EACS Superintendent Doesn't Know When to Shutup

To EACS Superintendent Kay Novotny:

Someone once describe to me that the worst type of politician is the one that loses votes every time they open their mouth. I think this accurately describes you and the administration at EACS.

Your immediate overreaction to the column requesting tolerance for homosexuals, and the public rebuke that followed, speaks for itself. But then you took it a step further by saying you were going to fire Ms Sorrell partly because of her "efforts to cast Principal Yoder in a false light". This was completely laughable and only led to more public criticism.

So with a public hearing looming, and with hundreds of Sorrell supporters ready to show up and tell the administration what they thought, you worked out a last minute deal to save a little face. When I first heard this I immediately wondered who had taken over the situation as this common sense decision certainly couldn't have from whomever was previously in charge of the situation.

But just like that politician described above you came back to fully embarrass yourself and EACS one last time.

"EACS senior administrators have been able to set aside their frustrations with the spin applied to this situation to give Amy Sorrell a second chance to prove, despite her relative youth and obvious inexperience, that she can make as great a positive mark on EACS education as the administrators whose reputations her comments and actions have helped tarnish"

The arrogance in this statement can only be described as ironic. Sorrell is a teacher with almost unanimous support in the community and who is well respected by her peers. You, on the other hand, have been ridiculed throughout this mess and have led a disastrous, ham-handed public relations debacle. I have no doubt that your approach to this situation will be used in future case studies about what not to do when a similar situation arises.

Board President Stephen Terry may think you "really took the high road" but that must have been before he heard quotes like those above. Suggesting that your compassion is the reason for the settlement is an insult to the collective intelligence of the public and it's certainly something you shouldn't have said publicly.

Of course you only make such statements after the settlement and when there's no threat of a public hearing - that's called cowardice. If you disagree then schedule the public hearing anyway and let everyone tell you what they think of how you handled this situation. After all you think everyone owes you an apology right?

Although Mrs. Sorrell’s apology is the first one received, it should not be the last apology East Allen County Schools and its administrators should receive on this matter

It's bad enough you forced an apology from a teacher just trying to keep her job, but now you want the rest of us to apologize? Fine I will issue you an apology.

I'm sorry you've embarrassed yourself and EACS.
I'm sorry the good people of EACS have to suffer under your leadership.
I'm sorry your disastrous public relations skills have tarnished EACS.
I'm sorry that your petty public comments continue to harm Ms Sorrell.
I'm sorry that you and principal Yoder don't have the dignity to resign.

There, I feel much better knowing that I too have taken the high road and apologized...

Senate President Pro Tem David Long Strong-arms IU Professor

I'm sure others have blogged about this, but as I sit here drinking my bottle of wine, I can't help but fume about Fort Wayne State Senator David Long's attempt to deprive me of my constitutional rights.

You see Indiana had an illegal state law regarding the shipment of wine. They allowed in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers but out of state wineries could not. This was a direct violation of the commerce clause and the US Supreme Court struck down the Indiana law as unconstitutional.

So now David Long is mad. How dare the US Supreme Court find fault in any of our laws. And the audacity of anyone that challenged them - they must be dealt with. So begins the witch hunt of IU professor Alex Tanford. Tanford has been doing work on the behalf of several wineries and this work led to their victory in the Supreme Court. Now Long wants revenge. For what? I'm not sure as the law was unconstitutional and shouldn't a professor teaching modern litigation be commended for overturning laws that violate our constitutional rights?

Well not if you're Senator Long:

Long, who was active in legislative efforts to change Indiana's winery law to comply with the Supreme Court decision, told IU School of Law Dean Lauren Robel last year he was concerned about Tanford's actions and had questions about whether he was working on state time.

"I think it's totally inappropriate for a state employee to be pursuing things on behalf of an outside client and trying to get paid on the state taxpayers' nickel to do it," said Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne.

