One of the challenges with an announcement tour is deciding where in each of the three counties to do the announcement. You want it to be symbolic of your campaign themes, dignified, not too big but not too small. After we agonized over these issues for weeks, I decided to chuck the traditional playbook. Because the Sussex County announcement is on a Saturday morning during beach weekend, I decided that we would have two new priorities: (a) no beach traffic, and (b) lots of food. So we will be having what I think will be Delaware’s first Lt. Governor announcement in a Sussex County diner. It has nothing to do with any of my campaign themes (though let me hasten to add that I endorse diners and oppose, um, not having diners), but it should be a lot of fun. More details on all three county locations will be posted next week.

In the Other Good News department, I have been endorsed by several more local Democratic party committees, including the 10th District in Brandywine Hundred, the 17th District in New Castle, and the 21st and 23rd Representative Districts in Newark. So far, 13 districts in New Castle County have made official endorsements in my race, and they have all endorsed me.

And then our friends Craig and Amy Sternberg, who have one of those houses, offered to let us have a fundraiser there. I reacted roughly the way that one of the contestants on Survivor does when Jeff Probst throws a pound cake on the floor and says the first one to eat it has immunity. The fundraiser is on Wednesday, May 28th, from 5:30 to 7:30, you can get more details about it by e-mailing me at mattdenn@hotmail.com. Our fundraisers have all been great events—we always have a good crowd and good food and drink, so I encourage you to think about coming.

If you follow my race in the press, you know that fundraising has become even more of a priority for me than it was in the past. It is looking more and more like I am going to face a very expensive, very negative campaign in November, and in order to make sure that my message of advocacy for Delaware’s children and families is still heard, I need to have the resources to make it heard. I will bother more shoppers and greet more fairgoers than anyone, but we still need the money to be on the airwaves.  So even if you can’t come to the fundraiser, click on the ”get involved” link at this web site and help us out. Thanks.

As for the number zero, it represents the number of brain cells that appear to have gone into Senator McCain’s half-baked proposal to “reform” health insurance in America that he released yesterday. As the Washington Post points out this morning, McCain’s newest proposal was generated in part by Elizabeth Edwards’ pointed observation that under his last proposal, neither she nor McCain could purchase health insurance due to their pre-existing illnesses. Hence, McCain’s newest proposal: cut off any government incentive for employers to provide health insurance, give already-cash-strapped Americans a $5,000 tax credit to purchase $12,000 worth of health insurance that their employer will no longer provide, eviscerate state regulation of health insurers, and chuck some money at the states to figure out some way to provide coverage to people who are uninsurable due to pre-existing illness. People, we really need to win this election.

Protecting chil­dren from air pollutants and cleaning up lead paint are envi­ronmental issues at the forefront of Matthew P. Denn’s campaign for lieuten­ant gover­nor.

Mr. Denn, the state’s insurance commissioner, is in a Democratic primary battle with Wilmington City Council President Theodore Blunt for the nomination.

Mr. Denn said controlling ni­trogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury in the air means reduc­ing the amount of those hazard­ous substances emitted by the state’s three major power plants in Dover, Millsboro and Wilm­ington.

“If I am elected lieutenant governor, I will urge the execu­tive branch of government to enforce the state’s new emission regulations as written against Conectiv’s Wilmington power plant, and to enforce the agree­ments with the Indian River and Dover plants as written even if those plants seek to get out of them,” Mr. Denn said.

“If that means going to court to defend our stance, so be it … The state should stand its ground, and I think I have a proven track record.”

NRG Energy Inc., which runs the Indian River Power Plant, has an agreement that allows the company to petition the courts to revise the pollution limits.

Dover’s city-owned McKee Run plant has an agreement with a provision allowing the city to have limits waived if it becomes too difficult to reach the goals, which Mr. Denn said is unacceptable.

“People in Dover need clean air as well,” he said.

Mr. Denn said he would tar­get lead-based paint, which can affect the brain, kidneys and bone marrow in children and result in learning disabilities and behavioral problems.

He said he would encourage stricter enforcement of laws re­quiring property owners to elim­inate lead-based paint.

The News Journal, April 26, 2008

A Superior Court judge has upheld a $100,000 fine against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, which the state insurance commissioner assessed last year after finding the company failed to process thousands of medical claims within a state-mandated time period.

The decision by Judge Peggy Ableman affirms a September ruling by Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn, which found that in the first six months of 2006, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the state’s largest health insurer, failed to process 10,467 health insurance claims within the required 30 days.

The claims were “clean,” meaning they included all the information necessary to be processed. At the time, the company also lacked formal procedures for tracking the progress of claims, Denn determined.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, in a written statement Thursday, said it “continues to stand behind its strong track record of paying claims promptly.”

The company handles more than 5 million claims a year, processing claims in an average of less than four days, it said.

At an administrative hearing last May before Denn, a company executive testified that more than 98 percent of claims are processed within 30 days.

The insurer, in its statement, said it has spent $2.5 million on new technology to speed processing, and increased staffing. The company says it has “materially enhanced our claims management tracking system to ensure claims are paid promptly.”

The insurer left open the possibility of filing an appeal, saying it is reviewing its options.

Denn, who made the prompt payment regulation one of his first priorities after being elected in 2005, said he was pleased with the court decision.

“This will help with my effort to ensure that health insurance claims are paid on time,” he said.

I am referring, of course, to DeSean Jackson, star kick returner/wide receiver from my beloved University of California, who was drafted in the second round Saturday by my equally beloved Philadelphia Eagles. For all of us who have pressed our fingers to our temples, closed our eyes, and gritted our teeth the last few years every time the Eagles were receiving a punt, salvation has arrived. DeSean Jackson is unbelievable—he will immediately be one of the top five kick returners in pro football. As an Eagles fan it hurts me to say this, but…well done, Andy Reid.

Now, back to the campaign. This was a slow weekend for me—Zach was pretty sick and wanted his daddy around, so I stuck close to home. But I was pleased to learn that I received the endorsement of the Delaware Stonewall Democrats on Saturday—they are the second statewide Democratic Party group, along with the Progressive Democrats of Delaware, to endorse my candidacy, and I am proud to have their support. And I was also very pleased to see some University of Delaware students, under the erstwhile leadership of campaign director Alyssa Koser, take some time out of their weekends to make some phone calls for the campaign. Alyssa is organizing a Meet Matt event in Newark for May 12th, if you are interested in details just e-mail Alyssa at Alyssa@mattdenn.com.