I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I've just about had it with the complete lack of coverage by the Star of the candidates in the 7th District congressional race discussing where the candidates stand on the issues. Almost every day the newspaper has a story about the candidates and the issues in the 8th District and 9th Districts in southern Indiana, or the 2nd District in extreme northern Indiana.
The Star has not had one substantive article since the primary where it discussed Rep. Julia Carson's and Republican Eric Dickerson's positions on the issues. They've had all kinds of stories about debates happening in these other districts, but where are they in calling for a debate right here in Indianapolis where most of its readers are in the 7th District race.
This past Tuesday, an event sponsored by the Indiana Coalitition for Open Government featured the Republican Eric Dickerson facing off with a panel of local bloggers, including the Star's RiShawn Biddle. Yet the Star had absolutely zero reporting on the event. When Rep. Carson shamelessly dumped a 15-year-old police record on its editorial staff about her opponent, the newspaper couldn't wait to rush to print with an article dumping on Dickerson.
Isn't it about time the Star gave its readers a chance to learn where these two candidates stand on the issues. Or is it afraid that a discussion of the issues might help voters choose one candidate over the other?
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Mays Blames Savoy's Defeat On Racism
In an unfortunate turn of events, Bill Mays, one of the city's most succcessfull African-American businessmen, accused opponents of his Savoy nightclub of being racists. The club was dealt a major setback yesterday when the Metropolitan Development Commission voted 7-0 to reject the Savoy's rezoning petition. Mays, who is one of the principal investors in the controversial 300 East "private club/bar" in the Julia Carson Government Center, permitted the lounge to be converted into a dance club two years ago without bothering to obtain the necessary zoning approval. Sound familiar? The Savoy sits next to a nursing home and across the street from St. Vincent's hospital. Reacting to the Savoy's defeat, the Star's Will Higgins writes:
What is amazing about the Savoy problem, which has been brewing for more than a year, is how Mays repeated the same mistake at 300 East, where he and the other investors invested more than $500,000 to build out space in the Julia Carson Government Center for a "private club/bar" without bothering to get the necessary zoning and building permits, not to mention failing to execute a formal lease with Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer. There is a reason zoning laws and building codes exist. Mays is being treated as anyone should be when one ignores the formal processes which have been implemented to avoid these very problems. To throw down the race card at this point is completely unbecoming of Mays.
The United Way of Central Indiana would be wise to pull its television ads featuring an appeal from Mays for support. He's lost his effectiveness as a community leader by trampling all over the rights of the people living near the Savoy and the Mapleton/Fall Creek neighborhoods and then having the audacity to accuse them of being racists for simply asking that our laws be obeyed. Shame on you Bill Mays.
Tillman, the Savoy's manager, said that without live entertainment he'd probably shutter the place. He said he would first consult with his investors.
One of them, businessman Bill Mays, said he'd advise throwing in the towel.
"If the neighborhood doesn't want it, fine -- it's their loss," Mays said.
Mays blames the Savoy's problems on racism. He noted that most of the Savoy's patrons were black, as were its managers. The surrounding neighborhood is mostly white.
"The conclusion I could come to is, this city doesn't want black people to have nice establishments," he said.
Mays also is part of a different investment group seeking regulatory approval to open a bar in the Carson Government Center. That group, which has met resistance, wants its own zoning variance and goes before the Metropolitan Development Commission on Nov. 1.
What is amazing about the Savoy problem, which has been brewing for more than a year, is how Mays repeated the same mistake at 300 East, where he and the other investors invested more than $500,000 to build out space in the Julia Carson Government Center for a "private club/bar" without bothering to get the necessary zoning and building permits, not to mention failing to execute a formal lease with Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer. There is a reason zoning laws and building codes exist. Mays is being treated as anyone should be when one ignores the formal processes which have been implemented to avoid these very problems. To throw down the race card at this point is completely unbecoming of Mays.
