2008 Agenda

So I took all of 5 minutes to brainstorm the local stories and politics that are of utmost interest to me and here are a few items where I'll be focusing my energy. Feel free to join the cause on any of these issues. As usual we'll likely be opponents on some issues but that shouldn't preclude us from working together on like minded ones. Also, feel free to comment and let us know what issues will be important to you:

1. Oust Carol Coen and Steve Carona from the Fort Wayne Community School Board while re-electing Jon Olinger

I was a Blue petition supporter and I firmly believe that Coen and Carona no longer represent the voters of the district. I hope to see the defeat of these two start a domino process that will lead to a complete overhaul of the board. Meanwhile, Olinger was the sole vote against the facilities project and he deserves the support of all voters who want to further the district's educational goals while maintaining fiscal responsibility.


2. Uphold the Smoking Ban

I was a vocal supporter of the comprehensive ban and I don't want to see it rolled back by the new council. I also think supporters of the ban should lobby the county commissioners into making the ban county-wide.


3. North River Development

Citizens should demand that ZERO tax dollars be used to clean up a polluted site owned by the richest family in the county. We also need to make sure that we get all the relevant data related to the problems before any plans to purchase the land are publicly discussed.


4. Tax and Capital Projects Review Board

This one has gone under the radar but starting in 2009 the all-appointed County Tax Adjustment Board will be replaced by a new body that will have 2 elected members. It is crucial that we elect members to this board that will protect our tax dollars and who are not tainted by the group-think policy of Allen County politics - the Good ol' Boy network if you will.


5. Harrison Square Accountability

City taxpayers need to keep a keen eye on the development of Harrison Square and make sure we're getting what we were promised. We also need to monitor the cost and schedule of the project and insure the citizenry has all the available information.

New Council, New Mayor

So tomorrow will bring the new year and with it a new government for our city. Many things have happened in our city that have left me frustrated and at times downright angry. However, I believe our elected officials are stand-up citizens that are doing their best to forward the interests of this city. I've attended or watched most of city council meetings this past year and I've been impressed at the intellect and bipartisanship of the current councilmembers - there are no "duds" in my opinion.

And while we are losing 4 members from this impressive group we are replacing them with qualified candidates in Karen Goldner, Mitch Harper, Liz Brown and Marty Bender. The only one I'm skeptical about at this point is Bender. Personally I do not believe city employees should be allowed on council and I also found him the least impressive of the new candidates. Having said that, Bender has been a public servant and previous councilmember so there's a body of work there that speaks for itself.

One thing I hope to see from the new council is less group-think. At times I felt like certain councilmembers were voting on issues just because everyone else was or because they didn't want to rock the boat - I hope the new members shake that up a bit. To the outgoing members, I say thank you. It's a tough position and the pay isn't great but trying to improve your community is important and something people should be commended for.

Tom Henry will become our next mayor and it will be interesting to watch him grow into that role. There were many, many times I agreed with Mayor Richard, but other times it was difficult for me to support him because I perceived that he simply didn't believe in open government. I sincerely hope that mayor-elect Henry continues the good work of the Richard administration while simultaneously promoting open government and citizen participation every step of the way.

Finally, I would like to extend an invitation for you all to join the local blogosphere. Several local officials are readers and commenters and I believe all of you can offer a unique perspective that people would enjoy. The local blogosphere is constantly growing and I don't think we're going away anytime soon so you know the old adage - "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"

Does Tom Henry Believe in Open Government?

Kudos to Tracy Warner and the JG for today's editorial that strenuously objects to the city's position on withholding the environmental studies from the OmniSource site. The Richard administration is hiding behind legal technicalities but they have not put forth any valid reason for not releasing environmental data the taxpayers paid for.

City residents paid nearly $50,000 for a consultant to study the extent of contamination at a key near-downtown site long pegged for a major development. City officials have no good reason to conceal the results of those environmental studies from the people who paid for them.

Withholding them will do little to help the city’s negotiating position – the city may have already shared some of the results with the property’s owners – and does much to cast doubt on the possible purchase of the property.

This is an opportunity for mayor-elect Tom Henry to show that he believes in the tenets of open government. Mayor Graham Richard never did; he has always believed in governing through a consensus of elitists and shutting out the general public. That style might fit in the political generation in which Richard was groomed but it is woefully lacking in today's information age. Citizens expect information and transparency from their government. Whether or not they will admit it publicly, even ardent supporters of Mayor Richard believe he could've done a better job promoting open government initiatives.

In his waning hours as mayor, Graham Richard should release the study. If he doesn’t, Tom Henry could go far toward establishing a firm position favoring open government by releasing the studies.

Involving the public at each step should include informing citizens about the extent of contamination and should help build support for the project. Withholding information only breeds distrust.

Fort Wayne citizens paid for the studies; they should know the results.

So the choice is quite simple for mayor-elect Henry. He can either embrace open government and build goodwill with everyone in the community or he can continue the stonewall tactics employed by the Richard administration and alienate a large portion of the community. This decision will likely tell open government advocates everything they need to know about the future of the Henry administration...

Election Board Member Should Resign

Months ago during the Election Board's first hearing on Matt Kelty's campaign finance violations, board member David Wright informed all those in attendance that it would be his final hearing because he would be stepping down. Wright then went on to embarrass himself and the sully the board's credibility by not asking a single substantive question during the hearing. Readers might remember that I rightly chastised the board at that time.

It was a pathetic display all around. The two Republican board members (Therese Brown and David Wright) asked ONE question between the two of them and Bopp didn't directly answer a SINGLE QUESTION from Andy Downs' (D) list.

Now we find out that special prosecutor Dan Sigler feels the same way I do:

In his response to a motion to dismiss Kelty’s charges, Sigler, a Democrat, wrote that the Republicans asked only one question before the board voted to find no violation.

Sigler wrote that the board disregarded its power to question witnesses under oath and its power of subpoena.

“The board ignored its investigative powers and had an absolute minimum invested in examining the defendant (Kelty’s) violations,” he wrote.

By contrast, Sigler said the grand jury met for more than a week and interviewed 15 witnesses and examined thousands of pages of bank records, e-mail and other documents.

The Election Board should certainly be embarrassed by their handling of the Kelty complaint. Andy Downs was the only member of the board that took that hearing seriously and actually tried to get answers out of the Kelty campaign. While his approach was ineffective, it should be noted that he was completely stonewalled by Jim Bopp with the help of the other two board members.

Andy Downs, Democratic member of the board, said all of Sigler’s assertions were accurate, noting he thought he asked several good questions that weren’t answered by Kelty or his attorney, Jim Bopp.

“We didn’t push the issue very far,” Downs said.

