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I was a Blue petition supporter and I firmly believe that Coen and Carona no longer represent the voters of the district.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.

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...

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...

OmniSource Gauntlet

Tracy Warner's column about Mayor Richard "sprinting to the finish" gives a little more insight into the mayor's plans regarding the OmniSource site.

The city's $25,000 for an option to buy the land for $4.3 million expires with Richard's term, and the mayor clearly would like to do more than renew the option.

“I think the public will be well served by the city owning it,” he said. Richard's administration came under fire during the recent city elections for refusing to release environmental studies of the property, but the mayor noted that the studies are not yet complete and said they belong to the property's owners, not the city.

I know that Mayor Richard has never had an extremely open administration but if he thinks he can buy that property without releasing the environmental data then he is vastly uninformed and he should be ready to go to court to defend his position. Any document used in the negotiation of that option is a public document and must be available for inspection. Right now he's using a loophole by saying the negotiations are still in progress to get around having to release the study.

But saying the studies aren't complete? Why the hell would the city go through the trouble of putting together a task force and public meetings that met for months on end before the environmental data was in? Of course the answer is the public meetings were a farce - window dressing to give the appearance of community input. Why would the environment study be the last thing done when it clearly should've been one of the first? I'm not sure but it could be a stall tactic while they try and lay the groundwork of excuses and misinformation before buying potentially polluted property.

We've already heard the administration discuss the idea of using state and federal dollars to clean up the property. But let me go on record - any plan to use taxpayer dollars to clean up the land polluted by one of the richest families in Allen County is economically unjust and downright un-American. Any such plan should be a non-starter with city council and the residents of this community. Of course this is exactly the type of elitist proposal I expect to see from the Richard administration...