Wilmington, Del. – One of the Democrats running for State Treasurer says he has a plan to get Delaware’s economy rolling again.

Chip Flowers tells WDEL News he’ll take an active part in that, because that’s what Delawareans want, and he thinks he can convince General Assembly members to shift responsibility for managing the state’s Strategic Fund from DEDO to the treasurer’s office, in small steps if necessary.

Flowers goes up against incumbent Velda Jones-Potter in the primary September 14th, with the winner facing Republican Colin Bonini in the general election in November.

Please click here to see a brief video clip of WDEL’s video with Chip Flowers!

“I am grateful for the continued endorsements  in this important race,” Flowers said. “I am humbled to receive these endorsement and I will maintain our campaign’s focus on earning the support of every voter on Election Day.”

Wilmington, Del. – The last person elected Delaware state treasurer currently sits in the Governor’s chair. In the 2010 election cycle, three candidates are vying for the position: appointed incumbent, Democrat Velda Jones-Potter, her Democratic primary challenger, attorney Chip Flowers, and Republican State Senator Colin Bonini.

The race received added scrutiny this week when details of Treasurer Jones-Potter’s consulting contract with the City of Wilmington became public.  That contract has paid her over $100,000 since 2007 for running a leadership development program aimed at women.

Jones-Potter says the work for Wilmington does not create any conflict with her duties as state treasurer. “One of the first things I did when I became treasurer was to reach out to the Public Integrity Commission to find out whether or not continuing in a consulting capacity was okay or not, and if so how to disclose that,” said Jones-Potter.  ”They gave me all assurance there was no conflict in doing that. And I followed their directions in terms of disclosure.”

Jones-Potter adds she worked on the program nights, weekends and on vacation time, outside her hours in the state treasurer’s office.  She also points out she did not seek to work with the city, the city approached her.

Jones-Potter’s opponents are raising questions about her city contract.  Flowers said he wants an investigation, “not to assign blame, but to figure out a way we can move forward so people don’t have an image of the treasurers holding two checks, one from the state, one from the city when that is the person charged with being fiscally responsible and the watchdog of their money.”

Bonini says Jones-Potter displayed a lack of transparency in disclosing the contract.   “The governor who appointed her didn’t even know.  She’s taking two paychecks and the governor who appointed her treasurer didn’t even know that,” said Bonini.

The governor’s office says Governor Markell was aware Jones-Potter had a consulting business when he appointed her , but did not know the City of Wilmington is one of her clients.

Jones-Potter dismisses those criticisms and indicates she has no intention of abandoning her work with the the City of Wilmington.  ”I myself have never made a secret of the work that I do and the pride that I have in helping the city,” said Jones-Potter.  ”I’ve talked openly and shared publicly what great work they are doing because I am very proud of it and happy to be a part of it.

The debate over Jones-Potter’s city consulting deal is hardly the only issue in the treasurer’s race. The three candidates offer radically different visions for the office.

Wilmington, Del. – On August 27, the Flowers for Treasurer Campaign implemented a variety of state-of-the-art security measures aimed at preventing negative campaign tactics and designed to capture those individuals seeking to tamper with the primary process.  While many of the security measures implemented are confidential, the Flowers campaign is disclosing certain measures to the public to increase awareness.

First, authorized representatives of the Flowers campaign will only communicate to Delaware voters by telephone during the hours of 9:30am – 6:30pm (Monday – Saturday).  The campaign will not call from a “BLOCKED” or “UNLISTED” telephone number and the campaign maintains a daily rotating log of approved telephone numbers used by our team to communicate with voters.  If you receive a call (i) outside the hours listed above or (ii) from a “BLOCKED” or “UNLISTED” telephone number, please call (302) 656-7360 and our campaign will assist you in gathering the necessary information for the appropriate federal and state authorities.

Second, in preparation for false attack advertisements and/or mailings to potential primary voters, in addition to other confidential measures, the Flowers campaign has authorized the use of “rapid response” robocalls, emails and text messaging to a significant number of Delaware voters (that can be initiated within minutes) to dispel false and inaccurate information.  The Flowers campaign has authorized this rapid response activity to occur, if necessary, up to (and through) Election Day.

