Charles Megginson August 1, 2022 Government, Headlines

The Sussex County Republican Committee has denounced a mailer sent by a conservative political action committee attacking a Black GOP candidate for county office.

The mailer, sent by the 35th Representative District Conservative Committee, criticizes Greg Fuller of Lincoln, a candidate for Register of Wills. 

Greg Fuller, candidate for Sussex County Register of Wills, was the subject of a mailer some are describing as racist.

A long-time Democrat, Fuller became a Republican in 2021 after the party “left [him] behind,” he said in a previous interview with Delaware LIVE News. 

The mailer seeks to use Fuller’s party switch to drive voters away from his campaign — a move Marilyn Booker, chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee, calls “unhelpful and racist.” 

Booker believes the mailer is racially motivated because Ellen Magee, one of Fuller’s opponents in the Republican primary election, is also a former Democrat who changed her party affiliation, but the mailer doesn’t mention her.

“I just found it interesting that they only went after Greg, who happens to be a Black man,” Booker said. “If the point of the mailer was that these people are Democrats, you can’t trust them and they can’t change their stripes, then why not add Ellen to it as well?”

On one side of the mailer, Fuller is superimposed over photos of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and on the other side, he’s shown in grayscale next to an out-of-context quote from an Oct. 2021 Delaware LIVE News article .

“Democrat Party Insider Greg Fuller switched parties less than a year ago and filed to run for Register of Wills less than three months later,” the literature says. “Will he do anything to win?”

He said he would rather focus on his campaign and the issues facing Sussex Countians. 

In a statement , Booker warned voters not to confuse the 35th Representative District Conservative Committee with the GOP-sanctioned group, called the 35th Representative District Republican Committee.

While the Republican Party is remaining neutral in the three-way primary battle, Booker said leaving the Democratic Party is a “very bold and courageous action” which should be applauded, not denigrated.

According to a Department of Elections database , the committee behind the mailer is registered to Charles “Punky” Elliott of Greenwood.

That group’s purpose is to “raise money that will be used to promote social and fiscal conservatism,” according to the database. 

Attempts to reach Elliott for comment were unsuccessful. 

Fuller is running against incumbent Register of Wills Ellen Magee of Williamsville and Candice Green Wilkinson of Ellendale.

Magee was appointed by Gov. John Carney to fill a vacancy that arose after Wilkinson’s mother, former Register of Wills and current County Councilwoman Cynthia Green, resigned to join County Council.

On her campaign website , Wilkinson says when her mother vacated the office, Carney “took the first opportunity to appoint a Democrat.”

“Now that the term of his appointed Register of Wills is about to end, it’s time for the people to stand up and make their voice heard by sending a Republican back to the Register of Wills,” Wilkinson writes.

In her campaign announcement, Wilkinson emphasizes that, unlike Fuller and Magee, she is a “lifelong Republican” and “committed conservative.”

Attempts to reach Wilkinson for comment were unsuccessful. 

Booker said she was surprised and dismayed by the mailer and she hopes voters don’t fall for “that type of politics.”

“Run on your experience and your credentials,” she said. “We need people who are qualified to do the job, and not people who are just going to throw mud. If you have to stoop to that level, then maybe your qualifications don’t stand up.

“They make it sound like calling somebody a Democrat is a dirty name,” Booker continued. “I don’t necessarily feel that way. I’m interested in attracting people of all stripes to the party. 

“We want to be a big-tent party, and so if Democrats decide that perhaps the Democrat Party is not what it used to be and that they don’t care for it any longer and they want to join us, I’m all about that.”

Charlie Megginson covers government and politics for Town Square LIVE News. Reach him at (302) 344-8293 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @cmegginson4.

