I am sure that by now many of you have received the first personal attack mailing against me from my opponent.  I’m also sure there will be more, and they will all be as over-the-top and misleading as the one that arrived yesterday.

I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.  For those of you who are regular readers, I have been predicting this for months.  Unfortunately, from the Republican presidential ticket right down to this race, that is what typical politicians do these days when they are behind: try to smear their opponent.  Sometimes in the past it has worked.  But this year is different.  People are tired of the same old politics this year, and I they are going to reject the slash-and-burn tactics of my opponent and others like him.

You can still help us out by contributing to the campaign at http://www.mattdenn.com/getinvolved/contribute/.  

Mentoring, Using School Buildings Outside School Hours The Goal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 20, 2008

STANTON – Jack Markell and Matt Denn, Democratic candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, on Monday announced a plan to partner Delaware businesses with schools.

The initiative, to be led by Denn as Lieutenant Governor, would boost both mentoring efforts in the schools and community use of school buildings during no-school hours.

“Delaware will not have a world-class economy without having a world-class school system. That’s why the Markell-Denn administration is committed to creating an education system where every child arrives ready to learn and every teenager graduates ready to succeed in the job market or in higher education. It’s not just teachers and administrators and parents who need to pitch in, we need the whole community to help out. My wife and I have seen firsthand how serving as a mentor can change a young person’s life and give a child a better future. I urge all Delawareans to take some time out of your day or week to help children in need. The rewards – for you and the child — can last a lifetime.”

“We will be asking businesses to encourage their employees to work with individual students, and where it is financially possible, to help schools keep their doors open after regular school hours so we can help kids with their homework and make sure they stay out of trouble,” Denn said.

The mentoring portion of the program is designed to revive efforts spearheaded by Sen. Tom Carper when he was Delaware’s Governor in the 1990s. Carper joined Markell and Denn for the announcement.

“I am proud of the many mentors that we recruited while I was governor and the many mentors who have continued or started since then. In fact, I just finished my weekly mentoring appointment before coming here,” Sen. Carper said Monday morning. “These efforts can only benefit from a renewed focus under a Markell-Denn administration.”

Denn said he would hope to have at least 10 business-school partnerships started in 2009. Representatives of Delaware Supermarkets, Inc., NKS Distributors and the Buccini-Pollin Group took part in Monday’s announcement and are interested in taking part in the new program.

“I would like to start with some of our schools where kids are facing the biggest challenges, where the achievement gap is largest and where after-school options are limited,” Denn said. “At a time when our state government is facing extraordinary budget challenges, this effort is one more way that we can use the basic decency of our citizens and our business community to help our kids without raising taxes or cutting important programs.”

Last night, after a long day of doing my job and intermittently sitting in a dark room leaving messages for embattled potential campaign donors (sometimes I think can actually hear their assistants suppressing giggles when they say “he’ll get right back to you Mr. Denn”), I had a chance to attend a great event that Chris Tigani put on at his home for the Delaware Children’s Campaign.  The Children’s Campaign is the first full-time, well-funded lobby for kids that I have known since I have been advocating for kids in Delaware, and they will be a tremendous ally if I am elected in persuading our other elected officials to make kids a priority.  Many thanks to Chris for helping to build up this great organization.

This weekend, hundreds of Denn and Markell volunteers will be hitting the streets.  If you want to join us, drop us a note at www.mattdenn.com/getinvolved/.  Or if you need to spend your time carbo-loading for the Eagles and Phillies and just want to send us money, you can do that at the same place. 

Today is Mrs. Denn’s birthday.  Under normal circumstances, we would make a gala event out of the entire day, but because the final throes of the campaign have turned me into a delinquent husband, my mom has taken over responsibility for the birthday festivities.

Observant campaign watchers can actually see me shopping for Mrs. Denn’s present on the internet.  A week or so ago, Jack Markell and I joined State Rep. Bryon Short and future State Rep. Quinn Johnson for a press conference at the Grassroots store located in North Wilmington.  Grassroots also happens to be one of Mrs. Denn’s favorite stores.  Well, Channel 12 broadcast an extensive interview with Jack in the store, and in the background behind Jack his running mate can be seen rummaging through the sweater racks looking for a birthday present for his wife.  Fortunately the Denn boys were able to distract Mrs. Denn from watching the news that night through their usual evening tactics of refusing to eat dinner and practicing WWF moves on each other.

Mrs. Denn has asked that in lieu of birthday presents, you donate to the Denn campaign.  OK, she didn’t say that, but I know she’s thinking it.