The United Way of Central Indiana would be wise to pull its television ads featuring an appeal from Mays for support. He's lost his effectiveness as a community leader by trampling all over the rights of the people living near the Savoy and the Mapleton/Fall Creek neighborhoods and then having the audacity to accuse them of being racists for simply asking that our laws be obeyed. Shame on you Bill Mays.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Brizzi Sets Himself Apart From Marion Co. GOP At Indy Rainbow Chamber
Marion County Republican Prosecutor Carl Brizzi set himself apart from more conservative elements of his party this evening by speaking at a meeting of the Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce. That’s part of a process he began more than a year ago when, on his own initiative, he enacted a non-discrimination policy to protect gay and lesbian employees among his staff of 168 attorneys and other support staff before the city-county council approved the human rights ordinance.
Brizzi highlighted his push, beginning last year, to bring Indiana law into line with all but four other states by enacting a hate crimes law. He doesn’t think it’s a good thing to be in the same category as Arkansas and Georgia on this particular score. Brizzi cited recent examples of hate crimes committed against gays and Hispanics to illustrate the need for the law. He noted the 1999 Jamie Carson case, the grandson of Rep. Julia Carson (D), where two gay men were subjected to incredible torture and sexual abuse at gunpoint by Carson and two accomplices during the commission of a home invasion. Brizzi says he’s been alarmed by a recent trend of signs being posted in Hispanic areas of the city offering a $100 a head bounty against suspected illegal Hispanic immigrants.
Brizzi engaged in a dialogue with his audience, encouraging their active participation in helping to convince the legislature of the need for a hate crimes law. Brizzi encouraged chamber members to help identify hate crime victims, who would be willing to tell their stories. While Indiana currently has a law requiring the reporting of hate crimes, Brizzi says it is ineffective without an accompanying hate crimes law to provide an extra incentive to gather the information. He believes he will have more success advocating such a law to the legislature than his Democratic opponent, Melina Kennedy, who is also on record supporting a hate crimes law. He observed that, even if the Democrats are successful in recapturing the House, the Senate and the Governor’s office will still remain in Republican hands. He believes he can more effectively reach out to the Governor and the Republican-controlled Senate to get the job done.
Brizzi was asked about the potential impact of the proposed constitutional amendment in Indiana to not only ban gay marriages, but also any legal incidents of marriage for any unmarried couples, straight or gay. In particular, he was asked about the amendment’s impact on the use of domestic violence safeguards for unmarried couples. He indicated that he does not think it would be wise to deny the use of domestic violence laws to protect unmarried couples. Brizzi also surprised his audience by predicting that the gay marriage amendment would not pass the legislature during the next session. That was certainly welcome news to the crowd.
Brizzi repeated his often used slogan, “criminals have a choice, victims don’t.” It is an emphasis on personal accountability he explains. To that end, he hailed his administration’s conviction rate for methamphetamine-related cases, 95%, and successful legislative efforts to regulate over-the-counter sales of Sudafed, a common ingredient in meth. Increased child support collection efforts by his office have increased collections by 16%, or $86 million over the past four years. He noted successful legislative efforts to increase criminal penalties for gang-related activities. The infiltration of outside gangs into the city poses a real challenge to his office. During a recent visit to the L.A. prosecutor’s office, he learned that MS18 gang members refer to Indianapolis as little L.A. An Internet sting operation his office conducted netted the arrests of numerous child predators. So many men offered to have sex to undercover investigators posing as young, teen-age girls on Internet chat rooms, Brizzi says it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
Brizzi's Democrat opponent, Melina Kennedy, spoke to the group last month. Both candidates were well-received. As a nonpartisan group, the Indy Rainbow Chamber does not endorse any candidate for office. It welcomes candidates from both parties to its events.
Brizzi highlighted his push, beginning last year, to bring Indiana law into line with all but four other states by enacting a hate crimes law. He doesn’t think it’s a good thing to be in the same category as Arkansas and Georgia on this particular score. Brizzi cited recent examples of hate crimes committed against gays and Hispanics to illustrate the need for the law. He noted the 1999 Jamie Carson case, the grandson of Rep. Julia Carson (D), where two gay men were subjected to incredible torture and sexual abuse at gunpoint by Carson and two accomplices during the commission of a home invasion. Brizzi says he’s been alarmed by a recent trend of signs being posted in Hispanic areas of the city offering a $100 a head bounty against suspected illegal Hispanic immigrants.
