So what gives? Will she run one more time? Fundraising reports for the last two quarters show anemic fundraising efforts on her part which would seem to indicate that she is not taking the idea of running too seriously. Even if she didn't intend to run shouldn't she, as the incumbent in the seat, take advantage of the fundraising environment in DC to build up a nest egg to donate to her designated successor? Or is this the issue no one wants to discuss that is causing the deafening silence on who is running next year?
Carson's supporters in the district have been under fire from all sides this year. There is a rather noticeable fault line between the supporters of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Carson's backers. The blogs have been detailing splits between Peterson and Indianapolis City-County Council President Monroe Grey, a key Carson ally rumored to have his eye on her seat should she announce her retirement. Julia's grandson Andre Carson has also been mentioned as a possible successor, though he has not held elected office before.
So our most speculated upon possible candidates should Carson retire include an embattled CCC member and a political neophyte with family ties. A resurgent GOP operation in Marion County is gathering steam on the back of the property tax reform movement and have had surprising results at the ballot box against Carson the last couple of election cycles. A strong GOP candidate in 08 could conceivably create a problem for the Dem nominee in what has been a Democratic stronghold for 35 years dating back to when Andy Jacobs, Jr. first captured the seat.
So where do we go from here? We have got to find a potential candidate that could run a strong campaign against an unknown challenger. It's time to begin the process of weeding out who will run for the nomination. A candidate must begin fundraising in earnest in the near future if they expect to win in November 08. These issues need to be settled ASAP and Ms. Carson should do her constituents a final act of service by providing us with a definitive answer about her plans for next year. We need to know the district is going to remain safely in Democratic hands.
Clearly, Rep. Carson is not up to another campaign, let alone the day-to-day demanding requirements which accompany being one of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Blue Indiana should just state the obvious and tell Carson to step aside. I suspect she will wait until the last possible moment to announce her intentions to give her hand-picked choice a leg up on other potential challengers. I originally thought she would resign the seat so that a special election could take place contemporaneously with this year's municipal election. This would drive the African-American turnout in support of a replacement candidate many speculate will be another African-American, thereby helping the re-election of Mayor Peterson. It doesn't look like that's going to happen now.
i actually was standing next to rep. carson in national airport a few weeks ago. she was in a wheel chair and looked very frail. she appeared to have a wig on and it was crooked. i could not hear the discussion among her handlers but when they spoke to her she either did not respond or responded slowly. again, i did not hear the actual words. in any case, she clearly is not doing well. it caused me to wonder how she is capable of the demands of the office and competent to fulfill her duties. i am not bashing rep. carson, just relaying what i observed and my resulting concerns.
ReplyDeleteShe is not capable of serving. She hasn't been for a long time.
ReplyDeleteSlight correction: Rep. Jacobs held the seat for many years prior to Ms. Carson, except for one term, when former Mayor Hudnut occupied the seat. It's a small point, but Blue Dog should've gotten that right. It isn't difficult to check.
I am a precinct committeeman in that district. I can tell you there will be a hellish battle to succeed Julia when the time comes, whenever it is. I respect her many years of service, but frankly, her dogged refusal to step aside troubles me, and her endorsement, therefore, will carry little weight for me.
I'll look to the best candidate, for a long-term career in the House, whatver the race or background.
It will not be Monroe Gray. It will not be her grandson. It will not be Carl Drummer.
It could be Caroline Mays, Greg Porter, the Mayor himself, or one of several council members: Angela Mansfield, Jackie Nytes, Mary Adams...I've also heard Robin Winston's name (puke).
But you can be assured one thing: when the time comes, Julia's endorsement will be much less valuable than it once was. By a long damned shot.
... and it shouldn't be Carolene Mays since she was the lone Democrat in the legislative delegation to vote FOR the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
ReplyDeleteShe's a scaredy-cat Democrat who won't make a vote for anything on Capitol Hill that would ruffle anyone back home. THAT is NOT what we need in Washington!
Julia Carson was the only Indiana legislator to miss the House vote on BP's pollution permit.
ReplyDeleteU.S. House rips BP, state
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2007/07/26/news/top_news/doc8d2ee9dd5fe8fb2d862573240006f6ce.txt
It would appear that the battle lines have already been drawn. On side is White and the other Black. Quite frankly, this became all so apparent when the Mayor placed O'Conner as chair of the Marion County Dem Party. Given the percieved overwhelming influence of the Black vote in Carson's district then why was a Black chair not placed in charge of the local Democratic Pary? My guess is that it had to do with the abilty of Whites to raise more campaign money than Blacks.
ReplyDeleteGiven this split in the Party, whoever the contenders are will literally be in a fight to the death with each other. In which case, the ultimate winner in the Dem primary will be the loser in the general election.
I would look for either a White Dem candidate to succeed Carson or the GOP will most certainly take this seat back.
