Delaware State News DOVER — To be a better leader, Gov. Jack A. Markell believes it’s important to listen to every mem ber of his team — not just his 16 cabinet secretaries, but the people that actually do the work of state government.
This week Gov. Markell contin ued the practice he started last year of going out, meeting and talking with state employees.
“I am so convinced that many of the best answers about state government reside in the brains of the people that do the work every day,” Gov. Markell said. “Anything I can do to encourage them to speak up or to e-mail or submit some thing on the Web, I think is impor tant. I think that is why I think these meetings are productive.”
On Monday, Gov. Markell made stops at the Department of Labor and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. On Tuesday he visited with workers from the Office of Management and Budget’s Division of Facilities Management and the Division of Revenue, among others.
“I try to spend a lot of my time doing three things — I try and visit schools when they are in session, I visit businesses and I visit state agencies,” Gov. Markell said. “I think it is important that I continually get out, meet as many state employees as I can meet and hear what is on their minds.”
“If we have 30 Republican governors I see it very difficult for this president to get re-elected.” -Nick Ayers, Republican Governors Association Exec. Director
And that, my friends, is the crux of the RGA’s strategy in 2010. If they can win 30 governors’ seats, they believe they can use those offices to defeat President Obama and stop progress.
If they can win those 30 races, they believe they will have the power to redistrict away any chance of a Democratic majority for at least a decade.
To my mind, that means those are 30 seats we simply cannot let them win.
The Democratic Governors Association is fighting hard for each and every one of those races that Republicans are targeting.
We must stop the GOP from winning 30 governors’ seats, and in turn, stop them from defeating President Obama and taking away our Democratic majorities.
In the six months since I became chair of the Democratic Governors Association, I have been so proud of the boldness and vision of governors across our country in confronting the extraordinary challenges facing the American people.
And I’m proud of the major accomplishments we’ve made with President Obama: creating jobs, investing in schools, and broadening access to healthcare.
I can’t stand the idea that we could lose it all because we did not have the resources to fight in that handful of states.
There are Republicans running right now who are some the most extreme candidates I’ve seen during my career. People like Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, who made headlines last week when he suggested that the Civil Rights Act went too far when it banned businesses from discriminating by race.
This kind of thinking will set our nation back decades, especially if one of these extreme candidates wins a statehouse.
I am absolutely confident that we will win these races in November — if you can help us by donating now. Donating today will give us the funds we need to put people and resources in place to campaign in the coming months. If you believe we need to finish the good work we’ve started, then the time to act is now.
Make sure we have the resources we need to protect those seats, protect President Obama’s re-election, and protect our future.
Donate $10 to the DGA by midnight May 30. Our nation is on the road to recovery. Help us to keep it there.
DGA Chair Gov. Jack Markell shares his thoughts and prayers with the families affected by the earthquake and the many volunteers who are helping them survive: “Our prayers are many these days. They are with everyone who experienced this tragic loss. They are with everyone are fighting each day for survival in Haiti and those who answered the call to help. They are with the brave volunteers from Delaware, hard at work in Jacmel, and everyone supporting them from home.”
“At times like these, we’re not Republican or Democrats. We’re Americans living up to our long tradition of helping our neighbors in catastrophic need, even when we face a challenging economy ourselves,” said Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association . “Together, we’re urging citizens to donate what they can to reputable aid organizations, readying our National Guard units and offering comfort to the Haitian communities in our states.”
Governors are mobilizing resources on the ground to make a difference in Haiti. In their states, they have helped airlift hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and supplies to Haiti, encouraged the members of the military deploying on humanitarian missions and established registries to help track the missing and reunite loved ones.
Some highlights of their efforts are below:
Pennsylvania:
On a request from the Haitian ambassador to the United States, Governor Ed Rendell flew to Haiti to rescue 54 Haitian orphans. The Haitian children are now safely in the United States and on track to join adoptive families.
Images of the skinny, shell-shocked little survivors of the earthquake being carried off a plane in Pittsburgh compelled hundreds of people to reach for their phones or send an e-mail with the same question: How can I adopt one of the Haitian orphans?
Gov. Rendell, and the 53 homeless children whose rescue he orchestrated amid the disaster, had barely touched down in Pennsylvania Tuesday morning when phones began humming at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.
Over the last two days, the agency has logged 430 phone calls from people who said they wanted to become adoptive or foster parents for Haitian orphans, said Karen L. Blumen, deputy director of the Office of Community Relations.
“Thanks to the patience, perseverance and determination of many people and organizations, today we were able to bring all of these children together with their new families,” Gov. Ritter said at Denver International Airport. “While getting these kids to Colorado was a major milestone, there are still more Haitian children waiting to come to Colorado, and many more Colorado families living on pins and needles waiting for them to arrive. We are going to keep up the pressure until all of these children are together with their new families.”
For the past week and a half, Gov. Ritter’s Office and the Colorado Department of Human Services have been working closely with the U.S. military and Departments of Homeland Security and State to get the orphans out of Haiti and processed through customs in Florida.
