Delaware
Delaware primary to decide governor's contest and could pave the path for US House history
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Voters in Delaware are set to decide the nominees for several political contests, including a closely watched campaign for governor and a potentially historic race for U.S. House.
The contest for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination that pits Delaware’s lieutenant governor against the chief executive of the state’s most populous county is the marquee race in Tuesday’s primary election.
Democrats also are voting in a U.S. House race where the favored candidate if elected would be the first openly transgender person in Congress. That would join another trailblazing race in November in which the lone Democratic candidate for an open U.S. Senate seat could become one of only two Black women in the Senate next year.
Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. John Carney is hoping to continue his long career in politics by winning his party’s nomination for mayor of Wilmington.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Here’s a closer look at those key races:
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR U.S. HOUSE
State Sen. Sarah McBride would move one step closer to becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. Congress with a win in the Democrat primary on Tuesday. Delaware’s lone U.S. House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who has no primary opponent as she seeks the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who held the seat since 2001.
McBride faces only token opposition in the primary from businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom reported raising any money for their campaigns. Cooper is a political newcomer, while Weir finished dead last in a 2016 congressional primary with less than 1% of the vote. McBride, meanwhile, has raised almost $3 million in contributions from around the country.
McBride achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary will go up against either Donyale Hall, a Dover businesswoman and a Gulf War-era veteran of the U.S. Air Force, or James Whalen IIII, a retired state police officer and construction company owner from Millsboro, who are facing off in the GOP primary. Democrats have held the seat since 2010.
Meanwhile, with a victory in November Blunt Rochester could become one of only two Black women in the Senate next year, joining Angela Alsobrooks of neighboring Maryland if she is also victorious in her campaign.
DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY
Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, is hoping to overcome a campaign finance scandal and succeed Carney, who can’t run for governor again due to term limits. Hall-Long has been endorsed by Carney and Delaware’s Democrat Party establishment.
But the two-term lieutenant governor is facing a tough primary challenge from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, who has raised substantially more money and has repeatedly drawn attention to Hall-Long’s campaign finance violations. Former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara also is seeking the Democratic nomination, but has been overshadowed by the other two candidates.
Hall-Long’s campaign finance scandal surfaced last September, when she abruptly postponed a campaign event with Carney, saying she needed to attend to “a personal, private matter.”
In reality, her campaign was in disarray after people hired to lead it discovered major discrepancies while reviewing years of finance reports. The scandal led to a series of resignations among top campaign staff and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit. The audit found that Hall-Long and her husband had received payments totaling $33,000 more than what she purportedly loaned to her campaign over several years — with many of the loans never being reported in the first instance.
It also found that Hall-Long’s husband and former campaign treasurer, Dana Long, wrote 112 checks to himself or to cash. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as expenditures. Instead, 109 were never reported in initial finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being made to someone else.
Despite the violations, Delaware’s attorney general and elections commissioner, both fellow Democrats, declined to seek criminal charges against Hall-Long.
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR WILMINGTON MAYOR
Carney is prohibited by law from seeking a third term as governor, but he wants to remain in public office as a chief executive and is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city.
His opponent is Velda Jones-Potter, a former Wilmington city treasurer who lost a bid for mayor four years ago. Potter served a two-year stint as Delaware’s state treasurer after being appointed to that post in 2008, but she lost an election for a four-year term as treasurer in 2010.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face no opposition in November. Carney has said as mayor he would build on the investments his gubernatorial administration has made in Wilmington, with a focus on improving public schools, expanding affordable housing and helping small businesses.
Delaware
PennDOT, hardware stores prepare for first snow of season in Delaware Valley
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Crews and customers across the Delaware Valley are gearing up for the region’s first accumulating snowfall of the season, expected late Saturday into Sunday morning.
PennDOT says it has more than 100,000 tons of salt ready and plans to deploy over 400 trucks across the region for this event.
Road crews began brining operations Friday, which will continue through the weekend with plowing on Sunday.
READ MORE | Accuweather Alert: Light snow to blanket the region Saturday night into Sunday morning
“Maybe 1 to 3, maybe a little bit more depending on how the storm tracks,” said Brad Rudolph of PennDOT.
He added that timing is key with the snow beginning to fall on Saturday night, while many may be out and about, and with thousands expected to travel to Lincoln Financial Field Sunday for the Eagles game against the Raiders.
Preps underway for first snow of the season in Delaware Valley
“People are going to travel, they’re going to need to take it slow. We’re going to push back snow from travel lanes, we’ll make the roads passable. They may not be completely clear of snow and ice, something to consider,” Rudolph said. “We expect this storm to push out relatively early Sunday, well before that Eagles game, but we still might have some cleaning up to do. We’ll be working long after this snow is done.”
At Stanley’s Hardware in Roxborough, workers spent Friday unpacking boxes and moving thousands of pounds of salt and other supplies to fill commercial and individual orders.
“Our aisle is filled right now. We have tons of skids of rock salt, ice melter, shovels,” said Joe Jaconski of Stanley’s Hardware.
Customers were already stocking up.
“We have food, we have shovels, just had to get some salt just to make sure we’re keeping the sidewalks nice and safe for everyone,” said Matt Skomsky of Roxborough.
Customers were steady at Stanley’s Friday, and business is expected to pick up through the weekend, but managers say don’t wait to get ready.
“I recommend just being ahead of it. Try to beat the storm because when the storm comes, it gets very busy in here-the lines wrapped around,” Jaconski said.
PennDOT urges drivers to keep their distance from plow trucks and check the forecast before heading out.
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Delaware
Done Deal: 695 Delaware Avenue – Buffalo Rising
Ellicott Development has expanded it local property portfolio. Ellicott’s 4628 Group Inc. purchased 695 Delaware Avenue on Wednesday for $1.025 million. Fred Kaplan Living Trust was the seller. The 8,454 sq.ft., three-story barn-like structure with mansard roofed addition is occupied by media production and marketing firm Crosswater Digital Media. It was the home of WKBW radio for a number of years. The property totals 0.4 acres in size with a large parking lot fronting Delaware Avenue.
The property is bookended by the Westbrook Apartments and Wilcox House apartment buildings, both ten-story structures. It sits across the street from 700 Delaware, the former Computer Task Group Building Ellicott purchased in 2018 and is now occupied by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Delaware
Man, 77, dies after collision with teen driver near Hartly, police say
What to do if you come across a serious car accident
What to do if you come across a serious car accident
A 77-year-old man died following a two-car crash near Hartly on the morning of Dec. 10, Delaware State Police said.
The man, from the Dover area, has not been identified by police pending family notification.
According to police reports, the man was driving a Honda Accord east on Judith Road approaching Hartly Road about 9 a.m., as an 18-year-old woman was driving a Ford Focus south on Hartly Road approaching Judith Road.
Police reported that a preliminary investigation shows the Honda moved from the stop sign into the Ford’s path, causing a collision.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, from Hartly, was treated at the scene. Police said she refused to be taken to a hospital.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
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