Ted Blunt Suspends his Campaign for Lt. Gov.

Wilmington City Council President Ted Blunt suspended his campaign for Lt. Gov. yesterday. He cited party unity and the high cost of campaigning in his statement:

"The first reason is that I believe we are at a pivotal juncture in our State and in our Country that will require us to make individual sacrifices for the greater good. As we look to the fall elections, a united Democratic Party will be more successful, than a divided one.
"Second, over the past two years we have worked to raise money and spread our message of building strong families and communities. Because of the hundreds of contributors, we were able to raise almost $200,000. This is more than we raised during all of my campaigns combined. However, it is clear to me that mounting a statewide campaign at this time in our history requires unprecedented resources and is a challenge even for someone who has run successfully for over 20 years.

By way of comparison, Matt Denn had $370,000 on hand as of December 31, 2007, which is roughly what John Carney spent in all of 2004
Ted has won praise for the way he has led City Council over the last eight years. He chose to be the honest broker, and Council has operated smoothly due in no small part to his charm and ability to forge a consensus among his twelve colleagues.
By the way, I learned the news when an anonymous reader posted a comment on this blog last night.

TommyWonk Back on WILM Saturday with Dace

I will be joining Dace Blaskovitz tomorrow on his Money and Politics show on WILM, 1450 on your AM dial. The show runs from every Saturday from 10:00 to 11:00. I'll be on at about 10:30 to give listeners a quick roundup of what's hot in the blogosphere.
We'll be talking about the campaigns for president and governor, Delaware's budget problems, the growth of the blogospher and maybe even wind power. Listen in and then get outdoors to enjoy the waht should be a great May weekend.

Obama, Appalachia and Working Class Whites

Does Barack Obama have a problem with working class whites? Greg Sargeant of TPM Election Central points out the latest Quinnipiac poll has McCain leading both Obama and Clinton by 7 points among working class whites, meaning non-college educated whites. In this category, McCain leads Obama by 46 to 39 percent and Clinton by 48 to 41 percent.
Not surprisingly, the poll shows significant difference between Clinton and Obama among younger voters. Obama leads McCain among voters 18 to 44 by 52 to 37 percent, while Clinton leads by only 46 to 43 percent.
Jonathon Tilove of Newhouse News Service is among those who see the West Virginia result as indicative of Obama's weakness in Appalachia, not among whites nationwide:

For those keeping score, seven of the 10 whitest states in the nation have held their primaries or caucuses. The Illinois senator has won five and the New York senator two - New Hampshire by an inch and now West Virginia by a country mile.

As for whether Appalachia poses a problem for Democrats in the fall, neither Clinton nor Obama comes even close in polling in Tennessee, Kentucky or West Virginia. West Virginia may have voted for Democrats in the past, but the electoral map looks a bit different with Obama as the nominee. Polls show states like Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and even Indiana are in play in the general election. Michigan and Ohio look tough for either Democrat this fall, which may be why the well-timed John Edwards endorsement was announced in Grand Rapids.

Denver, Colorado

National Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean just announced the selections for the 'State Blogger Corps' to the Democratic National Convention, and TommyWonk was selected to sit with the Delaware delegation. Apparently the competition was pretty fierce:

"Similar to the record-breaking voter turnout our Party has seen during the primary season, the demand for these coveted blogger positions is yet another indicator of the tremendous interest in this historic Convention," said Governor Dean. "The Internet has played a critical role in connecting Americans to elected officials and candidates seeking office. The DemConvention State Blogger Corps will continue to foster this dialogue - in all 50 of our states and our territories too - as we head towards this year's historic election and elect a Democrat to the White House."

My friends at DelawareLiberal are understandably disappointed. Sorry guys.
The cool part is that the state bloggers won't be relegated to sit with the rest of the media, but will be seated with their respective delegations. No perching under the rafters or sitting a huge room with 1,000 other geeks typing away. I'll be right there on the floor for the proceedings.
Update: I'll be going on WDEL with Allan Loudell at 5:24 this evening to talk presidential politics.