Gov. John Carney on Tuesday will lift his emergency order about schools and masks. Gov. John Carney will end his school mask mandate Tuesday at 6 p.m. To be specific: Masking will not be required in kindergarten-twelfth grade schools, on school buses, or in child care facilities after that time. Carney’s lawyers in a Chancery Court hearing about masking requirements made the statement in court, and a press release quickly followed. Delaware courts also will lift the current court order requiring face masks in all court facilities as of Wednesday morning for both court staff and members of the public, a different press release said. Both Carney and the courts are reacting to a Friday Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement saying it was OK to drop mask requirements as the Omicron variation of COVID-19 continues to decline. Carney had planned to life the school mask mandate March 31, saying that local districts needed time to decide how to handle masking. But the CDC’s The Delaware Department of Education and the Division of Public Health have issued updated guidance to district and school leaders to aid response efforts following the expiration of the mask requirement. Carney and the courts also said that vaccine or testing requirements for educators, state employees and courts staff will end. Schools and education requirements will end at 11:59 p.m. Monday. Courts testing immediately. The courts, however, reserved the right to require testing whenever an employee was exhibiting signs of COVID-19 infection. The courts also will continue to ask any person who is experiencing COVID symptoms to stay away from court facilities until their symptoms clear or they receive a negative test. “There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about where we’re headed,” Carney said in the press release. He noted that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have fallen dramatically. “We are clearly moving into a new phase of this pandemic,” he said. “Delawareans who want to continue wearing a mask – including children in our schools – should be supported and encouraged to do so, even as we move into this new phase,” he said. “We’ll also continue to encourage all eligible Delawareans to get up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations.” When the State of Emergency is lifted Tuesday, a more narrow Public Health Emergency Order will be issued to replace a Public Health Emergency Order issued on July 12, 2021. This updated Public Health Emergency Order will allow hospitals and long-term care facilities continued flexibility to respond to cases of COVID-19. Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. said in the court’s press release that its infectious disease medical expert, Dr. Alfred Bacon, agreed with the new federal guidance and thinks it is reasonable at this time to drop the indoor mask requirement and unvaccinated employee testing requirements, said Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. “Under the new CDC guidance, masking is no longer recommended in areas that are rated as either low and medium risk,” Seitz said in the press release. “New Castle County is rated low risk and Kent and Sussex counties are rated medium risk.” Seitz also said people who are more comfortable continuing to wear a face mask should feel free to continue to do so. “It is important to note that we will continue to monitor the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will not hesitate to change course if needed to protect everyone from serious illness,” Seitz said. “Thank you for your patience as we have navigated together this unprecedented public health crisis.”

The committee responsible for drafting the state’s budget has approved an increase in funding for Delaware’s public school bus drivers. The Joint Finance Committee, comprised of eight Democrats and four Republicans, voted last week to add $16.9 million to address recommendations from the Public School Transportation Committee, a group consisting of legislative and state budget officials, public and charter school personnel and bus contractor representatives. As part of the vote, the committee earmarked $11.7 million to increase the minimum hourly rate for bus drivers, $3.8 million for administrative expenses and $1.4 million to increase the basic maintenance allowance by 30%. “We rely on bus drivers to safely transport our children from home to school and back every day, and they fulfill that vital role wonderfully,” said Rep. Kim Williams, D-Stanton. “It’s long past time for us to fairly compensate these dedicated workers for their service to our students.” Williams is a member of the Joint Finance Committee and chair of the House Education Committee. In a press release announcing the vote, lawmakers noted that concerns about school bus driver shortages have persisted in recent years with low pay cited as one of the main issues.  “In approving the funding increase, the Joint Finance Committee directed that funds provided through the school transportation formula to provide hourly rates for bus drivers should to the maximum extent possible go directly toward increasing bus driver salaries and to address workforce shortage and retention issues,” the release says. The $11.7 million increase will raise the reimbursement rate to reflect an hourly rate increased from $15.92 per hour to $21 an hour, though the actual amount a contractor pays their drivers may vary. “School bus drivers are critically important partners in our public education system,” said Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Hockessin. “Like all Delawareans, the men and women we trust to safely transport our children to and from school each day deserve to be paid a fair wage.” Sturgeon is a member of the Joint Finance Committee and chair of the Senate Education Committee. The Joint Finance Committee approved the increase during “markup,” a period during which the committee takes the governor’s recommended budget and votes on specific funding requests. The committee will continue reviewing and voting on funding priorities for the fiscal 2023 operating budget this week.  Once completed, legislative budget staff will write the final budget bill, which must be approved by the entire General Assembly.

