(WHYY image)
Update: The News Journal has posted their Voters Guide http://data.delawareonline.com/webapps/Voters_Guide/
I'm a Roe for Mayor supporter. I believe she can win this election and will be the advocate we need. For these uncertain times, Newark shouldn't settle for the status quo. A leader like Roe, with her wealth of knowledge and experience in town affairs, will best secure our future.
A letter today ~ Roe would make the best mayor for Newark
I am writing to endorse Amy Roe for the next Mayor of Newark. Although it was the issue of the proposed data center that brought Amy to my attention, it is the person I have come to know that inspires me to write this letter.
Since the above issue came about, many Newark residents, including myself, have started attending city council meetings. At every meeting, Amy is front and center, and apparently, has been for quite some time. My observations have been that this woman is brutally honest, extraordinarily smart and has a true passion for the workings of government. She is the right person for this job, and I believe she would serve all of the citizens of Newark well.
Carol Robbins
Newark
Get to know all the candidates. Read the DE ADA surveys HERE.
And the Newark Post interviews HERE.
Polly Sierer ~
Sierer said she wants economic grown for the city, but would not publicly discuss her stance on The Data Center LLC’s proposed data center and power plant for UD’s STAR Campus until all the facts, information and plans have emerged. She said it is unwise to take a side while she is still learning about the project, and feels the same about the controversial Wawa proposed for South Main Street. “We need to let the process work,” she said.I took a very active role in stopping Frank Acierno's most recent plans for a regional shopping center at Possom Park Road just outside of the city. I did not see or hear Polly Sierer step forward to protect Newark's vulnerable retail centers from this direct threat. Just sayin'.
Regardless of her stance on the city’s two most controversial projects, Sierer said it is important Newark not get a reputation of being a difficult city to do business in. She plans to focus on creating community-friendly business opportunities and wants to help facilitate an upgrade to the city’s shopping centers, three of which are nearly empty.........“We need to let the world and the community know we are open for business,” she said.
Mark Morehead ~
“Council is supposed to be a check and balance,” Morehead said. “For several decades, we’ve been getting away from that.” Over time, the power has shifted too much to the city manager and other staff, he said. “The past city manager stayed for 20 years,” he said, referring to Carl Luft, though he did not mention Luft’s name. “It allowed the system to become entrenched.”
The issue was brought to the forefront by the debate over the proposed data center and power plant on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus. City staff worked with The Data Centers, LLC, prior to informing council and the public, citing a nondisclosure clause.
Morehead said the council has been making strides toward a better balance, but still has a ways to go. “I bring it up every chance I get,” he said. “Somewhere between an employee not coming to work and someone wanting to build a power plant, there’s a fine line in between what (the staff should) tell council,” he added.
Morehead said he has pushed for conducting employee evaluations of City Manager Carol Houck and City Secretary Renee Bensley, the two people council directly supervises. Council has met in executive session for several weeks to privately discuss “personnel matters” related to Houck and Bensley.
Rebecca Powers probably didn't read this. During the debate she complained that Council was taking too many executive sessions citing a confusing motion and vote they'd made afterwards (I explained the vote HERE).
Plus, Bike Delaware has a candidates' survey posted
WDEL is profiling each candidate in Newark's special mayoral election scheduled for Nov. 26.
You can hear candidate profiles on 1150 AM WDEL and WDEL.com on the following days:
Nov. 15: Don Delcollo
Nov. 18: Robyn Harland
Nov. 19: Mark Morehead
Nov. 20: Rebecca Powers
Nov. 21: Amy Roe
Nov. 22: Polly Sierer
Nov. 25: Matthew Vento
Video and profile stories on each candidate will also be available at WDEL.com
(WHYY) Shana O'Malley reports ~ Newark mayoral candidates take center stage
Roe, a member of the Delaware Sierra Club, has been vocal about her concerns over the lack of transparency within city government regarding the plant and other issues. “My position on the data center is an iconographic of some of the larger issues we’re having in our city that we really need to correct to protect our quality of life,” she said.(Newark Post) Karie Simmons reports ~ Candidates tackle city issues in mayoral debate
.........Roughly 60 percent of revenue comes from utility charges and several candidates said they’d like to see the city more diversified. Roe explained that the university, which owns more than 40 percent of land in the city, is exempt from paying property tax, so the funds have to be made up in another way.
“Our electricity rates are being used as a surrogate for paying property taxes, and we can deduct property taxes from our income taxes but we can't deduct our electric bills from our income taxes,” said Roe. “The problem is complex.”
Data Center a hot topic(News Journal) Melissa Nann Burke reports ~ Seven Newark candidates make their case for mayor
Many residents have been recently speaking on the record at council meeting about one of the most controversial issues the city currently faces. Those both for and against a 279-megawatt power plant and 900,000-square-foot data center proposed for UD's STAR Campus have been making their voices heard, and Roe, who leads the group Newark Residents Against the Power Plant, said the project has revealed Newark's flaws.
“The data center and power plant is an iconographic of some of the larger issues we have in our city that we really need to correct to protect our quality of life,” she said, referring to a lack of accountability in city government.
Sierer and Councilman Mark Morehead did not give a concrete stance on The Data Centers LLC's project.
Morehead said state law prohibits him from taking a side on issues that come in front of council for zoning review and vote, but agreed with the other candidates that the project has already made quite an impact. He believes residents living in northern Newark are looking at the project's economic benefits while those living in neighborhoods close to the STAR Campus cannot help but be concerned with air quality and noise pollution.