Tragedy on the R/V Russell W. Peterson

One crew member of the Research Vessel Russell W. Peterson died yesterday in a storm that generated winds of up to 50 miles per hour. The vessel's two crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard and taken to a hospital, where one was pronounced dead. The boat washed up on the shore south of Rehoboth.
The R/V Russell W. Peterson is owned and operated by Aqua Survey, Inc., which uses such vessels for marine survey research in the Gulf of Mexico. The Peterson was dedicated on March 29, and dispatched on its mission to study bird migration patterns as part of the permitting process required to build a wind power facility off the Delaware coast.
The News Journal reports that Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Cangemi believes that the vessel may have broken one of its three adjustable legs:

The Peterson is a type of boat that can raise itself out of the water on supporting legs, or "spuds."
"It was reported that the spuds were down and one had broken," Cangemi said. "Whether or not they were actively engaged [in moving] I have no idea."

Both of the crew members were captains. Aqua Survey, Inc. would not release the names of the crew members pending family notification.
This tragedy reminds us that modern life brings with it dangerous work. 112 workers died building Hoover Dam. Even with today's stricter safety standards, utility workers continue to risk their lives while building and maintaining the electric grid that powers our toasters and televisions. But yesterday's tragedy should not be considered evidence that the proposed wind power installation is inherently dangerous. The vulnerability of a 65 foot research vessel does not reflect on the structural integrity of the large fixed towers to be built off the coast.
Ironically, Governor Peterson, who was notified of the crew member's death, published an op-ed in today's News Journal urging that the wind farm and the Sustainable Energy Utility both move forward:

We need to run with both of our opportunities -- the Sustainable Energy Utility and the wind plant. Unfortunately, leaders with conflicts of interest are fighting the wind plant, widely exaggerating its costs. The leader of both the sustainable energy utility and the state Senate committee on energy, Sen. Harris McDowell, is one. Another is Delmarva Power and its parent company, Pepco Holding. Their conglomerate is in the business of burning fossil fuels to produce electricity, and see Bluewater Wind as a competitor.

The timing of the op-ed was, of course, sadly coincidental.
Unless we decide as a civilization to unplug ourselves from the grid, we will be faced with the question of how to provide energy in the safest way possible for the environment, and for the workers who keep us connected.

Should Delaware Emulate New Jersey?

Should we give up on the process to bring wind power to Delaware, and start over using New Jersey's plan as a model? The short answer is no.
The Senate Energy & Transit Committee, Charlie Copeland and the New Journal editorial board all seem to think that New Jersey's offers a cleaner, neater and easier way to procure offshore wind power.
Yesterday's News Journal editorial fits two enormous fallacies into ten short words:

For one thing, no one is forcing anything. It's voluntary.

The first fallacy is that Delmarva Power customers are being forced into buying power from Bluewater Wind, as if we aren't being forced to buy increasingly expensive electricity coal and natural gas. I'm a Delmarva power customer, and I don't have any viable options, except to try to remove myself from the grid. The only thing I can do today is push for approval of the Bluewater Wind project and bring some stability to my electric bills. This fallacy also ignores the persistent fact that thousands of Delaware citizens have overwhelmingly voiced their support for wind power for more than a year.
At the heart of this fallacy is a misunderstanding of the power purchase agreement or PPA. Delmarva Power doesn't like it, because the company doesn't want to tie up such a big chunk of its buying power. As a customer, I do like it. I like the price stability it provides in the face of rising fossil fuel prices.
The second fallacy is that New Jersey has found a way to build offshore wind without the need for a PPA. While New Jersey doesn't specify the use of a PPA, it doesn't preclude it. I expect that the proposals that emerge will include PPAs, which are common tools in financing power plants. It's much easier, and cheaper, to raise the capital if investors can see the cash flow. This means that use of a PPA is the most efficient way to finance a wind farm. Without a PPA, a wind power installation would be much more expensive to finance, which means the power produced would be more expensive.
New Jersey is offering $19 million in subsidies to lure companies into developing proposals. Those who suggest that Delaware do likewise seem to forget that the state government doesn't have that kind of money. And if those writing the budget did magically find the money, it wouldn't make that much difference. Bluewater Wind has already spent several million of its investors' money to get to this point. Would $18 million make much difference even now? I doubt it. It represents maybe one percent of the cost of the project, or several months interest on the capital needed. If Delaware wants to help Bluewater with the cost of capital, it should approve the project without further delay.
The News Journal editorial suggests that New Jersey has decided on an easier way to procure large scale offshore wind power. The only reason anyone could imagine that is that crunch time hasn't arrived yet in New Jersey. After all the battle hadn't reached its peak at this stage in Delaware's process.
Offshore wind power of this scale will divert billions of dollars away from those who burn fossil fuels for a living. Does anyone think energy companies are going to give that up easily?
Those who think the Delaware should emulate New Jersey in the hope of avoiding this conflict are either cynically seeking to delay the offshore wind indefinitely, or are naively imagining that a shift of this magnitude in the energy industry can be accomplished without conflict.
We are one roll call away from being the first state in the U.S. to decide to build offshore wind. If we start over, it could be three years or longer before we get back to where we are today. Putting off the decision will not make it easier. The Senate should ignore those calling for further delay, and bring HCR 38 to a vote.