The first independent polling in my race was published in the News Journal over the weekend, and it shows me almost 15% ahead with only about 8% undecided. That is very good news. Our own pollster has been doing polls that show me a little further ahead than that but in the same ballpark. However, given that a pollster probably brought us New Coke (sorry, pollsters, I still love you!), it was reassuring to see it verified from the outside.

The downside of this, of course, is that the other side is going to do what other sides do when they are down by 15 points with three weeks to go: personal attack ads. It’s ok, we know what’s coming and we’re more than ready. But we are going to need everyone’s help over the next few weeks. If you can contribute or volunteer, please do so now by clicking here.

We are in the home stretch now, right where we wanted to be. Let’s finish strong and win this one for Delaware’s kids and families.

Barack Obama has inspired plenty of songs and videos, from the well-known, like will.i.am and Obama Girl, to the, well, not. Like this group of middle-age guys calling themselves the Monday Night All-Stars performing a jazz tribute to our Democratic presidential nominee’s issue positions. Not to be left out, I challenge Delaware’s garage bands and aspiring songwriters to set to music my idea to direct a greater portion of education spending into the classroom.

The News Journal, October 11, 2008

Democrat Matt Denn has a commanding lead over Republican Charlie Copeland in the race to be Delaware’s next lieutenant governor, according to a poll released this week — the first public poll to put numbers on their race.

The poll of 429 likely Delaware voters, conducted Monday through Thursday by West Chester University’s Political Science Department for PBS station WHYY/12, found that 53.2 percent of respondents said they were voting for Denn, 38.6 percent for Copeland, 0.2 percent for another candidate and 8 percent were undecided. Denn and Copeland are the only candidates in the race; Blue Enigma Party candidate Peter Cullen and Democrat Ted Blunt both have withdrawn.

The poll shows a tight race for state insurance commissioner, with 44.2 percent of respondents said they are voting for Republican John Brady, compared with 42.8 percent for Democrat Karen Weldin Steward. The insurance commissioner’s race had the largest group of undecided voters, with 11.8 percent responding they had not chosen a candidate.

In a poll conducted two weeks ago by Fairleigh Dickinson University, Stewart had a 41-33 lead over Brady and almost a quarter of the 601 likely voters polled said they were unsure.

The WHYY-West Chester University poll also reaffirmed margins for the presidential, gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races reported in other polls.

For the presidential race in Delaware, 55.5 percent said they were voting for Barack Obama, 38.4 percent for John McCain and 6.2 percent were undecided.

For governor, 61.1 percent said they were voting for Jack Markell, 29.8 percent for Bill Lee, 0.5 percent for another candidate and 8.6 percent were undecided. Blue Enigma Party candidate Jeff Brown is on the ballot.

The poll put Sen. Joe Biden ahead in the U.S. Senate race with 64.5 percent of the vote, Christine O’Donnell with 28.5 percent, 0.2 for another candidate and 6.8 percent undecided. There is no other candidate listed on the ballot.

U.S. Rep. Mike Castle is still holding a strong lead, with the poll putting him at 65.7 percent compared with opponent Karen Hartley-Nagle’s 26.8 percent. It also found 7.2 percent were undecided for the race and 0.2 percent voting for another candidate. Mark Anthony Parks is on the ballot for the Libertarian Party.

The News Journal, October 5, 2008

DOVER — Delaware veterans seeking a voice in state government sounded out candidates for the state’s highest public offices Saturday during a forum at Delaware Technical and Community College.

About 50 veterans and family members gathered in the auditorium for a 90-minute panel discussion with six candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and the U.S. Congress and Senate….

The candidates for lieutenant governor, Democrat Matt Denn and Republican Charlie Copeland, each touted past work they’ve done on behalf of veterans.

Denn, who has served as insurance commissioner since 2004, said his office put together an insurance guide for active duty military and veterans after he learned of their concerns.

Recently, state lawmakers passed a law to make it easier for retired doctors to return to work at a VA hospital in Delaware, he said.

Denn, who attended a ceremony last week to send off a Delaware National Guard Unit to Iraq, said he’s committed to personally reaching out to veterans.

“You’re literally standing there in the middle of this incredibly personal and painful moment,” Denn said of watching family members say goodbye. “For me, it’s a stark reminder of what a lot of people are doing for this country and what a lot of families are doing for our country.”

Copeland, who owns a small family printing business, said he doesn’t believe that veterans issues receive the attention in the Legislature they deserve.

As Senate Minority Leader, he introduced a bill two years ago to allow personalized license plates for Gold Star families, Vietnam Veterans and other veterans groups.

The bill passed earlier this year.

As lieutenant governor, Copeland said, he would use his experience and education as a small businessman to help veterans start businesses and stay in Delaware.