Instead of owning up for abdicating his duties as Board Member David Wright continues to make excuses and they're simply unconvincing:

David Wright, Republican member of the board, said he still doesn’t believe Kelty broke campaign finance law and felt the board did everything it was supposed to do.

“What does he (Sigler) expect us to do?” he said. “It’s not a grand jury. We don’t go out and investigate.”

Well that's true I suppose - this board certainly didn't go out and investigate. But I have news for Wright, something he should obviously know as a member of the Election Board, he can investigate. In fact it's spelled out right there for him in the Indiana Code:

IC 3-9-4-13
Audits; investigations
Sec. 13. The election division and each county election board shall make audits and field investigations from time to time with respect to reports and statements filed under this article and with respect to an alleged failure to file a report or statement required under this article. The election division may request the state board of accounts to assist in the performance of audits the election division considers necessary, and the state board of accounts may perform the audits that are requested.

It's time for some changes...

A Christmas Memory

I ran across this photo of my 3-year-old self on Santa's lap this evening while perusing old photo albums for holiday pics. The album that contained this picture was part of a photo collection, with witty captions, that my mother had created for me several years prior to her death in 2001. This compilation quickly became one of my favorite gifts of all time from her - I feel her presence every single time I leaf through it.



I'd always enjoyed the photos and humorous captions that Mom had added to them, but had never pulled these photo "treasures" from their berth in this valued gift to further explore what else might lie there. Tonight, however, I did. This is the back side of my "picture with Santa":



Turns out that this photo was taken with a Polaroid Land Camera at our own G.C.Murphy here in downtown Fort Wayne! I'm 40 years older now, and Mom has been gone for 6 1/2 years, but I still own a Polaroid Land Camera and the former G.C.Murphy building is still in use as well. Sometimes what is lost can be found again; think of the W&D Santa display or the old Murphy's donut machine. I guess we sometimes have to open up familiar things to get at the hidden treasures inside. . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Leininger/Gotsch on New Media

I was glad to see the News Sentinel's Kevin Leininger at the New Media, New Rules event Thursday. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that he wrote a column about the event - it's always interesting to see the dynamic between blogs and traditional media. Much of what Leininger said makes sense but, in general, him and Nathan Gotsch are off-base about the premise of blogging.

To both, blogging is a medium for creating a respectable, perhaps even competitive alternative to traditional media. But this view of the blogosphere is too simplistic and Gotsch's approach of lecturing people on this "one size fits all" approach is probably a big reason why many people were left with a bad taste in their mouth.

The beauty of blogging, and the internet, is that it's whatever you want it to be. Contrary to Gotsch's opinion, there's absolutely nothing wrong with blogging about your dog. The blogosphere is truly a free market environment - readers can pick and choose what they want to read and they're not limited to 2 daily newspapers and/or news outlets. In fact readers can go a step further by creating a blog to discuss topics they feel might be getting overlooked. Not everybody strives to break the next big story. Many of us simply like to discuss politics and this medium gives a new group of friends where we can do that.

Leininger wrote speed is no substitute for accuracy, context, credibility, fairness and other standards of traditional journalism. Of course not, but who exactly is making the contrary argument? Traditional media have erected this straw man in order to justify their own work. But the truth is there wouldn't be a good political blogosphere without good traditional media. Also, whether they want to admit it or not, we can do things they can't and vice-versa, and it has absolutely nothing to do with accuracy, fairness, etc. If you don't meet basic credibility standards then readers will simply avoid your site.

At the end of the day there will always be somebody there to tell you the "best" way to do something because it's how they do it. But ideas, technology and consumers all evolve and the blogosphere is part of that evolution. Can it help candidates, or increase voter turnout or anything else politicians want to use it for? Certainly, but there's no roadmap to do that. Some people will be successful and others won't - welcome to Free Market Journalism...

Election Board Hearing Coverage

I won't be able to attend the Election Board hearing about the unreported contribution from Dan Turkette to the Kelty for Mayor campaign. It would be great if another blogger/citizen that was there would post their thoughts on what transpires. If you don't have your own blog then e-mail me your comments and I'll be happy to post them later tonight...

The meeting will take place at 3pm in the City-County Building in the Commissioner's Conference room. That's the meeting room directly atop the escalators. Here's the official meeting notice that describes what's going to take place.

New Media, New Rules Update

The panel discussion is over. I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this but it was kind of fun. I was disappointed that Dan Turkette left during Nathan Gotsch's presentation and before the panel discussion started. Nathan criticized Dan's blogging style a couple of times and Dan walked out shortly there after. Dan has always struck me as somebody with pretty thick skin so I assumed he left due to some kind of emergency. However, this post makes me think he simply left because he was mad. The event definitely would've been more lively and entertaining had Dan been a part of the discussion.

Still I thought we ended up with a few frank discussions on various topics and I'll try and get some video up if possible. I know the Spaulding brothers took photos and video of the event so I'll see if they are willing to share that with FWL (or post it somewhere else). Also, a big thanks to Rachel Blakeman for helping organize the event.

What did you think of the event?

Here's a few pictures from the event provided by Scott Spaulding. You can find more on his Flickr site:

New Media, New Rules

Tonight is the panel discussion hosted by Fort Wayne Observed's founder Nathan Gotsch. The discussion will revolve around how blogs can interact with campaigns and politicians as well as what their impact was in the 2007 municipal election. This is just one of (hopefully) many future events that will be sponsored by the Fort Wayne Blogger Network. Hope to see you there...


Where: Downtown Allen County Public Library - Meeting Room C
When: 7PM
Website: New Media, New Rules

New Kelty Charge? (Updated)

Rumor has it that Kelty may be facing a new charge with regards to his failure to file the proper paperwork related to a $1000 contribution from blogger Dan Turkette. Readers may remember that this violation was originally discovered and reported right here at FWL. I'll keep you posted...

UPDATE: There's no new charges but there will be an Election Board hearing on the matter this Friday according to a report from Indiana NewsCenter. Needless to say Election Board member Therese Brown did not sound very happy with the Kelty campaign. The report mentions that the board is going to determine whether it was a failure to file a report or a "late" filing. I've already weighed in on this before and I think calling this a late filing is a joke. He filed it five and a half months late and only after I reported it was missing.

UPDATE2: More from the JG. Lanka reports that the Election Board will at least try to define parameters that will distinguish a failure to file from a late filing. As Knuth mentioned in the comments the law doesn't do that, so the board is taking a step in the right direction by trying to clarify this for future filings...

Souder the Hypocrite - Part 2,794 (at least)

Last week the JG ran a story about Congressman Mark Souder's desire to regulate baseball and make sure those darn professional athletes don't put anything into their own bodies that he might find objectionable.

