Democrats face off in U.S. House primary
Formidable challenge lies ahead for winner

By PATRICK JACKSON, The News Journal
Posted Monday, September 4, 2006

Don't expect Democratic congressional candidate Dennis Spivack to give a pre-primary critique of the differences between him and his primary opponent, Karen Hartley-Nagle. Because in this election season, where a handful of candidates are appearing on multiple ballot lines, Spivack, who has his party's endorsement, isn't giving up much. After all, if he wins the Sept. 12 Democratic primary -- and the right to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Castle in November -- Spivack will face a rematch with Hartley-Nagle, who's also appearing on the Independent Party of Delaware's ballot in a so-called "fusion" candidacy.

"I believe she's more of a general-election opponent," Spivack said last week before touring Wilmington's Latin American Community Center. "So far, we haven't been concentrating on her as much as letting people know who I am and why I think I'm the best person for this job."

Hartley-Nagle would prefer not to be ignored.
During a round of door-to-door campaigning in Dover, Hartley-Nagle said she's disappointed that Spivack has turned down her requests for a pre-primary debate. She said she's not sure how rank-and-file Democrats are taking to her dual-party status. "So far, people have been very open, friendly and receptive," she said. "I'm hopeful that it's all real, but you never know if someone's already made up their mind and just being polite."
Regardless of who wins in the primary, Spivack, Hartley-Nagle and Green Party candidate Michael Berg will face a formidable challenge in Castle, historically one of the strongest vote-getters in Delaware, even in a state where the Democrat-to-Republican ratio has grown steadily.
Neither Democratic primary candidate is deterred.
Making the rounds
Spivack says he thinks Castle is starting to lose touch with issues in Delaware.
For example, the Latin American Community Center is open into the evening, but a lot of community centers around the state close early. Spivack says there's a need to bolster federal aid to keep save havens open for young people into the night, as well as for youth employment programs.
"In the city, the No. 1 issue you hear about is crime and drugs," said Spivack. "I've been going into the neighborhoods where these shootings have been happening to talk to people about what we need to do and people are telling me it's the first time they've ever seen a candidate for Congress in their neighborhood."
"The city, county and state are doing what they can, but there is a definite federal role here. Fighting the war on crime isn't just about putting more cops on the street, although that is important. But it's also about providing opportunities and hope."
Spivack's visit to the center came during nap time in its day care center. It was more akin to a fact-finding tour than a campaign swing, talking to Maria Matos, the center's executive director, and teachers and staff.
Even though staff at the center get their fair share of visits from politicians, Limaris Figueroa, a cook in the center's cafeteria, said she was impressed by Spivack, who took about five minutes talking with her about the number of children the center feeds and its menu.
"He seems simpatico with the children," she said. "I think it is good to have him here."
For Spivack, however, the big issue is health care. He would eventually like to see the United States develop a universal health-care system, but said the jump can't be made immediately: "We have an eight-and-a-half trillion dollar deficit, so you can't do it overnight. But we can start taking the steps that will eventually lead us there."
And health care is an issue that ignites passion in Spivack, who was his wife's primary caregiver during her bouts with cancer.
Among Spivack's ideas are requiring members of Congress to purchase their own health care coverage, including Medicare Part D -- a move he thinks would spur reforms to the prescription drug plan, which he describes as indecipherable; a national malpractice insurance program; and standardized insurance forms to cut costs by speeding the flow of paperwork.
During a stop at Sunrise Assisted Living in Brandywine Hundred, Spivack told a group of seniors his plan wasn't so much aimed at socialized medicine as it was an effort to put doctors and patients in charge of making decisions about their care and fixing the hash he says the Bush administration made of the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
"I'm saying we can do some simple things that aren't rocket science to cut costs and make the health care system work better for you," Spivack told the group.
His impassioned speech was enough to give Beverly Krug second thoughts about her support of Castle in the fall.
"I might just change my mind," she said. "I am very impressed by his command of the issues."

A good listener
Hartley-Nagle also embraces the idea of universal health-care coverage, and agrees that the federal budget would force it to be phased in. However, she said, that would give the government time to devise a good plan.
"Most countries have this, although the plans differ slightly," she said. "We should take advantage of that and really study what does and doesn't work. We should look at the best practices from around the world and incorporate them into our plan."
Both candidates are firm believers that U.S. military forces need to be withdrawn from Iraq, although neither candidate favors an immediate withdrawal, saying that such a move would lead only to chaos.
Hartley-Nagle's big interest is open government.
She has been involved in a running fight with Delaware's Family Court system to open its records and is a member of several open-government groups. It's a crusade she thinks needs to be taken to the federal level, especially at a time when the Bush administration seems bent on classifying more information to keep it out of citizens' reach.
"It's something I've been fighting for for some time," she said. "Dennis says he supports open government, but I haven't seen much from him on it. It's something I really believe in and a fight I'm going to continue in Washington."
During her swing along North State Street in Dover, Hartley-Nagle chatted with Sandra Hoyer, who told the candidate she was concerned about the poor job the Federal Emergency Management Agency was doing in helping rebuild the Gulf Coast after last fall's hurricanes.
Hoyer said she was impressed by Hartley-Nagle's energy, but wants more from a candidate.
"She was short on specifics about what she wants to do," said Hoyer, who plans to vote in the primary. "She talked about important issues and she should have more specifics on dealing with them."
Hartley-Nagle quizzes the folks she talks to about what their big concern is. For Leroy Parker of New Street, the issue was homelessness.
Parker said the government needs to do more to help the nation's homeless. He said he likes the approach of hearing issues and being asked for his views.
"It's impressive," Parker said. "They're great issues she was raising and she seems to know about them. But I like that she asked me what was important and took the time to really listen."
Contact Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com.