Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Six Candidates Vie For 7th District GOP Nomination

It may seem hard to believe, but there are six candidates who will be competing at this Friday's caucus to replace Jon Elrod on the ballot for 7th District Congress. According to the Indiana Daily Insight, they include Gabrielle Campo, Kevin Green, Ray Irvin, Patrick O'Connor, Michael Simpson, and Jason Turnbill. As an elected precinct committeeperson in the district, I've heard from only one of the candidates. Patrick O'Connor, a claims adjuster for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, who telephoned me this evening. The law firm of Ice Miller, as represented by Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John and 7th District GOP committeeman John Hammond, is backing Campo. It's no secret that Ice Miller has strong ties to the Center Township Democrats (the firm represents Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer) and the Carson political machine. Ice Miller partner Lacy Johnson is very close to Andre Carson who, like his grandmother, provides an important link to the firm's D.C. lobbying practice. I'm not sure what to make of this "party support" for Campo. It's kind of like former Marion Co. GOP Chairman John Keeler's support for Greg Jordan in the 2003 mayoral race. Keeler's law firm, Baker & Daniels, had a provision in their legal contract with the City of Indianapolis at the time which said Keeler couldn't speak out against Mayor Peterson. As you may recall, Jordan struggled to raise money and lost badly to Peterson.

6 comments:

  1. What happened to Cat Ping?

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  2. Jon - I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV - but I think she is ineligible since she ran in the primary and lost.

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  3. I don't think that matters in this case, Mike, since the candidate who defeated her withdrew from the ballot.

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  4. I noticed one of the candidates (not Campo - one of the guys) was suggesting we might need "price caps" because of inflation.

    I know a precinct committeeman who has gotten stuff from two of them, including Campo who wrote "I can beat Andre" on the front. I'm not sure anyone without a "D" after their name will ever win that seat but time will tell.

    Redistricting in a few years could help tighten things up depending on how the lines get redrawn. Expect Indiana to lose a House seat.

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  5. Anonymous10:29 PM EST

    AI, I agree. A defeated primary candidate could most certainly fill an opening when the nominee resigns.

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  6. Doesn't this just mean Ice Miller is hedging their bets either way?

    The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.
    -- Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in our Time

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