Everyone sees this for what it is Senator. A sad attempt by a "conservative" Senator to strong-arm this professor and others into not challenging the state's authority. I don't even have the stomach to discuss the other arcane liquor laws - no sales on Sunday (unless we get the Super Bowl), no cold beer sales in the grocery store, no sales in convenience stores, distributor-only sales, etc. Every single one of those laws is idiotic and serves no purpose.

The unconstitutional law at hand, and others, are simply on the books to provide a state-allowed monopoly - distributors - the right to gouge consumers. This is unnecessary, unlawful and certainly un-conservative. When a Republican-granted monopoly replaces the free market and it's called "privatization" - well that's just perverse now isn't it?

News-Sentinel & Journal Gazette endorse Langley for City Council

Fort Wayne City Council candidate CHARLES LANGLEY was endorsed this week by both Fort Wayne newspapers, the Journal Gazette and the News-Sentinel.

The Journal Gazette stated Langley is a “prime example of the type of person community leaders are talking about when they say they want to keep young talent in Fort Wayne. He would provide much-needed generational diversity to the council.”

Read here: Journal Gazette

The News-Sentinel says Langley “has an impressive understanding of the powers and limitations of local government. He has spent a lot of time getting to know the problems and potential of neighborhoods in the 4th District. He is particularly attuned to the needs and sentiments of the newly annexed residents of the city who are eligible to vote for a 4th District councilman for the first time. His first priority is not increasing city taxes – a priority surely shared by the newly annexed city residents among his prospective constituents, who are seeing the financial impact of annexation.”

Read here: News Sentinel

LANGLEY is running solid on the following issues:

Improving the economy, maintaining low taxes, and being fiscally responsible.
Improving roads and transportation of Aboite and Waynedale.
Maintaining and improving city services.
Increasing cooperation and efficiency between city and county agencies.

The choice in the Fourth District is clear.

Vote LANGLEY.

Fort Wayne City Council - A Beacon of Democracy

Although I was disappointed in the final vote for Harrison Square I still felt a tremendous amount of pride in the city of Fort Wayne last night. In a nation full of partisan bickering and backstabbing the Harrison Square vote is a shining example of what is inherently good and right in our democratic system of government.

I would venture to say that anyone that didn't already know the political affiliation of the council members could not have guessed them after watching last night's meeting, but let's not forget what this could have been. We had a Democratic mayor proposing a major project in his last year with the vote coming two weeks before the city primary. In this situation one would almost expect this to turn into a partisan battle with Republicans running for cover while undercutting the project at every opportunity.

The reality is - nothing could be further from the truth. Council members from both parties took this vote seriously and kept the politics out and they should be commended for doing so. This council will be losing at least two members in Dr Hayhurst and Sam Talarico Jr - both are tremendous councilmen and they will not be easily replaced. There certainly may be more changes as well, and I hope that whomever the voters decide to send to council, they can equal the passion and integrity of those they are replacing.

Even on the smallest scale when democracy wins we all win, and I was proud to be a part of the Harrison Square discussion. This city, even if only for a day, was an example of what this nation can become...

Harrison Square Passes

As expected the Fort Wayne city council voted to release the funding for Harrison Square on a 6-3 vote with councilmen Schmidt, Smith and Schoaff being the only dissenters. The public hearing before the vote was almost 4 hours long and had 75 speakers for, 28 against and 11 either half-crazy or undecided.

Some random thoughts/observations from the meeting

Don Schmidt is still not convinced that the redevelopment commission followed the law when purchasing the property to be used by Harrison Square. The city attorney vehemently disagreed - I would not be surprised to see a lawsuit stem from this issue.

During councilman Schoaff's (D-at large) comments Matt Kelty (R-mayoral candidate) was overheard saying "I like this guy". I'm not sure that's an official endorsement but interesting nonetheless.

Councilman Talarico had very strong words against Kelty for suggesting the vote should be postponed until after a new mayor is elected - "Who is HE to tell this mayor, who got 60% of the vote, that he can't lead in his 4th year."