Souder said if baseball doesn’t adopt Olympic standards about drug use, employ outside investigators, use surprise tests and do it year-round, Congress will enact legislation to require it.

I had originally planned to post about this but it eventually just slipped my mind. However, local blogger Bartleby, had an excellent post that reminded me of the situation and rekindled my anti-Souder flame so to speak (although I assure you that flame was not in jeopardy of dying out).

In my ideal world, the torturers of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib and the various secret CIA shops-of-horror would be ordered to release their current victims and concentrate on waterboarding this pudgy little freak who "represents" me in the U.S. House of Representatives. The objective: make him reveal what text of the imaginary U.S. constitution empowers the FedGov to "enact legislation" -- or do any single other accursed thing -- about professional gladiators and what substances they choose to fuel themselves on. This clown obviously knows or cares nothing about the document that he has taken far too many false oaths to defend. But it might be entertaining, admittedly in a perverse way, to see what he'd shriek out in an attempt to halt his "simulated drowning."

It's not quite how I would've put it but I do enjoy his writing style. Having said that, Souder has yet another piece of drivel column in today's News Sentinel where he explains just how "conservative" he is (twice in the first 5 sentences). Furthermore, he explains that "conservatives" like him believe in personal responsibility:

The challenge of our robust republic, grounded in economic freedom, is getting some boats launched. By consensus, we have rescue operations (homeless shelters, public housing and health) that deliver minimal level services. Legislators grapple between a liberal vision that expands that security toward middle and upper classes and a conservative vision that generally supports more personal responsibility.

But wait a minute. Why doesn't that personal responsibility apply to professional athletes who are adults and under the care of a physician when they choose to use performance enhancing substances? I guess personal responsibility only applies when whatever is being done is not objectionable to Congressman Souder. Welcome to the modern Republican party - again...

Councilmember-Elect Karen Goldner Wrong on the Smoking Ban

Rachel Blakeman posted comments from Karen Goldner on the smoking ban and the possibility of rolling back the ordinance. I applaud Karen's interaction with the blogosphere and her willingness to discuss any issue with anyone - it's one of the many reasons she beat long-time incumbent Don Schmidt in the latest election. However, in general, I disagree with her on the smoking ban and specifically I disagree with several of her recent comments (shown in bold).

I agree that "going backward" is a poor sign, and I also believe that the entire discussion has had a high opportunity cost relative to what (in my opinion) Council should be working on, which is how to improve Fort Wayne's economic condition. Therefore, I am disappointed that the previous Council passed the extended ban in the first place.

Of course one could argue that a smoke-free Fort Wayne helps the city's economic condition. Improving public health certainly has direct financial benefits to the citizenry and its government. What certainly does not help economic development is to have the city council flip-flopping on local ordinances. Businesses will be more reluctant to invest in this community if they think our legislation is unstable. And I'm not sure I want the current council attempting to improve the city's economic condition. Of course if I were a baseball team owner or a Subway or McDonalds franchisee then I might feel differently.

Of course I do not question that smoking is very bad for everyone, and I agree that the national (and international) tide is moving toward comprehensive bans. Of course, you could say similar things about the effects of cars on our communities and our health (pollution, congestion, obesity).

These are poor analogies. Cars are an integral and critical part of most people's lives - the same cannot be said about smoking. Pollution is obviously a major concern and that's why it is heavily regulated. Obesity is an individual issue - the fat man standing next to me does not affect my health one iota.

What I do question is why Fort Wayne City Council needed to make the statement that it did, creating a very unlevel playing field, with (in my opinion) disregard for the impact on local businesses and their clientele. I support a broader ban that is statewide, because that would be both fairer to all businesses and also more effective.

First, the city did what was necessary to improve public health after the county commissioners failed to pass a comprehensive ordinance. The lack of such comprehensive ordinance in the county should be blamed for the unlevel playing field. Second, there is absolutely no publicly available evidence to support the idea that the smoking ban has harmed local business. While Goldner does not say this directly, it is often the core argument for rolling back the ban. This is something that is measurable if only the county would break out the food and beverage tax receipts for municipal businesses.

I am disappointed that Goldner takes a stance that is contrary to public health and the wishes of the citizenry. Her decision to roll back the ban would only erode whatever confidence the public might have left in the Fort Wayne city council

News Summary

I was out of town all day today and so, as you can see, there wasn't much posting going on. However there were a few things I wanted to mention.

1. WBOI had a great two part story about the local blogosphere. When I was interviewed for the story I was unsure which direction they were going to go but I must say that I'm impressed. Anyone that was unfamiliar with blogs would have a much better sense of what they're all about after listening to this story. So a big thank you to Don Clemmer and Jeanette Dillon for doing this story.



2. Thanks to Steve Shine for plugging our New Media, New Rules upcoming panel discussion on WOWO this morning.



3. Special prosecutor Dan Sigler rightfully lashed out at Matt Kelty this morning and called him "completely untruthful". Of course this isn't news to me as I've been saying that for months. A nickel's worth of free advice to Kelty. Pissing off the special prosecutor by making personal attacks claiming he's "politically motivated" is probably not wise when you're facing multiple felonies. Is there anything this guy can't screw up? I was going to post Sigler's response but Dan Turkette already has the documents and they should go up sometime tomorrow



4. Sylvia Smith had several good articles about Senator Bayh's wife and her "career" as a full time corporate board member. It just shows that if you can't buy off a Senator you can always buy off their spouse.



5. I see councilman Tom Didier is considering the idea of not rolling back the smoking ban. I know Didier is ultimately against the ban but his rational is right on the money on this one.

2nd District Recount Finished

There were 13 ballot challenges made and two of them will likely change. However, of these two, one belonged to Goldner and one belonged to Schmidt so there will be no net effect from those. There is one additional vote that could potentially go for Schmidt because the machine read it as a no-vote. All other challenges are not likely to stick and even if they did there will not be enough votes for Schmidt to overtake Goldner.

It will soon be official - Karen Goldner will be the next 2nd District councilmember. Congrats to Karen (again)!

More coverage (including photos) from Roger McNett at OurDems

Mayor Elect Henry Names 6 Members of his Administration

No surprises here. Henry announced the following people would be staying on with his administration:

1. Deputy Mayor Mark Becker


2. Controller Pat Roller


3. City Attorney Carol Taylor


4. Police Chief Rusty York


5. Fire Chief Pete Kelly


6. Director of Community Development John Urbahns

Prosecutor Responds to Kelty Dismissal

According to the JG, special prosecutor Dan Sigler has filed a response to the Kelty legal team's motion to dismiss. Also, Sigler has requested that part of Kelty's grand jury testimony be released to the public. Sounds like he wants the public to see the context of Kelty's testimony related to the perjury charges.

