2: Paragraph 20 In the grand tradition of Delaware politics, where the Establishment closes ranks against outsiders of any political persuasion, Oberly played both ends against the middle by cutting deals with both the Democrats and the Republicans to get re-elected. I heard each of the following stories from more than one member of the old guard of the respective party, who resented the way Oberly used the power of his office to preempt their parties out from under them, as well as from various lawyers and reporters who were outside observers.
2: Paragraph 21 Delaware law limits a governor to two four-year terms. In 1988 Republican Michael Castle was re-elected, and Republican Dale E. Wolf was elected lieutenant governor. The lt. governor had been Democrat S. B. "Landslide" Woo, so called because he won by a handful of votes on the recount of the 1984 election, but in 1988 he ran against Roth for the Senate.
2: Paragraph 22 Delaware has some fairly specific campaign-financing laws on its books, but like many sections of the Delaware Code, those statutes are considered unconstitutional, and therefore unenforceable, except when Oberly wants to convict a potential political rival. He is on record calling those statutes invalid insofar as they limit the amount he, as a candidate, can spend on his campaign. One provision prohibits campaign contributions of more than $1000 to statewide candidates.
2: Paragraph 23 In 1988 Castle's campaign committee had more than enough money for his re-election, but Wolf's didn't have enough for his harder-fought campaign, so Castle's committee covered some of Wolf's campaign expenditures, and the Democrat Wolf beat filed a complaint for violation of that provision. You know who enforces those laws: AG Oberly. He had spent the past couple of years convicting the Democrats who had controlled the state party of picayune violations of the contribution laws, so they were forced out of politics and, in one or two cases, went to jail. Now the Democrats wanted him to turn that same law against Wolf, who was being groomed to be the Republicans' candidate for governor in 1992.
2: Paragraph 24 The deal Oberly made with the Republicans was that he would clear Wolf of those charges, and the Republicans would run a nonviable candidate for AG in 1990, and if Wolf became governor in 1992 he would appoint Oberly a judge. After the Republicans did indeed nominate a stalking horse, Wilmington lawyer F. L. Peter Stone, on 1 May 1990 Oberly issued an opinion clearing Wolf. How the Democrats did howl! But the funniest part is that Wolf's other political problems caught up with him, and the Republicans dumped him and nominated Realtor B. Gary Scott. And Buckson got thrown off the bench of the Family Court for running for it without first resigning.
2: Paragraph 25 One of the reasons I believe that story is it fits all the circumstantial evidence. There's no question Oberly has admitted publicly he wants to be a judge when he leaves the AG's office. Had the Republicans wanted their AG candidate elected in 1990, Gov. Castle could have appointed Oberly a judge in 1989 and then appointed a Republican to fill out the term, and that Republican would have come into the 1990 campaign as an incumbent and surely have won re-election. But the charges against Wolf were still pending, and more Delaware voters are registered as Democrats than as Republicans: They would have resented Oberly's selling them out, if he dismissed those charges on his way out or the new AG dismissed them on the way in, and so voted against Wolf as a backlash. Nor is there any other reasonable explanation for nominating Stone, who is a nice guy but doesn't know which end is up; there were Republicans who had not only sufficient legal experience but also the required public relations skills: They should have nominated DAG M. Jane Brady to run against Oberly instead of against Senator Joseph R. Biden.
2: Paragraph 26 The deal Oberly made with the Democrats was he would help Carper oust the existing state party leaders, and if Carper was elected governor in 1992 he would appoint Oberly a judge. The Democrats were mad at Oberly for prosecuting party leaders, some for petty campaign financing violations and others for drunk driving. When Oberly was himself arrested for drunk driving, however, he had the charges dropped, and when his chief deputy Silverman was charged with hit-and-run, they'd had those charges dropped, too. Carper couldn't have taken over the party if Oberly hadn't cleared the way for him: The criminal prosecutions not only removed some major players but also intimidated everyone who was left. You could have made a fortune selling Maalox to Delaware Democrats between 1988 and 1990. Wilmington plumber Daniel D. Rappa made a valiant, but doomed, last-ditch effort by running against Carper in the 1990 primary.
2: Paragraph 27 No sketch of Delaware's political scene would be complete without some mention of the media situation: There is no television station in Delaware, and there are no competing newspapers. Most people have cable tv, and there's only one carrier serving each area; downstate gets broadcast channels from Salisbury MD, and Wilmington gets the Philadelphia PA channels and the NJ PBS channel. The ABC and PBS stations in Philly have studios in Wilmington, but Delaware and southern New Jersey get short shrift in the coverage on all Philly stations. (Northern Jersey gets just as little coverage from the New York City stations that supposedly serve it.) With an antenna in Wilmington you can pick up the Baltimore channels.
2: Paragraph 28 The cable carrier in Wilmington is Heritage, and downstate it's mostly Storer. The utilities commission that set the terms with the carriers sold out the citizenry by not providing for free public access. There's only leased access, and Heritage keeps raising its rates and downgrading its production services, thus decreasing access.
2: Paragraph 29 There's only one daily newspaper left in Wilmington, the 'News Journal' owned by Gannett, and the 'Delaware State News' is published in Dover. There are several radio stations around the state, and they're the best source of local Delaware news.