For all you Phillies fans (and all of you who need to suddenly get caught up now that they are in playoffs), Phillies Nation offers somewhat obsessive coverage of the team, including a seven-part pre-analysis of the matchup with the Brewers.
I literally couldn’t watch the Eagles 2nd and goal from the one yard line series that cost them the game last night. I had such a sick feeling in my stomach about it that I went upstairs to do some work and kept hitting “refresh” on my ESPN.com scoreboard to blunt the impact of the inevitable.
But the rest of the day before that was terrific. In the morning I helped Reverend Christopher Bullock break in his brand new church on Route 9 in New Castle. He is going to do wonderful things for the community from that church, and it is a beautiful facility. I then hopped over to Bethel AME church just in time to join Reverend Beaman for a great service he does once a year to send off the church’s children into a new school year. And then up to the AIDS walk in Rockford Park. I called our supervolunteer Steve Burke to tell him I was running late, and he responded “I have to call you back, I’m on top of a fire truck ladder cutting down an AIDS ribbon.” Not exactly what we had asked him to do for me. I was very afraid and had no idea what he was talking about until I read the newspaper today and learned that he had saved the day when the event organizers’ effort to unveil a record-sized AIDS ribbon were temporarily snarled by the Rockford Park tower.
I ran home to take the Denn boys to the library—a painful exercise because we had renewed our Clifford and Bob the Builder treasuries as many times as the library system allows and had to bring them back—and then off to the Pincus’ house for our much-vaunted fundraiser. And what a night—we had so many people show up that we had to move the party into the back yard, and the donations exceeded our best-case projections. We also had a terrific surprise visitor: future Governor Jack Markell. I suggested to Bob Pincus that we offer anyone willing to give another $1,000 on the spot the right to throw Jack in the pool, but he nixed that idea.
After such a great day, a competent Eagles performance would probably been asking for too much.
In the 1970s, it was Studio 54. In the 1990s, it was P-Diddy’s place. But in 2008, the place where the beautiful people go to be seen is the
Yes, it is the latest Denn campaign fundraiser, this one with less than 40 days to go before the election. You can get more information by e-mailing me at mattdenn@hotmail.com. It should be a great party, and we can use your help as we prepare to answer the negative attacks that will be coming in the last few weeks of the campaign.
Delaware Should “Raise The Bar” In Providing Education To Kids With Disabilities
Matt Denn, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, said Thursday the state should “raise the bar” for education services provided to children with disabilities, and announced the steps needed to do so, with Delaware’s leading disability advocates endorsing Denn’s ideas.
One in every six children in public schools has a disability - from mild to severe - and the number in private schools is believed similar, Denn said. Yet, the official state standard for their education is shockingly low.
“We speak in bold strokes - as we should - about what we expect our education system to provide to all of our children, with talk about ‘world class’ schools or ‘demanding excellence.’ Well, our state does not use those words in describing how it will educate students with disabilities,” Denn said.
“Delaware has the benefit of outstanding teachers and other professionals who work with our disabled children every day. But Delaware uses the minimum federal standard in determining what those professionals are permitted to do to educate kids with disabilities. Here it is, word for word, from a federal court opinion: ‘Children with disabilities are not entitled to a Cadillac education, but they are entitled to the equivalent of a serviceable Chevrolet,’ ” Denn said. “We would never, ever, ever accept that standard for our kids who are not impacted by disabilities. We shouldn’t accept it for kids with disabilities.”
Delaware should do what six other states have done, Denn said, and officially define the educational goal for children with disabilities as allowing them to fulfill their potential, not just receive a “serviceable” education.
Once the standard is raised, Denn proposed the following steps to better serve children with disabilities:
- Increase efforts to identify disabilities early, requiring Medicaid and private insurance to cover an inexpensive developmental screening test;
- Provide guidance and legal advice to parents who are navigating the labyrinth of disability programs;
- Simplify the funding formula for education of children with disabilities, eliminating wasteful and ill-defined procedures; and
- Get permission to use current federal Medicaid dollars to better serve children with disabilities.
Matt’s proposals were endorsed Thursday by leaders of Delaware’s disability community.
“We need more comprehensive services for children with special needs. Matt has taken a leadership role in not just identifying the problems, but also working with the disabilities’ community to find solutions and create a system that truly works,” said Artie and Marcy Kempner. Artie is board member and past president and Marcy is secretary of the Autism Delaware.
“I certainly support enhancing resources and services where the overarching goal is to improve the health, education and welfare of all children with a stong emphasis being on children with disabilities,” said Wendy Strauss, director of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens.