If it's not available anywhere else by tomorrow (can't do it today) then I'll head down to the courthouse and post Sigler's response for anyone that wants to read it...

Congressman Souder is an Embarrassment

There were a number of topics I wanted to post about today but I was just too busy. Souder's ignorant comments about Islam were on the top of my list, but instead of going off on my own rant I'll simply link to Blue Indiana where Thomas rightfully chastises Souder who is now borderline insane in my opinion:

If you talk to any mainstream Muslim -- and I have on quite a few occasions -- you will find nothing but anger and hatred in their heart for the things that are done in the name of their faith.

When was the last time you heard Rep. Mark Souder decry the acts done in the name of Jesus Christ? Every faith has problematic elements in their holy texts should they be taken literally. Souder is out of touch with his constituents, but he is increasingly out of touch with reality in general.

Thomas can see it; the people of Fort Wayne can see it. So to the rest of the 3rd District I can only ask

Had Enough?

Post Snow Report

I measured the snowfall at my place and it was just over 8 inches - I expected about an inch more than that but that's still going to make for good snowboarding.

I also just finished shoveling my driveway and with the sore shoulder that was quite a challenge. I always do it by hand because I figure it's good exercise. Snowblowers are for Republicans - heh...

2007 ACDP Holiday Party

Kevin "Rudolph" Knuth helps the kids break open the pinata at the 2007 Democratic holiday party:

Injury Update and Snow Report

I went to my orthopedist yesterday to have him check out my separated shoulder that happened 2 weeks ago while snowboarding. Much to my surprise the doc said I was doing fine and cleared me for snowboarding. He did say that I could re-aggravate it but he didn't think it was likely that I could cause any further damage (i.e. going from a 2nd to 3rd degree separation). He said the pain will be there for a while but he felt the shoulder was structurally sound. He said if I could do a pushup then I could go snowboarding. While pushups are painful, I can do them so I guess that means I'm good to go. And just in time because we are going to get dumped on tonight.

I use the University of Illinois 36 hour weather model when I want a forecast. They are pretty much the best of the best and they update the model twice a day (7am & 7pm Central). It looks like it will be fairly mild until about 11pm and that's when things get interesting with the peak snowfall coming from 2-6 am. However, it will have pretty well blown over by 10am Sunday morning. In total, from 11pm to 11am we're looking at 12"-13" of snow.

See you on the slopes...

UPDATE: Latest model run shows the storm getting to Fort Wayne a little later than expected and probably more freezing rain so that precipitation won't turn into snow. It's hard to predict when it's on the edge of freezing rain/snow but it will be down around 9"-10" would be my guess...

Tax Abatement Bamboozle at City Council Meeting

In Tuesday's city council meeting, councilman Glenn Hines mentioned that blogs have been critical of the council's decision on several recent tax abatements. He reminded everyone how important they are and wanted Elissa McGauley to help explain to everyone why they give these abatements and why they are considered economic development.

Now the problem with this is that the entire discussion came about after the council approved the expansion of a UPS facility here in town that will create several well-paying jobs. Nobody is arguing against such abatements, yet Hines and McGauley use this example to explain why abatements, in general, are important. Specifically they talk about how employers could leave the area or not choose to expand their business without the abatement.

Now readers of this blog will catch their bamboozle right away. We all know that the abatements we've been critical of were for a McDonald's (that was already built), a Subway (which violates the city's own downtown design guidelines), and a subsidized housing project that will create one job. Are we really afraid that Subway and McDonalds will choose to take their business elsewhere if we don't subsidize them? More importantly, do we care? Clearly nobody comes into the community or spends more money in the community because we have 1 more McDonalds or Subway. That's the real point here - the abatement was unnecessary and irrelevant but it's now opened the floodgates.

Go ahead and watch the video below, it's almost unbelievable that they attempt to use a legitimate use of abatements to explain why bloggers shouldn't be critical of all abatements. (Note: The audio and video are slightly out of sync due to YouTube's processing but I don't feel like fixing it)

My Thoughts On Local Government Reform Report - Part 2

I know I promised this yesterday but better late than never I suppose. Numbers 18, 19 and 24 are the most important IMO:

15. Allow the city council to appoint the city clerk in second-class cities.

This is consistent with having administrative positions become appointed rather than elected and I would support this.


16. Move all municipal elections to an even-year election cycle

I know this might be unpopular for some because they like the idea of having regular elections, and I'm also sympathetic to those that want to keep the number of candidates they have to research to a minimum. However, the report points out that some cities are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars they could otherwise save if they piggybacked onto the other elections.


17. Transfer the responsibilities of municipal health departments to the county health department

We've already gone through that consolidation here in Allen County and I think it makes sense for other counties to do this as well.


18. Reorganize library systems by county and provide government library service for all citizens

The report points out that Indiana already has an excellent library system that ranked second in the country in 2004. However they also show that using statewide benchmarks can mask some of the underlying problems. For example they cite that 395,000 citizens do not have access to library services in their communities, and that our libraries employ twice as many staff as the national average. Much of the "over-employment" probably comes from the fact that 60% of our library districts account for only 8% of the statewide circulation. Like for schools, the commission only recommends consolidating districts and not actual libraries. Why in the world do we have 239 library districts and only 92 counties? In fact why do we have library districts at all? The commission is right to recommend that these be rolled into the counties.


19. Require that the budgets and bonds of library and all other special districts be approved by the fiscal body of the municipality or county government containing the greatest proportion of assessed value in the unit seeking approval

This should be one of the first recommendations that gets passed. Is is outrageous that Indiana allows unelected officials to issue debt and raise property taxes. As John B Kalb would say - Taxation without representation is tyranny!


20. Strengthen the current joint purchasing infrastructure of libraries

This makes sense to me but the committee's recommendation was rather weak as there's no mechanism suggested to ensure this gets done.


21. Expand voluntary coordination and consolidation of units and services. Strengthen the power of voters to compel consolidation.

One of the problems with consolidation is there no incentive for bureaucrats to take action. The commission is recommending that the state legislature give incentives to local government such as property tax credits and more local revenue tools. I would go a step further by allowing consolidation to take place via referendum. If the people want to consolidate their government then that should be their right and we should remove any and all barriers that are denying the people's will.


22. Allow local governments to establish service districts with differentiated levels of service and corresponding tax rates

Essentially this would allow local government to tax citizens within different geographic locations differently. For example if you're outside the city you shouldn't be paying for city water and sewer. This seems to be a secondary recommendation but would become critical if the other consolidation recommendations passed.


