Politics of Land Bank-gate Quite Obviously Don't Favor Ballard

Mayor Greg Ballard

Yesterday, the Ballard Administration was flat out caught flat footed and completely embarrassed by U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett.  Hogsett announced a slew of federal charges against two city employees.  Five others outside of city government were also charged in the case.

I'm not going to parse the details of the case. The IBJ has the story here.  I always look at the politics of the case, and, anyway you slice it, the politics don't work well for the Mayor.

Indy Star columnist Matt Tully argues that when members of the Ballard Administration are being brought up on federal charges the Mayor needs to be visible at that time, and he wasn't.  Ballard's absence speaks loudly.

No one is accusing the Mayor himself or anyone in the highest level of the administration of anything illegal.  In fact, it's pretty clear that Ballard didn't know anything about the investigation before it hit.  I'm sure that sends a chill up the Mayor's spine, and it should also scare you.

The two city employees charged in this matter certainly do not seem to be some behind the scenes employees.  They were operating in the area of the city responsible for economic development, the Department of Metropolitan Development.  Reginald Walton is the director of Indy's Land Bank, and John Hawkins is a senior project member for the Department of Metropolitan Development and, according to the IBJ, a former special assistant to the Mayor.  It is important to note that both Walton and Hawkins as well as the others charged in this scheme are all innocent until proven guilty.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Governor Mike Pence signed Senate Bill 621 into law giving the Mayor of Indianapolis three more appointments to the Metropolitan Development Commission and tons more control of economic development in the city.  As of July 1, the Mayor will gain that power.  I can't say I feel too good about that right now given how much Ballard seems to know about his administration which is not much apparently.  It shows a man who is be out of touch and letting others drive the ship, and Tully hits him on this in his column as well.

We'll see where this goes from here.  I wonder if Hogsett is done with Ballard's Administration?  What else doesn't Greg Ballard know about that's happening right under his nose?  If Hogsett is running for Mayor in 2015, he just scored a big one on the GOP.  He slipped it right past the goalie and into the net.

No Words...

No words can do justice to the amount of tragedy the folks in Moore, Oklahoma had barreling through their community yesterday afternoon.

Nothing.  That's why the blog goes silent today.

Today, please join me in remembering the fragility of life and how with one metaphorical finger Mother Nature can wipe us all out.  It's an awesome power to respect, but it's a terrible tragedy to mourn.

My thoughts go out to those affected by the monster tornado in Moore.  I send my best thoughts and wishes to you all.

To donate to disaster relief, visit RedCross.org.

Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Lewis Joins Me Tonight on JohnnyStir Show!

Lewis

Coming up tonight on the big show, I'm proud to have one of the big names in Marion County politics.

City-County Council President Maggie Lewis will join me at about 9:10 p.m. on the program to discuss the state of the City-County Council post SB 621 as well as the future of the city.  I'll ask her about how the Democratic caucus will move forward with Mayor Greg Ballard in this new reality with this new state law.  I'll also give her a chance to address any rumors that are flying out there.

After Councillor Lewis and I are finished, Chris Jackson will join me and we'll talk national politics.  After all the bluster and fluster, it appears that the Obama scandals and gleeful Presidential impeachment wishes of the Republican Party are falling apart.  We'll talk about that and much much more including my Indy 500 prediction, and it's not Helio or Dario!

Tune in at 9:00 p.m. tonight on www.indianatalks.com!

A Look Ahead at 2014

We are just under a year from the 2014 Primary Election, and I thought it might be beneficial to take a look at the various offices folks in Marion County will be going to the polls to cast votes for next year.

Leading the ballot will be the federal candidates. In 2014, it will just be U.S. House races on the ballot. The next U.S. Senate election is not until 2016 here in Indiana. I don’t really believe we’ll see too many surprises in the Primary. The current incumbents, if they elect to run again, should easily get through the primaries with one exception. That’s the 8th District. Larry Bucshon seems to attract primary opponents. The uncertainty of what Richard Mourdock might do has fueled the possibility of a match-up between Mourdock and Bucshon in the Primary.

