Councilors Wave Magic Wand And Find $2.5 Million For Libraries And IndyGo

Facing a firestorm of public criticism for diverting tens of millions of dollars in excess property tax funds to give billionaire Herb Simon a $33.5 million gift for agreeing not to break his long-term lease and move the Pacers out of the city, and to fund a private downtown redevelopment project intended to benefit Eli Lilly, City-County Council leaders magically find $2.5 million to offer the city's libraries and the IndyGo bus system with the caveat that those two entities agree to drop property tax appeals cases to levy higher property taxes to make up for their budget shortfalls. What is the source of this new found money? Why yes, it's a tax increment financing district. You know, the source just a week ago Mayor Ballard's administration insisted couldn't be tapped to fund the libraries and IndyGo. The Star's Will Higgins explains this latest magical act performed by the grand wizards to keep the serfs in line:

Library staffers would keep their retirement benefits, but operating hours at the branches would remain pared down under a budget proposal to be voted on today by a key City-County Council committee.


A bipartisan group of council leaders on Monday agreed to recommend adding $1 million to the library's 2011 budget, partially offsetting the library's property tax shortfall appeal request for $1.8 million.

The group's plan also would provide IndyGo with the $1.5 million it initially sought in its shortfall appeal.

The aim of a shortfall appeal is to make up for declines in revenue resulting from the state's tax caps.

The council committee proposal would require the agencies to drop their appeal requests . . .

The money would come from a fund created in the 1990s to service debt from a tax-increment financing district that helped finance the former United Airlines maintenance hub at Indianapolis International Airport.


Under the proposed deal, the funding source would be recurring for the library but a one-time-only fix for the bus service.

Today, the council's seven-member Municipal Corporations Committee will consider the library and IndyGo budgets -- $37.9 million and $55.1 million, respectively -- as well as the larger annual budget of the Capital Improvement Board.

The CIB's proposed $73.1 million operating budget for 2011 has come under fire because it includes the second of three annual $10 million payments to the Indiana Pacers, part of a $33.5 million deal struck over the summer.

Finding the extra $2.5 million for the library and the bus service is a matter of "moving stuff around," said Jackie Nytes, a Democratic member of the committee who helped craft Monday's deal along with Republican Ryan Vaughn, the council's president. "It's not getting any new money.

"This just buys us time to go to the Statehouse" to lobby for flexibility in seeking new, long-term funding mechanisms.

Naturally, Democratic City-County Councilor Jackie Nytes is on the scene to act as a foil for the Ballard administration. It's the least she can do in consideration for the millions the Ballard administration has directed to the Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation she runs and the printing contracts her husband's printing business has received. CCC President Ryan Vaughn is telling folks the council is just repaying money originally loaned to support the TIF fund by other taxing districts. Well, duh, wasn't that always the case with TIF funds? And one has to wonder why this money has been sitting out there all these years after the United Airlines maintenance hub, which received hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies from the state and the city, closed its operation and threw thousands of high-paid mechanics out of work. So much for the transparency in budgeting Greg Ballard promised when he was elected mayor.

UPDATE: The Municipal Corporations Committee, which is dominated by a group of self-serving politicians, bought into this magical act and padded themselves on the backs for such a show of bipartisanship. Phooey. This is another backroom, smoke-and-mirrors budget gimmick to provide more money to IndyGo and the libraries to cover up the fact that they fully endorse using our property tax revenues to fund the CIB and its multi-million dollar give-aways to the state's wealthiest citizens. Pat Andrews comments to the councilors were spot on. It is monkey business. And yes, property taxpayers surrounding the airport are bailing out the libraries and IndyGo, and the downtown elites aren't sacrificing one freaking dime to the cause. Controller David Reynolds, the handpicked pawn of Joe Loftus and Bob Grand, insults our intelligence by insisting this process has been transparent and totally out in the open. If the people of this county don't rise up and toss every single member of this city council out of office in next year's elections, you deserve the absolute worst government we get from these self-dealers that populate our city-county council. There is not one member of this committee who doesn't rely on government in some fashion. Rivera and his employer's government contracts, Lutz and his ownership interest in a city contractor, Cardwell as a community development corporation leader and city contractor, Nytes and the millions of dollars flowing to her community development corporation and contracts to her husband's printing business, Lewis and her state grant-giving job, Mahern and his city job, and Malone, who we are still investigating to determine what caused her to lose her independent streak and begin voting down-the-line with the corrupt Ballard administration. Not one person on the committee represents ordinary taxpayers. Not one.

