New Castle DIGEST (July-Aug) 🗳
Recent News and Media, Election Info & Upcoming Events for 7/28/23
The Digest will be a bit shorter this month and next, due to there being somewhat less news during the Summer, and to allow for some overdue vacation, relaxation & recreation time for the author. You may also see fewer posts if you follow City Topics on socials, but we will ‘keep the lights on’ and the Community Calendar up-to-date.
I. July News Round-Up 📰
Mayoral Candidates Hit Final Stretch as Aug. 5 Looms
With one week to go before residents head to the polls, candidates have been hitting the streets, canvassing neighborhoods throughout the city as they try to connect with voters and energize them to get out on Saturday, August 5. The candidates are Ethan Bradbury, Valarie W. Leary, Angel B. Ramos, Jr., and Charles ‘Scrumpy McGrumpy’ Snatchko.
With no polling for the race, we have only “soft metrics” like yard signs, verbal/online buzz and Letters to The Weekly for judging how it may be shaping up. Based on these, the top contenders seem to be Ms. Leary and Mr. Ramos, each of whom has visible ‘permeation’ of signs, buzz and endorsements from New Castle’s “establishment,” such as it is.
For Mr. Ramos, this means the support of Council president Mike Platt and Trust president Pete Toner, whose ‘kingmaking’ in the April election paid off, only for Mr. Blest to promptly depart the proverbial throne. Mr. Ramos also appears to have an open endorsement from the Sons of Italy at St. Gabriel’s Lodge - an organization which he has led - with a large banner on its fence facing Frenchtown Road.
Meanwhile, Ms. Leary’s ground game has featured heavy canvassing and a stream of supportive Weekly Letters and online endorsements, including from other city leaders and even local businesses like Zollie’s. Notably, unlike in April, the campaign has not featured un-credited negative campaign signs targeting Ms. Leary.
While he has less of a presence on the street, with signs popping up only in the last week, Mr. Bradbury made a strong impression at the Live Forum held on Monday… while Mr. Snatchko made no impression, having declined to participate. Read more in the separate Forum feature below.
Here are several ways to learn more about those running for New Castle’s top job:
Watch the Live Candidate Forum hosted on July 24 by City Topics and The Weekly. The video is embedded below with a bit of analysis from the event, and also available to watch directly on our YouTube channel.
Read the candidates’ Written Q&A, answering questions from the public. This appeared in The Weekly and can also be read online here.
Reach out directly. The City has provided direct contact info for each candidate so that residents can contact their would-be mayors with no intermediaries. We prefer not to post that info here to avoid scraping, but encourage you to find it on the city website’s Elections Page if wanted.
The last day to register to vote in time for this election is Monday, August 1. The last day to request an absentee ballot in the City Admin Office is Friday, August 4. Then, on Saturday, August 5, from 8am to 6pm, residents will have their say!
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Fishing Pier (Finally) Coming to Dobbinsville (in 2025) 🎣
What had been a back-burner idea for roughly a decade, took a big step toward reality in July, as the Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife presented a preliminary concept plan for a public Fishing Pier just south of Dobbinsville to New Castle City Council, which unanimously approved the state agency to proceed to the design phase of the project.
The pier would extend about 300 feet over the river and connect to a newly-paved Deemer Beach parking lot. DNREC would use state and federal funds to pay for the lot improvement (including space for a restroom) and the pier itself, which is expected to be made from aluminum over wood or concrete piles. The city would be responsible for basic upkeep of the site (mowing, light bulb replacement, etc.), which would be open 24/7.
We followed up with DNREC presenters John Clark and Jeremey Ashe about the timeline for the project. Mr. Ashe replied, "I am optimistic that our design will be completed by 2024 and hopeful our construction can begin in 2025. Permits are the biggest unknown... I will have a much better understanding of timeline once we get past the 60% design phase which will hopefully be completed within 6 months."
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Minor-Brown Blazes a Trail from New Castle to Dover
New Castle’s rep in the State House of Representatives, Melissa Minor-Brown, recently made history by becoming the first person of color elected by their caucus to serve as Majority Leader within that body.
“I’m very grateful to have the support of our caucus to serve as the first Black Majority Leader and I’m ready to… continue shaping a brighter future for our state,” Minor-Brown said in a Caucus press release. “I’m excited to be a model and a voice for young Black girls out there and inspire them to claim their seat at the table. They are all powerful beyond measure.”