At the state level, there will be three executive offices on the ballot, and these candidates will be officially nominated in the summer of 2014 at each party’s convention. Connie Lawson is expected to seek reelection as Secretary of State. Tim Berry and Mourdock are forbidden from running for reelection for Auditor and Treasurer, respectively. Berry could file again to run for Treasurer if he wishes. He has sat out the necessary time for him to run again for that office after having served as Indiana’s Treasurer from 1999 to 2007. Mourdock’s political future is up in the air. All 100 Indiana House of Representative seats will be up for grabs in 2014 as will half of the Indiana Senate seats including the local seats of Senators Mike Delph and Jim Merritt.

Several Marion County offices will be up for election in 2014. The offices of Assessor, Auditor, Clerk, Prosecutor, Recorder, and Sheriff will be on the ballot. With Assessor Joe O’Connor, Prosecutor Terry Curry, and Sheriff John Layton seeing reelection, the offices of Auditor, Clerk, and Recorder will be open seats. Current Recorder Julie Voorhies will try to move from the Recorder’s Office to the Auditor’s Office because she cannot run again for the Recorder’s seat due to term limits. Current Clerk Beth White is rumored to be considering a run for Secretary of State, and the Election Board’s Director of Elections, Myla Eldridge is filed to run for the Clerk’s job. Current Auditor, Billie Breaux, is expected to retire. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Lou Rosenberg’s seat will be on the ballot. Rosenberg is retiring. There will also be 18 Marion Superior Court Judges on the ballot (nine from each party unless a third party runs). Democratic Judges Pat McCarty and Gerald Zore are retiring.

Finally, at the township level, the nine township Trustees, Constables, and Small Claims Court seats will be on the ballot. There’s always lots of room for drama in these down ballot races.

That’s pretty much what to look forward to next year. Lots of races, and lots of moving parts for a political wonk like me to watch!  Watch what referendums could end up on the ballot as well!

Dana Loesch Hates Me...She Really Hates Me

Dana (or her people) blocked me, and no, I'm not going to follow you
Michelle Malkin

Conservative talk show host Dana Loesch has now blocked me on Twitter, and I don't know why.

I have to say that I don't really care.  I frankly had not even noticed that her normal drivel had not been showing up in my Twitter feed.  I followed her more for entertainment and to see what the other side was saying.

Frankly, I don't know what I did to get blocked.  I was never nasty to her.  I never called her a name or never said anything I would consider out of bounds.  I just have to gather that she was tired of dealing with someone that brought facts to their challenges of her opinions.

If you can stomach the Dana Show, Loesch often takes time to yell down guests with opposing viewpoints and talks inexperienced phone callers into shouting matches.  She's known to throw names and barbs at people she disagrees with.  Often, she will tweet and retweet the worst of folks that disagree with her as examples of what all liberals believe and think.

I didn't give her reason to retweet me, but, for five seconds one day, she must have thought, I'm tired of this Jon Easter fellow.  In fact, I'm going to block him.  I won't do the same to her.  

I have blocked people on Facebook and Twitter.  I won't lie.  I'm not guiltless in this.  Usually to get blocked, you have earned it from me.  It's not just because we disagree philosophically, and it's certainly not because you used facts and rational thought to back up your claims.  

It's clear that Dana is not a fan of those things.  Just think of that next time she portrays herself as a conservative warrior fighting the good fight.  She won't even bother with little people like me that respectfully disagree with her.

Panhandling Ordinance Bad Idea Like SB621

Mayor Greg Ballard, depending on who you talk to, was a driving or a passive force behind the debacle that became Senate Bill 621. Now, he must face the music.

Monday night, Ballard’s proposal to sweep panhandling under the rug by hiding it out of sight in the mile square during prime hours was introduced by the normally awesome Republican Councillor Jeff Miller at the City-County Council meeting. It landed with a thud. No Democrats seemed interested in crossing the aisle or even supporting the proposal. That, my friends, is the new reality on the City-County Council.  No Democrats, no love for the Mayor.  It's going to be like this a lot until 2015.

