed….
If the House wishes to compete with the Senate on this issue, here are their names as well ….
Chairman: Darryl M. Scott
Vice-Chairman: Kimberly Williams
Members: Michael A. Barbieri
Donald A. Blakey
Stephanie T. Bolden
Timothy D. Dukes
Debra J. Heffernan
Earl G. Jaques Jr
Harvey R. Kenton
John A. Kowalko Jr.
Joseph E. Miro
Edward S. Osienski
Charles Potter Jr.
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman
Novemrber 6th was almost a let down in the 11th Senate District, since the take-down of Tony DeLuca took place 56 days before election day, but the voters in the 11th District need to celebrate they now have someone who really “does” represent their interests and takes them to heart….
Thanks to the Newark Post for publishing this.
The Tea Party Candidate was buried with only 21% of the vote. 2012 was a good year. 🙂
State Senator Tony DeLuca is “Making special interests play by the same rules as our hardworking families.
When you think of Tony DeLuca, the first thing that comes to your mind of course is that you automatically think of someone holding special interests accountable.
Accountability…. It means different things to different people. To Tony DeLuca, it has always meant playing by the same rules as our hard working families…..
For example, Tony has been the open government leader in the Delaware General Assembly. demonstrated by bringing up reform bill after reform bill to be voted upon by the senate. State Senator Tony DeLuca is making our government more transparent and damn it, .. he is also making special interests more accountable.
Because of Tony DeLuca, and only because of Tony DeLuca and his single handed effort with both hands behind his back, the legislative process is open now, for the very first time, to citizens…. Tony DeLuca modernized state government with information available on the Internet; and now, because of Tony DeLuca, all lobbyists are required to let the public know within five days who they represent and who they are lobbying for on each and every bill.
After all, Tony DeLuca…. He’s one of US…..
Tony’s commitment to accountability is clear. Check the facts:
1)SB212, 6/13/12; SB235, 6/12/12; SB50,4/12/11, HB5, 4/7/11; HB 1 16/2/09.
2) SB185, 5/2/12 “Governor, lawmakers, intorduce lobby reform bill ” Dover Post 3/29/12
SB 165 Supported by Common Cause.
Delaware should consider itself lucky to have as fine a man in the Delaware State Senate, as it has in Tony DeLuca.
kavips 