Finally, the Flowers campaign has created a special task force designed to monitor campaign activities leading up to the primary election on September 14.  If you believe that you have been a victim of a false communication or other negative campaign tactic, please contact (302) 656-7360 and a member of the special task force will reach out to you and provide you with guidance.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain the integrity of the primary election process and we look forward to earning your vote on September 14!

Your Flowers for Treasurer Campaign Team

Wilmington, Del. – On August 23, 2010, the Progressive Democrats of Delaware informed the Flowers campaign that the organization’s endorsement committee “made the difficult decision to defer to Delaware’s Democratic voters to choose on September 14th which candidate they wish to run in the General Election”.  We commend the Progressive Democrats of Delaware for joining other Democratic organizations and officials in leaving the decision to choose the Democratic nominee for State Treasurer to the People of the State of Delaware on Election Day.

Wilmington, Del. – Two Democrats running for state treasurer have loaned their campaigns a combined $280,000, augmenting the less than $60,000 they’ve collected in donations this year, according to the most recent filings.

In one of the few contested primaries for statewide office, Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed to the seat in 2008, and Chip Flowers,  an attorney from Wilmington, are vying for the Democratic nomination. The primary will be held on Sept. 14 and the winner will face Republican state Sen. Colin Bonini.

The economy is keeping potential donors from opening the checkbooks, Bronstein said.

“Fundraising numbers across the board are down about a quarter if you look across the country,” Bronstein said.

Flowers said he doesn’t expect to get the money back, even if he prevails and donations start rolling in during the general election. He added that given the economy and his ability to self-fund, he isn’t inclined to start asking voters to donate.

“I want to show the people of Delaware that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and invest in ideas I believe in,” Flowers said.

In other races, candidates also reported sizable fundraising totals.

New Castle County sheriff candidate Trinidad Navarro has raised more than $33,000 since the start of the year. When he filed his first report in January, the then dark-horse primary challenger to longtime incumbent Mike Walsh reported just $34 in funds raised.

Walsh hasn’t filed his report yet and is the only candidate not to have done so. He was given an extension, Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove said.

Walsh said Monday night that he’s raised $20,000.

Democratic Auditor candidate Ken Matlusky reported $14,000 in funds raised, and his primary opponent, Richard Korn, reported $9,420.

Also notable were the filings for the primary in the 19th Senate district between former Georgetown Mayor Joe Booth, who won the seat in special election, and tea party-aligned Eric Bodenweiser.

Bodenweiser reported $17,570 raised — $16,000 of which was from himself. He started the year with nothing and spent $14,679.55, leaving him with $2,890.45 entering the last month of the primary.

Booth raised $7,450, but he started the year with $32,870.56 from previous campaigns. Going into the last month of the campaign, Booth has $27,003.16 to spend.

The winner of the primary will likely head straight to Dover because no Democrat has stepped up to run for the seat.

All candidates in primaries filed reports covering funds raised from Jan. 1 until last week.

Flowers, who jumped into the race before Jones-Potter announced she would seek election to the office, loaned his campaign $200,000 from his personal money, according to his campaign finance disclosure filed last week.

“I have been blessed with a successful business and have the ability to loan myself that amount of money,” Flowers said.

His loan comes in addition to the $27,000 he raised in donations, mostly from attorneys and residents of the state.

Jones-Potter, who was appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to the seat when he vacated it, made two loans to her campaign, $55,000 in December of 2009 and $25,250 in May, according to her campaign finance disclosure filed on Monday.

Jones-Potter, whose husband is Wilmington Councilman Charles Potter, raised $31,940 in donations.

“She made a loan to the campaign and it’s going to be used however it needs to be used to help her win,” campaign spokesman Michael Bronstein said.

Contributions to both candidates were mainly small amounts from Delaware residents, with few donations approaching the $1,200 limit for statewide candidates.

After expenses, Jones-Potter reported $39,000 entering the last month and Flowers had $79,000 on hand.

Flowers thinks donors are waiting for the primary to end before before writing checks.

“Most Democratic donors, particularly in this climate, are saying, ‘We like Chip. We like the current treasurer, and we want to wait before we give money to either one of them,’” Flowers said.

For immediate release, Aug. 16, 2010

Contact:    Larry Nagengast, Senior Advisor, 302-373-5254 or  larry@chipflowers.com

Appointed State Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter has canceled tonight’s debate with Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer.  Ms. Potter has informed WDEL that she  is suffering from dehydration.

Additional details regarding rescheduling will be forthcoming.