“Children with disabilities have historically been a segregated class within our educational systems in Delaware and nationally. To a certain extent, they remain segregated, including those children who are in the care of the State,” said Patricia Maichle, director of the Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council. “Parents must be empowered to support and advocate appropriately for their children. The system must become more flexible and accommodating so that every child with a disability will receive a free and appropriate education.”
“I endorse a service delivery system for children with disabilities, including education services, which leverages potential funding, can be easily navigated, provides simplified access to entitlements by parents and children, encourages early detection, and promotes programs and policies that enable children with disabilities to reach their maximum potential,” said Kyle Hodges, director of the State Council for Persons with Disabilities.
“Children with disabilities face enormous challenges in their efforts to become independent adults and, beyond that, to live out their dreams. We as a state should actively support these kids to overcome those obstacles,” Denn said. “It is the smart thing to do for the state economically, but more important than that, it is simply the right thing to do.”
Denn has centered his campaign - and will focus in his term as Lieutenant Governor - on issues affecting children, including education, health care, environmental issues and improving services to children who are abused, neglected, living in foster care, or overcoming disabilities.
To learn more about Matt Denn and his campaign, go to www.MattDenn.com.
*** Please note: The advocates who took part in the Denn press conference Thursday did so as individuals and not on behalf of their non-partisan organizations. Titles are for identification purposes only. ***
WDEL 1150 AM, September 7, 2008
If you did have any property damage because of Tropical Storm Hanna, Delaware’s insurance commissioner’s office has several tips for you.
Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn says one of the first thigns you should do is call your insurance company to let them know what’s going on. Then, take pictures or video of the damage and make whatever temporary repairs are necessary to keep the damage from getting worse.
In the coming days, make sure you save all you receipts and use good judgement when working with contractors.
Denn encourages anyone with any questions to call the Insurance Commissioner’s office at 1-800-292-8611. For more information on what to do if your home was damaged, visit the Insurance Commissioner’s website at www.delawareinsurance.gov.
The News Journal, September 12, 2008
A standing-room-only crowd packed a 300-seat auditorium at the Jewish Community Center in Talleyville on Thursday night to see the first encounter between statewide candidates since the state primary that drew a record 103,000 voters to the polls Tuesday.
They saw some firsts and heard some boos.
They saw the gubernatorial field shrink when Mike Protack, the nominee of the Independent Party of Delaware, announced he was bowing out of the race because it was “the right thing to do” and left the platform after his opening remarks.
They saw Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, who beat Protack in the GOP primary Tuesday, make his first appearance in a forum with other gubernatorial candidates.
They heard Democrat Jack Markell tweak his comments a bit, steering clear of any mention of the Minner-Carney administration, which he had often used in his primary campaign against Lt. Gov. John Carney, instead urging Delawareans to “join together” to make Delaware stronger.
And they heard some boos when Republican U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell explained why she had changed her position on abortion from pro-choice to pro-life.
They did not see O’Donnell’s Democratic opponent, six-term Sen. Joe Biden, because Biden was in New York City attending 9/11 observances with his running mate, presidential candidate Barack Obama. Instead, Biden’s niece and Senate campaign manager, Missy Owens, read opening and closing speeches Biden had sent. Owens took no questions.
“And so there is no explanation for his inconsistent voting record,” O’Donnell said. “He has spent 35 years getting away with saying one thing on TV and doing another in Washington.”
Lee vs. Markell
Lee took several opportunities to jab Markell — saying Markell’s support of charter schools was not wholehearted because the state teachers union opposes charters.
He also wondered if the three-term state treasurer is the one to bring real change to the state.
“We need real change, not just the same people in different jobs,” Lee said.
Markell spoke again of his respect for Carney, his opponent in the 15-month primary campaign, and noted that they had appeared in more than 20 such forums, perhaps a subtle reference to Lee’s absence before the primary.
“I was really impressed with him,” said Annette Chason, 80, a Brandywine Hundred Democrat. “He was right on target and he didn’t hesitate.”
Bernard Malik, a Republican from Newark, said he thought Lee did OK, but “could have done much better. He came on a little slow, but this is his first debate.”
Markell’s defeat of Carney, though, could be a big boost for Lee’s candidacy, Malik said.
Both men said they would do away with the unpopular Delaware Student Testing Program and replace it with a test that provided results and opportunity for change during and after the school year.
Malik liked what he heard from O’Donnell.
“Christine said all the things I think,” he said. “She was the only one to take the unpopular stand on the pro-life issue.”
The stand was quite unpopular with Chason.