One of Marion County's greatest urban legends is that that of the Black community turning out a massive numbers of it's voters for the Dem candidate. This may have been the case when Jacobs decided to step down but it is not true today.
There are a lot of skeletons in Carson's closet and when she steps aside that closet door is going to swing wide open if she attempts to pick her successor.
If Jill Long and Hillary Clinton are on the top of the Dem ticket in Indiana then 2008 will look like 1980 all over again.
Julia also missed the vote extending the Civil Rights Act. Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteCome on Eric lets get the ball rolling NOW!
ReplyDelete"10:40 AM EST Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteCome on Eric lets get the ball rolling NOW! "
Your point?
Mary Adams voted against the Human Rights Ordinance. That should disqualify her from any Democratic nomination.
ReplyDeleteI spoke for a short time to Congressman Burton at the Perry Lincoln Day dinner a few months ago. Partisan politics aside, he mentioned she wasn't looking too good and needed help to get on and off the house floor. Regardless of who runs on your (pointing to all the 'Rats) side, Julia should take her congressional pension and retire.
ReplyDeleteCome on Eric lets get the ball rolling NOW!
Your guess is as good as mine whether he'll run again.
Wow....imagine the articulate, intelligent and selfless Monroe Grey following Julia's act...Indiana will be the laughingstock of the nation. God forbid.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if Eric can run again - there are lawsuits and counter-lawsuits in the fallout from his 5th/3rd Bank kerfuffle last year. It's not pretty...
ReplyDeleteJulia Carson owed delinquent taxes and had judgments against her when she ran for office.
ReplyDeleteYour point Wilson?
Hey wilson46201, why don't you throw your hat in the ring? You are somewhat articulate and not afraid to put your point of view out there for all to see.
ReplyDeleteCheck this out. Per NUVO today page 6
ReplyDelete"The city of Indianapolis has offered Stephen and Tomisue Hilbert a property tax abatement worth more than $ 126,000.00...
Nice work Bart! The rich get richer
"there are lawsuits and counter-lawsuits in the fallout from his 5th/3rd Bank kerfuffle last year. It's not pretty..."
ReplyDeleteAnytime a business sells or closes someone always has a hand out. As soon as its determined if Dickerson agreed to a personal guarantee this will be resolved.
“Pretty” or not this is a part of doing business on both sides. Dickerson wants to keep his money and lender/investors want as much as they can get.
It could be years before this is settled. It will never see the inside of a courtroom for an opinion. It will be a negotiated settlement.
Now lets talk about Carson's fleecing of Indianapolis. She used public funds to have a house torn down. Her paying the city back was nothing more than an interest free loan.
Hey Mayor Peterson can I borrow $10K? I’ll pay you back in a year or two.
"there are lawsuits and counter-lawsuits in the fallout from his 5th/3rd Bank kerfuffle"
ReplyDeleteWilson getting someone's credit history isn't as hard as it used to be. I think we should look at every democrat who is running for office, incumbents included. Then we need to post the results on a blog like AI. After everyone sees their dirty laundry on the blogs they can all thank you.
Carson will be very happy when the dirt on her grandson is posted. Your career as a democrat snoop will be over. Think about it Wilson some of us are getting tired of your BS.
Damm 4:54 you must have gotten Wilson's attention.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about the dumpster dive on Wilson's past. Could be interesting. I have no idea whether it will hit paydirt, but I'll watch with interest.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Dickerson's business difficulties and attendant legal action:
GM has the auto industry's most-aggressive campaign to recruit and retain minority dealers. If they got crossways with Dickerson, you can be assured there was something amiss. They aren't going to boot a minority dealer without good cause.
And, I've dealt with the bank in question on a professional basis for many years. Let's just say 5/3 has not been known as an aggressive commercial lender. They tended to pick the low-hanging fruit until just recently. And no bank wants to foreclose on a commercial loan to perfect their lien, unless they've exhausted all other alternatives.
It's expensive, and in the banking world, on such a high-profile customer, it exposes their business practices, which banks loathe.
In addition, just as an observation, an out-of-state real estate brokerage immediately listed the Dickerson property. It's a firm commonly linked to GM properties nationwide.
I visited his dealership as a customer. I was treated very well, and saw the same business attitude repeated often.
A complete mystery to me. Except...
This could all be anecdotal. It tells me that there's a lot of smoke, and therefore potentially some fire. Via-a-vis Dickerson being seriously upside down with his bank and GM. I have no idea how you do that as a dealer, but it's pretty clear to me he did.
"As for Mr. Dickerson's business difficulties and attendant legal action:
ReplyDeleteGM has the auto industry's most-aggressive campaign to recruit and retain minority dealers. If they got crossways with Dickerson, you can be assured there was something amiss. They aren't going to boot a minority dealer without good cause."