Brizzi engaged in a dialogue with his audience, encouraging their active participation in helping to convince the legislature of the need for a hate crimes law. Brizzi encouraged chamber members to help identify hate crime victims, who would be willing to tell their stories. While Indiana currently has a law requiring the reporting of hate crimes, Brizzi says it is ineffective without an accompanying hate crimes law to provide an extra incentive to gather the information. He believes he will have more success advocating such a law to the legislature than his Democratic opponent, Melina Kennedy, who is also on record supporting a hate crimes law. He observed that, even if the Democrats are successful in recapturing the House, the Senate and the Governor’s office will still remain in Republican hands. He believes he can more effectively reach out to the Governor and the Republican-controlled Senate to get the job done.
Brizzi was asked about the potential impact of the proposed constitutional amendment in Indiana to not only ban gay marriages, but also any legal incidents of marriage for any unmarried couples, straight or gay. In particular, he was asked about the amendment’s impact on the use of domestic violence safeguards for unmarried couples. He indicated that he does not think it would be wise to deny the use of domestic violence laws to protect unmarried couples. Brizzi also surprised his audience by predicting that the gay marriage amendment would not pass the legislature during the next session. That was certainly welcome news to the crowd.
Brizzi repeated his often used slogan, “criminals have a choice, victims don’t.” It is an emphasis on personal accountability he explains. To that end, he hailed his administration’s conviction rate for methamphetamine-related cases, 95%, and successful legislative efforts to regulate over-the-counter sales of Sudafed, a common ingredient in meth. Increased child support collection efforts by his office have increased collections by 16%, or $86 million over the past four years. He noted successful legislative efforts to increase criminal penalties for gang-related activities. The infiltration of outside gangs into the city poses a real challenge to his office. During a recent visit to the L.A. prosecutor’s office, he learned that MS18 gang members refer to Indianapolis as little L.A. An Internet sting operation his office conducted netted the arrests of numerous child predators. So many men offered to have sex to undercover investigators posing as young, teen-age girls on Internet chat rooms, Brizzi says it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
Brizzi's Democrat opponent, Melina Kennedy, spoke to the group last month. Both candidates were well-received. As a nonpartisan group, the Indy Rainbow Chamber does not endorse any candidate for office. It welcomes candidates from both parties to its events.
Dickerson Didn't Hide Arrest
Chris Douglas, founding president of the Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, writes at Bilerico.com that Republican 7th District candidate Eric Dickerson acknowledged his domestic violence arrest 15 years ago months before Rep. Julia Carson (D) told the Star's editorial staff that he "beat up his wife to a pulp." Douglas relates a meeting Dickerson had last June with the First Republicans and a question one of the women in attendance put to him:
Douglas' accounts contradicts assertions by Carson, the Star and others that Dickerson tried to hide his past arrest record. Douglas also dispels any notion that Republicans did not support him in this year's primary because of the arrest record. He writes:
Douglas has much more to say on the Carson-Dickerson race and an explanation of why he believes Indiana's GLBT community would be better served in Congress by Dickerson, who opposes a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriages, and who supports extending federal civil rights protections to cover sexual orientation. Douglas also details Dickerson's refusal to sign a pledge promising to support Dennis Hastert for Speaker as the reason national Republicans have so far failed to support his campaign. To read more, click here.
This issue is a legitimate concern. I share the following information without giving it a slant. I now understand that a woman at the First Republicans meeting in June asked Eric whether he had any dirty laundry. (I arrived late and sat at the far end of the table, so I was unaware of this exchange.) He answered that he had a domestic charge on his record. It is the woman who asked him who informed me of this exchange, and who therefore observes that he himself brought the charge to the fore in June, at least to anyone listening.