23. Facilitate local improvement efforts using best public management and business practices. Strengthen state mechanisms that support these activities, particularly for collective purchasing

This is all about applying six sigma, total quality management, or another cost/quality management system to local government. I'm not a big fan of six sigma (that's an entire post to itself) but as long as local government has a mechanism to measure their service and find areas for improvement then I'm happy. Also, Fort Wayne was mentioned in this recommendation - "The recently achieved improvements in service to citizens in Fort Wayne are worth emulating".


24. Prohibit employees of a local government unit from serving as elected officials within the same local unit of government

This should be enacted immediately and was a big reason why I could not support Marty Bender's candidacy for city council. Here's what the commission had to say:


First, it is a clear conflict of interest for public employees to benefit from their actions as elected officials. Second, it undermines the chain of command and procedures for discipline that are critical to effective public services, particularly public safety. And perhaps most important, it diminishes the faith that citizens must have that local governments act in the public interest.


I couldn't agree more but evidently the people of Fort Wayne disagree.


25. Assign the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to monitor progress toward these recommendations and conduct additional research as needed. Produce an annual report on progress through 2011.

You mean we're going to establish benchmarks (see below) AND measure results? Somebody pinch me...


26. Establish a statewide benchmarking system to provide the public and policymakers with current information about local government productivity and progress

See previous comment. They also want to create a regularly updated database that's available to the public. THIS is how it should be done at all levels of government.


27. Designate a state office to provide technical assistance to local government

The commission is wise to suggest such a position and they go a step further by suggesting this office should have no other responsibilities so they don't get bogged down by other issues. I would only go a step further by putting a sunset date on this position so it's effectively eliminated at some future date unless the state legislature renews it...

The Sheriff Should be Appointed

The Indiana Commission on Local Government and Reform has recommended (#3) that the sheriff, along with other positions, change from elected to appointed positions. There was no doubt that sheriffs were going to be opposed to this recommendation and Niki Kelly of the JG quotes our own Sheriff Ken Fries' opposition:

Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries called the idea of eliminating county sheriffs “utterly ridiculous.”

That would be ridiculous if anyone were actually proposing to do such a thing. On the contrary, the commission merely recommended that they become an appointed position and for good reason as party affiliation does not make you qualified to be sheriff. On top of that, the sheriff, as an administrator, should carry out the policies of the executive branch much in the same way as the Chief of Police, the FBI director, the Department of Homeland Security, etc. Fries continues his argument:

Fries said such a move would take away the power of voters to decide who should fill the office and that placing such power in the hands of a few county officials would increase the threat of corruption.

“It’s much more effective and efficient to have (the sheriff) elected as opposed to appointed,” Fries said.

Again, I respectfully disagree. In fact I don't believe it's even debatable that it's more effective for an executive to pick their administrators than to have them elected. The executive has certain policies in mind and are in the best position to hire the most qualified candidate to carry out those policies. Does the average voter even understand what a county sheriff does, let alone which candidate is more qualified?

Don't get me wrong, I think Sheriff Fries is doing a fine job and would make an excellent choice for sheriff even if the position were to become appointed - which I hope is ultimately what happens...

Frozen Door Update

So it turned out that I didn't have to burn the car down or throw a brick through the window to get it open. After I came home from work today the car was clearly thawed out yet both doors still wouldn't open. I suspected the freeze broke the linkage on both door handles (probably when I tried to open them before thawing it completely) and that the doors would open fine if I only I could get inside.

So I had my wife pry on the door with a large screwdriver while I stuck a hanger in to trip the automatic locks so I could open the back doors. As expected all doors opened easily from the inside. So until I get new handles I can't lock the doors but since I just told you how to bust in I suppose that really doesn't matter now does it...

My Thoughts on the Local Government Reform Report - Part 1

I am extremely impressed with this report. It actually appears that a government commission toured the state, listened to citizens and created a blueprint for streamlining our local government. I must say that the cynic in me was not expecting a document this thorough or this bold. About the only criticism I have is that they didn't attach any cost savings to their recommendations. Granted this would've been more difficult, but I think it's the missing piece that really would've generated the necessary momentum to get these recommendations enacted.

Now, for the wonks out there I'm going to go through each recommendation and give my comments. Seeing as there are 27 recommendations I decided to break it down into two posts. Here's part 1 and I'll have the other half tomorrow. Let me know what you think about any of the specific recommendations

1. Establish a single-person elected county chief executive.

As you'll soon see this is the recommendation that makes many of the others work. This also makes perfect sense - why have multiple commissioners and a county council all passing the buck? Nobody blinks when discussing the executive branch within a municipality and county government should be the same. If citizens want accountability then there needs to be somebody at the top of the food chain.


2. Establish a single, unified legislative body for county government. Expand legislative membership to ensure sufficient representation for included rural suburban and urban populations.

The report points out that we're the only state that divides fisacal and legislative decisions between two separate elected bodies. I've pointed out several instances of infighting between the commissioners and the county council here in Allen County. It's time we elect a county "mayor" and consolidate the powers of the commissioners and council into one legislative body. I doubt many citizens even know which body is responsible for what. On several occassions I've had to ask the commissioners that very question.


3. Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of the county auditor, treasurer, recorder, assessor, surveyor, sheriff and coroner to the county executive. Transfer the varied duties of the clerk to the courts, the county election board and the county executive. Establish objective minimum professional qualifications and standards for certain county administrative functions.

The report points out that these are not typically thought of as policy positions as they are administrative in nature. I agree with the commission that these positions should not be elected positions. I want the best person for the job and not some political hack from the right party. However, I do believe the county legislative body should have to give their approval in order to maintain some oversight. Appointing the sheriff is likely to be controversial but the report makes a valid point by saying that other law enforcement positions are not elected - i.e. chief of police, FBI director, etc


4. Retain a local government role for property tax assessment under a county assessor required to meet professional qualifications and appointed by the county executive.

This seems like a no-brainer as local officials should be assessing local property. However the commission then contradicts itself by saying that the assessment of industrial and commercial property should be done by the state. This is a horrible idea and is an overreaction to the current property tax dustup. Local officials know thier markets better than some state bureacrat does. Ensuring the county assessors meet specific professional qualifications will be more than enough.


5. Create a countywide body to oversee the provision of all public safety services.

This community can't even agree on who should run the 911 call centers let alone all the public safety services. The report points out that that there is a lot of duplication of services here that cost taxpayers money. As an example they cite the fact that city residents pay for both county and city law enforcement. I have a feeling this is where a tremendous amount of cost savings can be achieved. Howver, as President Clinton was fond of saying, good policy doesn't always make for good politics. So how are they going to get this done? The commission recommends a freeze on all public safety levies until the change is made. Good luck


6. Consolidate emergency public safety dispatch by county or multi-county region. Require that new, local emergency communications systems be compatible with the Project Hoosier SAFE-T statewide 800MHz communications system.

