“Tonight’s vote by council to pass Bart Peterson’s over $100 million tax increase is another page in a sad chapter for Marion County," said Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John. "The Councilors who supported this measure are assenting to the Mayor’s policy of spending first and asking questions later." "There were many other ways to have funded this, especially if Peterson would work with the Legislature, but he didn’t." "The funds would have been there if Peterson had managed his budget well, but he didn’t. Now, they are forcing hard-working citizens to pay for their failure to govern."
GOP mayoral hopeful Greg Ballard blamed Peterson's fiscal mismanagement for this latest in a series of tax increases adopted by Peterson and the Democratic-controlled council. "Over the past eight years, this city and county government has increased its spending every single year," Ballard said. "Now when it is woefully apparent that we need to do more to address a rampant crime problem, we are out of the cash to do so." Ballard complained that Peterson has increased spending by nearly half since he took office 8 years ago and the city's debt has ballooned. "The amount of bond debt this city has on its books has multiplied by over THREE THOUSAND PERCENT since he took office!," Ballard noted. "Families do not run their finances this way. Businesses do not operate this way. It is irresponsible for government to operate this way."
The Indianapolis Democrat Machine & City-County Council...votes bought and paid for by your TAX dollars. (Abatements & exemptions made for millionaires on request, and with proper campaign donation).
ReplyDeleteEndorsed by the Indy Star (Dennis Ryerson formely of The Left Coast, Editor), the official organ of the Peterson Administration.
Crime runs rampant, criminals walk through a revolving door and laugh at the victims, basic city services are not being provided, city service positions go unfilled, BUT additional deputy mayors, are employed...at bigger salaries than in the history of this city! More croney staff make over $75k with city cars, and the Council President gets paid over $90k and a city car by the City!!!
Indianapolis, home of The Democrat Machine...
-How may The Machine TAX & SPEND for your relatives, friends, or millionaire business associates?
Flip-Flop Ballard.
ReplyDeleteMore Police.
No More Police.
Fund Public Safety Needs.
Don't Fund Public Safety Needs.
What's the next flip-flop?
Ballard beats Bart.
ReplyDeleteBART LIES!
whatever, anonymouse. At least he hasn't raised my taxes 18 times since 2005...
ReplyDeletewww.ballardformayor.com
Bart Flip Flopped since day one. Ran on public safety but let it crumble. Worst relationship with police in the history of IPD and IMPD. Where are the 200 officers he promised when elected. Lowering the standards for police academy so that he can get more recruits through. Ran on no more taxes and here we are today. Remember fiscal conservative Wilson? If Ballard were evil he would be the lesser of the two, so I'll take Ballards flip flop over Barts any day.
ReplyDeleteWilson does Bart pay you by the word or the letter? Must be by the letter because most of what you say means nothing.
ReplyDeleteLet's stay on topic and not let anonymous nobodies distract the thread off into personalities of commenters ... some folk seem to be more upset about me than at taxes or city services.
ReplyDeleteWilson: Where are the 200 more police???? Why do criminals laugh at victims? Why are courts turning criminals loose on us?
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the small number of current police, LESS than when Bart took office, protect the city?
Why does Bart lie?
Ballard is clearly getting it right but does anyone think he has a chance to win? No name recognition, no money, no political experience. Where is the Republican machine that used to run this county? The guy would win if people even knew he was out there. Oh, if you are mad, make Ballard a donation. Those $25 checks add up.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:49, make no mistake, Mayor Peterson's re-election is in serious trouble and his campaign folks know it. His re-elect numbers have tanked. Money is starting to flow into Ballard's campaign. Jim Shella wrote, "Look for Greg Ballard to get some TV commercials on the air next week." "The Republican candidate for Mayor of Indianapolis has a little money (the ads will be 10 seconds long) and suddenly Bart Peterson has some vulnerabilities." Peterson's folks are desparately looking for dirt on Ballard. They know they can only win if they are able to drive up Ballard's negatives. Don't be surprised to see Peterson's campaign start hitting Ballard with negative attacks before he has a chance to identify himself with voters.
ReplyDeleteGary:
ReplyDeleteHave you paid attention to the campaigns Peterson has run in the past?