A practicing registered nurse before her first election to office in 2018, Minor-Brown now chairs the House Health and Human Development Committee, where she has advocated for improved maternity care and better conditions for health care workers. She first entered into a leadership role last year when her fellow House Democrats elected her as their Whip (something between a vote counter and cajoler, involved in keeping the caucus together on votes).
The representative was primary sponsor of - and intimately involved in negotiations for - the recent update to the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR). The changes, which reform advocates pushed for to increase transparency in several areas of policing, ended up winning the support of police throughout the state, including New Castle’s own Chief Richard McCabe, who spoke in favor of the law recently.
Some advocates said LEOBOR reform did not go far enough, preferring a previous version that failed to gain traction in Dover last year. Minor-Brown and other supporters of this year’s successful effort acknowledge that it is a “first step” but point to real progress in its changes and the importance of buy-in from the law enforcement community and its supporters. In this very fraught discussion among our lawmakers, and others like it, Minor-Brown takes a practical and even conciliatory approach, seeking to bring parties together.
Agree with her policies or not, with a formal background in Executive Leadership, this voice for New Castle in the State House effectively blends pragmatic incrementalism with a passion for the issues around which she advocates.
II. ICYMI: Local Media Spotlight 📸
In case you missed it... it’s been a relatively slower month.
And that’s okay sometimes. 🙂 Please enjoy a gallery of some of the local splendor we enjoyed in July, along with two neat bits of our history…
First, an undated (but c. 1930s) photo sent in by a follower, showing a semi-aerial view from Washington and 7th, across what is now the Washington Park neighborhood, to Bellanca Airfield.
We also came across the story of the SS Robin Goodfellow, a large merchant ship that ran aground in New Castle in October 1931 and became quite an attraction!
Plus Views from the Read House and the Hermitage, and a couple lovely mornings by the river, featuring the Kalmar Nyckel, which will return to New Castle in late August.
III. A Funny Thing Happened…
Mayoral Forum Recap
The day after we announced that we’d be working with The Weekly on a unified set of written Questions for the candidates in this Summer’s mayoral election, a regular reader and commenter asked, “So when is the Forum?” Lol.
After a busy month of planning, coordinating, managing questions (and to some degree managing egos), a Mayoral Candidate Forum was indeed held - also in partnership with The Weekly - on Monday, July 24. It was well-attended, featured pretty good discussion, and the entire event can be viewed below.
Topics: Communication, Modernization, Privatization and More…
Getting into the substance of the discussion, it was difficult to find much daylight between the candidates’ positions on a range of issues.
None supports privatizing the Municipal Services Commission, with all three commending MSC’s service and acknowledging to varying degrees that some essential services should be public goods.
No one expressed support for a new Municipal building or campus to house city offices and Council.
All supported the idea of using outdoor banners to raise awareness of upcoming elections (like the ones used over Delaware Street to promote events, but not limited to that location).
On many questions, especially around the role of the mayor in various scenarios from flood protection, to security, to being an MSC commissioner, all three repeatedly emphasized the importance of communication.
While all candidates acknowledged citizens’ personal responsibility to stay informed, all also expressed a desire for a richer and more multi-modal approach to publicly communicating important info, especially to the ‘outer’ neighborhoods.
While her experience as the only incumbent served Ms. Leary very well, with every answer about city functioning on point, the former councilwoman apparently left her poker face at home, giving the side-eye or furrowed brow to both questions and her fellow candidates’ answers numerous times. Conversely, there were a couple questions that elicited minor factual foibles from the less-experienced candidates, Messrs. Bradbury and Ramos, though both seemed comfortable on stage and Mr. Bradbury especially was both open and amiable about what he knew he did not know.
Everyone had a good laugh when Bradbury, the youngest candidate at 28, pointed out his reason for not voting until recent elections: “I was but a child!”
In the end, all three made a good showing, and voters will have a hard choice. Readers are encouraged to check out the Q&A and the Forum video to learn more.
Why Four Candidates but Only Three Participants?
Lastly… many have reached out to inquire as to why Mr. Snatchko, the candidate presumably most comfortable appearing on YouTube given his ‘Scrumpy McGrumpy’ alter-ego based on that site, did not participate. Unfortunately, that’s a bit muddled.
All candidates received the same set of communications around this event (including Mr. Snatchko after his withdrawal), starting with an invitation to participate on June 27. The next day, on June 28, Mr. Snatchko responded by phone, indicating that he was interested and “eager” to participate and that he had “a lot to say.”
A few days later, we sent candidates an info packet outlining the format and rules, and asking them to let us know if they had objections. To this, Mr. Snatchko wrote back that, “I will not partake in this event!!!!”
