In September 2017, at the end of a Red Clay School Board meeting, School Board member Martin Wilson made an interesting, somewhat detached comment. Located in the last three minutes of this audio file is a bizarre rant where he addresses rumors that he doesn’t live in the nominating district in which he filed during his 2015 election, where he claimed he lived at a 611 N. Van Buren St. address. He also mentioned he “has a place in the suburbs,” but doesn’t clarify which home is his primary residence or where lays his head down at night on a regular basis. He talks about how he had to get an order from a judge, says a few bizarre words about “complying” with whatever you need to comply with.
It has long been rumored that Martin doesn’t live in the city of Wilmington nominating district he is supposed to represent. Considering the challenges city of Wilmington schools face, they require the most active and present elected leaders in the State. Here’s where it gets interesting. A simple search of Martin Wilson Sr. and his wife, Deborah, reveals a Pike Creek address, which I will not publish here in full and will only refer to as “4809 Pike Creek.”
This address is shown on multiple Internet directories under the Wilsons’ name, as shown below (again, I will redact the full address for safety purposes). Under a New Castle County Parcel Search, this address is listed as a “Rental Unit” until May 2021 and is owned by someone else (I will not name the property owners here). But it would appear that the Wilsons are renting this 4809 Pike Creek address.
Further calling into question Mr. Wilson’s residence status is this picture, posted on his Facebook account. The address number next to the door clearly shows 4809. (I have blurred the face of who I assume is Mr. Wilson’s son, since he is obviously a minor).
So the question becomes: What was Martin Wilson told in 2017 by the Court that prompted the three-minute speech at the end of the September 2017 Board meeting? Does he actually live at the N. Van Buren address or is it, as has been reported by folks in the area, vacant? If he doesn’t live at the N. Van Buren address, where does he sleep every night? If it’s the Pike Creek address, then does he feel it’s either legal or ethically justifiable that he should be representing residents of the city of Wilmington when he lives far away from the District he was elected to represent?
We need answers to these questions. Martin was not clear in his September 2017 comments before the Board and, in some way, the Red Clay Board members and voters should be held accountable for not fleshing this out more at that time. If he moved in the middle of his 2015-2020 term, then it’s ok for him to complete his term, but at no time should he have filed to represent the Wilmington nominating district if his home on N. Van Buren St. is not the actual, physical place that he calls home.
This is interesting. It amounts to one more way that Wilmington is robbed of its voice and ability to govern itself.
There’s a protest rally TOMORROW — Friday — MORNING to protest the Red Clay School Board Results. Presumably because Mr. WIlson allegedly does not live in his Nominating District.
Bad look…you lost…plan better next time
Not my rally. Nor am I going. Nor is this anyone at Blue Delaware’s rally. We are in the habit of sharing info here, not just showing up with a pseudonym and an inability to count.
Wilmington was robbed when Sarah Fulton recruited a candidate, then ran against that candidate and split the vote against Martin.
Also Lillian Oliver was running for that seat on board .
And all those Dem party folks can say it’s a non-partisan race all they want…they should stay neutral.
It’s not the party folks who insist that these school board races are non-partisan, it is the school board partisans who say they are non partisan. They use the presumed lack of partisanship to try to keep these votes out of sight of the larger electorate.
And it is my experience that folks asking Dems to stay neutral came up against campaign skill sets they weren’t ready for. You want Dems to stay out of school board races? Then figure out how to relive Dems of paying any school taxes.
Martin was ready for those “campaign skill sets” – and he is a dumbass.
If this is the work you and Jesse do, we are so screwed in November. Lucky for us it doesn’t appear you guys are doing anything.
Martin did a good job at stirring up the suburban folks who are scared to death of city kids in their schools. Clearly another pseud who was out of town for the duration of this race.
Frankly, it was the red campaign signs that helped most in the suburbs. The assumption is that Rs use red and Ds use other colors. Based on how much people really know about their school board members, it works.
This year, I relied on the Delaware Way. If I knew them or if someone I knew recommended them, they got my vote.
Non partisan apparently means no campaigning. I’ve never been knocked, or gotten a lit drop, or public forum. All I’ve ever seen are yard signs at my subdivision entrance and at school buildings. Since we all pay the school taxes, for some reason, I expect a campaign that reaches beyond the PTSA.
Cassandra, you supported Sarah right? If she didn’t run, Lillian could have won.
Well that’s stupid. Sarah won the most Wilmington votes. Seems you need to know how to count voted.
Cassandra, she won the most votes “in the city” because of your “southern strategy” campaign. Congrats on getting all of the Rockford Park votes. Lillian actually got the most votes in the nominating district they were running to represent. You should be ashamed Cassandra. Lining up to carry the water for all of the white libs? Hope it was worth it.
dayum!