“If you look back in history, no democracy has lasted more than about 250 years, and we’re at about two and a quarter,” Copeland said, adding that he decided to run for office because he wanted to “stay and fight.”

“We’ve got a serious, serious problem facing us economically across the nation, but also socially across the nation,” Copeland said…

The News Journal, October 3, 2008

WILMINGTON — Jack Markell and Matt Denn pooled their policy prowess Thursday, releasing a detailed plan for how they would save taxpayers “in excess of $100 million” and balance the state budget.

It was their first formal appearance as the Democratic Party’s ticket for governor and lieutenant governor since Markell defeated Lt. Gov. John Carney Jr. in last month’s primary. And they brought a chorus line of 13 other Democratic candidates — three incumbent legislators and 10 challengers — who they hope will secure a stronger grasp of Legislative Hall for the party next year.

Markell faces GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee in the Nov. 4 general election, while Denn faces GOP state Senate Minority Leader Charlie Copeland.

The 12-page Markell-Denn plan released Thursday had Markell’s fingerprints all over it — including 43 footnotes pointing readers to the sources of their numbers and other data the proposals were based on. It referred several times to research and policies Markell released during the primary leg of this election — including “Facing Forward,” his study of state demographic projections that pointed to dramatic increases in demand for state services with a concurrent decrease in the number of taxpaying residents, and “Blueprint for a Better Delaware,” a compilation of proposals on education, health care, jobs, energy, public safety and quality of life.

Markell took a subtle swing at Lee’s plan for a “zero-based” budget and his hard-line approach to government programs.

“Simply saying ‘no’ to every new program will not deliver the change Delaware needs,” Markell said. “We must use our state spending on programs that will pay off in the future.”

Denn said he and Markell already have track records for improving efficiency in their offices — Markell as state treasurer, Denn as state insurance commissioner.

Shortly after taking office in 2005, Denn withdrew his office’s $274,000 budget request — and has run the office, instead, on the surcharges paid by national insurance companies. This past year, his office gave $1 million to help offset the state’s budget shortfall.

“The toughest part is changing the whole culture of state government from top to bottom,” Denn said, but it will take that kind of effort.

Some proposals made Thursday already had been released by Markell.

Generally, Markell and Denn propose to upgrade the state budgeting process, be aggressive in pursuing federal funds, crack down on waste and fraud, save money with “green” policies, review each state agency every 10 years, improve state purchasing practices, reduce the need for college remediation, pursue policies that promote health, adopt smarter approaches to enforcing tax laws and use technology to reduce costs.

More specifically, Markell said government performance reviews nationally often find savings worth as much as 6 percent of a state’s general fund. He estimated the state could find $68 million in savings with that review alone.

Markell would use “benchmarks” to measure Delaware’s operations against those of other states to see if any costs are out of line. The state’s child-support collections are ranked 48th nationally, for example, collecting $2.40 for every administrative dollar spent, he said. The national average is $4.30, with top efficiencies reaching $8.98.

He would create a state Grants Office — as Maryland did in 2004 — to focus the state’s pursuit of federal funds. He also would allow online renewal of driver’s licenses and expanded telecommuting options for state employees.

Lee saw nothing new in Markell’s grocery list of ideas.

“These are all things that have been talked about and proposed before,” he said. “I have proposed an austerity budget, hoping to avoid the necessity of a tax increase. Jack has proposed expensive new programs, and the savings he proposed today would have minimal impact. … Jack is a salesman and he’s selling inflated promises just as he did at Nextel.”

Copeland said the proposals were not new, but reflect common business practices. They would, however, be a new approach to state government, he said.

“They would definitely be new in the insurance commissioner’s office,” Copeland said. “My whole campaign has been about efficiency and effectiveness, and all of a sudden Matt Denn is talking about efficiency and effectiveness. Obviously, that’s what voters want. They don’t want another big-government guy like Matt Denn. He’s trying to hook himself to Jack Markell, trying to get coverage to hide his big-government ways.”

WDEL 1150 AM, October 2, 2008

In their first appearance as the Democratic ticket for governor and lieutenant governor, Jack Markell and Matt Denn tout their fiscal responsibility.

Surrounded by other Democratic candidates outside the Carvel State Office Building in Wilmington, Markell says he and Denn owe it to taxpayers to find ways to save money.Video Here

Markell says he won’t know how much his budget-balancing plan will save until he takes office, but predicts it will be in excess of 100 million dollars. The plan calls for cracking down on waste and fraud by investing in technologies to detect fraud, smarter enforcement of existing tax laws, and cutting energy consumption.