“She just made me think of [Republican vice presidential candidate] Sarah Palin, and I don’t like her,” Chason said.
U.S. representative
U.S. Rep. Mike Castle and his Democratic opponent, Karen Hartley-Nagle, sparred over his voting record.
Hartley-Nagle said 90 percent of Castle’s votes in Congress were with President George Bush. Castle handed her a copy of a recent Congressional Quarterly article that tallied his votes with Bush at 59 percent.
Lieutenant governor
In questions about prison health care, state Sen. Minority Leader Charlie Copeland, R-West Farms, who is running for lieutenant governor and had been a vocal critic of the Minner administration’s handling of problems in the prison system, focused his comments instead on treating drug abusers and addressing job issues for those who leave prison.
His Democratic opponent, Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn, said the state must consider changing its health care provider for the prison system, and must do a better job of addressing the more than 82 points in the state-signed consent agreement.
Insurance commissioner
Karen Weldin Stewart, Democratic candidate for insurance commissioner, noted her experience in associations with insurance commissioners and said she is most qualified for the job. She promoted such initiatives as real-time electronic approval for tests and procedures.
Sussex County attorney John Brady, Republican candidate for insurance commissioner, stood up on the platform so the audience could verify that he was “the biggest candidate.”
“And I will give you more per square inch!,” he said.
He also noted his record of trimming costs in the Recorder of Deeds office, while holding fees steady and giving raises to staff.
Tom Savage, the Independent Party of Delaware’s candidate for insurance commissioner, focused his comments on a single-payer health care system that is not administered by insurance companies.
The debate was sponsored by the Wilmington Chapter of Hadassah and the Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.
The News Journal, September 7, 2008
Campaign Web sites have become an unavoidable part of running for office. But one lieutenant governor candidate is giving new face to the campaign blog.
Democrat Matt Denn’s blog on his campaign site includes a mix of policy positions, fundraising appeals and humor — sometimes all at once.
Friday, he appealed for donations, writing that readers could help by “getting 400 of your best friends to send me $1,200 apiece, or by convincing my parents to reveal the secret family fortune that they concealed from me to date so it would not affect my work ethic.”
He described his twin boys’ behavior in Monday’s Labor Day Parade: “throwing shoes out of their wagon, using American flags as swords to duel with, Sumo wrestling while wagon is in motion, etc.”
And last Monday, he wished his wife, Michele, a happy six-year wedding anniversary, recounting that they hadn’t been alone for very long after getting married.
“Lenny arrived four years ago from the local pug breeder, and Zach and Adam arrived three and a half years ago from … well … Mrs. Denn,” he wrote. “I am not going to turn this blog into a Hallmark card, so I will just wrap up by saying Happy Anniversary Michele — I will be home later with the steaks & wine.”
The News Journal, September 3, 2008
Matt Denn, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, unveiled his plan to make all children in Delaware eligible for health care coverage.
Denn, who presently is the state insurance commissioner, wants to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to 300 percent of the poverty level. Currently, the program covers children of families earning between 100 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or between $21,200 and $42,400.
The expansion would cover a family of four earning $63,600 a year and would require a federal waiver. Denn’s plan also would allow families to buy SCHIP coverage for their children at full cost.
To cover children who are eligible for SCHIP but not on it, Denn said the state should move from monthly premiums to co-pays.
Denn was involved in a bill aimed at expanding SCHIP that became law in June.
Race to Nov. 4 general election also includes the persistent Protack
The News Journal, September 11, 2008
State Treasurer Jack Markell had little time Wednesday to savor his stunning two-point victory in the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primary. Less than 12 hours after Lt. Gov. John Carney Jr. called him to concede the race, Markell was on the air with a Philadelphia TV station.
“I was told my celebration ended last night when I got into bed,” Markell said Wednesday.
After the TV spot, he had a conversation with the Democratic Governors Association, met with staff, started working through an estimated 500 phone and e-mail messages, and turned his focus to Republican primary winner Bill Lee.
Lee, a retired Superior Court judge, thrashed his GOP opponent Mike Protack even more soundly than he did in the 2004 primary, but Protack remains on the Nov. 4 general election ballot as the nominee of the 600-member Independent Party of Delaware.
Markell was definitely not the opponent Lee was expecting to face now.
“We have to refocus the campaign,” Lee said Wednesday.
Three of the four gubernatorial candidates on the November ballot face off together for the first time tonight at a 7 p.m. forum for statewide candidates at the Bernard and Ruth Siegel Jewish Community Center in Talleyville. Jeff Brown, a new entry as the gubernatorial nominee of the tiny, 2-year-old Blue Enigma Party he chairs, did not meet the eligibility requirements for the forum, according to organizer Karen Venezky. Instead, Brown kicks off his campaign tonight at Catherine Rooney’s Irish Pub in Wilmington.