UPDATE II: Paul Okeson introduces himself tonight as the president of the CIB. Ann Lathrop presented the budget at the last meeting as the president and presided over the most recent CIB meeting. What happened? Dane Mahern says he's voting against the CIB's budget because he says things are happening over which the council has no control but should have control. Jackie Nytes, after pretending to take a hard line against the CIB at the budget hearing, lauded the CIB for its great cost-reducing ways. She cited phony headcount reductions for this claim. What she failed to explain was how many of these positions were temp positions. She also engaged in phony hand-wringing, suggesting she considered for a moment cutting the CIB's budget but decided it was just too complicated to do, which means it is more important to her that the money keep flowing to her CDC and her husband's printing business. Lutz says he'll vote to send it to the full council but will wait to decide until it is voted on by the full council to say whether he'll vote for the CIB's budget. He said he considered at one time offering an amendment to limit how much it spends on professional sports, but he decided the council had no such authority to do this. He says if he voted against the CIB's budget it would amount to a $10 million gift to Herb Simon rather than a $30 million loan. Translated, that means he will vote for it's final passage if the Ballard administration needs his vote for passage.

Indiana State Pension Fund Among First Headed For Insolvency

Indiana's unemployment trust fund was among the first in the nation to go bankrupt, causing the state to borrow $2 billion to date from the federal government to pay the state's unemployed. According to Business Insider, Indiana will be one of the first states in the nation to see its public pension funds dry up. Neighboring Illinois' pension fund is just 8 years away from insolvency, leaving a $14 billion a year hole the state will have to make up to meet pension obligations, an amount equal to 32% of the state's revenues. Behind Illinois in second place is Connecticut followed by Indiana in a close third place. In just 9 years--2019--Indiana's pension fund is expected to dry up, leaving a $3.6 billion hole that will have to be filled yearly to meet pension obligations. That's 17% of the state's revenues. The unfunded pension liability is even worse for many of the country's largest cities.

I think it's time for the public sector employees to understand the taxpayers simply cannot afford to fund separate retirement systems for them. Many private sector employees have lost employer-funded retirement systems and self-employed persons can barely afford to buy health insurance, let alone set aside money for retirement. Governments will never be able to rein in spending unless public retirement systems are scrapped; otherwise, private sector employees will simply be taxed into servitude to fund lavish retirement benefits for public employees.

Lights Out For Club Level

The controversial Club Level nightclub, formerly known as The Vault, located in downtown Indianapolis on Market Street lost a bid to get its liquor license renewed today. The club has been the scene of multiple shootings and hundreds of arrests over the past several years, including the recent shooting of an IMPD officer who was one of four off-duty police officers who provided security to the club. Fox59 News' Russ McQuaid reports on the action:

Monday, the Marion County Alcohol Beverage Board voted to deny Club Level a renewal of its liquor license. An attorney representing a violence plagued downtown nightclub has told the Marion County Alcohol Beverage Board that the bar will close in early 2011.


Mark Webb appeared before the board on behalf of Club Level, the scene of an early morning shooting two weekends ago that left a police officer wounded.

During the hearing, commissioners took testimony from IMPD officer Bill Carter who detailed hundreds of police calls to the clubs address at 120 East Market Street for a variety of complaints including public intoxication, fights, shootings and murders.


Mike Campbell of the neighboring Hilton Garden Inn testified that his customers feel intimidated by Club Level crowds spilling into the street and that the hotel often leaves rooms vacant on the side facing the club due to noise.

Cheryl Pitzer of Huntington Bank estimates her business spends $25,000 a year on additional security because of Club Level.

"The time has come to take their license away," said an attorney representing a nearby landlord James Amin.

Webb is representing Club Level owner Thomas Vittorio. He complained his client hasn't had enough time to prepare for the hearing and unsuccessfully sought a continuance.

Club Level can appeal the decision to the state Alcohol Tobacco and Beverage Commission.

It's laughable that Club Level's attorney would complain that his client was not given sufficient time to prepare for the hearing. According to the club's liquor license record on the state Alcohol & Tobacco Commission website, the license originally expired on July 3, 2010 but got extended to January 3, 2011. A hearing on the club's renewal had earlier been scheduled for a September hearing but got continued. It looks to me like it got six more months of operation than it should have gotten.

Brizzi Sued By OmniSource

The continuing saga over giant scrap metal dealer OmniSource takes a strange twist after the business filed a lawsuit against Brizzi in a Marion County Superior Court seeking return of hundreds of thousands of dollars investigators seized after a raid on the business' scrap yards in Indianapolis two years ago. Investigators accused OmniSource, which employed nearly 50 off-duty police officers as security at its scrap yards, of knowingly purchasing stolen metal. Brizzi blames his former campaign chairman, Barnes & Thornburg's Larry Mackey, of orchestrating the lawsuit against him. The Star's Vic Ryckaert discusses the lawsuit in a weekend news story, but his story doesn't say what law firm or attorneys filed the suit against Brizzi:

Recycling company OmniSource is asking a judge to force Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi to return more than $277,000 authorities seized two years ago as part of a probe into allegations that the company knowingly bought stolen metal . . .


