‘Delaware Economic Index’ Designed to Assist Delaware Consumers & Businesses in Making Financial Decisions

Dover, DE — State Treasurer Chip Flowers and the Delaware State Treasury, under its newly created Office of Economic Policy, today released the initial “Delaware Economic Index,” an easy-to-use summary of key state economic data. The index consists of figures and observations on unemployment, housing, consumer confidence, interest rates, state spending and private sector business action in Delaware. The data was gathered from a variety of federal, state and private sources. The “Delaware Economic Index” also implements a color-coded financial early warning system that characterizes the state economic climate over the past 30 days as viewed by the Delaware State Treasury. The Delaware State Treasury expects to release the index every 60 days.

“Pursuant to our new mission of restoring economic prosperity to the First State, the Delaware State Treasury is proud to provide key economic data to assist the People of the State of Delaware in assessing our economic climate. The index describes Delaware’s economic climate as ‘fair,’ for the past 30 days,” State Treasurer Chip Flowers said, “since unemployment remains higher than normal levels (8.5 percent statewide) and certain key economic indicators remain relatively sluggish. However, Delaware has some positive economic news, as inflation remains in check and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s ‘Beige Book’ is forecasting moderate regional growth – which should have a positive impact on our state.”

“The ‘Delaware Economic Index’ will help residents and businesses by offering instant access to key economic data from their State Treasury that will assist them in managing their finances and spending. We hope that the index will serve as a unique resource (outside of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council) for state officials to evaluate key economic factors and propose innovative policies that will help us meet our financial challenges. This is the first of many new exciting initiatives that the Delaware State Treasury will offer in the coming weeks and months to further our mission of restoring economic prosperity to our state,” Flowers said.

The Delaware State Treasury’s Office of Economic Policy was established in January, at no cost to taxpayers, through a fellowship program created between State Treasurer Flowers and the United Way of Delaware.

About the Delaware State Treasury

The mission of the Delaware State Treasury, the cornerstone of the state’s financial system, is to restore economic prosperity to the First State by providing critical financial services for the People of the State of Delaware. Led by Delaware State Treasurer Chip Flowers, Jr., Esq., the Delaware State Treasury works with public, private and nonprofit organizations to present financial clarity to all Delawareans through its four divisions – Executive Office of the State Treasurer, Office of Finance and Treasury Services, Office of Disbursements and Reconciliations and the Office of Economic Policy. For more information on the Delaware State Treasury or for a full version of the Delaware Economic Index, you can visit www.treasurer.delaware.gov, send an email to statetreasurer@state.de.us, or call 302-672-6700.

Wilmington, Del. – On January 17, Delaware State Treasurer Chip Flowers was unanimously elected to serve as Eastern Vice President of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). In this new role, Treasurer Flowers will serve as the point person for matters impacting state treasurers in the Eastern region of the United States.

Upon receiving the news of the position, Treasurer Flowers said, “I am honored that my colleagues have selected me to serve in this prestigious position. NAST is an outstanding organization and I look forward to working with other state treasurers throughout the nation to advance the important economic issues facing the Eastern states. Again, I am humbled by this honor.”

The National Association of State Treasurers promotes education and the exchange of ideas, builds professional relationships, develops standards of excellence and influences public policy for the benefit of the citizens of the states. NAST Membership is composed of all state treasurers, or state finance officials with comparable responsibilities, from the United States, its commonwealths, territories, and the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, NAST is recognized as a national force whose work has influenced public policy at both the state and federal levels. NAST is instrumental in developing and promoting standards of excellence regarding ethical conduct, policy guidelines and accountability, and model legislation and regulations. The NAST Office of Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. provides a resource for state treasurers to communicate concerns on pending legislation and regulatory actions by federal agencies.

Wilmington, Del. – On January 4, 2011, Chipman “Chip” Flowers, Jr., Esq. was sworn in as Delaware’s State Treasurer at the Delaware Art Museum. Governor Jack Markell, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, U.S. Representative John Carney and other members of the General Assembly gave remarks on this special occasion.

To view photos of this historic event, please visit www.facebook.com/flowersfortreasurer or click here.

The Office of the Delaware State Treasurer-Elect has announced details regarding the swearing in of Treasurer-Elect Chip Flowers. The event will be held on January 4, 2011 at the Delaware Art Museum, commencing at 9:00am. To view a copy of the invitation, please click here.

We hope that you and your family will join us on this very special occasion! Again, thank you for all of your support!

A Special Message from Delaware State Treasurer-Elect Chip Flowers:

“I want to extend my gratitude to the people of the State of Delaware for electing me to serve as our next state treasurer. In this historic election, our message of restoring prosperity resonated with Delaware voters and I am deeply grateful for your belief in me and my plan. I look forward to working with you and your family in moving our state forward.