With twenty-five years in the auto sales industry and having worked in dealerships that were closed or changed hands I know for a fact that residual issues reappear after the sales suit fly back and forth sometimes for years.
GM didn't cash Dickerson's ticket. Dickerson sold his dealership.
"And, I've dealt with the bank in question on a professional basis for many years. Let's just say 5/3 has not been known as an aggressive commercial lender. They tended to pick the low-hanging fruit until just recently. And no bank wants to foreclose on a commercial loan to perfect their lien, unless they've exhausted all other alternatives."
Again you are wrong. The norm in the auto business is for the bank to be at the table during a change in ownership. Filing the lien is a safe guard the bank would enforce.
"In addition, just as an observation, an out-of-state real estate brokerage immediately listed the Dickerson property. It's a firm commonly linked to GM properties nationwide."
GM always owned the real estate Dickerson leased the property and had the use of it for four months after the sale.
"I visited his dealership as a customer. I was treated very well, and saw the same business attitude repeated often.
A complete mystery to me. Except...
This could all be anecdotal. It tells me that there's a lot of smoke, and therefore potentially some fire."
A stand alone Buick Dealership is a dinosaur. Look around, all Indy Auto dealers are multi-line dealers. Ask Tom Wood or Ray Skillman why thy have the multi-line stores.
Automakers are cutting down on the number of dealerships. Ford bought out the franchise of Sharp Ford. Where's all the screams of malice there? There isn't. Ford just like GM is cutting the costs of business by cutting down the number of dealerships it must support.
ReplyDeleteEric Dickerson ran a single line dealership. GM is condensing dealerships. It was easier to take one franchise from Eric than to take 4 away from say Ed Martin. The fact it occurred just as Eric was running for congress was coincidental. BTW Payton Wells closed his dealerships in Anderson and Indy and the banks sued him. Where's the screams of malice there?? Huh? Anyone? Bueller?
Thanks for the info, 11:21, but on a couple of issues, you're dead wrong. I fully accept your car-dealer experience; now accept mine on real estate matters:
ReplyDeleteA bank is not normally at the table on sales of dealerships. They can choose to be at the table, but it is not the norm. And it is never the norm to file suit to protect their lien position.
For a mediocre bank like 5th-3rd, to file suit, all negotiations must've collapsed. All they had to do to hold their position, was file a lien. By the time a lawsuit is filed, due diligence owuld've confirmed if there were anything there to recover. If not, they'd likely not file suit. Blood form a turnip, ya know?
And as for the real estate...GM's name was not on the deed prior to the sale of the dealership. That's just a fact. No bank would loan a dealer this kind of money without securitzation, and the real estate was pledged. Since the sale of the dealership, the name on the property records has changed. I have no idea why.
The single-line theory makes a lot of sense. If that were the case, given the timing and the minority-business sensitivity, why wouldn't GM, in cahoots with the bank, simply get together to do a combo deal? Take out Eric's position with cash, and, if he owed the bank, he gets nothing until their loan is satisfied?
Truth is, he was into the bank for far more than any inventory he ever had. So it was not simply a stand-alone floor-plan arrangement. The property was pledged for the loan, and if he didn't own it, he commited loan fraud at the outset. Which I doubt.
There are just more questions here than there will ever be answers. It's all moot, unles she runs again.
“No bank would loan a dealer this kind of money without securitzation, and the real estate was pledged. Since the sale of the dealership, the name on the property records has changed”
ReplyDeleteThe former Stitzer Buick on W 38th street borrowed millions from GMAC and Bank one. The real estate was owned my Norm Wiese.
The Callahan’s borrowed millions from local banks. Ford motor Co owned the real estate.
Ford Motor Co owned the real estate on Shadeland where Family Lincoln Mercury operated and borrowed millions from local banks.
Dickerson leased the property from one of GM’s real estate companies.
Dealers borrow money by securing their auto and parts inventories. The inventory is the collateral. These are “trust accounts” hence the term “out of trust”. The dealer pledges to finance customer purchases through the lenders who floor plan their inventories.
Monthly “floor plan” checks are done by the lenders. The dealers write a check to the bank if they are found “out of trust”. This is common practice at most auto dealerships. Most dealers will be “out of trust” at sometime weather the bank knows it or not. It’s not an issue unless the dealer stops doing business or sells.
In recent history a very large auto dealer sold his business. Inventory, service tools, and office equipment . The lenders did not attend the closing.
The dealer transferred the money, millions of dollars to an off shore account and fled the US.
Banks learn from other bank mistakes. They do appear at the closings now.
These are issues that arise from doing business. It will be resolved. It could have been you, me, Dickerson or anyone. These suits would have happened if Jesus Christ himself had done business with a lender.
By talking about Dickerson you are taking Wilson's bait.
ReplyDeleteHe did this to reflect criticism from Carson.
"I am got no nickel in that dime." - Julia Carson
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