TommyWonk on the Great Green Home Show on WILM

I'm featured on the Great Green Home Show which airs tomorrow, Sunday morning at 9:00 on WILM, 1450 AM on your dial.
Hosts Paul Hughes and Doug Hunt put on an informative and entertaining hour on environmental issues. If you miss the show Sunday morning, you can listen online. While I chat with them in the opening segment, we get down to business in segments 3 and 4 with an in-depth discussion of the economics and politics of wind power.

Should Delmarva Power Pass Its Advertising Costs on to Customers?

The House Energy & Environment Committee yesterday discussed HCR 50, which would recommend that the Public Service Commission deny Delmarva the ability to recoup the cost of fighting the Bluewater Wind agreement.
Before it did, the committee first considered a bill that would reduce the the minimum size of lobsters that can be caught by 1/4 inch, and another that would mandate placing hunter orange on duck blinds. It's good to be reminded of concerns that seem so far away from Wilmington.
Committee chairman Gerald Hocker opened the discussion by declaring HCR 50 to be "one of the most anti-business" measure he has ever seen as a legislator. He said that the advertisements, which were calculated to cost 50 cents per customer, were a good deal in an effort to get the truth out about Bluewater Wind. Hocker is squarely opposed to the Bluewater project, and told me again afterwards that he believes the price of electricity will drop once the Mid Atlantic Power Pathway goes in. I think he's wrong, but he does have the courage of his convictions.
After a brief presentation by John Kowalko, members of the committee went back and forth on the language of the resolution and whether the PSC can already exclude these expenses.
Next up was Delmarva Power lobbyist Joe Farley, and he came out swinging. He said the company "had every right to tell customers how expensive" the Bluewater Wind project would be. (That of course goes to the heart of the matter; Delmarva Power is using its own, exaggerated numbers to scare us.) Farley continued by saying that a third party contract shouldn't be forced on the company's customers without their having any say. (Actually, Delmarva Power customers have spoken overwhelmingly in favor of offshore wind, repeatedly for a year and a half.) He concluded with the standard disclaimer that Delmarva Power has "complete confidence in the PSC." (He didn't mention that the company is using numbers that bear little resemblance to the agency's findings.)
Then it was my turn. I described the circumstances surrounding the production of the radio spots that ran this week on WDEL, and repeated the main point about Delmarva's exaggerated assertions. I said that our ad was paid for by donations gathered by Delaware Audubon. is using number, and ointed out that our modest ad buy represented 0.75 percent of Delmarva's advertising budget.
Hocker asked me to speak to the point of the resolution, so I went right to the punch line: Delmarva Power's advertising undermines the integrity of the PSC process by ignoring the agency's findings and presenting its own version of the facts.
There's a difference between what Delmarva Power is saying and what I am saying, in this blog, in legislative testimony and in the radio spots. I am telling you what the PSC concluded, and when I disagree, I will tell your specifically why. Delmarva is simply rejects the PSC's reality and substitutes its own.
HCR 50 was tabled so that the language could be tweaked and the PSC invited to the committee. (That should be fun.) The good news is that we have been able to focus the spotlight on Delmarva's credibility for most of the week with radio spots, news articles and yesterday's committee hearing. HCR 50 is a minor matter in the overall scheme of things, but it's good to put Delmarva Power on the defensive.