Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Merritt Officially Says He's Not Running For Mayor
Various news outlets are reporting Sen. Jim Merritt has announced he won't be seeking the Republican nomination for mayor next year, still leaving no Republican candidate running to replace Mayor Greg Ballard (R). It looks like a repeat of the 2007 Republican mayor's race when the GOP nominated Ballard as a token candidate and withheld any support for his election until the last few weeks of the campaign when it became apparent voters were prepared to oust then-incumbent Mayor Bart Peterson. A deal was obviously made to hand the mayor's office to Democrat Joe Hogsett in consideration for his agreement to kill public corruption cases involving high-level Republicans in Indiana while he was serving as U.S. Attorney. Expect the Republicans to handpick a controllable figure to act as a place-holder in the event the unthinkable happens, and Hogsett blows the first political race in his long political career that has been handed to him on a silver platter. The notion that a real two-party system exists in Indianapolis is only a figment of our imaginations.
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3 comments:
Ballard got elected because he was able to pin the property tax furor on Peterson, period. So far there's nothing to pin on Hogset from his last job,, and assuming that holds, hewing next November. The lesson probably isn't that Indy's no longer a two party town, but that, absent a real, or perceived major gaffe, incumbents win here, all things being equal, Democrats win here, and, of course, the more recognizable name, the better.
Gary, your account is absolutely believable to me. A very connected GOP insider informed me at the beginning of Ballard's previous mayoral campaign that it would be Ballard's last. I was told "trust me, he will not run for a third term. Two terms is all he will be in office as mayor."
Knowing that Ballard is an ultimate egomaniacal control freak, I was skeptical at the time.
When Ballard recently "explained" his ostensible reasons for not running for a third term I remembered every word my very connected GOP insider told me.
That there are two parties and that the electorate actually has a real effect is an utter illusion.
Can't find a candidate that probably shouldn't be under investigation on any side.
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