In OmniSource's complaint, the Fort Wayne-based subsidiary of Steel Dynamics claims that a long-running grand jury investigation into criminal allegations against the company is a sham drummed up "to further advance Brizzi's political profile."


"After almost 20 months it has become clear that this action by the prosecutor has never really been about a legitimate concern about metal theft in Marion County or about a desire for accuracy or justice," OmniSource President Mark Millett said in a news release.


"It has become quite apparent that the prosecutor's real motivation was about headlines and a money grab, threatening OmniSource with forfeiture of all of OmniSource's Indianapolis facilities."

Brizzi indicated that he believed the action was directed by OmniSource's lead attorney, Larry Mackey. Mackey, ironically, served as Brizzi's campaign chairman when he was elected to his first term as prosecutor in 2002.

You may recall a report by the IBJ's Cory Schouten last April about how the prosecutor's office failed to bring a civil action within one year of seizing the money during the raid on OmniSource's scrap yards, a prerequisite for the government to claim money seized during a lawful search conducted as part of a criminal investigation according to OmniSource's attorney, Larry Mackey. That set off finger-pointing between Brizzi's office and Greg Garrison, whose law firm had been hired by the prosecutor's office to handle civil forfeiture actions on a contingency fee basis over whose fault it was that no civil forfeiture action had been filed. The contract with Garrison's office was negotiated by David Weyser, who like Brizzi, has faced questions of misconduct in the prosecutor's office. Garrison contended he was not entitled to any cut of money law enforcement seized during an investigation; only money recovered in separate civil forfeiture actions he brought on the government's behalf, one he said at the time he intended to bring against OmniSource. Brizzi told reporters in June that a grand jury continued to investigate OmniSource but no criminal charges have been filed to date. OmniSource's lawsuit accuses both Brizzi and Garrison of violating the law and engaging in professional misconduct. Ryckaert reports:

OmniSource claims that Brizzi illegally hired private attorney Greg Garrison to oversee the forfeiture of $277,508 seized from the company during raids on six scrap yards in February 2009 and paid him a portion of the forfeiture.


The lawsuit claims Garrison could have earned hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars if, as he allegedly threatened, the company was forced to forfeit all its facilities in Marion and Hendricks counties.

The company claims Brizzi and Garrison are running afoul of laws, the Constitution and ethical guidelines for attorneys.

In response to the allegations, Brizzi told Ryckaert that Mackey was overwrought. "I'm going to reserve comment until I see a complaint," Brizzi said. "It does appear that Mr. Mackey is overwrought." This rift seems very strange considering Brizzi's close relationship to Mackey, who has been a frequent guest on Brizzi's weekend radio talk show host, Crime Beat, on WIBC-FM. Shortly after the raid of the OmniSource scrap yards, Mackey's former law partner at Barnes & Thornburg, then-Public Safety Director Scott Newman, said neither police nor OmniSource had engaged in any criminal wrongdoing before the investigation had even been concluded. From the beginning of this investigation, it has been weighted down with conflicts of interest among the key investigators. I guess nothing should surprise me at this point.

Star Trivializes Ryan Vaughn's ACS Conflict Of Interest

Whenever Dennis Ryerson's newspaper is under fire by the blogs for ignoring an important issue that makes the publication look totally incompetent to its readers, he responds by having one of his reporters stick a small item in the a weekly political gossip column and trivialize its substance so he can claim the newspaper covered the issue. That is the case with the Star's treatment of the glaring conflict of interest City-County Council President Ryan Vaughn has with respect to the pending long-term lease agreement Mayor Greg Ballard's administration reached with ACS for the city's parking meter assets that now must obtain council approval. This and other blogs have railed against Vaughn's insistence he has no conflict of interest despite the fact that his law firm represents ACS and state lobbying records indicated he personally lobbied on behalf of the politically-connected firm.

Vaughn ignored the chatter on the blogs over the last several weeks about his conflict of interest, which Ryerson dubbed "noise", until Indianapolis' weekly alternative newspaper, Nuvo, asked him questions about it. Vaughn then declared the lobbying records, which have been available online for more than a year, were in error and that he had never personally lobbied for ACS. Vaughn offered further explanation to the Star about the "error", one that any good lawyer does when he screws up--blame it on an underling. Trivializing the entire matter as nothing more than political gossip, the Star includes the explanation in an item in this weekend's "Behind Closed Doors" column, which was compiled this week by reporters Jon Murray, Chris Sikich, Bill Ruthhart (who just left to go to work for the Chicago Tribune as, believe it or not, a "watchdog" reporter) and Mary Beth Schneider. The item reads:

City-County Council President Ryan Vaughn has rebuffed pressure to abstain from taking part in an upcoming vote on a controversial parking meter lease.

