Update: O'Donnell Now Scheduled For The Candidates Forum Tonight At 6:30 In Bear Hosted By The Civic League For NCC
Update:U.S. Senate: Christine O'Donnell and a representative from the Coons campaign will be in attendance from 6:30 through approximately 6:50 PM.Candidates Forum - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 6:30 PM
The Civic League for New Castle County will be hosting a candidate forum on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, beginning at 6:30 PM, to be held in the Paris community room, Delaware State Police Troop #2, 100 LaGrange Ave, Bear.
Candidate(s) for the following offices have confirmed attendance thus far:
State Senate 8th District (Louis Saindon)
State Senate 9th District (Robert Johnson and Karen Peterson)( Peterson cancelled)
State Representative 9th District (John Marino and Rebecca Walker)
State Representative 15th District: (James Van Houten Valarie Longhurst cancelled)
State Representative 22nd District: (David Ellis and Joe Miro)
State Representative 25th District ( Gordon Winegar )
State Representative 27th District (Jay Galloway and Earl Jaques) ( both have another engagement and may not be in attendance)
New Castle County Council – 3rd District (Janet Kilpatrick and Renee Taschner)
New Castle County Sherriff (Bill Hart) and Trinidad NavarroNew Castle County Register of Wills (Ciro Poppiti and Kathy Sherwin)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Stop Gerrymandering of Election Districts - Advocate for an Indpendent Redistricting Commission
There is a good article in the News Journal on the risks and potential problems of impropriety that often occur with redistricting of the districts of elected officials after the census data arrives each decade.
Delaware is still very susceptible to abuse by elected officials, as we do not have an independent redistricting commission in Delaware.
Legislators get to draw their own districts, and have a tendency to put themselves over the voting public.
Civic League for New Castle County Director Frank Simms has been battling this problem for years, and successfully won the 2004 case when we had to force the State to act on redistricting as required by law. Please read the 2004 Civic League Newsletter for background on the last time redistricting occurred in Delaware, and required legal action to force our elected officials to do the right thing.
There has been a bill in the Delaware State Legislature for years, but it has gone nowhere. The vast majority of the legislators put themselves over the voters and will not support this bill.
A great quote from Frank Simm's was included in the article that sums up the problem:
Delaware is still very susceptible to abuse by elected officials, as we do not have an independent redistricting commission in Delaware.
Legislators get to draw their own districts, and have a tendency to put themselves over the voting public.
Civic League for New Castle County Director Frank Simms has been battling this problem for years, and successfully won the 2004 case when we had to force the State to act on redistricting as required by law. Please read the 2004 Civic League Newsletter for background on the last time redistricting occurred in Delaware, and required legal action to force our elected officials to do the right thing.
There has been a bill in the Delaware State Legislature for years, but it has gone nowhere. The vast majority of the legislators put themselves over the voters and will not support this bill.
A great quote from Frank Simm's was included in the article that sums up the problem:
"When they can draw the lines to protect their jobs, our votes mean nothing," said Frank Simms, director of the Civic League for New Castle County.
Friday, October 15, 2010
WDEL's Coverage Of The NCC Council's Smart Growth Forum Last Night - Get Ready For The Comp Plan Update!
(WDEL) LeAnne Matlach reports ~ Community members expressed their concern over projects by the Stoltz development company at a forum Thursday night.
Audio Here New Castle County is getting ready update the comprehensive plan and Councilman Bob Weiner wants to incorporate Smart Growth into new development.
Audio Here Smart Growth development reduces costs for development, public scenes and public transportation. Erik Aulestia says neighborhoods need to be walk able in smart growth because the average person will only walk about a quarter mile before deciding to drive.
Audio Here Aulestia says residents are often hesitant of new developers because they have had problems with over promised under delivered plans in the past.
(reprinted here in full with permission)
Audio Here New Castle County is getting ready update the comprehensive plan and Councilman Bob Weiner wants to incorporate Smart Growth into new development.
Audio Here Smart Growth development reduces costs for development, public scenes and public transportation. Erik Aulestia says neighborhoods need to be walk able in smart growth because the average person will only walk about a quarter mile before deciding to drive.
Audio Here Aulestia says residents are often hesitant of new developers because they have had problems with over promised under delivered plans in the past.
(reprinted here in full with permission)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The NCC Council Is Hosting A Forum On The "The 10 Principles Of Smart Growth" At 7PM Thursday In The Gilliam Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle
This is a reminder that a special meeting of the NCC Council's Economic Development Sub-Committee is scheduled for 7PM on Thursday evening in the Gilliam Building at 77 Reads Way.
The meeting is being touted as a forum to discuss "Smart Growth" with Erik Aulestia of the land planning firm, Torti Gallas. The agenda includes a question and answer session with the speaker as well as an opportunity for general public comment. This will be an excellent chance for the community to solicit the expert's opinion on how far our county government has strayed from Smart Growth by uncoupling mass transit from density and (Workforce Housing and Redevelopment) allowing for high density in rural lands devoid of infrastructure.
This sub-committee has had a very sporadic meeting schedule over the last few years (rather odd in this dire economic climate, don't you think?). Right now, there are no minutes available for this committee posted on the county's web site. I received the minutes for Oct. 2009 and April 2010 by email today. The June 2010 minutes are not available to the public since they have yet to be approved.
The October minutes' items included a BRAC update by Karl Kalbacher, a presentation by Mark Kleinschmidt of the NCC Chamber of Commerce recommending changes to the UDC to foster economic growth and development, Dave Culver's prepared response to these suggestions and Marian Stewart stating her "continued opposition to development and the feeling of being unheard on balance of busines"s/development vs. the public sentiment".