Douglas' accounts contradicts assertions by Carson, the Star and others that Dickerson tried to hide his past arrest record. Douglas also dispels any notion that Republicans did not support him in this year's primary because of the arrest record. He writes:
I have heard speculation, and have speculated myself, that it was the knowledge of the domestic charge that may have precluded the Republican Party from supporting Dickerson earlier on. I put that question to a highly ranked Republican in the Party, who told me that the news came as much as a surprise to them. I believe the lack of Republican Party support for Dickerson relates to three issues: the fact that he gored the chosen ox in the Republican Primary, that he refused to submit to House Republican leadership (more on that shortly), and that the Republicans don't expect him to win. I don't think there was any knowledge of the domestic charge at higher levels of the Party, even though he himself spoke of it.
Douglas has much more to say on the Carson-Dickerson race and an explanation of why he believes Indiana's GLBT community would be better served in Congress by Dickerson, who opposes a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriages, and who supports extending federal civil rights protections to cover sexual orientation. Douglas also details Dickerson's refusal to sign a pledge promising to support Dennis Hastert for Speaker as the reason national Republicans have so far failed to support his campaign. To read more, click here.
Carson Aims At Dickerson, Hits Eugene Anderson
Rep. Julia Carson's drive-by political shooting of Republican Eric Dickerson with a 15-year-old police report alleging domestic violence missed Dickerson but hits Mayor Bart Peterson's Deputy assistant Mayor Eugene Anderson. While the administration was mum on Anderson's abrupt resignation from the Peterson administration, Abdul Hakim-Shabazz reports that an arrest of Anderson from the late 1990s for domestic violence may explain his sudden departure late last week. And there's more on this story over at Indy Undercover.
News of the arrest surfaced in the aftermath of Carson's false accusation to the Star editorial board that Dickerson "beat up his wife to a pulp." The Star was much more subtle in its reporting on Anderson's arrest than it was in its handling of the Carson accusation against Dickerson. This little item is hidden away in today's Metro/State section:
Melina Kennedy worked side-by-side with Anderson in the mayor's office as a deputy mayor herself and has made a big issue of Carl Brizzi's alleged failure to adequately prosecute domestic violence cases. Have you heard anything from the Kennedy campaign about Anderson's departure. Have you seen any posts up at Taking Down Words with a police mug shot and police report for public consumption? Have you heard Rep. Carson express any outrage about Anderson's more recent arrest? I didn't think so.
News of the arrest surfaced in the aftermath of Carson's false accusation to the Star editorial board that Dickerson "beat up his wife to a pulp." The Star was much more subtle in its reporting on Anderson's arrest than it was in its handling of the Carson accusation against Dickerson. This little item is hidden away in today's Metro/State section:
City officials on Tuesday declined to discuss the sudden resignation last week of an assistant deputy mayor for special projects.
Eugene N. Anderson, a former star tailback for Wabash College's undefeated 1982 football team, had served in Mayor Bart Peterson's administration since February 2002. His $70,000-per-year job focused on coordinating large events that involve city services, such as the NCAA basketball tournament, Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration and this weekend's Circle City Classic.
Anderson previously worked to bring neighborhood organizations, individual residents and city agencies together and solve problems with city services.
Anderson's supervisor, Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell, said he couldn't comment on a personnel matter.
Anderson's Sept. 28 resignation letter said he had mixed emotions about resigning and will be exploring new career opportunities. He could not be reached for comment.
Melina Kennedy worked side-by-side with Anderson in the mayor's office as a deputy mayor herself and has made a big issue of Carl Brizzi's alleged failure to adequately prosecute domestic violence cases. Have you heard anything from the Kennedy campaign about Anderson's departure. Have you seen any posts up at Taking Down Words with a police mug shot and police report for public consumption? Have you heard Rep. Carson express any outrage about Anderson's more recent arrest? I didn't think so.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Foley Invokes Gay Panic Defense
Now that he's been busted for behaving like the child predators he once described as being "sickos", former Rep. Mark Foley (R) wants us to know that he's a gay man who was sexually abused by a clergyman as a teen-ager and suffers from alcoholism. Foley should neither expect nor get any sympathy from the gay community.