The pressure he's facing makes sense. The Indianapolis power firm where the Republican leader works, Barnes & Thornburg, has lobbied in the past on behalf of Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, the lead vendor in the proposed parking meter deal. The law firm also has connections to Mayor Greg Ballard's administration. [My note: The firm still lobbies for ACS and the firm still provides legal counsel directly for Mayor Ballard's office.]

Still, Vaughn and administration officials insist Barnes & Thornburg's lawyers played no role in the ACS-led team's winning bid for the lucrative proposed parking meter contract. Vaughn says his employment alone isn't a conflict of interest. [The IBJ has indicated the deal could net ACS $1.2 billion. City lobbying records show Joe Loftus of Barnes & Thornburg is registered to lobby the city's Information Services Agency and the Dept. of Public Works on behalf of ACS. Loftus is personally engaged by the Mayor's office to lobby the General Assembly on behalf of Mayor Ballard.]

But last week, Vaughn faced new questions. State records appeared to show he had, despite his assertions to the contrary, personally lobbied on behalf of ACS at the state level, where the company has a contract to modernize the welfare services delivery system.

That's a potentially damning revelation, and it first surfaced after local political bloggers discovered that Vaughn's Executive Branch lobbyist and registration for 2009 included "ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc." as a client. The record listed an array of "related" state agencies and said purchasing was in the subject of the lobbying.

But Vaughn insisted the record was incorrect. He said ACS was included because of a mix-up when a Barnes & Thornburg paralegal entered his online registration that year and "registered me for executive lobbying that I haven't done," he said.

Vaughn said that because of varying rules for executive and legislative lobbying registration, Barnes & Thornburg treats them differently. For legislative registration, the firm lists all of the firm's lobbying clients for each lobbyist, regardless of which ones each lawyer handles [My note: It provides plausible deniability when the feds come knocking at your door.]

For the executive registration, Vaughn said, the firm lists only clients each lawyer "affirmatively represents." Last week, a paralegal in Vaughn's office edited his record for 2009 and removed ACS so that it fit the firm's practice. [My note:  Vaughn means his current version of events since the records don't match his former story.]

An Indiana Department of Administration spokeswoman confirmed that the agency relies on lobbyists and their firms to register their affiliations in the online database and allows them to edit those records. [My note: A legalized practice for permitting destruction of evidence by lobbyist whose teats are caught in the ringer.]

If the parking meter proposal reaches the council next month, some council Democrats and others say Vaughn has no business voting on it.

"I do," Vaughn responded. "There's a certain element of people out there that are sort of form over substance, so they're never going to be happy with the decision I make. My job is to follow the ethics rules and represent my constituents." [My note: Spoken like the graduate of the Carl Brizzi School of Ethics of which Vaughn is.]

You probably won't be surprised to hear my reaction to Vaughn's explanation. Total BULL. I know a little bit about lobbying. I was a registered lobbyist for multiple clients when I worked at Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman from 1993 to 1998. I had responsibility for preparing all of the firm's lobbying registration and activity reports. I was supervised by one of the partners, Bill Moreau, who just coincidentally happens to be one of those registered lawyer-partners at Barnes & Thornburg. Moreau was a real stickler for detail. He insisted I carefully avoid registering attorneys as lobbyists for clients for whom they did not lobby. And he never delegated the registration and reporting responsibilities to a paralegal while I worked there. I guess he's tempered his ways with age.

The trivialized treatment with which the Star is giving this issue is deeply disturbing. I would note the stark contrast in the way the Star is handling the issue when it involves Vaughn than when a similar issue arose with former CCC President Monroe Gray. The Star published numerous stories on Gray's omission of potential conflicts of interest on his economic interest statement and Ryerson wrote several editorials condemning Gray's actions. Now, Gray isn't known for being the sharpest tool in the shed. He wasn't an attorney and at least he had the excused he relied on the advice given to him by the council's attorney, Aaron Haith. Vaughn was out front in pushing an investigation of Gray on the part of the Republican caucus. Vaughn even pressed an attorney-disciplinary complaint against Haith because he performed legal work for Gray's business, in addition to his work as the council's attorney, a complaint later dismissed by the state's attorney disciplinary commission. Real newspapers, like the Chicago Tribune, question whether there is a tie between a legislative leader's official duties and the clients his law firm represents. To the Star and Dennis Ryerson, it's just needless "noise", particularly when it involves a politician with whom you have a "special relationship."

Will ACS Gain Complete Control Of FSSA?

