Social And Economic Justice Issues At The Core Of Delaware ADA Legislator Report Card Ranking

Delaware ADA Releases Legislator Report Card 
Report provides insight into which legislators do and do not champion social and economic justice issues

Delaware – The Delaware chapter of Americans for Democratic Action has released its 2013 Legislative Report Card.  The report card is meant as a guide for judging which Members of the 147th Delaware General Assembly act as champions for social and economic justice issues as well as which ones are not working to move forward progressive legislation to benefit the State of Delaware.  Legislators' scores are based on their 2013 Legislative Co-Sponsorship Record, which notes whether or not legislators co-sponsored ten selected pieces of legislation that Delaware ADA believes further social and economic justice.  The report card notes there are inherent limits to using formal co-sponsorship as the sole measure for the report card.

Regarding the release, Jenna Fenstermacher, President of the Delaware chapter of Americans for Democratic Action, noted, "We need legislators in Dover that champion social and economic justice issues.  We need legislators who go to Dover and work hard to move our communities forward."

A few findings:

• Overall, legislators co-sponsored an average of 2.8 and a median of 2 of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.
• That median doubles in New Castle County and plummets to zero in Kent and Sussex Counties.
• That median also doubles among Democrats and plummets to zero among Republicans.
• The report card names 10 legislators "Delaware ADA Heroes" - those legislators who co-sponsored over half of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.
• Representative John Kowalko is the top champion among legislators, co-sponsoring 9 of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.
• The report card also names 17 legislators "Delaware ADA Zeroes" - those legislators who did not co-sponsor any of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.
• Representative Trey Paradee was the only Democratic legislator in the state who did not sponsor any of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.
• Representative Debbie Hudson was the only legislator in New Castle County who did not sponsor any of the 10 selected pieces of legislation.

"This report card is one lens into which legislators are championing progressive causes in Dover and which ones are not," said Brian Boyle, chair of Delaware ADA's Electoral Politics working group.  "It's telling to see who is and who isn't willing to stand up to special interests and put their names on bills to enact common sense gun control, increase the minimum wage, and repeal the death penalty."

The report can be found on Delaware ADA's website at: http://delawareada.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DelawareADA_2013LegislatorReportCard1.pdf

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