Senator Bryant Richardson of Seaford represented the First State at Convention of States Foundation's simulated convention in August. The event was held in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was attended by commissioners from 49 states.
Sen. Richardson supports an Article V convention because he is very concerned about the problem of federal overreach. "States created the federal government, not the other way around,” he points out. "There is so much the federal government is involved in that they shouldn't be." One example he offers is the federal Department of Education.
Sen. Richardson has been interested in the Convention of States movement for a number of years and has discussed the effort with Sen. David Lawson. Lawson, representing District 19, was a delegate to the simulated convention in 2016 and hoped to participate again in 2023, but was prevented by illness.
These two legislators’ concern for the corruption of our federal system motivated them to step up as sponsors of Senate Concurrent Resolution 100, currently pending in the Delaware legislature, to call for an Article V convention to bring proper corrections. Senator Eric Buckson of District 16 is a third co-sponsor.
Richardson served on the Fiscal Restraints Committee at the simulated convention and says that the event was somewhat different from what he expected.
“It was less of a top-down exercise where the amendments were already drawn up and commissioners were expected to fall in.” Instead, the time in Williamsburg involved substantial discussion, debate, and word-smithing of the sample amendments that were ultimately voted on.
SCR 100 will most likely be voted on in January or February of 2024. Richardson says that the best way we can support the sponsors is to contact them to express our support of the resolution. Emails are acceptable—especially if they are not boilerplate but contain a personal touch. But he pointed out that letters are rare and are therefore much more likely to make an impact.
He also encourages knowing and using facts as the best way to make an impact on legislators who are not politically inclined to support the effort. At this time one percent of Delaware residents have signed the Convention of States petition.
Senator Richardson pointed out that during the Revolutionary War, only 1-2% percent of the population really participated in the fight for independence. So while we may feel that we have an uphill battle, we should keep in mind the words of Samuel Adams:
“It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