Michael Gargano

It's been no secret since Gov. Mitch Daniels took office that ACS and its lobbyists at Barnes & Thornburg have wielded enormous influence over the state Family and Social Services Administration. Former ACS executive Mitch Roob became Secretary of FSSA just as he had predicted years earlier during the failed attempt to elect another ACS executive, former Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith, as governor. Roob made no bones about his intent to privatize the administration of welfare services, and everyone knew that meant a major role for his former employer, ACS. Roob departed the agency at the end of Daniels' first term, having succeeded in delivering one of the largest state contracts in history to IBM and its primary partner, ACS, notwithstanding the costly disaster that ensued, to become the state's top economic development guru for Daniels. Anne Murphy, a veteran manager at the agency, took Roob's place.

This week, it was learned Murphy began searching for a new job after only a year on the job. Murphy had the unenviable task of playing clean-up for the privatization mess Roob left behind. Daniels convinced Murphy to stay at the helm of FSSA until the state unwound the controversial IBM contract and implemented a hybrid approach to welfare administration. Little noticed in Murphy's ascension to FSSA Secretary at the time was the naming of her chief of staff, Michael Gargano, a strong voice for ACS's interests. Gargano is married to another former ACS executive and former controller during the Goldsmith administration, Ann Lathrop. She, Roob, Goldsmith and another top Goldsmith administration staffer, Skip Stitt, all landed at ACS following the end of Goldsmith's tenure as mayor. With Gargano in a key position but not technically a decision-maker, ACS succeeded in maintaining a contract with FSSA to administer call center activities for welfare administration after IBM had been sacked and sued by the state for damages occasioned by the failed privatization initiative.

The state ethics commission approved this week an employment offer Murphy has received from Community Health Network as its new vice president of government relations. Murphy has not formally accepted the offer but is expected to do so relatively soon. The state ethics commission determined the state's one-year revolving door law would not prevent her from accepting this new job. Murphy, unlike the controversial hiring of the IURC's top lawyer, Scott Storms, by Duke Energy, has not been involved in any contract or regulations pertaining to Community Health Network since she began her job search. Murphy has agreed not to lobby the Daniels administration on behalf of her prospective employer during the one-year cooling off period. The focus is now shifting to who will replace Murphy once she departs.

Michael Gargano is expected to be a leading contender to replace Murphy as FSSA Secretary as her chief of staff. Curiously, he is still listed as the principal for Watertown Group, a consulting firm he founded in 2003 after he left KPMG Consulting, where he met his current wife, Ann Lathrop. Among the clients listed for Watertown Group are his current employer, FSSA and several other state agencies, the City of Indianapolis and, no surprise, ACS. As an example of the work it does, Watertown Group's website has this testimonial:

Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration suffered from a contract process filled with inefficiencies, delays and errors. Watertown was able to improve the contract process, ultimately providing faster, more accurate service to FSSA’s many clients.

It is unclear to me how Gargano could have a private consulting firm with all of these clients while he serves in a full-time position at FSSA as chief of staff. Campaign contributions as recently as March, 2008 list Gargano as an executive with Watertown Group. A database of state employees salaries at the Indianapolis Star's website lists Gargano's annual salary at FSSA as $124,195 for the period of 2009-10. It looks like ACS and Barnes & Thornburg, which has a big contract with the agency handling the state's lawsuit against IBM, as well as serving as ACS's lobbyist before the Daniels administration, the General Assembly and the City of Indianapolis, will likely be in the driver's seat if Gargano becomes FSSA's new Secretary. [Paul Ogden has more on that legal contract here.] Not as if that hasn't already been the case though. I'm still trying to figure out how Barnes & Thornburg could represent ACS at the same time it is suing its partner in the FSSA privatization deal on behalf of the state, but the big law firms must know more about conflicts of interest than gumshoe attorneys like myself.

If you connect the dots, which is easy enough to do, you can see why Robert Grand asked Mayor Greg Ballard to appoint Ann Lathrop to the CIB at the beginning of his administration when Grand took charge of the CIB and later asked him to name her as its head after he departed. It's quite an incestuous cesspool of political cronyism Barnes & Thornburg, Grand, Lathrop and ACS have going on, isn't it? Any big surprise that Mayor Ballard would pick ACS to award a 50-year lease for the city's parking meter assets?

UPDATE: Tell me why this shouldn't surprise me? The link to Watertown Group's website went dead this morning. You can still see the cached version here. Lots of State of Indiana users visiting the blog this morning.