Again, thank you and our journey continues.”

Wilmington (October 29, 2010) – In the latest poll released by Fairleigh Dickinson University, Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer, is leading his opponent by a margin of 42% vs. 41%, with 17% of Delaware voters undecided. For additional information about the poll, please click here.

In response to the poll, Flowers stated, “Voters have greeted my ‘Restoring Prosperity’ message with understanding and enthusiasm. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that Delawareans want their state treasurer to invigorate this office so that it meets our state’s 21st century needs, managing our accounts wisely, investing our funds so they best serve the people, helping to create jobs and serving as an engine of economic development. We will continue to work hard with the goal of winning the final and most important poll of Delaware voters on Election Day.”

“Use of Confidential Information of Public Employees by Opponent for Malicious Political Purposes Violates Law”

The Flowers for Treasurer campaign has received urgent notice that our opponent, incumbent state Senator Colin Bonini, in response to his decline in poll numbers, has done the unthinkable — sent a letter to our public employees and emergency first responders, using their confidential information, falsely asserting that Chip Flowers, the leading candidate for state treasurer, would withhold their paychecks if elected.

Mr. Flowers has never made such assertion and Mr. Bonini, who has threatened not to sign checks, is trying to deceive those who serve the public. As an elected official, Mr. Bonini has reached a new low and continues to violate the public trust. With each passing day, Mr. Bonini’s statements stray farther from the truth, farther from reality. They are, however, consistent with the dubious and extreme statements issued by his campaign.

Additionally, in the negative letter, Mr. Bonini falsely claims that he championed the cause of public employees by voting against the budget. This could not be further from the truth. Mr. Bonini has voted against every budget since becoming a member of the Delaware state senate – which means, among other things, Mr. Bonini voted against paying salaries for our public employees. Furthermore, Mr. Bonini voted against restoring pay to our public employees earlier this year. Mr. Bonini’s actions by asserting falsehoods clearly reflect his poor character.

Furthermore, our campaign is very concerned about how Mr. Bonini was able to obtain the confidential information of our public employees (including, names and addresses), since this information is not publicly available. We are requesting that Mr. Bonini disclose how the confidential personal information of our public employees came into his possession for malicious political purposes. This disclosure of confidential information for political purposes violates state law and Mr. Bonini must explain his actions.

Mr. Flowers has been endorsed by, among others, the Delaware State AFL-CIO, Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Regardless of Mr. Bonini’s false claims, Delaware’s state employees are confident that Mr. Flowers will serve them well — and that he will provide outstanding service to all citizens of the state while serving as its treasurer.

Delawareans must reject Mr. Bonini’s lies and we must ensure that the confidential information of our public employees and first responders is never again used for malicious political purposes. This is unacceptable and Delaware deserves better.

Official Statement Concerning Inaccurate Direct Mail and Radio Advertising by Colin Bonini
Statement by Dustin Parker, campaign manager:

“Even in the final days of the campaign for state treasurer, Colin Bonini and his team remain incapable of maintaining a serious discussion of how best to manage this important office. Rather, the Bonini team persists in distributing inaccurate direct mail and radio advertising concerning Chip Flowers.
Mr. Bonini’s latest direct mail piece repeats the already refuted claim that Chip Flowers would somehow be “double-dipping” as state treasurer.

We repeat: Chip Flowers will have no management responsibility at his law firm, the Flowers Counsel Group, LLC, while serving as state treasurer. Another lawyer in the firm will serve as its managing director. The banks that are now clients of his law firm do not have any relationships with the treasurer’s office. If they were to become financial partners with the state, they would have to sever any relationship with the Flowers Counsel Group. All arrangements made will comply with the Rules of the Supreme Court of Delaware and the state’s Public Integrity Commission.

Mr. Bonini’s stream of misstatements falls short of the standards Delaware expects of its elected officials. By continuing to spend his campaign resources persistently distributing inaccurate and misleading information, he is demonstrating the very carelessness and wastefulness that he claims he wants to root out of state government. In addition, he has engaged out-of-state businesses to produce his direct mail and radio advertising — spending his money out of state when he could be supporting Delaware’s small businesses in this time of severe economic need.

During this campaign, Mr. Bonini has trivialized his absences from and weak performances on the General Assembly’s Joint Sunset and Joint Finance committees, misrepresented his educational record by falsely claiming a master’s degree from the University of Delaware, and has asked voters to overlook the lien the Internal Revenue Service placed on his home when he failed to pay more than $20,000 in taxes.
By his own conduct and statements, Mr. Bonini has shown that he lacks the diligence and integrity required to hold the office of state treasurer.”

Immediate Release
Saturday, October 23, 2010

Watch Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for state treasurer, debate his opponent on Delaware First Media! Click here for the video.