Clearly the dispatch centers should be consolidated - bureaucratic infighting is the only thing holding it back. But I don't know enough about the SAFE-T system to even comment.


7. Transfer the responsibility for all funding of the state's trial court system to the state, including public defenders and probation

This points to one of the commission's guiding principals - things required by the state should be paid for by the state. Citizens should not have unequal access to the legal system due to where they live.


8. Move the funding of child welfare from counties to the state

Again, state mandates should be paid for by the state


9. Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of township government for assessment, poor relief, fire protectio...(etc) to the county executive. Establish a countywide poor relief levy.

Readers will remember that this was the subject of a previous post here at FWL where I argued for this very recommendation. The report informs us that "no other state has a universal layer of township government." The commission also believes that the county government is "large enough to allow economies of scale but not so large that they preclude sufficient access for citizens". I agree 100%


10. Transfer the responsibilities of the township small claims courts in Marion County to superior courts.

Only affects those in Marion county but this seems redundant since the previous recommendation axed the townships altogether.


11. Reorganize school districts to achieve a minimum student population of 2000. Establish state standards and county-based planning process similar to that established in 1959 legislation

Ok, this is going to be controversial. Many people enjoy small schools and fear that consolidating districts will take that away. However the commission specifically states that they do not want to consolidate schools:


Indiana has too many school districts and administrators, but Indiana does not have too many schools. We recommend retaining geographically dispersed schools to allow districts to maintain optimal class sizes and serve local populations and needs.


To back up this claim they tell us that Indiana employs fewer instruction personnel than the national average but more non-instructional personell than the national average. That is NOT a where we should be. This could be a post all on its own but suffice to say that I think this one is DOA. Many people base where they live on the school district and they will fight like hell to keep that barrier in place.


12. Require that school corporation bonds be approved by the fiscal body of the municipal or county government containing the greatest proportion of assessed value in the school district.

Amen. Upon moving here I was simply amazed that the school board was it's own taxing authority. This is a long overdue change for Indiana government. However, the commission does not go far enough as they don't suggest that citizens should be able to remonstrate through a referendum process. The current process is a mess and unfairly stacks the deck against the citizenry. And I reject the idea that citizens will never vote to build new schools. One only needs to look at the most recent FWCS remonstrance process, where the district could've avoided a remonstrance altogether by opting for $300 Million instead of pushing for the full $500 Million, to know that isn't true.


13. Prompt joint purchasing by schools

The report points out that very few districts are purchasing items jointly and they recommend that they be required to purchase specific items as part of joint agreements.


14. Conduct all non-partisan school elections during November in even years

Another no-brainer as schoold districts should not be allowed to hold their elections during primary season. Government should strive for higher voter turnout and not the opposite.

Kevin Knuth Steps Down as Democratic Party Chair

Kevin Knuth has officially stepped down as Democratic Party Chairman but will remain in the position until the official caucus on Jan 12, 2008. I just spoke with him and he cited the extraordinary time commitment required as his reason for stepping down:

I don't think people realize the time commitment involved. It was either this or my job and I'm not going to quit my day job or my family.

Knuth added that a few people had shown interest in the position but he didn't want to mention any names until they decided to step forward themselves. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank Kevin for all his hard work and success as chairman and wish him well in the future. I only hope the party chooses an equally capable replacement...

Armed Citizen Saves The Day

I'm sure many of you have heard about the shooting at The New Life Church in Colorado Springs. I wanted to make sure that readers of this blog know that the woman responsible for taking the shooter down was an armed citizen and very likely saved several more innocent lives. As the pastor of the church said in the press conference:

Obviously yesterday if we had not had an armed person on our campus, fifty to a hundred people could have lost their lives.

Jeanne Assam was a parishioner that had a carry license and helped provide security for the church on a volunteer basis. Here's part of the video from the press conference where the pastor describes the volunteer security force and Assam gives a description of what happened:



This is the kind of safety that carry laws provide to citizens. Paul Helmke and the Brady Campaign can put up all the silly "Gun Free Zone" signs they want, and enact all kinds of gun regulations, but at the end of the day those feeble measures will not deter criminals from engaging in criminal behavior. Most gun control laws simply limit law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves and others.

By the way, what does Paul Helmke's blog at the Brady Campaign website have to say about the incident in Colorado Springs? Bupkis of course. You see they don't want you to know that an armed citizenry can protect themselves and stop murderous criminals before they have a chance to complete their devastation. No, they would rather have you fall in line like sheep on the way to the slaughter. But don't worry, just find your Happy Place and convince yourself that the "Gun Free Zone" really will protect you...

Report on Local Government Reform is Released

The Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform has released their much-anticipated final report. A few recommendations from the press release:

1. County governments should be led by a single, elected county executive and a stronger county council, to which professionally qualified administrators should report and be accountable.


2. The services performed by township personnel should be transferred to the county governments.


3. All local public safety services should be coordinated countywide, and regionally where appropriate. Emergency dispatch must be centralized, at least countywide, using the compatible 800 MHz system.


4. Only elected officials should have the power to levy taxes.


5. Indiana’s school districts should be large enough to gather sufficient resources to educate our children for 21st-century life.


6. All spending, including school spending, should be subject to more rigorous examination by elected officials.


7. A statewide office should be designated to provide technical assistance to help local governments make recommended changes.

I'll have more on this after I have a chance to read the final report but suffice to say that I'm encouraged by some of these findings. The best recommendation yet is #4 - I simply cannot believe that the state of Indiana allows un-elected individuals to raise our taxes without approval. Also, as I expected, the commission is recommending that township services be rolled up to the county level...

UPDATE: I've had a chance to read the full report and I must say that I'm very impressed as the commission went above and beyond my expectations. There's too much to discuss for a post right now but I'll have one up this evening giving my thoughts on the 27 recommendations...

OmniSource on Hold

Ben Lanka of the JG brings us some good news this morning as he reports that the city is going to try and extend the purchase option for the OmniSource property so that the next administration can make the decision. I was nearly convinced that Mayor Richard was going to try and ram this through in the 11th hour so I'm glad that's not going to happen. I think mayor-elect Tom Henry would be wise to approach this cautiously and make sure the taxpayers are not footing the bill to clean up any polluted land before making a commitment...

Frozen Doors

I was extremely agitated this morning when both my car doors wouldn't open because they were frozen shut. And to make matters worse I can't pull my other car out of the garage because the frozen one is parked right behind it. The locks are working but the mechanism is jammed up and won't open - and I beat the hell out of the thing trying.

I suppose I have 3 options right now

1. Wait until Spring


2. Throw a brick through the window


3. Have it towed 10 feet down my driveway so I can get my other car out

Bummer...