You should be ashamed of not being able to say that to me without hiding behind a fake name. Which means that is worth just about nothing. The most votes in Wilmington + the most mail-in ballot votes and a solid second place finish and you are here whinging that your 3rd place candidate was undermined by the people who clearly outworked her. Because you clearly have worked harder at this racial guilt trip you have in getting your candidate elected.
District B = Cab Calloway and Lewis Elem? Oliver 101, Fulton 105.
I don’t have a candidate Cassandra. I’m just calling out the lies and bullshit. I’m also trying to help you guys because it is clear now you cannot help yourselves.
Martin beat your ass, not Lillian. Why talk about her? You literally had the whole Democratic party working her and she still couldn’t win. You should be so embarrassed. All of you geniuses lost against a guy who can barely speak.
You just live in your own little world on facebook and don’t see it. You obviously enjoy the “power” you have and the white liberals are so nice to you now. Special seat for Cassandra.
Sarah will never win in or near the City of Wilmington after this little performance. You keep digging the hole and it isn’t getting better. People are paying attention.
So this whole grand strategy where Martin gets disqualified and then Sarah gets nominated and the board chooses her……….. that’s not going to happen, sorry to break it to you. She was useful when she was useful and now she’s not. So, bye. She’s not the first gullible striver to be used, and she won’t be the last. Not with this ripe, moronic bunch.
She can stomp her little feet somewhere else because it is really getting old. She didn’t even have the “grace” to recognize Lillian in her overwrought, cringey facebook post. Have Becca give her a pacifier and a Best Attendance certificate and let’s move on.
Oh, and “Yes?”, what a decisive victory. You forgot Warner. But you didn’t get forget about Rockford Park! Glad you guys got those folks out.
Go home and lick your wounds and stop embarrassing yourself. And do your job Cassandra, or leave. Jesse too. You won’t have the support you think you do when push comes to shove. And you guys are pushing.
Warner is A.
Winner^^^
As you know, you can vote anywhere and typically B draws from Warner. So, yes, you win on a technicality but not reality. You might not know that because you likely don’t live in the district anyway. but congrats you are right and smug. And that’s what matters when you are white and this is a political game and it doesn’t affect you or your kids.
Just read fiercelyurgent.com because you guys revealed yourselves long ago. and I don’t even like that guy.
I’m exhausted from this and it’s so boring now. I hate to break it to you, but there’s no prize for second place. Good luck out there.
Here’s a question big guy – would you be willing to make comments this hateful, dismissive and sexist if you had to use your actual name? If your friends or your boss might find out?
So you did have a candidate then. Because this petulant little stomping of feet wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I have no wounds to lick, but yours are apparently bleeding out.
I’m pretty clear what this process will look like, but apparently you thought that the process would be that y’all would show up, the waters would part, et voila — WIN! Elections are tough work and you can stop embarrassing yourself with this pretty big display of sour grapes. I’m here doing my job, which you don’t know a damn thing about. So you’ll understand that any advice you have to offer here is pretty fucking useless to me.
Of course he had a candidate. And that’s fine. What isn’t fine is his pretending he’s above the fray. He isn’t here for a discussion. He’s having a temper tantrum and his misogyny is on full display.
Pro tip: Gather the evidence and file challenge BEFORE the election.
This “social justice project” is NOT the move. It’s the perfect example of the problem with incumbent Senator Cathy Cloutier: visually present during election years, but wholly lacking in action. Some may think stunts like these mean the Senator cares, but it doesn’t. It means she isn’t going to do anything else about pressing systemic issues.
“She looks forward to thinking of these flowers as symbols – and of course posting photos on Facebook – of how she was thinking about racial issues.”
Flowers are not action. Kyle Evans Gay is the woman we need right now.
https://townsquaredelaware.com/2020/07/16/budding-activists-brandywine-students-to-receive-free-plants-to-remember-george-floyd-by/
That’s….remarkable. Has Senator Cloutier even committed to a firm YES vote for the Black Legislative Causus’ agenda? Or support the AG’s efforts to turn back some of the systemic issues in the system? I mean, flowers are lovely and the memorial is fine, but the real work is as a Senator in joining with the folks who focused on undoing the structural racism built into the system.
As much as this is not okay, isn’t this pretty common? I have heard credible rumors about a lot of others – Rep. Hensley apparently lives with a girlfriend outside of his district, Sen. Cloutier pretends she lives in SD5 but comes and takes walks every election season – if true, Martin would not be alone, that is for sure.
There’s a lot of Delaware Way around this issue — plenty of nudge nudge, wink wink around where our legislators live. People who seek to govern here get a pretty big residency pass, while if you live in Wilmington, new employees have to jump through every hoop to live in the city and sometimes have to prove it.