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services must hand over Medicaid records to State Auditor Kathy McGuiness, a Superior Court judge ruled this week. For nearly two years, McGuiness has been seeking access to the information, which she says her office needs to determine whether DHSS’s Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance is complying with federal and state requirements. DHSS argued that the auditor of accounts has no authority to conduct performance audits of state agencies and that McGuiness’ duties are strictly limited to conducting after-the-fact financial audits of their spending.  “I disagree,” the judge wrote in his ruling.  Judge Craig Karsnitz called DHSS’s argument “unnecessarily convoluted,” and said, “the language of the Delaware statute is clear: a postaudit is an audit of a transaction or transactions after the fact, and a performance audit is a form of postaudit.” “This decision is paramount,” McGuiness said in an interview with Delaware LIVE News. “The judge validated the position our office has taken for decades, which is that there are several different types of postaudits, including performance audits.” McGuiness said she feels “vindicated” because her office can finally point to a legal precedent that recognizes her authority to investigate whether state agencies are using tax dollars responsibly. When the General Assembly was considering legislation to create an independent inspector general’s office in Delaware, McGuiness wrote a letter arguing that the duties outlined in the bill were duplicative and that her office was already performing many of the duties that would be assigned to the inspector general.  Supporters of the bill took the same position as DHSS — that McGuiness is only authorized by law to audit financial transactions. With Karsnitz’s ruling, McGuiness feels the record has been set straight.  A spokeswoman for DHSS told the Associated Press that the agency is reviewing the ruling “and will take appropriate next steps.” Why audit Medicaid? The information McGuiness is seeking relates to 14 different categories of records, including a list of all Medicaid recipients during the last three fiscal years. She’s also seeking read-only access to Delaware’s Medicaid computer systems for two members of her team.  McGuiness subpoenaed the information in Aug. 2021 after DHSS refused to hand it over voluntarily, arguing that the release of that information was prohibited by law. Ultimately, McGuiness hopes to determine whether DHSS effectively screens Medicaid applicants before approving or denying benefits. Once she gets the information, it could turn out that “everything is in fantastic shape,” she said, “and that would be great.” “We just want to make sure that Delawareans get a fair deal,” she said. “We’re going to keep fighting for access to data and information so my team can continue to do the good job that they do.” DHSS wasn’t the only roadblock McGuiness faced leading up to the judge’s ruling. “Our assigned attorney from the Department of Justice would not help us,” she said. “We had to figure out how to do our own subpoena and we had to show up at court by ourselves.” In Feb. 2022, Gov. John Carney allowed the auditor’s office to retain outside legal counsel, something she said she’s “very grateful for.”  “I just didn’t feel comfortable trying to practice law,” she said. “I’m not a lawyer and I think it would be a liability.” It’s not clear if DHSS plans to appeal the decision.  McGuiness on July 1 was acquitted on felony charges of ​​theft and intimidation after a three-week trial. She was found guilty on three misdemeanors: official misconduct, structuring and conflict of interest. The judge has yet to finalize the jury’s verdict. She has maintained her innocence, argued she’s a victim of a political witch hunt, and is actively seeking re-election.  “I continue to go in the office on a daily basis and work hard for the people of Delaware,” she said. “People are worried about kitchen table issues. I know what it’s like to run a small business and to have to make payroll and make tough choices. So I’m just going to continue to do my job and listen to the people.” Read the judge’s ruling below:

Among the projects finalized by DelDOT is a complete reconstruction of the I-95/141 interchange consisting of eight interchange ramps and four bridges. The Delaware Department of Transportation has announced that it has completed its improvements to Route 141 between Newport and New Castle. A press release from the agency called the completion of the projects an “early holiday gift.” The improvements are the culmination of a decade of work involving multiple projects on the Route 141 corridor from Route 4 in Newport to Route 13 in New Castle. The corridor is one of the most heavily traveled non-interstate roads in Delaware, according to DelDOT. The projects along the corridor required extensive work to address safety and capacity needs and replace aging infrastructure. All major work for the most recent project from the I-95 interchange to Jay Drive, which began in August 2019, has been completed ahead of the original spring 2022 completion date by the contractor, R.E. Pierson. Improvements include: Complete reconstruction of the I-95/141 interchange consisting of eight interchange ramps and four bridges Constructing an additional left turn lane from Commons Boulevard to Route 141 northbound Constructing additional Route 141 through lanes at the Commons Boulevard intersection Pedestrian and transit infrastructure improvements Full-depth pavement reconstruction and drainage improvements Rehabilitation of the Route 141 Newport viaduct Rehabilitation of the Route 141 bridge over Route 13 Transportation secretary Nicole Majeski said the agency invested nearly $160 million to improve safety and traffic flow, resulting in the modernization of the 50-year-old corridor. “We appreciate the patience of motorists as our contractors have worked to make these needed repairs and improvements while maintaining traffic through this corridor and I am grateful to the work of our DelDOT team and contracting community for their efforts to complete these projects,” Majeski said. Gov. John Carney said the completed projects are just a few examples of work being done all around the state to improve infrastructure to ensure it is safe, well-maintained, and meets the needs of the traveling public. “We have invested $2.5 billion in our capital transportation program statewide over the past four years and will invest another $4 billion in the next six years as we continue to modernize and improve our infrastructure for all modes of transportation,” Carney said.

Photo/senatorbrucecennis.com State Sen. Bruce Ennis will retire at the end of his term in November after spending forty years in the General Assembly. Ennis, a Democrat from Smyrna, said he would be stepping down in order to spend more time with his family. “Serving in the Delaware General Assembly has been a great privilege and honor that I will cherish,” Ennis said. “Knowing that the people placed their faith in me to represent their interests in so many different ways, on so many important issues, is both humbling and gratifying.”  After graduating from John Bassett Moore High School, Ennis joined the Delaware Air National Guard where he rose to the rank of sergeant. He would go on to spent 20 years as a Delaware State Police Trooper, retiring in 1982 at the rank of staff captain. First elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1982, Ennis succeeded the late Speaker of the House Robert W. Riddagh. He won re-election to the seat 12 times.  He then transitioned to the Delaware Senate after winning a 2007 special election to succeed the late James T. Vaughn, Sr. The voters of the 14th District re-elected Ennis to that seat four times.  Ennis is also a life member of Citizens’ Hose Company in Smyrna, where he has served as Fire Chief, President, and numerous other administrative and line officer roles throughout the past 63 years.  Widely regarded as one of the General Assembly’s strongest advocates for first responders, veterans and state pensioners, Ennis’s legislative accomplishments include his central role in the creation of Delaware’s modern emergency response and statewide paramedic systems.  During his lengthy career, he also sponsored legislation that created a statewide paramedic program, instituted an inclusive statewide trauma system, improved Delaware’s EMS operations, upgraded emergency communications, initiated the state’s “Gold Alert” system and placed flashing lights on the back of school buses. He also has been a champion for Delaware’s open spaces, farm families, manufactured housing residents, outdoorsmen and its horse-racing industry.  “Bruce Ennis is one of the most honorable and kind-hearted people I have had the honor to serve alongside here in the Delaware General Assembly,” Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola, D-Newark, said. “His generosity and dedication to his constituents are as legendary in this building as his unwavering commitment to the public and the small-town way of life he has worked so hard to preserve in Kent County.”  Sen. Nicole Poore, D-New Castle, said Ennis will be deeply missed by his colleagues and the people of Delaware alike.  “Bruce is a friend to all, regardless of party affiliation or address,” she said. “What he cares about is you as a person, is your family well and what he can do to help. His retirement will be a loss to all of us who have come to depend on his advice and guidance, but a well-deserved reward for him and his family.” 

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