Maryland:
Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland visited with the crew of the USNS Comfort as they prepared their ship for a relief mission to Haiti.
The air base in Martinsburg, W.Va., was transformed Jan. 14 into a staging area for more than 332,000 pounds of supplies bound for the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of pounds more are expected to be palletized at the air base for shipment to Haiti in the coming days.
“Presently there is little information from Haiti because the earthquake caused extensive damage to Haiti’s infrastructure,” Governor Paterson said. “Although there is a massive international relief effort under way, it will take time until Haiti’s infrastructure is restored and systems are in place to help locate and identify individuals.
“However, collecting information now about New York citizens in Haiti will help locate them once information becomes available,” the Governor added. “Once the massive response to this catastrophe is in place, I am sure a number of organizations will work to reunite loved ones. This registry will be of vital importance to that effort.”
Illinois:
“I’m proud that the Illinois National Guard has been called upon to support the people of Haiti in their time of need,” said Governor Quinn. “This state will do all that it can to assist in this international effort.”
Governor Granholm: In difficult times we pull together to help one another.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti who need food, water, shelter and medicine, and the need is urgent and immediate. Monetary donations are the most efficient and effective way to help in the relief effort. They allow humanitarian organizations to purchase the exact type and quantity of items needed by those affected by the crisis.
I encourage anyone who is able to contribute to the American Red Cross to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. You can donate through your local Red Cross or online at www.redcross.org. You can also donate via cell phone by texting HAITI to 90999. An amount of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross and charged to your cell phone bill.
Please keep the people of Haiti and their families and friends around the world in your thoughts and prayers.
Ohio:
Governor Strickland: Today, our thoughts and prayers remain with everyone in Haiti, as well as the family and friends of Haitians here in the United States who may be in search of loved ones or grieving a loss. We know that many Ohioans are looking for ways they can financially assist with the relief efforts in Haiti. We are encouraging Ohioans to donate what they can afford to help the families who are struggling and without essential needs as a result of this catastrophe. The compassion and charity of Ohioans can go a long way toward helping Haitians who may be left with next to nothing.
Oregon:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Haitian people who have been devastated by this earthquake, and should our service be needed, Oregon’s National Guard stands ready to assist in the recovery effort,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski. “Our citizen soldiers are trained to assist in efforts like this at home and abroad – and if called, stand ready to serve.”
Wisconsin:
“The Haiti earthquake has claimed thousands of lives and has left many more without homes, food or water,” Governor Doyle said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected by this tragedy, and Wisconsin is ready to step up and help any way we can.”
Across the country, Democratic Governors are working hard to bring good-paying jobs to the states they govern. Here’s just a small sample of the results they’ve achieved just in the past week:
Delaware: Governor Markell helps more businesses compete for state contracts. “My administration is working hard every day to make Delaware the best state in the nation to start and grow a business. This includes ensuring Delaware companies have opportunities to bid on Delaware business,” Markell said. “Expanding the number of companies bidding helps make government more effective and efficient by increasing competition, which can drive up quality and drive down prices.”
DGA Finance Chair Governor Jack Markell (D-DE) sat down with Michael Falcone from Politico. Here’s what he had to say about the crucial 2010 election cycle:
Q: Governors in many states are facing declining approval ratings and very challenging re-election fights in 2010. Is it a terrible time to be a governor right now?
A: I think it’s actually a great time to be a governor. It’s absolutely a difficult time—it’s hard to imagine a more difficult time. But I think that it’s in a difficult time that you can get things done, and I just think the opportunities to make fundamental change in terms of the way you run your government and how you allocate resources and also what you do to position the state as the economy rebounds are very significant. So that’s why we’re spending so much of our time focused on those things.
My view is what we’ve got to do is put ourselves into the shoes of the people who create the jobs and the prosperity in the first place and focus in on what they care about—great schools, reasonable taxes, a good quality of life, strong linkages between institutions of higher education and local companies. But we also have to recognize that companies want to be in places where they feel like their taxes are well spent, which is why we’re so focused on reducing the expense of government.
Q: Still, a lot of incumbents in 2010 are at risk. What’s your read on the landscape for governors next year?
A: I’ll be honest with you. I think I’d rather be up in 2012 than in 2010. It is a challenging time. That being said, if I think about it from wearing a [Democratic Governors Association] hat—first thing of course is to focus on the two races that we’ve got in November—challenging races. I think the one in Virginia is tough but winnable. The one in New Jersey obviously—and I’m a neighbor of New Jersey—I really think that Governor Corzine, he is an incredible guy. Just getting to know him as a governor, he’s made tough decisions and I think he would be a much better governor than [Chris] Christie who frankly, it seems like every week, a new scandal pops up. Looking forward to 2010, it is difficult because of this economy. It makes it incumbent upon incumbents to demonstrate to the voters in their state what they’re doing to move their economy forward.