Councilman Hayhurst predicted that incomes in Fort Wayne would climb back to 100% of the national average - they are currently at 80%. I'm sorry but this is falls into "dreamer" category. I suppose he didn't put a timeline on it so it could happen eventually but we are a long, long way away.

Councilman Pape gave a rambling speech about the history of failures for Abraham Lincoln - much the chagrin of the audience. The noticeable discontent in the crowd had nothing to do with the content of what Pape was saying but more like it was taking him too long to say it. I suppose he was paying everyone back for having to sit through their comments.

Crawford, ever the wiseguy, passed on casting the first vote and left everyone in suspense until the very end when he voted to support the project.

Yours truly spoke to the council about stopping the outsourcing of public funds in order to keep the money local in support of economic development. I also spoke about the problems with expanding the TIF districts into new areas and how that will impact our property taxes. It will be interesting to see how the city approaches the OmniSource property that they are considering for development. Hopefully, they will decide to let Harrison Square be the "catalyst" they claim it is and not expand the TIF.

Fort Wayne GOP Mayoral Primary Update

There has been quite a dramatic shift in this race over the last few months. Early on someone asked me what I thought about this race and I assumed County Commissioner Nelson Peters would beat local Architect Matt Kelty rather easily. I mean all one had to do was look at the Republican Party's support for Peters - nearly every major local and state elected official was lined up behind him - including our favorite, Mark Souder.

But as of today, the Peters camp has run a completely inept campaign while the Kelty campaign has been nothing short of brilliant. Kelty has been picking off different sub-groups of the Republican party every step of the way and has consistently beaten Peters in the media. Kelty's use of Harrison Square as a wedge issue has put the Peters campaign into such a frenzy that he recently proposed passing a state law to generate a referendum on the issue - something that has ZERO chance of happening. The fact that the Harrison Square project will be a done deal by the time the next mayor takes over doesn't seem to matter - Kelty is still picking off the anti-Harrison Square vote.

So here's a guy that had absolutely NO public support from party establishment yet the polls show him and Peters in a dead heat with two weeks to go. That is incredible. I don't have a dog in this fight but I know people-powered politics when I see it and that's what the Kelty campaign is:

"Well what changed is I understand that in order to change a community -- like in 1994, we send a cadre of Republicans to Congress, thinking we would change government from the top down. We found out we cannot change government from the top down. They lost their way for a variety of reasons, the Republican Revolution fell apart. And so what I am suggesting is now I understand that in order to change America you have to change it from the bottom up

And it's a great experience. It truly has to be viewed as a celebration of what it means to be American. To declare your candidacy, to outline your views, to organize a political machine if you will -- in our case, it's a mini-machine, it's a little campaign organization. And then to attack the grassroots and go out and ask folks to get involved, to help, to walk a neighborhood, to put a sign in the front yard, to help stuff envelopes, to make phone calls on the phone bank. It's humbling to ask for help and it's gratifying when people say, "Alright, I'll help you," and then it's even more satisfying when results come in and it shows that your hard work is paying off, slowly but surely."

A Kelty win in the primary will send a strong positive signal to EVERYONE involved in local politics here in Allen County. The message will be that the people of this county can still take over the party establishment if they see fit and they will not be ignored or pandered to. I'm certain it doesn't help, but this local Democrat is pulling for you Matt - but only until the general election...

Fort Wayne Mayor STILL Hasn't Provided Harrison Square Documents

For over a week the citizens of this city have demanded that the inputs to the city's Harrison Square economic impact study be released. As of now, the city has not provided these documents. Let me remind the readers that Deputy Mayor Mark Becker assured several city council members that all requested documents would be made available to the public - that was on Tuesday.

Another blogger has reported that the city has a draft copy of this report and is trying to obtain a final and electronic version from the author. Let me offer up a couple of thoughts on his report:

1. Why the hell doesn't the city have a final version of the document they paid for?

2. If they don't have a final version then how do they know the inputs into their own economic impact study are legitimate?

3. If they do have a copy then why can't they figure out how to scan it and post it on the web - just give me a hard copy and I'll scan it and post it here.

