If you live in his district, he knows where you live, what you drive, where your kids go to school and who you supported over the last several elections. He loves the nuts and bolts of government, understands infrastructure and excels at constituent service.
Gerald's opponent on November 4 is Tyler Nixon, who is on the ballot as a Republican and a Libertarian. I am supporting Gerald, and predict that he will win with at least 60 percent of the vote.
There are many differences between the two candidates. I'd like to highlight two.
The first is Gerald's hearing aid bill, HB 355, which may seem like a small thing, but is a big deal for the families affected. The second is the ways they were engaged, or not, in promoting offshore wind power in Delaware.
Let's look first at the hearing aid bill, which Tyler Nixon, in this interview on Down With Absolutes, described as a "novelty bill"-as callow a remark as I have heard in politics in a long time.
The bill extends health insurance benefits to include hearing aids for those under age 24, which may seem like a minor matter. I assure you it is not a minor matter to the parents of a child with a hearing defect. About 3 to 4 of 1,000 children are born with a full or partial hearing impairment, which if undiagnosed or untreated can lead to a significant and often permanent learning deficit. HB 355 will help children avoid the need for remedial classes that in many cases could never overcome the damage done by an untreated hearing impairment. If Tyler Nixon wants to characterize HB 355 as a novelty bill, fine. Let him say it to one of the families affected.
I took a closer look at Gerald's legislative record. Eight of the 13 pieces of legislation he introduced were passed by both houses-a remarkable record for a first term representative, and proof of Gerald's work habits.
As for wind power, Tyler Nixon is fond of saying he's been for it since whenever. My question is, what did he do about it?
Despite my detailed knowledge of who did what in the wind power fight, I can't recall when Tyler showed up for a hearing or crossed the threshold of Leg Hall to push for the approval of the Bluewater Wind project. I have reviewed thousands of pages of reports, letters and testimony before the Public Service Commission and the General Assembly, and can't recall anything with his name on it. (If I overlooked something, I'm sorry.) I can't find any evidence of Tyler's advocacy, unless you're counting comments on blogs or calls to talk shows. Here's what I know about Gerald and Bluewater.
You may recall that Bluewater helped build support for the project by developing a close relationship with labor. This close, productive alliance between the environmental and labor movements was essential to the success of the Bluewater proposal.
Gerald, as executive director of the Delaware AFL-CIO, had a meaningful part in building that alliance. Gerald's boss, Sam Lathem, was an outspoken and effective advocate for the project. Bluewater was in constant contact with labor leaders, including Gerald, who did his part to nuture this alliance between Bluewater and labor which led to a commitment to use union labor to build and operate the wind farm.
Gerald didn't say much about the project in public (that's not his style), but he was on board from very early on. He consulted me frequently on the subject going back to early 2007. When the time came, he voted yes on HCR 38 without giving a speech and without hesitation.
The difference between Gerald, who said little but did his part, and Tyler, who said a lot but did little, could not be clearer.
Come November 4, Gerald will win a convincing and well deserved victory in the election in the 4th district. And I plan to be out there helping him. Any questions?
Reference: renewable-sources.blogspot.com