When we inquired what had changed, the candidate protested that five of his signs had been stolen “and red white and blue signs put in their place.” In subsequent communications, Mr. Snatchko would not respond directly to either our protest of having nothing to do with his signs being messed with, or to the question of why the loss of signs would dissuade him from the Forum.
Parties interested in more detail may inquire within; City Topics welcomes transparency and would be happy to forward the email exchanges. This writer’s impression, however, bolstered by the candidate’s unconventional response to the written Q&A, was that he’s just not interested in answering questions or talking about anything other than what he wants to talk about. Candidates do not owe anything to the local press… but it’s not about that. By blowing off these exercises in democratic discourse - and questions from citizens - Mr. Snatchko shows contempt for the voters who look to local press to get informed.
City Topics is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, any candidate or campaign.
IV. Community Event Calendar 📅
Check out the Community Calendar on our website for a farther view of the local event scene and to catch additional events as they are added, plus the list of monthly/ongoing events!
Remaining in JULY…
7/28 - TONIGHT - 4th Friday Art Loop, featuring for July:
Rodney Pratt presenting ‘Tish Fine Arts Plus Meets the Opera House,’
The works of Mark Leary on display at the Mercury Cafe & Teahouse,
The LAST day of the current display in “The Window on Delaware,” featuring the work of six local artists and focused on perspectives on New Castle,
Dennis Young celebrating Christmas in July at the Mo’zArt Gallery, and
Live Music at Zollie’s Jazz Cucina.
Coming Up in AUGUST 2023
8/1 - New Castle’s National Night Out at the Wharf on Delaware St., 6-8pm.
New Castle City Police and Good Will Fire Company will be hosting.
8/2 - Summer Concerts in the Park: The Jimmies, 80’s Flashback Band, 6:30-8pm.
Organized by New Castle Community Partnership, with local sponsorship.8/3 - ‘A Fortress which the Hollanders call Casimir’ at NC Court House, 4:30pm.
Presented by Wade Catts as part of the History Revival series. Thursdays throughout August, featuring maritime history with discounts to local bars/restaurants.
8/5 - Special Mayoral Election at New Castle Senior Center, 8am to 6pm.
8/5 - Meeta DUO Performance at New Castle Public Library (garden), 6pm.
The “first female rock singer of Indian descent” performs rock, pop, country, soul, Motown and R&B classics, as well as original music.8/8 - Regular New Castle City Council Meeting, Senior Center, 7pm.
8/9 & 8/10 - Free Children’s Vision Clinic at NC Public Library, 10am-3pm.
Registration/appointments are required for this clinic from Vision to Learn, and provide vision screening, eye exams AND glasses, delivered to the library within a couple weeks!
8/9 - Summer Concerts in Battery Park: Ashley & the Limestones, 6:30-8pm.
Organized by New Castle Community Partnership, with local sponsorship.8/10 - ‘Here to There: Ferries & Bridges Cross the Delaware,’ NCCH, 4:30pm.
Presented by historian Mike Dixon as part of the Court House’s History Revival series. Thursdays all month, featuring maritime history with discounts to local bars/restaurants.8/16 - Summer Concerts in Battery Park: FINN, 6:30-8pm.
Organized by New Castle Community Partnership, with local sponsorship.8/17 - ‘Kalmar Yesterday and Today,’ at NC Court House Museum, 4:30pm.
Presented by Kyle Parks as part of the History Revival series. Thursdays throughout August, featuring maritime history with discounts to local bars/restaurants.8/18 - New Castle City Police School Supply Giveaway - Donation Deadline.
For delivery to local schools for kids in need. Questions to tina.shughart@cj.state.de.us.8/19 - 100 Pairs to Give 2.0 Empowerment event at William Penn HS, 10am-2pm.
Back to school event featuring guidance and support for students, with a sneaker give-away for 100 kids who attend (first-come, first-served). By Kool Kolored Kid Generation.8/26 - Back to School Giveaway & Party at Buttonwood UMC Church, 11am-2pm.
8/26 - Mickey Fest in Battery Park, 11am-7pm.
8/27 - Antique Show in Battery Park, annual outdoor event by DF Shows.
8/31 - ‘Thomas Read and the Colonial Navy’ at NC Court House, 4:30pm.
Presented by Bill Manthorpe as part of the History Revival series. Thursdays throughout August, featuring maritime history with discounts to local bars/restaurants.
Nice work, Matt,