4. The Harrison Square vote is likely going to take place Tuesday and we do not have that document as of COB Friday

This administration has already shown their contempt for the public's right to oversight when they suggested a preliminary vote on the project less than 24 hours after the memoranda of understanding were released. Once again, despite assuring the council otherwise, they are not forthcoming with the necessary documents.

The city council MUST stand up for the people of this city and postpone any vote until the mayor provides us with that information. The truth is the mayor's office doesn't give a damn what we want - they see us as obstructionists that will oppose the project whether they give us the documents or not. But that is not the point - they are REQUIRED BY LAW to provide us with those documents. And beyond that, they should remember that they only work in their current positions because the public allowed them to. They work to serve our interests.

Mayor Richard, it is with that final thought that I respectfully demand for you to give us all the documents we request - and expeditiously at that...

More Harrison Square Thoughts from City Council Meeting

A couple of thoughts:

1. During the Fort Wayne city council meeting, Sam Talarico Jr asked a very legitimate question - How is the leap to 360,000 in projected attendance for the new baseball stadium justified? This was a very good question and I'll provide a short answer - it isn't.

However, the answer from the city was that the average attendance for new downtown stadiums is 200% the previous attendance. Since they are only projecting about 150% attendance they consider this "conservative". Let me explain in concrete terms what this attendance increase really is. The new stadium will have 5000 seats and 72 games - 5000 x 72 = 360,000.

They are projecting that they will essentially sell out every single game - I would hardly call that a conservative estimate. Now I do understand that there will be additional seating in areas outside the hard seating area but I think it's still quite a leap of faith to assume this type of increase - especially in the long term.

2. Councilman Tom Didier brought up another good point. He said that if Harrsison Square gets approved there should be something in the final contract that requires Hardball Capital to use local businesses to supply the concessions. In my opinion this is VERY important because if the city is going to talk about economic development then they need to back it up by supporting local small business.

There is no doubt, and the city's own economic impact study confirms this, that investment into local businesses cascade into other industries. We need to do everything we can to support our local businesses by giving them an advantage in the city's procurement process. The city has repeatedly awarded contracts to firms outside the city when there are people within the city that could do just as good a job.

The city and the council need to put their money where their mouth is (literally) when it comes to economic development...

Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission Appears to Have Violated State Law in Harrison Square Land Acquisition

Last night's Fort Wayne city council meeting was the first to really address the Harrison Square issue. Deputy mayor Mark Becker and other city officials presented the memoranda of understanding for the hotel developer as well as Hardball Capital.

The council had a very lively discussion about the project and it started out with a bang when Tom Smith asked how the Redevelopment Commission could spend over $12 Million dollars without council approval and without appraisals. The city responded by saying that 2005 CEDIT bond allowed them spend money on "major projects that would be a catalyst for downtown". They also stated they used this bond money to pay for $4.2 Million of the land acquisition with the balance coming from the Jefferson Pointe TIF which only purchased properties along Jefferson. The city also claimed that they didn't need the appraisals because state law gives them the right to purchase land above appraised value.

Don Schmidt quickly countered this by quoting the Indiana Code that seems to suggest while they can purchase land above appraised value they must still have the appraisal first. Read the statute for yourself:

The redevelopment commission shall first approve and adopt a list of the real property and interests in real property to be acquired and the price to be offered to the owner of each parcel of interest. The prices to be offered may not exceed the average of two (2) independent appraisals of fair market value procured by the commission except that appraisals are not required in transactions with other governmental agencies. The prices indicated on the list may not be exceeded unless specifically authorized by the commission or ordered by a court in condemnation proceedings.

It appears to me that the Redevelopment Commission can certainly pay MORE for a property but only after they get appraisals and offer the averaged appraised value. I think it's quite clear that the Redevelopment Commission violated state law in purchasing the Harrison Square land.

Greg Leatherman's response was that the above statute only applies to Eminent Domain which is a RIDICULOUS argument as anyone that reads the statute can see. The council attorney was going to look into the issue and report back...