Scott Fundraising Letter Hits Carson Hard On Race-Baiting And Islamic Ties

GOP 7th District candidate Marvin Scott leaves no stone unturned in a hard-hitting direct mail fundraising letter that arrived in my mailbox today, which also contained a personal appeal from Alan Keyes, who is described as Honorary Chairperson for Scott's campaign. The letter slams Carson for race-baiting, calls him one of the "most radical, liberal, socialist members of the House", a "champion of Islam and Sharia law in America" and a "close friend of Louis Farrakhan."

"[H]e's the key person leveling fraudulent charge at conservative Americans like you, claiming he heard the "N" word 15 times while walking through a Tea Party event in Washington, D.C.," Scott charges. "He shamefully painted Tea Party activists not only as racists--but as a terrorist threat . . . before numerous videotapes proved beyond a shadow of a doubt there's absolutely no truth to his accusations." While that is all true, the charges Scott leveled against Carson related to his Muslim religion, many of which have been documented on this blog, will no doubt cause WISH-TV's Jim Shella to take to the airwaves to accuse Scott once again of being an anti-Muslim bigot.

Scott's letter asserts Carson is "one of only two Muslim members of Congress championing Islam and Sharia law in America" who has a perfect score of support from the Arab American Institute. The letter hits Carson for accepting contributions from "disgraced U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel and from CAIR, the Council on American Relations, a notorious Saudi-funded front organization for the terrorist group Hamas." Carson has unabashedly championed Islam as a Member of Congress, although I'm unaware of him saying he supports Sharia law, Islamic religious law that has increasingly been interposed in other western countries as trumping the civil law, particularly in Western Europe, in family law and probate matters to the detriment of Muslim women and their daughters. "It's a fact: Freedom of religion doesn't exist in any country under Islam's control," Scott correctly observes.  He goes on to add that CAIR's founder, Omar M. Ahmad, has said, "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant." Ahmad stepped down from his founding role in CAIR several years ago and denies he ever made that statement, but the newspaper reporter who quoted him as saying it has stood by her original report.

Scott accuses Carson of having "a habit of associating closely with Muslims suspected of terrorist ties, especially when there's campaign cash to be had." Scott correctly notes Carson was compelled to return a $1,000 contribution when he first ran for Congress in 2008 "from a fellow Muslim investigated on terrorism charges." He further connects Carson to a fundraiser hosted for him by Jorhari Abdul Malik, who belongs to the Dar Al Hijrah mosque that was linked to the 9/11 hijackers and Nidal Hasan, the Army doctor who shot and killed 13 soldiers and injuried 30 others at Fort Hood, Texas last year. Scott adds, "Carson was even honored at a conference for Muslims that featured an all-star lineup of federal unindicted Islamist co-conspirators, radical imams and anti-American organizations that preach the necessity of jihad ("holy war") and insist that the U.S. honor Sharia law", an apparent reference to Carson's attendance and participation the past two years at the Islamic Society of North America ("ISNA") conference. Scott quotes Zaid Shakir, one of the speakers at ISNA as saying, "Every Muslim who is honest would say, 'I would like to see America become a Muslim country.'"

Scott hits on Carson's regular presence at the Nur-Allah Islamic Center in Indianapolis. "[C]ontrary to his claimed moderation," Scott says of Carson, "He is indeed a committed Islamist." He adds, "In fact, Carson rushed the stage following a recent White House Iftar-Ramadan dinner-to warmly embrace Barack Obama with congratulations after Obama declared his strong support for the Hamas-endorsed Ground Zero mosque." "But we know that, consistent with historical Muslim practice, the Ground Zero mosque represents a bold monument to conquest, celebrating radical Islam's violent victory over America on 9/11," Scott continued. "Enough is enough. You can take a big step today toward not only halting but reversing the islamization of America--and restoring conservative values--by supporting my campaign." Scott warns in the letter," It's clear that Muslims everywhere are going to make sure their loyal Andre doesn't give up his seat without a tremendous fight." "Money will be no obstacle for Carson." "But it is for me," Scott says before requesting contributions from "patriot Americans."

A short letter enclosed with Scott's fundraising appeal from Alan Keyes hits Carson for "shamefully l[ying] to smear Tea Party activists not only as racists, but as a terrorist threat to the nation" who voted for Obamacare, earned a zero from the American Conservative Union, has a perfect voting record with Planned Parenthood and NARAL and signed a letter condemning Israel. Keyes urges support for Scott, who he describes as "a man of integrity who holds deep conservative convictions." Keyes hits Carson as a politician "funded by socialist, sinister benefactors and special-interest Muslim associates with proven ties to Islamist terrorist groups."