They've been postitve, issue-based campaigns. Even in 1999, when he was running agianst the job-hopping witch Sue Anne Gilroy, he was focused on the issues.
Ballard on the other hand is gone full-tilt negative and hasn't offered any solutions.
and Bart is INCOMPETENT! He is supporting the INVASION of ILLEGAL ALIENS into Indianapolis, giving them free rent for a Consulate giving out FAKE ID's at our TAX-funded Union Station!
ReplyDeleteHe has REFUSED to hire so many police over such a long time that CRIMINALS LAUGH at VICTIMS! His MACHINE has taken the budge of our Prosecutor!
Gary, you're dreaming. Big time.
ReplyDeleteBart's re-elect numbers have not tanked. They're still way above 55, and with about 100 days until the election, there isn't enough time for Ballard to raise the moeny and attempt to get his message out.
No way in hell...
And let me tell you, the insane "Bart lies" mantra is wearing thin, mostly, believe it nor not, among Republicans. The linbe is rarely followed by anything that makes sense.
I doubt we'd be in all of this mess if the sewers and overflows would have been fixed under previous administrations. The same with the pension...why do expect Bart to take all the heat when previous administrations haven't done their job?
ReplyDelete"Bart's re-elect numbers have not tanked. They're still way above 55, and with about 100 days until the election, there isn't enough time for Ballard to raise the moeny and attempt to get his message out."
ReplyDeleteEven Jane Byrne managed to overtake the Democratic machine in Chicago with little money because the machine-backed mayor couldn't get the streets plowed when it snowed. Ballard doesn't need a lot of money. The public discontent ensures him a large vote. The mayor's folks understand this.
The political landscape of the Indiana is littered with the rotted corpses of the campaigns of candidates that thought themselves "invincible" and beyond the reach of "serious competition" because of their perception that money would buy them re-election.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone does not think Ballard has a snowball's chance in hell of defeating Peterson then tell that to former State Senators Larry Borst and Bob Garton. Hell, ask Mr.Invincible and Peterson co-hort Ed Mahern if ANY election's in the bag.
And for the person who said Peterson was up in the polls at 55% then you best check your math again. Our independant poll showed Peterson at 31% LAST WEEK, BEFORE HE RAMMED HIS TAX INCREASE DOWN PEOPLE'S THROATS.
Steven A. Johnson PhD
Washington, DC
I think that the council and those who showed up last night and had to be thrown out should be embarrassed. I'm not sure when it became okay to shout down elected officials during public meetings. What occured last night does nothing to create a positive image of our City.
ReplyDeleteDr. Johnson, your poll numbers are, simply put, a sack of crap.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying Bart can waltz to re-election.
But anyone who looks at legitimate polls often, will tell you that 90-plus days out, if your incumbent has a huge cash advantage, AND your re-elect numbers bump 60, there is almost nothing that can overtake him. His re-elect numbers were never over 62-63. So this "huge drop" is fiction.
There has been an impact. No doubt. But when the poll stratification asks for registered voters, who plan to vote and have voted in the last election, it makes a difference. The AOL or Indy Star phone-in polls are not accurate.
Ballard could win. It's not impossible. Very unlikely. But hope springs eternal. Good luck. If you want to keep referencing polls with questionable baselines and stratification, go ahead.
Just a hint, Ballard backers: If you want a bat's chance in hell, do not link yourselevs to the Bart Lies line. It lacks credibility, altho their passion is good. Stand up, tell the city what you would do about our problems, and answer tough questions. At this stage, that'll work well. He presents well, and looks credible on camera. that's something Greg Jordan could never muster, nice guy tho he is.
Bart 55, Ballard 45. At best.
Anon 9:15, the council triggered the shouting from the audience by refusing to allow the public to be heard. When they want to hear from someone on the city payroll, they give them an opportunity to be heard before the full council. They don't think regular, taxpaying citizens have a right to address the full council.
ReplyDeleteThe people had ample opportunity to voice their opinions at not one, but two, public hearings. They could also contact their councillor via phone, mail or email. The council never takes pulic testimony at full meetings, and this meeting should be no different.
ReplyDeleteGary,
ReplyDeleteI've been sitting here scratching my head all morning trying to figure out the "no" vote cast by Democrat CCC Dane Mahern against the Mayor's tax increase.