“I cannot tell you how I feel, but what I can tell you is this issue has split the city,” he said.
Robyn Harland, Don DelCollo and Powers all voiced their opposition to the project, and Vento expressed concerns about what else will be built on the STAR Campus.
Two candidates, Morehead and Polly Sierer, wouldn’t take a side in the debate over The Data Centers LLC’s plan tobuild a $1-billionfacility and create 370 jobs (including part-timers) on 43 acres at the the Chrysler property, now known as UD’sScience Technology and Advanced Research campus. Sierer wants to create a steering committee to keep an open dialogue about future development at the STAR Campus. “This development represents a great opportunity to create much-needed jobs and a chance to broaden the city’s tax revenue base,” Sierer said . “However, we need to take into account how projects like this impact the lives of those in the community.”
........Amy Roe,who’s active in the group Newark Residents Against the Power Plant, said she’s worked to verify information presented about the project and wants council to be proactive, so that its decisions are founded on “knowledge and not conjecture and speculation.” “City Council has incredible authority in fact finding. They have power of subpoena, to conduct hearings,” Roe said. “It raises a lot of issues about the lack of accountability in city government.”Comment rescues ~
- Councilman Morehead believes UD can do whatever they want with their land - assuming the power of eminent domain would hold on the Chrysler property. But didn't the state change its ED law post Kelo and now prohibit ED for the purposes of economic development? UD may be prohibited from ED for a private for profit leasee gas power plant. City of Newark should figure this out before making assumptions about the powers over land use decisions they hold vis a vis that of the school.A friend sent along this description of Ken Grant's controversial citizen journalism ~
- Title 14: Education, Chapter 51: Charter, University of Delaware, Section 14: Eminent domain; condemnation."Whenever the Board of Trustees of the University cannot agree with the owner or owners for the purchase of any land, with the improvements thereon, in New Castle County, deemed by the Board necessary for the purpose of erecting any building or buildings to be used by and in connection with the University, or for the enlargement of its grounds or for any other purpose in connection with the University or the agricultural experiment station connected therewith, to better carry out the purposes of the University and agricultural experiment station, the University, in the exercise of the power of eminent domain, may acquire the land and improvements by condemnation by proceedings in accordance with Chapter 61 of Title 10."- And the State amended the ED law prohibiting it for Economic Devevelopment. so the UD may need to amend its charter.....As leasee, how would the privately-held for profit power plant come under the auspices of 'belonging' to the UD. They are on uncharted territory here.
The League of Women Voters of New Castle County announced at the beginning of the debate that only the press was allowed to film video or audio recordings. They listed the only press they knew of in the room and asked if there was anyone else w/the press, no one else said anything.
So then Ken Grant was filming blatantly on his flip camera for like a half an hour (maybe a little more). I saw him and found it highly irritating as a polite person but was sitting far away - then the police came over to him. The cop was talking to him and Ken was shaking his head etc. and kept filming maybe 20-30 seconds while the cop was talking. Then the cop walked away, Ken smirking, put his camera away and immediately took out his phone and started a conversation on his Facebook page (public) about how they made him stop filming and what was up with that, citizen journalism being denied, etc.Some of Ken Grant's facebook exchange ~
Ok, I'm curious about everyone's thoughts on this - the League of Women Voters announced that no one was to record tonights forum and they asked everyone to turn off their devices. So, is this a public forum or is it a private event? I have some strong feelings about citizen journalism - just curious what everyone else thinks........That's messed up. Honestly, in this day and age if you are hosting something like this you ought to be streaming it yourself.........Video or audio? I think etiquette rules apply--it's their event and they asked so I would honor it...go old school and take notes......... If I had to guess, they don't want to get into the details of the FCC's very specific rules about broadcasting of debates, so they just threw a "no recordings" policy out there. Legally speaking (from a non-lawyer): They're a private organization hosting an event on private property. I'd think they're within their rights to have a "no recording" rule. You'd be within your rights to record anyway, I suspect, and they'd have the right to throw you out for doing so........I'm just looking into it more, Ken, and I really think it's an FCC thing (or, at least, an attempt to honor antiquated FCC rules). Here's language off their website for debate prep:
"1. Federal Level Races - Announce at the beginning of the debate that cell phones should be turned off as a matter of courtesy and that unauthorized videos are not allowed because the FCC requires that a debate must not be edited and must be broadcast in its entirety, either live or reasonably soon after it takes place. Realistically, there is no way to guarantee that someone won't capture some video or audio without our knowledge so a disclaimer should also be put in the guidelines for the debate. The League wants to ensure that information is not manipulated to create false or misleading impressions; no candidate should be allowed to use or edit the footage for campaign purposes. 2. State and Local Level Races - the same advice applies at the local and state level, but you should also check state and local laws."
I don't pretend to know the local laws, but based on the fact that the person you spoke to invoked "hearsay," I think it's likely they don't know them either. So, they probably defaulted to the federal recommendations.
http://www.lwv.org/content/faqs-candidate-forums-debates
- hmmm - a quick review of these FCC rules don't even mention the word "debate" - http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/policy/political/candrule.htmbut note that this explicitly says "Under federal law, news media are encouraged to use excerpts from debates in their broadcasts, and have nearly-absolute protection for doing so." (And yes, this is from Connecticut, but I bet it represents most of the thinking.)
And here are Grant's videos ~
Also, Delaware Liberal's Delaware DEM has a post up on the race from the progressive's perspective.
~*~
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