Scott has apparently concluded he has already been deemed an anti-Muslim bigot by the local news media so he may as well let it all hang out on just exactly how he feels about Carson's religion and Islamic ties. Scott has run unsuccessfully on several previous occasions for this congressional seat and the Senate seat held by Sen. Evan Bayh. Marion County Republicans slated Carlos May over him in this year's primary election but May's youthful tenacity was no match for the name recognition Scott had built up over his previous campaigns. Scott's campaign came under fire earlier over statements his campaign manager, controversial former radio talk show host Stan Solomon, published on the Internet. Although Scott said Solomon stepped down from his campaign, others suggested he was still running Scott's campaign. Scott also recently raised a bit of a stir when he appeared to falsely claim an endorsement from Sarah Palin. Claiming endorsements and support he never received is a tact for which Scott has been called out in previous campaigns as well.

Scott's campaign has raised virtually no money, and he is getting no support from the Republican Party. I suspect the purpose of the letter is less about raising money and more about stirring up conservative white voters he suspects are more likely to come out and vote in the November election than liberals and African-Americans, who came out in droves to vote in the November, 2008 general election for Barack Obama. The 7th District is decidedly Democratic; however, Republicans often ran competitive races against Carson's late grandmother, Julia Carson. Scott nearly toppled Andy Jacobs, Jr. in the Republican tidal wave election in 1994. Some are predicting this year's election could rival that Republican wave but few believe it will be enough to elect Scott this year. Most Republicans are just hoping for a Republican-controlled legislature next year that can redraw the boundaries to split Marion County down the middle, creating two districts with enough Republican suburban voters to end Carson's congressional career.

Ballard On Herb Simon: "Everybody Knows He's Lost A Lot Of Money"

When Greg Ballard the candidate sat down with me for an interview in June, 2007 to discuss why he thought he was the right choice to be Indianapolis' next mayor and during subsequent discussions, he could not have been more clear he thought the city was spending too much money on professional sports and needed to focus on doing a better job providing basic city services. On his election night upset victory over Mayor Bart Peterson, he credited the hard working grassroots supporters for his victory and declared the end of country club politics in Indianapolis. That was then. Sometime during the transition from his election night victory to the day he was sworn into office, Ballard decided it was more important to curry favor with all of the people who fought hard to defeat him and toss to the curb everyone who actually worked to put him in office, along with all of the major public policy decisions he staked out during his campaign. His reversal in public policy positions has been most pronounced in his view of subsidies to the professional sports teams.

Under fire by the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations for a secretive move by his administration to funnel $8 million a year in excess property tax revenues from the downtown TIF districts to help pay for a $33.5 million, 3-year public subsidy for Herb Simons' Indiana Pacers, Ballard took to the airwaves to defend his decision to subsidize the billionaire Simon. Ballard told WTHR:

"We built Lucas Oil Stadium with tax dollars and it's run by tax dollars. We built the Convention Center with tax dollars and it's run by tax dollars. We built the new library with tax dollars and it's run by tax dollars. We built Conseco Fieldhouse with tax dollars. It's run by Herb Simon. He's been running that Fieldhouse on his dime for ten years - a public building. Now, he has said 'I can't continue to do that.' Everybody knows he's lost a lot of money. So, the dilemma we have - if he leaves - a real possibility because he's losing so much money, then I have an empty building. I have an empty building that I have to run for $18 million every year hoping to put a circus or a concert in there occasionally or we can help them run the building," said the mayor.

Let's dissect that statement because there's quite a mouthful there. "We built Conseco Fieldhouse with tax dollars." "It's run by Herb Simon." "He's been running that Fieldhouse on his dime for ten years--a public building." Yes, Mr. Mayor, the taxpayers did build Conseco Fieldhouse with our tax dollars--under threat from the Simon brothers that they might have to move their precious NBA team to another city that appreciated them more by building a brand new arena for them. The City negotiated a 20-year lease on precisely the terms requested by the Simons. Give us total control of the building rent-free, including all of the revenues it generates from both game and non-game events, and we'll pick up the operating and maintenance expense on the building. A win-win situation we were assured. Yes, Herb Simon has paid most, but not all of the operating and maintenance expenses on Conseco Fieldhouse. Past budget expenditures show several million dollars in costs were actually picked up by the CIB. On the other hand, the Pacers have been using our publicly-owned stadium on our dime and keeping all the revenues it generated.