The April minutes noted that zoning maps were distributed by Lisa Diller (probably Federal Stimulus Recovery Zone maps but it is not at all clear). Dave Culver and Karl Kalbacher were on hand to answer questions about the comprehensive plan, zoning and economic development goals. Richard Beck represented the Citizens for Responsible Growth in expressing concern about the manipulation by developers of ordinances passed by council such as mixed use and redevelopment.
Betsy Gardner said that it was a goal for the office to put an archive of all council minutes online. GOOD!
The meeting is being touted as a forum to discuss "Smart Growth" with Erik Aulestia of the land planning firm, Torti Gallas. The agenda includes a question and answer session with the speaker as well as an opportunity for general public comment. This will be an excellent chance for the community to solicit the expert's opinion on how far our county government has strayed from Smart Growth by uncoupling mass transit from density and (Workforce Housing and Redevelopment) allowing for high density in rural lands devoid of infrastructure.
This sub-committee has had a very sporadic meeting schedule over the last few years (rather odd in this dire economic climate, don't you think?). Right now, there are no minutes available for this committee posted on the county's web site. I received the minutes for Oct. 2009 and April 2010 by email today. The June 2010 minutes are not available to the public since they have yet to be approved.
The October minutes' items included a BRAC update by Karl Kalbacher, a presentation by Mark Kleinschmidt of the NCC Chamber of Commerce recommending changes to the UDC to foster economic growth and development, Dave Culver's prepared response to these suggestions and Marian Stewart stating her "continued opposition to development and the feeling of being unheard on balance of busines"s/development vs. the public sentiment".
The April minutes noted that zoning maps were distributed by Lisa Diller (probably Federal Stimulus Recovery Zone maps but it is not at all clear). Dave Culver and Karl Kalbacher were on hand to answer questions about the comprehensive plan, zoning and economic development goals. Richard Beck represented the Citizens for Responsible Growth in expressing concern about the manipulation by developers of ordinances passed by council such as mixed use and redevelopment.
Betsy Gardner said that it was a goal for the office to put an archive of all council minutes online. GOOD!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Reminder and Update: Candidates Forum - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 6:30 PM
The Civic League for New Castle County will be hosting a candidate forum on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, beginning at 6:30 PM, to be held in the Paris community room, Delaware State Police Troop #2, 100 LaGrange Ave, Bear.
Candidate(s) for the following offices have confirmed attendance thus far:
State Senate 8th District (Saindon)
State Senate 9th District (Johnson and Peterson)
State Representative 9th District (Marino & Walker) - Updated
State Representative 15th District (Longhurst and Van Houten)
State Representative 22nd District (Ellis)
State Representative 23rd District (Stritzinger)
State representative 25th District ( Winegar) - Updated
State Representative 27th District (Galloway and Jaques)
New Castle County Council – 3rd District (Kilpatrick and Taschner)
New Castle County Sherriff (Hart)
NCC Register of Wills (Poppiti and Sherwin)
We are still trying to contact the candidates for U.S. Senate, but have had limited success scheduling an appearance to date.
It is our intention to hold each office forum to NO more than a half hour each in which the candidates will be asked a series of questions from both members of the League and the audience. If a candidate has confirmed, but there opponent has not, we will still provide them a time slot to address the audience.
If you'd like to attend, it’s FREE. However; we request your help in further planning this event by completing the RSVP/survey and providing us with any questions you may have in advance of the event at the link below:
RSVP to Civic League Candidates Forum
We look forward to your attendance and support of what we hope is a lively interaction with the candidates.
Chuck Mulholland
President,
Civic League for New Castle County
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Gerrymandering 2010, Movie to show in Wilmington.
A huge issue for the Civic League for New Castle County this year will be advocating for independent and fair redistricting. With the 2010 census, redistricting will be required, and we have a long history of impropriety in the way districts are drawn in Delaware. Gerrymandering clearly disenfranchises Delaware votes, and needs to be stopped. We have been involved in legal fights for this in the past (see CLNCC Oct. 2004 newsletter), and should prepare for another potential legal battle if an independent redistricting law is not passed.
This movie may give some insights and ideas about how bad the problem is across the country as well. More importantly, it may give us all a better understanding of what is at stake, and why we need to step up our efforts to stop combat it.
Movie, Gerrymandering 2010
Theater N at Nemours
1007 Orange St.
Wilmington, De.
0ctober 12, 2010
7;30 P.M.
One time showing
81 minutes
$7.00, $5.00 seniors
A wake-up-call documentary that exposes the hidden history of our country's redistricting wars, mapping battles that take place out of public scrutiny but that shape the electoral landscape of American politics for decades at time, posing a threat not just to democrats and republicans, but democracy as a whole.
Documentary filmmaker Jeff Reichert ponders the troubling prospect that elections in America are decided before the first vote is ever cast by examining how the framework of democracy provides politicians with an entirely legal means of controlling electoral outcomes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of "Gerrymandering" reads: "to divide a territorial unit into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible." As the debate surrounding the reliability of the electoral system rages, the question of how to ensure that the system is more accurate and accountable comes up time and again. Can that broken system ever be fixed? By posing that question, among many others, to governors, state representatives, Supreme Court justices, political strategists, party chairmen, scholars, and journalists, Reichert proposes that the fundamental democratic premise that voters actually choose their elected representative may be a falsehood implemented to create the illusion of democracy.
Followed by a question and answer session by the Director and Producer previously filmed.
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