Summit City Spiderman

Congressman Souder Continues Misinformation Campaign About Iraq WMDs

Craig, from Reverent and Free, recently blogged about a local newspaper interview with Indiana congressman Mark Souder where he continues to spread lies, misinformation and half-truths about the Iraq war. I cannot believe he continues to get away with this nonsense. Let's look at a list of quotes from the interview:

1. Souder says:

Originally, Souder said, there was a 60 percent chance Iraq had developed weapons of mass destruction.

I actually remember him saying something similar during the 2006 congressional debates and couldn't believe that Hayhurst didn't flat-out disintegrate him afterwords. Last time I checked nobody said "there's a 60% chance Iraq has WMDs" before the war.

Cheney said:

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.

Powell said:

"My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we are giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence."

Ari Fleischer (press secretary) said:

"We know for a fact that there are weapons there."

Need I continue? I must have missed the speech where Souder stood up and said that there was only a 60% chance and that Cheney, Powell, et al were wrong.

2. Souder says:

Now we know they were developing weapons to hit 12 targets in the U.S. We've seen the maps with targets."

There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE of this whatsoever. The US sent 1400 people (Iraq Survey Group) to search for any and all evidence related to Saddam's weapons programs at a cost of approximately $1 Billion and what did they conclude?

Saddam Husayn ended the nuclear program in 1991 following the Gulf war. ISG found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to restart the program.

I guess Souder forgot to read the report.

3. Souder says:

New intelligence indicates the Iraqis had the capability to launch missiles loaded with chemicals and biological "back packs."

No it doesn't. Again, if Souder would've read the report that we spent $1 Billion on he would see that it says:

ISG uncovered Iraqi plans or designs for three long-range ballistic missiles with ranges from 400 to 1,000 km and for a 1,000-km-range cruise missile, although none of these systems progressed to production and only one reportedly passed the design phase.

4. Souder says:

"They had sarin gas," Souder said. "If they would have hit here, it wouldn't be a couple of hundred people dead, like in Japan (on a Tokyo subway in 1995), but tens of thousands."

This is the most egregious example yet and can only be described as fear-mongering. He knows full well that the sarin shell found was a relic. Of course if he doesn't know then once again he should've read the ISG report:

While a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991. There are no credible indications that Baghdad resumed production of chemical munitions thereafter, a policy ISG attributes to Baghdad’s desire to see sanctions lifted, or rendered ineffectual, or its fear of force against it should WMD be discovered.

The people of this district can no longer give Mark Souder a pass. As Craig points out, he is either incompetent or a liar - either way he must go. The next Democratic candidate to face him (run Dr Tom run!) must call him to task on these distortions...

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Has Finally Gone Off the Deep End

I've found myself at odds w/ the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette editorial page more and more of late. But yesterday's editorial criticizing public officials for signing the Fort Wayne Community Schools building remostrance takes the cake.

The decisions of Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters and City Council members Tom Didier and John Shoaff to sign a remonstrance challenging Fort Wayne Community Schools’ $500 million long-range building plan are disappointing. The example of high-profile public officials is certain to sway the opinions of some property owners in deciding the fate of the much-needed improvements.

Imagine the audacity of a local official that doesn't want his property taxes raised tune the tune of $800 Million. So if these officials disagree with the current proposal they should remain silent? I see, only the Journal Gazette gets to use their bully pulpit, everyone else should just shut up and pay the taxman.

Public officials who protest measures approved by other elected officials should be prepared to demonstrate they’ve studied the issue in detail, listened to the public and weighed their fiscal responsibilities in protecting school buildings and other vital community assets.

This is UNBELIEVABLE. The school board didn't even BOTHER to study what the impacts of an $800 Million project would be on home and business owners or the overall economy. But the elected leaders who speak for their constituents' concerns about massive property tax hikes HAVEN'T listened to the public and weighted their fiscal responsibilities? Good grief - that's the most twisted logic I've seen in some time.

