Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Barney ad makes questionable claim to minimum wage high ground

In a new round of mailed advertisements, Democratic congressional hopeful Sean Barney is claiming he’s the only candidate who helped raise the state’s minimum wage.

 

The latest mailer from Barney’s campaign says “Only one candidate for Congress helped raise the minimum wage AND expand Medicare Part D to cover seniors' prescription drugs", despite his opponent, state Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-Newark) voting to hike the minimum wage in March 2013.

 

Barney was an advisor in the Markell Administration while the bill was being debated, but left before it ultimately passed.

 

The governor was also lukewarm about the measure, but Markell eventually signed it - raising Delaware’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour.

 

Townsend also sponsored the most recent attempt to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which stalled in the House.

 

In a statement, Townsend blasted Barney, saying he was "...[distorting] his opponents’ records, while taking credit for accomplishments that weren’t his."

 

Rep. Ed Osienski (D-Newark), one of the prime sponsors behind the minimum wage bill, refuted Barney's claim.

 

“Sean's right, there is only one candidate in this race that's helped pass a minimum wage increase. But it wasn't Sean, it was Bryan," Osienski said in a statement.

 

Another U.S. House candidate, Lisa Blunt Rochester, has publicly supported raising the threshold to at least $12 an hour, and says she’d like to see it higher.

 

Barney’s campaign says he was “a constant advocate within the administration for raising the minimum wage” and argues that the mailer is meant to highlight his record of effectiveness in both Dover and Washington, D.C.

Related Content