This is a public man who lived a double-life for decades. He publicly pushed the religous right's agenda, which included opposition to any gay civil rights issues, while living a private life as a gay man. When he was outed by Blogactive.com last year, he refused to acknowledge he was gay, but he apparently made some promises to the Human Rights Campaign to turn over a new leaf. It endorsed his re-election this year for the first time. HRC no longer feels the same way about Foley. The group's head, Joe Solmonese said of Foley today:
Of course Foley wants everyone to know that he is gay now. But it's really just a poor excuse to feel sorry for him. Worse yet, he uses the sexually-abused excuse to explain his gayness and apparent mental problems, playing on the worst bigoted views of why people are gay. In this respect he's in the bad company of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who only admitted he was gay after he got caught sexually harassing a male staffer he had entrusted with the state's homeland security. Like Foley, McGreevey invoked his gay confession as a way of garnering sympathy for him and deflecting attention away from the real issue, which was the official misconduct he committed in office. His new tell-all book, "The Confession", provides an excuse for him to make money on the talk show circuit, including the requisite appearance on Oprah, to convince folks he isn't a bad guy at all. He's just gay.
When people commit crimes against people because they are gay, they often invoke what is called a "gay panic" defense to excuse their crimes. You know, I became temporarily insane when a gay guy propositioned me so I did what any normal, heterosexual man would do, I clubbed him with a baseball bat. Fortunately, that defense doesn't work as well as it once did. Likewise, it shouldn't work in reverse when hypocritical men like Foley and McGreevey try to use it to excuse their misdeeds only when they get caught doing something that is wrong for anyone to do, gay or straight.
This is a public man who lived a double-life for decades. He publicly pushed the religous right's agenda, which included opposition to any gay civil rights issues, while living a private life as a gay man. When he was outed by Blogactive.com last year, he refused to acknowledge he was gay, but he apparently made some promises to the Human Rights Campaign to turn over a new leaf. It endorsed his re-election this year for the first time. HRC no longer feels the same way about Foley. The group's head, Joe Solmonese said of Foley today:
Gay or straight, Democrat or Republican, it is completely inexcusable for an adult to have this kind of communication with a minor. Congressman Foley brought shame on himself and this Congress by his horrible behavior and complete lack of judgment. We strongly condemn his behavior.
Of course Foley wants everyone to know that he is gay now. But it's really just a poor excuse to feel sorry for him. Worse yet, he uses the sexually-abused excuse to explain his gayness and apparent mental problems, playing on the worst bigoted views of why people are gay. In this respect he's in the bad company of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who only admitted he was gay after he got caught sexually harassing a male staffer he had entrusted with the state's homeland security. Like Foley, McGreevey invoked his gay confession as a way of garnering sympathy for him and deflecting attention away from the real issue, which was the official misconduct he committed in office. His new tell-all book, "The Confession", provides an excuse for him to make money on the talk show circuit, including the requisite appearance on Oprah, to convince folks he isn't a bad guy at all. He's just gay.
When people commit crimes against people because they are gay, they often invoke what is called a "gay panic" defense to excuse their crimes. You know, I became temporarily insane when a gay guy propositioned me so I did what any normal, heterosexual man would do, I clubbed him with a baseball bat. Fortunately, that defense doesn't work as well as it once did. Likewise, it shouldn't work in reverse when hypocritical men like Foley and McGreevey try to use it to excuse their misdeeds only when they get caught doing something that is wrong for anyone to do, gay or straight.
Carson's Bag Of Dirty Tricks
In the aftermath of efforts of the Rep. Julia Carson campaign to smear her Republican opponent by disseminating a 15-year-old police report to the news media and posting it on the Internet with the social security numbers of both Dickerson and his wife, AI recently raised the concern that the Carson campaign or one of her supporters may have used the confidential information to access the Dickersons’ private, credit reports. Dickerson acknowledged his owns suspicions to AI because of some of the personal and business-related information Carson supporters seem to have readily at hand to disseminate on the Internet via local political blogs. Apart from the issue of whether the Dickersons’ private credit reports were illegally accessed as part of a dirt-gathering, opposition research effort by the Carson campaign is an equally concerning issue. That involves the circumstances surrounding the Fifth Third lawsuit against he and his business earlier this summer, which warrant a closer examination.