And Conservatives Vote For This Clown?

The JG's Sylvia Smith has a story about the game of chicken the Republicans are playing with the Alternative Minimum Tax. I wrote about this a few days ago and let readers know that the Republicans don't want to pay for the AMT relief this year - they simply want to add it to the debt. Now I'm sure this doesn't surprise many conservatives as they've watched this group spend like drunken sailors for years. In fact I rarely find anybody that even makes the "Republicans are fiscal conservatives" argument anymore.

But for those of you that still (for whatever reason) think Congressman Mark Souder is a fiscal conservative I give you the latest example of his irresponsible behavior:

Over the years, Souder has supported legislation to increase the AMT exemptions, but he voted against the Democrats’ version this year because of the bill’s tax increases on the high-income groups. He said a better option would be to approve the one-year patch and add the cost to the deficit.

“Raising taxes is a greater threat than small extensions of raising the debt,” he said.

Did you get that? Souder would rather add more money to the deficit than pay for middle class tax cuts! And small extension? It's going to cost $50 BILLION for this year alone you jackass. But hey, what's $50 Billion among out-of-touch Beltway bureaucrats? Are there any fiscal conservatives out there willing to defend Souder's position? It's his mentality that's caused nearly all of our current financial problems.

Will the 3rd District please wake up and send this clown packing...

Ax The Townships

The JG has an excellent editorial in today's paper describing why the state should eliminate township assessor positions:

Of Indiana’s 1,008 township assessors, 567 lack the certification that qualifies them to determine the values of property. In essence, more than half of the people in key positions to determine the amount of property tax bills are unqualified.

Accurate assessments are the foundation of the property-tax system, essential in determining whether property owners pay their fair share in comparison with other property owners. When assessments are wrong, some people get an undeserved break, and others pay more than they should.

The fact that we have unqualified partisan assessors makes absolutely no sense. In fact I would suggest we go one step further and eliminate the entire township construct altogether. It's a wasteful, antiquated bureaucracy that adds no real value. Does anybody really believe we need a layer of government for every 6x6 mile square in the state?

The services provided at the township level could easily be rolled up to the county (or city) which would likely save taxpayer dollars and provide better service. If state officials are serious about saving money then they can start by axing all the townships...

A Soldier's Blog

Just in case you forgot there's still a war in Iraq - I know, I know they don't tell you about such things during the commercial breaks of Dancing with the Stars or Kid Nation but trust me. We can use blogs for many things but they are certainly one of the most powerful tools for trying to understand the events in a far away land of which you have no comprehension.

There have been many Iraqi blogs I have read over the years but they have slowly dried up as the authors have fled the country. There have also been a few blogs from soldiers and there's one I found recently that I thought I'd share with you. Iraq: The Purgatorium is one of the best I've found and the writing is incredible yet gutwrenching at times. Here was one post shortly after Thanksgiving that really got to me. Feel free to recommend any other blogs from Iraq in the comments...

Monday, November 26, 2007
The Wake-Up Call

It's taken me a while to write about this. Never had the time, never had the will to do so. I spent Thanksgiving in a guard tower, doing a lot of thinking.

"Suspect, what are you thankful for?"

I drew a blank. Let me back up.



We lost three guys. I'm sparing the specifics and the backgrounds and the things that make you go, "Oh man...that's so fucked...that's terrible man."

This place, this new area of operations was almost like a vacation for us. Only a few wounds now and then, nothing too major for the most part. Then the fates backhanded us, hard.

That's all I've got to say about that for now, maybe forever.

I sat in that tower, staring at the lifeless dirt and shitty brick buildings of our area of operations and let my mind run loose. There was no controlling it at this point anyway.

I thought about my friend, who was one of the three we lost. I thought about him a lot. A lot of these thoughts made me laugh. That's the kind of guy he was. I thought about how unreal it all is. I thought about how little sense it makes.

I thought about all the huge and tiny factors involved in this conflict and how illogical and base and Typical of Mankind it all is. I thought about a lot of things. Hours of nothing but time to kill, dusty space to stare at.

I wrote about a previous memorial service. I fumed, angrily, ignorantly, with reckless abandon. I wrote shit that I didn't necessarily believe, in that confused and mixed up way people get when these things happen. I thought about that phrase "Ultimate sacrifice" and how we're going to hear it again.

Well so be it. I guess I can wrap my head around what people mean when they say it. Sure, no one is raising their hand and saying, "Sir, I'm not doing anything Wednesday, I'll take the hit. Beats having to eat this chow!" [Laugh track].

But it is an 'ultimate sacrifice', even if we don't realize it.


This was a heavy hit for all of us. Some guys are seriously fucked up about it. But I guess the mentality I'm clinging to is that these things happen and it's too late to change it, and there isn't a lot we can do. Just do our jobs. It sounds almost submissive, but whatever. Drive on, it's all you really can do.

The Modern Republican Party is a Joke

The national Republican party has become a complete laughingstock. They have no principles and lack anything resembling fiscal responsibility. This last week Democrats have worked to pass an AMT bill that would patch the system for this year and keep 25 Million people from paying higher taxes. Of course the Democrats wanted to keep the "pay-go" system in place - pay-go is the simple idea of "pay-as-you-go" meaning any new program or tax-cut must be paid for and cannot simply be added to the national debt. Democrats brought pay-go back this session after Republicans had abandoned it in favor of Bush's tax cuts - it was much easier for them to give tax cuts without reducing spending.

So the Democrats want to actually pay for AMT relief by closing the loopholes given to certain investors in the Virgin Islands and other wealthy expatriates that relinquished their citizenship to avoid paying their taxes. But the Republicans filibustered that bill and even went so far as to say they wouldn't approve any bill under pay-go rules.

If you want to see how out of touch and fiscally irresponsible the modern Republican party has become just listen to the Republicans top senator on the FINANCE committee, Charles Grassley:

The Finance Committee’s top Republican, Charles Grassley of Iowa, said it was time for Democrats to abandon their “pay-go obsession,” referring to the “pay-as-you-go” principle that tax cuts or spending increases should be paid for so as not to add to the federal deficit.

Well there you have it in black and white. The Republican Party is officially against fiscal responsibility. Just add another $50 Billion to the national debt what the hell - it's not your generation's money right?

Just another reason why Republicans are going to get their clocks cleaned in 2008...

My Appearance On The Herb Summers Show

Mr Kaduk asked that I post the video so here it is. We talk a little about trade agreements, the direction of the Democratic Party and economic development. Herb also goes into a mild rant against councilman Hines...


Herb Summers Show - 11/14/07 from FWL on Vimeo.

