Friday, May 21, 2010

Democratic Councilors To Be Punished For Vote On Utility Transfer?

Apparently some Marion Co. Democrats are not at all happy with Jackie Nytes and Mary Moriarty Adams  for voting for Mayor Greg Ballard's plan to borrow and spend hundreds of millions of dollars for streets and sidewalks ala former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick and his sidewalks-for-votes scheme and call it a cost-savings way of managing our public utilities. According to the Indianapolis Times blog, the pair may be stripped of their committee assignments, a move that would cut the double-dippers annual pay by a few thousand dollars. Both Nytes and Adams have government-funded jobs when they aren't working on council matters. Nytes is executive director of the Mapleton-Fall Creek Community Development Corporation, which receives its funding from government grants. Last year, she traded her vote in favor of Mayor Greg Ballard's tax, spend and borrow bail out plan for the CIB for a $1 million grant for her CDC. As I've stated before, I will file a Little Hatch Act complaint against her if she seeks re-election next year, along with other councilors who may be violating that Act prohibiting persons whose jobs are funded in whole or in part with federal funds to run for partisan offices. She may also have a primary opponent with the party's backing if she runs again according to the Indianapolis Times blog. Adams works for the Marion County Assessors Office. In all, about a third of our councilors have a government-funded job.

Some of the usual suspects are trying to cast the votes of Adams and Nytes as principled votes. They put the good of the people above party politics so goes their meme. Don't believe it for a minute. Nytes' CDC is cash-rich with that grant money she got thanks to her votes, and Adams is not happy about the trouncing her boss took in the prosecutor's race over the party-backed candidate in the primary. Don't even get me started on Nytes' role in the Central Library white elephant or the contracts her husband's printing business got during the last administration during her oversight of the city's budget. This city administration is the most corrupt in modern Indianapolis history. If we had a real U.S. Attorney in this town like they do in Chicago, half of the people he hired would be answering questions before a federal grand jury right now. The corruption of our county prosecutor is only the tip of the iceberg. It reaches deep into the Mayor's office. If we had a decent newspaper in this town, an investigator's stories would be making headlines regularly in it instead of glowing editorials talking about how visionary our mayor is for offering up a smoke and mirrors, borrow and spend scheme to win votes for his re-election next year from which generations of Indianapolis taxpayers will suffer the consequences.

8 comments:

Had Enough Indy? said...

Whatever else, Nytes is consistent - she has voted for every tax, fee, and rate increase and every abatement, TIF extension, tax credit applications and bond issues for private companies that I can recall. Not trying to evaluate the wisdom of each vote here, just calling out a pattern.

During the Council discussion on prop 132, I believe, which floated bonds and increased the PILOT payment owed to the City by the sewer utility, Nytes said that the taxpayers have sent a clear message that they want other approaches to funding projects besides increasing taxes. I happen to think she misses the point -- that the taxpayers want the City to start living within its means and NOT to be pulling more money from ever more of the residents' pockets.

All my rambling here aside, I have to give some proper due to Nytes and Adams for not voting a certain way just because the party told them to. It would have been nice to see some Republicans defect from the party line on their side, as well. It might have given a veneer of thoughtfulness to the remaining votes in favor of that nutty and very expensive bond issue.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Thanks for sharing, Pat. I've never been fooled by Nytes' so-called concern for fiscal integrity. She talks a good game but doesn't walk the walk. As an elected Republican PC, I've given up on the entire Republican caucus. They are a bunch of clowns being led blindly by an even bigger clown. How so many stupid and/or corrupt people can get elected to office leaves you to wonder how much longer this Republic can survive. I frankly think we are in our last days. The Mayans were probably on to something with their calendar.

M Theory said...

I think the Republic will survive. It's not supposed to be the other way around.

People need to leave the party. It is bad advice to tell a woman to stay with a lying abusive husband.

It makes no sense to stay with a lying abusive political party either.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your exposure of the filthy behavior inside our local GOP.

Citizen Kane said...

I expected Adams, my councilor, to vote as she did based on her B.S answer she gave me after I told her that this proposal was tantamount to theft.

I am sure she will be at our next neighborhood meeting bragging about getting more streets repaired (and creating jobs!) - while I keep fighting to get the substandard paving and sidewalk construction jobs, previously completed in our area, corrected or at least acknowledged as being deficient.

Adams thinks she is the queen of infrastructure, so she believes just as Ballard does, that this will ensure her re-election.

If there was a method for petitioning for impeachment of the councilors who voted for this, I would be happy to lead the way.

As for the Republicans, there are too many true believers who want to believe that the swell guy or gal they know from the local GOP clubs has their best interests in heart - despite all evidence to the contrary.

Marycatherine Barton said...

Everything AI has written in this post rings true, except for praise of today's Fitzpatrick and Chicago newspapers. The owners of both of its major papers have considerably cut back on investigative journalism, so that Wayne Madsen is now stationing his Report in Chicago, and issuing some scathing revelations about the way the federal prosecutor is turning a blind eye, and worse, re the political gangsters there.

I invite all to take a look at the Wayne Madsen Report, found on line, focus on corruption in Chicago, connected with Obamas, Rahm, et al, coming from Wayne, who rues the day he asked his readers to vote for Barack. Chicago is a beautiful city, as was ours, and must be saved.

Marycatherine Barton said...

corr: Fitzgerald, not Fitzpatrick. thanks

Gary R. Welsh said...

Marycatherine, A fellow blogger complained last year that Fitzgerald was engaged in a cover-up of Obama's criminal activities up in Chicago. I thought the blogger was out of line; however, I'm not so sure any more. The fact is that Obama was heavily involved in the board game in the Blagojevich administration that started that whole ball rolling after Blago's father, a Chicago alderman, ratted him out. Essentially, they were trading campaign contributions for contracts and board appointments. Obama got the people he wanted in charge overseeing the state's pensions so his friend's MBE business could get a big contract. The friend got the contract and proceeded to perform so poorly that even Blago's folks unloaded him. Just like Blago got money from Rezko to improve his home, Obama got financial assistance to purchase his south side mansion from Rezko. Obama and Emanuel worked side by side on almost a daily basis in Blago's initial run for governor. They were key players in the criminal enterprise. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald appears to be going to great pains to insulate Obama from his investigation. I don't know why he would do it given his exemplary record to date, but there is evidence of that now emerging.

Marycatherine Barton said...

For even more of Madsen's findings re the political mob in Chicago, you can listen to the Alex Jones Show, of May 20, on line as a podcast, an MP3 file, about one hour past start, found at prisonplanet.com, and for subscribers of prisonplanet.tv, at mp4 and at the beginning of the wmv, in living color. Why did Michelle Obama give up her license to practice law? Listen and learn.

Thought for the moment: will Howard Dean run against Barry Soetoro in the Democrat primary for prez, or will our President not even seek reelection? Have a great week.