The State Party Endorses John Carney: A members view

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806190353

Wednesday night the Delaware State Democratic Party voted to give their endorsement to Lt. Governor John Carney. That same night the party officially backed Senator Joe Biden and Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn in their respective races for US Senate and Lt. Governor, but those were a given and the only race Delaware Democrats were really looking at was the State’s choice between Lt. Governor Carney and State Treasurer Jack Markell in the race for Delaware’s next Governor.

The State Party simply got it right two nights ago when they chose Carney. Carney has served as Lt. Governor for the past two terms and was a part of Governor Carper’s cabinet before that, serving as Secretary of Finance. In his nearly two decades in Dover he’s created over 50,000 jobs and worked to improve this State in every way. Jack Markell claims to be a fresh face and that Delaware is in dire need of change and new leadership. This argument doesn’t pass because Markell is not a fresh face, at least not any more than his opponent. He’s a three-term State Treasurer who doesn’t have the record to back up his claims that he has the know how to lead this state in a new and better direction. Carney represents a better platform on the economy, job-creation, alternate sources of energy, and most importantly health care.

The two candidates have very differing views on health care. Carney’s represents a smarter approach that will provide cheaper and better health insurance to more people in the State and it is very likely that his reforms will lead to every citizen of Delaware being properly insured. Markell models his systems off that of Massachusetts and other states that simply enforce a mandate on businesses to provide their employees with health insurance. That might sound fine and well but this will only hurt small business, which are the backbone of Delaware’s economy. Yes New Castle county is a hotbed of industry and big business but drive 15 miles south and you find the exact opposite; small businesses that are already trying to stay afloat. Businesses such as Fruit Bud Juice in Wyoming, DE who already try to provide their small employee pool with health insurance are already fighting to stay in business. A law requiring businesses to provide health insurance does nothing to help the poor and does a lot to force business owners to the unemployment line. When States as large as New Mexico have premier State healthy insurance, there is no excuse for our next Governor to not ensure the same for a State as small as ours.

This brings us to another Issue: the strange phenomena that is Delaware politics. Politically active College Students are always in awe at the sometimes ridiculous shenanigans that pass for Delaware Politics at the city, county, and State levels. While Jack has been State Treasurer for 3 terms, Carney has experience in every facet of Delaware Government. Before his work in the Carper Administration he was a part of New Castle County Government. He knows what it takes to get legislation passed and just how to use the system to get the best result for Delawareans. He has fought for the Bluewater Wind Project, which will allow Delaware to move in on cutting edge technology which will provide cheaper and safer energy as well as bring jobs to the State. He’s chartered the Cancer Right to Know law and has been a force in keeping industry jobs such as the Chrysler plant in Newark open. Delaware needs a governor that isn’t scared to travel half way across the country and look a million-dollar automobile company in the eyes and tell them they need to be responsible for the betterment of their workers. If he’s willing to fight for these hardworking employees you had better believe he’s willing to go to bat for the teachers, the nurses and every other resident of this great State.

I come back to Wednesday night. The State Party had to make a choice between two leaders. Party executives had to decide which direction would be best for the State and which candidate was the best representative of Democratic ideology. The State Party’s endorsement follows up the endorsement of the New Castle County and Wilimgton committees, over 20 representative districts, 15 labor unions, Governor Ruth Ann Minner, Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor, and the majority of Democrats in the two houses of legislature.

In May the University of Delaware College Democrats gave their endorsement to Treasurer Jack Markell. Since then the Young Democrats of Delaware and the Stonewall Democrats followed suit as well as a handful of other prominent Democratic groups. As a group, the College Democrats feel that Markell is the best model of what they want the next Governor to be. As a very proud member of this group I support their endorsement. As with any group, not everyone can agree. There were members of Delaware’s Sate party who wanted to endorse Jack, but the majority favored Carney. The opposite was true for our group, in fact the overwhelming majority voted in favor of Treasurer Markell.

To say this is an extremely personal and important race in Delaware would be a huge understatement. It is essential that Delaware gets this right. While many states were feeling the economic pains caused by the Bush Administration, Delaware was one of the last economies to remain strong. Ruth Ann Minner proved that even as the Nations economy plummeted, a State has the power to keep their economy going and keep people employed.

This primary is just around the corner and Delawareans are going to have make an important choice. We have less than 90 days until primary Saturday and voters have less than 90 days to decide their candidate. There is no hiding the fact that I absolutely love politics and every aspect regarding a campaign. But this isn’t just politics. This election will decide whether parents can feed their children, who can afford a college education, and just who can make those mortgage payments.

I just hope that Delawareans get it right. The State Party sure did.