Congressman Souder is On the Job

The News-Sentinel is going to be publishing a series of bi-weekly columns from Congressman Mark Souder with the first installment printed today. In this one Souder describes his trip to the Washington-British Columbia border as part of his oversight responsibility on the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism.

Of course for Souder everything comes back to drugs (specifically meth) and this trip was no different. First he tells of the horrors of Ecstasy trafficking along the border and then he visits a needle exchange program in Canada:

I was surprised to hear how rapidly the smuggling of the illegal drug Ecstasy has increased. Originally confined largely to “rave” parties, Ecstasy (also known as MDMA) is gaining in popularity, especially on college campuses. Often it is laced with other drugs – such as meth – to enhance its addictiveness.

While in Vancouver, B.C., I visited a needle exchange program that allows drug addicts to inject themselves with heroin in a government-run facility under the guise of “harm reduction.” This was the third time I’d seen this failing program, and I was reminded why harm reduction is a misnomer.

What do either of these two things have to do with counterterrorism? And why in the world would Souder visit a Vancouver-based needle exchange program 3 times? Is he monitoring progress to see if we can recruit these addicts into an elite anti-terrorism fighting force? Once again Souder explains by telling us how his over-the-top obsession with the "war on drugs" is really saving us money:

Oversight visits, such as this one, are among the most valuable learning tools available to a congressman who takes the time to study the issues. They help ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely as we work to strengthen our nation’s homeland security.

Ah yes, truly a wise investment of the taxpayer's money. I feel so much safer already...

Upcoming Public Meetings

There are a few public meetings coming up that readers might be interested in.

1. City Council - 5:30pm today - City County Building
   Presentation by the Mayor's Commission on Domestic Violence, Rape and Sexual Harassment


2. Aqua Indiana North Transition Meeting - 6pm today - Omni Room, City County Building
   The first public meeting by City Utilities covering the transition of Aqua Indiana North customers into the city's water system.


3. Fort Wayne Public 1 - 6pm today - Business & Technology Conference Room, Downtown Library
   The first meeting of a new citizen group that will try and shape public policy in Fort Wayne


4. Grassroots Green - 6pm Wed - Sweetwater Sound
   Celebration of Sweetwater Sound's Green building and an introduction of the groups Green Living Guide

For all you civic minded people looking for something to do just pick one and get involved - you might actually enjoy it...

Does Don Schmidt Really Want a Recount?

Ben Lanka's story in today's JG left me wondering how serious Councilman Schmidt is about the recount in the 2nd District council race. The recount continues to be delayed and Election Board member Andy Downs didn't leave much doubt about why that is happening.

Downs said scheduling conflicts pushed the recount back until just days before the Dec. 20 deadline for the recount to be concluded. He said this is atypical of recounts, many of which begin before Thanksgiving.

“I’ve never seen people who requested it (a recount) less interested in getting it done,” he said.

The voters certainly deserve to know who won the race but it doesn't sound as if councilman Schmidt is too anxious about getting that done. Voters also remember that Schmidt didn't do much campaigning leading up to election day either...

Snowboarding Season Has Begun

I returned late last night from my weekend trip to Breckenridge, Colorado where I officially kicked off the snowboarding season. Unfortunately for me, I hurt my shoulder on the first day there and missed the final two days. It's a second degree separation of the AC joint and it was not pleasant. The x-rays are kind of interesting so I'll see if I can scan them in and post it.

Of course I had it coming because I violated my own rule of staying out of the terrain park until day 2. But after 4 hours or so I couldn't leave well enough alone - I had to hit this box in the park. The first run ended in a face full of snow but no injury. The second run went perfect and so I thought I was good to go. The third run ended with my board slipping off the box and me landing on my shoulder on the snow. If I had to rate the severity of spills I've taken this wouldn't be high on the list, but right when I hit I heard a crack and knew I was probably done.

The good news is a 2nd degree separation shouldn't require surgery and I should be better in two to three weeks - hopefully just in time to kick off the Ohio snowboarding season over at Mad River Mountain...

Breaking Scandal in the Guv's Office

Cam Savage, $70,000 and a lot of questions for the Governor:



Via: Thomas at Blue Indiana & Jen Wagner at TDW

Cam Savage is Mitch Daniels' communications director. Wait, let me be clear: Cam Savage is the communications director for Mitch Daniels' re-election campaign. It's right here on his My Man Mitch website if you don't want to take my word for it.

It's important to make that distinction, of course, because we all know that politicians are required to keep their taxpayer funded public service separate from the political activities of their election team. To mix the two is at best a major lapse of ethics, and in some cases it can be illegal.

Now, what if I told you that the same Cam Savage who has been the My Man Mitch communications director since May was paid $70,000 of your tax dollars during the same period of time in order to direct communications at the Governor's state office? Wouldn't you have a few questions about just what the hell was going on?

Luckily for you, and unluckily for Governor Daniels, Taking Down Words has unearthed a personal services contract for Cam Savage that saw him rake in $70,000 between May 1 and October 31. You can check out the contract for yourself here.

Click HERE to read more about this breaking scandal.

A Message from Barry Welsh

An open letter to Congressman Mike Pence and the taxpayers of Indiana,

I am Barry Welsh, and I will be in a rematch with Congressman Pence in
2008 for the Indiana 6th District seat in The U.S. House of
Representatives. As a representative, the votes cast and bills
brought forward impact everyone across the nation, not just those in
the voting district, therefore I bring forth the question of Iraq.

Those that followed the 2006 6th District race know I had enough then,
and that position has not changed. The Iraq War and Occupation has
cost the tax payers of Indiana's 6th District over 725 Million
Dollars, which is in addition to the immeasurable price paid in loss
by our brave troops. If that 725 million dollars were in this
district instead of in Iraq, the property tax might not have been
forced to skyrocket, but as it is, the fewer dollars that come back to
the state from the federal level, the more dollars the state must
raise on it's own.

This country should have remained focused on Afghanistan and capturing
Osama Bin Laden, and that focus should have remained clear, but
instead this country was lead into Iraq, and it is time to put the
focus back upon Osama Bin Laden, where it should have been since
9/11/01.

The British withdrew from Basra and violence dropped, it is not a hard
lesson to learn.
The excuses for staying in Iraq are running out, as is the patience of
'We the People'.

The question is simple; Congressman Pence, what date will you set to
end your support of the Occupation of Iraq? The people deserve to
know when you have had enough. If the answer is 'never', the people
deserve to know that as well.

Sincerely,

Barry Welsh
2008 Indiana Democratic Congressional Candidate

Welsh for Congress Headquarters
414 Central Ave.
Box 707
Connersville, IN 47331
(765) 825-8100
www.barrywelsh.org