Now it's starting to make more sense now.
Republican CCC Scott Keller has been noted by more than one political insider as having received the endorsement of Mayor Peterson and Marion County Dem Chairman Mike O'Conner.
They endorsed Keller despite the fact that Dane's cousin, Brian Mahern, is running against Keller.
Blood's thicker than water and my analysis is that Dane voted no as a direct result of Peterson and O'Conner's support for Republican Scott Keller.
Keller will most likely loss to Brian Mahern by a fairly substantial margin Dane Mahern will easily retain his seat. This does not bode well for the Democratic Machine in this county.
The Maherns can carry a fairly large stick and swing it when they need to and Peterson's and O'Oconner's betrayal of the family will not go unanswered.
anon 10:14, I'm sure there are others who would agree with your analysis. I for one do not believe Peterson is backing Keller over Brian Mahern, although I' sure he's okay with Keller thinking that if it meant getting his vote on the COIT increase. By both Keller and Langsford voting for the tax increase, it allowed Democrats to give 2 of its own members a pass on the tax increase vote. It turns out Mahern and Franklin were those two. Remember, Franklin's boss is Sheriff Anderson and Mahern's boss is Mayor Peterson. I believe Mahern and Franklin believe they are vulnerable in their district's this year. Remember, Peterson put Louis Mahern in charge of the library board so there can't be that much, if any, bad blood between Peterson and the Maherns. Also remember that Mahern was part of the rump group which elected Tally as the council president. Peterson was privately delighted by that move. The Democratic councilor who may turn out to be the biggest loser on this is Angela Mansfield. She faces Bruce Schumaker, whose family owns the Indianapolis Indians. She made a big miscalculation in my opinion voting for this tax increase.
ReplyDelete9:24 Well spoken for a professional political hack Chairman O'Conner.
ReplyDeletePut the bottle down and get a grip would ya.
You're analysis of the Mayor's race is SOOOOOOOOOO predictable coming from the Dem's camp it's nauseous.
And all along I thought "stratification" was some kind of geological formation. That's how much sense you make.
I'll go with Dr. Johnson's poll, he's dead on right.
Scott Keller defeated Horseman by whopping total of THREE VOTES IN 2003!!!!! Hardly a mandate or indicative of how District 16 votes. His election was a fluke to begin with and he lied to his voters to boot.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what Keller's reward will be from Bart after he loses this election but my guess is that $$ will be changing hands or a plum job opens up.
Gary, District 16 is NOT a contested race, Brian Mahern will take it by at least 200 votes minimum. Not that that is good or bad but that's the way it is.
As a resident in Dist. 16, I will say that Scott Keller has a lot of support because he works very hard, attending all neighborhood meetings and taking a genuine interest in his district. Is it an uphill battle? Sure. But he will win in November.
ReplyDeleteSo, in looking for the eminently qualified "Dr. Johnson," I came upon numerous colleges with that name, but none in Washington DC and none in a political specialty.
ReplyDeleteThere is one teaching at an extension campus of the University of Florida in Urban Wildlife.
One teaching at Maine in Area Crops.
One is a Neurologist in Oregon, another a Utah professor of Bioengineering.
MIT has a nanostructures expert while Indiana University has a computer science professor.
None has the middle initial "A."
So, working another angle, I searched for Steven Johnson's in Washington. There are two:
A dentist and the director of Governmental Affairs for Cornell University.
So much for this reputed polling professional...
I don't believe that Dr.Johnson stated that he worked at any college or university nor did he state he was a "polling professional".
ReplyDeleteYou might GOOGLE the various "think tanks" but even they don't publish their complete staff or all associates. If he's from DC then he's most likely at a "think tank".
Just my 2 cents.
All these questions about why Councillor Mahern voted against the tax increase seem to be looking for some ulterior motive. How about we give credit to someone who thought it was bad for the people in his district and therefore voted against it, despite the fact that he may have gotten pushed on privately to vote differently.
ReplyDeleteThere is a loud cry from people to have elected officials who "think for themselves", now you have one in Dane Mahern and everyone can't believe it and wants to try to explain it away. Accept it for what it is, a guy who cares about the people of his district and voted accordingly.