Markell said he will not change the message he has delivered since he entered the race in June 2007: Delaware needs to do things differently to remain a great state.
But he can expect to hear a twist on the refrain he used often during his primary campaign against Carney. There, he referred repeatedly to the Minner-Carney administration, saying he represented the most significant change from the way things had been done in Delaware under Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.
Lee likes that tune, and even more when he adds Markell’s name to it.
“We’re going to remind people that Jack is part of the Minner-Carney-Markell administration,” Lee said. “He is a career politician and governor is only his immediate goal. He intends to spend his career in this profession, and that carries certain baggage with it.”
Lee said he will be a regular participant in debates now that the primary is over. He is not pleased that Protack remains on the landscape and may be included in such events, too.
“I went to church two weeks ago and the pastor said, ‘Pick the most irritating person in your life and forgive them and move on,’ ” Lee said. “But pastor, I’m not able to do this right now. That’s a real challenge to my faith. I’d prefer to forget him than forgive him.”
Carney jumps on board
Markell, meanwhile, called Carney a “total class act” who, after conceding the race, immediately urged his supporters to back Markell in November.
“We had a very positive campaign, focused on the issues, and I think people will be very open to a message of unity after a campaign like that,” Markell said.
Carney said the 15-month primary campaign was a “profound experience I will never forget,” with 20 to 25 encounters between himself and Markell.
Recovery may be tougher for his supporters than for Carney. “It has its impact, but we’re Democrats,” he said. “Today we’re on the same team and we will be through November and beyond.”
John Daniello, chairman of the state Democratic Party, did not return messages Wednesday. But Jim Paoli, chairman of the New Castle County Democratic Committee, which had endorsed Carney, believes that unity will emerge. Paoli was among the Carney supporters who made their way to Markell’s victory celebration to offer congratulations.
“They both ran a good race,” Paoli said. “It just came down to the last minute.”
Carney said he will look at a variety of options, but will find ways to serve.
“We have so many challenges — educating kids in the urban environment, providing health care, crime and safety issues. I just feel like I shouldn’t walk away.”
Protack said his nomination by the Independent Party probably hurt him in the GOP primary. He thought it would be a good thing, he said, but now believes voters saw him as trying to play both sides.
After tonight’s forum, Markell said, he plans to stash his cell phone, his Blackberry and his laptop and steal away to Bethany Beach for a few days with his family.
Lee will be out full-throttle at community events and fundraisers, with stops Saturday at the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association parade in Dover, the University of Delaware football game and a breast cancer fundraiser at Longwood Gardens.
First Jewish candidates
The guys running for lieutenant governor say they are confident in their tickets’ headliners.
“We are very unified, energized by the national ticket, the local ticket and by who we’ve got down the ballot in local offices,” said state Senate Minority Leader Charlie Copeland, R-West Farms. “We’ll let the citizens of Delaware decide what kind of change they need.”
Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn, the Democrats’ nominee, said Markell is a great candidate.
“But he probably thinks this means he gets to call ’shotgun’ when we’re in the same car,” Denn said. “I’m not willing to concede that yet.”
Markell and Denn are the first Jewish nominees for the state’s highest offices, a milestone of sorts in a state that marks its firsts.
“It’s quite important and historic,” said Venezky, a former New Castle County Council member who works for the Jewish Federation of Delaware, “but certainly the Jewish community in Delaware is accepted in every area. Many of us have been elected officials, so I don’t consider it historic in the sense of acknowledging acceptance.”
Markell said he is proud of his religion, but he’s running to be governor for all Delawareans.
“I think people are looking for those who can best lead and best serve,” he said. “People have learned that race, religious background and any other kind of background really does not matter.”
Associated Press, September 8, 2008
DOVER, Del. — Delaware’s insurance commissioner has a few tips for residents who plan to make insurance claims due to Tropical Storm Hanna.
Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn says one of the first things to do is call your insurer and let them know about the damage.
Pictures or video also should be taken and temporary repairs made to keep the damage from getting worse.
Property owners also should keep all receipts and use good judgment in dealing with contractors.
Sign up to receive e-mail updates from the Denn Campaign
Copyright © 2006 - 2008, All Rights Reserved
The Denn Campaign, P.O. Box 1327, Dover, DE 19903-1327 | (302) 832-8725 | dennforlg@hotmail.com