The community doesn't HAVE to defer to the JG editorial board. We all have voices - some louder than others - and we should ALL use them. For some reason the JG doesn't want this debate and they seem to feel that everyone would be better served if they just went about their business and didn't get involved in local politics.

They're wrong.

Again

GOP Mayoral Candidate Nelson Peters is Correct to Support the FWCS Remonstrance

Cross-posted at Left of Centrist:

I've been extremely critical of Fort Wayne GOP mayoral candidate Nelson Peters for his ever-dwindling support of the local smoking ban. However, I believe he is wise to support the remonstrance against the $800 Million property tax increase levied by the FWCS school board.

This tax increase is unconscionable and will cripple the residents and businesses of this city. Certainly school improvement must be addressed, but a lump sum approach with across-the-board fixes will needlessly drive up property taxes while inviting corruption and waste into the process.

Any future mayoral nominee should understand that property tax increases like this will only hamper their effectiveness in promoting economic growth. And when you couple this tax increase with increasing the area of special tax districts (Harrison Square), you have a recipe for disaster.

I hope Mr Peters takes his leadership on this issue even further by publicly signing a blue petition when it becomes available...

The BEST Mike Pence Article Yet

I'm sure everyone has heard about Indiana Congressman Mike Pence comparing the Baghdad market he visited to a normal Indiana market. The LA Times has the best column about this yet.

Here's a snippet but seriously, just read it.

MY WIFE came into the living room wearing a Kevlar vest, helmet and night-vision goggles.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Have you completely forgotten, silly head? We're going to the market."

I placed my hand at my head. I'd been so caught up in stitching a minor wound I'd received earlier in the day after going to an outdoor fruit stand that I had completely forgotten.

"I'm a dope, aren't I?" I said, chuckling, slowly shaking my head back and forth. She chuckled too, also shaking her head. We both chuckled. Then I winced from where a stitch popped.

Carol helped the boys get ready, putting on their sneakers and body armor. I phoned the Indiana National Guard so that they could radio the 434th Special Air Wing at Grissom Air Force Base, which in turn scrambled two F-14 Tomcats. Then we hopped in the wagon.

Carol and I moved to Muncie from Detroit. Frankly, we were tired of the noise, the dirt and the crime. Here, you feel so safe, as long as you move very quickly through the market, keep your head down and have appropriate air cover.

Update on Memorial Stadium

The Fort Wayne News Sentinel reports that the study concerning the future of Memorial Stadium indicates that it will have limited use. I previously blogged about this study and was dumbfounded on why the city would have wasted the money. Of course the city can't support two stadiums - did we really need to pay $45K to an out-of-state consultant for that? On top of that, the study is essentially trying to find ways that the old stadium can compete with the proposed downtown stadium WHILE the city is actively negotiating with private investors involved in the downtown stadium deal.

Am I the only one that finds this incredibly - how should I put it - dumb? Not only does this study undermine the negotiations with the downtown developers, it also wastes more money than a lot of hard-working people make in a year. The city leaders involved in commissioning this study should be ashamed...

Langley & Hayhurst announce "Meet the Candidate Night"

The Charles Langley for City Council campaign will be hosting a Meet the Candidate Night next Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at Summit Middle School starting at 7:00 PM.

Councilman Dr. Thomas Hayhurst, who is supporting Langley, will also give his remarks to the public.

Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited not to the following:

· The future of Fort Wayne’s economy.

· Increasing jobs and lessening the brain drain.

· Improving roads and transportation in the Fourth District.

· Maintaining and improving city services, especially in regards to new Aboite residents.

· Consolidating certain city and county agencies.

· Thoughts and discussion on Harrison Square.

· Thoughts and discussion on the new smoking ordinance.

· Why the district should vote for Charles Langley for City Council.

A question and answer period has also been scheduled.

This event has been reserved and paid for by Charles Langley for City Council.

Charles Langley for City Council

5260 Coventry Lane

Fort Wayne, Indiana 46804

(260) 432-1323

charlesmlangley@gmail.com

Paid for by Charles Langley for City Council, Brent Shelley, Treasurer.