It’s not just the Mayor, either. It’s Council vs. Council. District Councillors Janice McHenry and Will Gooden took the opportunity to stick the metaphorical knife in their At-Large colleagues during the sausage-making process of 621 at the Statehouse. Gooden, who has never gotten one constituent vote in an election, and McHenry clearly had little conception of what their comments about “meddlesome” colleagues would do in the long run.

Let’s step back to Ballard’s panhandling proposal. It’s a dumb idea anyway. In August of 2009, the city passed what was then thought to be the answer to stop the panhandling along downtown streets. It didn’t happen. The current ordinance has not been enforced and has gotten little more than headlines at the time for the Mayor. In the midst of all that’s going on in this city crime-wise, this new ordinance would create an enforcement nightmare for IMPD, which is already short staffed as it is. It would be like, “Drop what you’re doing and take care of this guy that’s shaking a cup at Maryland and Illinois.” Besides, who is someone shaking a cup really harming?

The problem is Mayor Ballard nor the others in his administration want to really tackle the hard issues surrounding panhandling. Issues like the lack of jobs or the lack of strong support services. From the 25th floor’s perspective, it’s just easier to violate the First Amendment and sweep these undesirables under the rug.

The panhandling ordinance is a bad idea just like Senate Bill 621 was a bad idea. Thanks to the Mayor’s power grab, the city’s future and the future of bipartisanship is now in question.

Woodmansee Running for Superior Court Slot

Todd Woodmansee

While other races begin to heat up in 2014, there's another race that is just starting to hit its stride.  That's the battle for two of Marion County's Superior Court Judge seats.

This election is essentially over at the primary level thanks to a state law that sets the number of Republican and Democrats at an equal level.  Technically, a third party could join the fight, but that's extremely difficult in a race for judge.

While most of the sitting judges are expected to run for reelection, the Class of 2014 will have two vacancies.  Longtime Judge Gerald Zore is retiring as is Judge Patrick McCarty.  That means there will be two open slots on the Democratic ticket.  The race for these spots at slating is typically brutal.

There is one hat in the ring.  Local attorney Todd Woodmansee is running for Superior Court Judge.  He filed on May 7.  Woodmansee is a former Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Prosecutor.  He has been in private practice for the last 10 years.  Woodmansee just recently moved to Pike Township from Warren Township, where he still owns his old home in Irvington.  Woodmansee is just the first candidate in a race that is expected to draw several.

Rumors Flying in Marion County Clerk's Race

Beth White cannot run again for Marion County Clerk because the Indiana Constitution prohibits it.  That means it's an open seat for a high-profile office.  One candidate has announced, and another is rumored to be considering a run.

Eldridge

Marion County Director of Elections Myla Eldridge is already running for the office.  Eldridge has has been Director or Deputy Director of Elections since 2007, a time that has seen more elections than any other time in the County's history.  That includes the 2007 elections, three elections in 2008, a special referendum in 2009, and the normal  2010, 2011, and 2012 races.

Robinson

Multiple sources are telling me that At-Large City-County Councillor Leroy Robinson is considering a run at county office, specifically the Clerk's office.  Until recently, Robinson had been a school administrator in Pike Township before recently taking an outreach position in Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz's office.

The Marion County Clerk has such a wide and varied job.  So many different responsibilities thrown under one office.  Both Eldridge and Robinson would have their positives.  Eldridge has the advantage of being the announced candidate and having done a major aspect of the job several times before.  Robinson has the advantage of name recognition and having won a countywide election.

This would make an interesting slating battle if it holds and then who knows what might happen if one continues to the Primary.  As I often say, it bears watching.

UPDATE:
My apologies to both Myla and Leroy.  I actually wanted this post to run on Tuesday, but I apparently incorrectly scheduled it with the Blogger interface (sometimes I write things ahead of time).  That means that it ran on Monday instead.  Neither candidate had a chance to respond to an inquiry by my own deadline of Monday evening.  Again, my sincere apologies to both Myla and Leroy.  I will gladly post any response to my inquiry to both candidates if they elect to respond.

Again, my apologies.