Next, Ballard boldly states, "Everybody knows he's lost a lot of money [on the Pacers]." Uh, no, Mr. Mayor, everybody doesn't know that. You see, Herb Simon has never disclosed audited financial statements for the Pacers that would give us a clue whether his team is losing money, making a profit or breaking even. We know for a fact you have never seen those documents, and if they had been shown to you, I seriously doubt you are capable of discerning what they mean. Further, we know that during the past year, Herb Simon bought out his late brother's 50% interest in the team. If the team had lost so much money, why was Herb so anxious to buy out his brother's interest in this losing team? And how much money did Herb pay for this big money loser? This information was never disclosed to Mayor Ballard, the CIB and certainly not the taxpayers who have been asked to subsidize Simon with an additional $33.5 million of our money in exchange for the promise he won't break his lease during the next three years that he is legally obligated to fulfill or face a termination fee well in excess of $100 million. What we do know is the Simon brothers scooped the team up for $11 million, and the franchise is now estimated to be worth about $300 million. Not a bad return on investment I should say. We also know from Bren Simon's sworn testimony in her late husband's disputed estate proceedings that Herb has a tendency to speak out of both sides of his mouth. So as far as the public knows, there is absolutely no proof Herb Simon has lost a lot of money on his Pacers. Put up or shut up, Mr. Mayor.

The mayor then goes on to lament how the CIB would be faced with $18 million in costs to operate an abandoned arena that would only occasionally be occupied for a concert or circus. The Mayor seems to forget the large break-up fee Simon would be forced to pay the CIB if he breaks his lease--money that could be used to pay down debt and cover operating costs. Moreover, with no Pacers or Fevers, the arena could actually be used to host far more concerts and other events than it currently does and the CIB would get to keep all of the revenues that are now going to Simon. As for the economic loss to the city, I would point to what the owner of the Seattle Sonics argued in court when that team picked up and moved their NBA franchise to Oklahoma City. An expert hired by the team argued Seattle would realize virtually no detectable economic impact. As the Seattle Times reported:

A city expert, economist Lon Hatamiya, offered his analysis Thursday that the Sonics contribute $188 million a year to the local economy through payroll, ticket sales and other consumer spending.


If the Sonics leave, that spending "may go away," Hatamiya said. "There is no certainty that money will continue to be spent here... Much of that impact would shift to Oklahoma City."

But [Brad] Humphreys, the Sonics' expert, countered that such economic-impact studies grossly exaggerate the benefits of sports teams and do not pass muster for peer-reviewed economics journals.

Humphreys said he has studied the relocation of every major professional sports team over the past 40 years, and discovered no discernible harm to the local economy of the cities that lost teams.

"When a team leaves, they don't take that consumer spending with them ... it simply gets spent on other entertainment activities," he said.

So help us out, Mr. Mayor. What do you know that we don't know? Enlighten us, please.

Daniels Administration Revolving Door Keeps Turning Faster And Faster

The revolving door of members of the administration of Gov. Mitch Daniels turned a little faster today with the announcement FSSA Secretary Anne Murphy is leaving the administration to accept a position as a lobbyist within the health care industry. As usual, the state's one-year revolving door law will not apply to her as the state ethics commission greenlights her new job. The Star's John Russell reports:

The head of Indiana's human services department, the state's largest government agency, has been offered a job as a lobbyist for Community Health Network, which runs one of the state's largest hospital systems.

Anne Murphy, secretary of Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration was cleared today by the State Ethics Commission to take a job as first vice president of government relations for Community, based in Indianapolis.

Murphy has not yet formally accepted the position, but told the Ethics Commission this morning she had been hunting for a new job outside of government in recent months.

In her new position, she will not be permitted to lobby the executive branch for at least one year, according to the job offer letter that was submitted to the ethics panel. She would-be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with federal and state government agencies and representatives, according to the offer letter, primarily in the area of health care law changes.


Murphy has been with the FSSA since January 2005. It is the largest state agency, with 5,000 employees and managing $8 billion a year in annual expenses for such things as child welfare, health and human services. She made $130,000 a year.

Murphy told the ethics panel she has not been involved in any contracts or regulations involving Community Health Network. The salary of her new position was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Daniels administration is doing more clean-up work at the badly-tarnished IURC after an internal investigation discovered the state's top utility regulators were in bed with Duke Energy instead of protecting the public.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission said today that it will conduct a sweeping investigation into any cases involving Duke Energy Indiana and a former administrative law judge who took a job with Duke after presiding over many of the utility's cases.

The commission said it wants to see whether Scott Storms, the former judge who accepted a job with Duke last month failed to follow normal processes or laws.

"It is of the utmost importance to determine whether the cases were handled improperly or mismanaged in any way, and if so, for us to take swift and corrective action immediately," said Jim Atterholt, IURC chairman.

The commission plans to audit all cases of its Edwardsport plant dating back to 2006, as well as cases decided after Storms became a candidate for employment at Duke.

The public should not be satisfied with an internal investigation. Joe Hogsett, the newly-appointed U.S. Attorney in Indianapolis, needs to demonstrate some leadership by convening a grand jury and launching a separate federal investigation to determine whether any criminal laws were broken. It's obvious the corrupt office of Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi won't act. The U.S. Attorney's office in Indianapolis should do something it hasn't done in decades--investigate and prosecute public corruption.