As a result of the down-sizing of General Motors and the decline of the Buick division, Dickerson decided to sell his north-side Buick dealership to Ed Martin Automotive Group. As Dickerson neared the completion of the transaction with Ed Martin, he was blind-sided by a lawsuit by Fifth Third Bank in mid-July, alleging that he defaulted on loans to buy vehicle inventory, which included a $2 million personal guarantee from Dickerson. Dickerson says the lawsuit was completely unnecessary because Fifth Third’s loan was secured by a lien, and no funds from a sale to Ed Martin could be satisfied until the Fifth Third loan was paid off. Further, Dickerson insists that he had never missed a payment due under the terms of the Fifth Third loan and had not otherwise defaulted on it.
In fact, Fifth Third itself did not allege that Dickerson had not made all payments due under the loan when it filed suit against him. Instead, Fifth Third alleged that repayment of the notes was not made within “applicable time frames,” which it says triggered default according to an Indianapolis Business Journal report on the suit. That could mean that a payment that was due on the 1st of the month was paid on the 5th of the month. I suspect that anyone who has a monthly mortgage payment or car payment has on occasion made a payment late by innocent mistake, but your lender didn’t rush to the courthouse to file a lawsuit against you for what is at best a technical default, although the technical terms of the loan agreement may permit the lender to declare you in default. The bank also alleged that the loans were in default because neither the dealership nor Dickerson filed annual financial and tax statements for 2005. Again, as long as Dickerson had made all the payments, this should not have caused the bank to rush to the courthouse. It had a recorded lien to protect its interest in any sales proceeds.
By filing the lawsuit when it did, just weeks before Dickerson was scheduled to close on his sale with Ed Martin, Fifth Third's actions created the impression that Dickerson’s Buick dealership was failing. It also had the potential of blowing up the sale by unnecessarily creating misapprehensions on the part of Ed Martin as to the solvency of the business. Within days of the story of the lawsuit breaking in the Indianapolis Business Journal, Fifth Third had its money according to news reports, and the lawsuit was dropped just as Dickerson had insisted when he was first asked by news reporters about the lawsuit. Is it not fair to question whether Fifth Third had an ulterior motive given that Dickerson was in the midst of a political campaign for 7th District Congress?
Consider that Rep. Julia Carson is a member of the House Banking Committee which has jurisdiction over legislation affecting federally-regulated financial institutions. She supported key legislation supported by the banking lobby, including the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2004, which eased numerous banking regulations. According to federal campaign disclosure statements, her campaigns have been financially supported by senior officers of area financial institutions. Also, consider the fact that Rep. Carson has successfully pressured local financial institutions in Indianapolis to hire minority employees for key banking positions, and to provide more business loans to minority business owners. This alone is mere circumstantial evidence at best. Moreover, AI did not uncover any Carson contributors who work for Fifth Third Bank from a review of her recent campaign finance disclosure forms. And if that’s not enough, most observers gave Dickerson little chance of defeating Carson. What motive would she or anyone at Fifth Third have to damage his campaign?
In Carson's case, you need look no further than this year’s primary for the answer to that question. Consider the fact that during this year’s primary election when Carson faced opposition from an openly gay, self-financed Democratic candidate, Kris Kiser, GLBT activist Marla Stevens posted a scandalous story on Kiser at Bilerico.com, which accused Kiser of virtually every imaginable misdeed, including criminal activity. AI will not recount those charges because of their extreme, defamatory nature. Bilerico’s Bil Browning purged the offending Stevens’ post after she failed to produce evidence to document some of the more wild and salacious charges she leveled against Kiser.
This Kiser incident is worth mentioning because Stevens is one of Carson’s largest, individual campaign contributors during the current election cycle, having given the Carson campaign $4,100. AI has also learned that the Carson campaign, prior to the May primary, peddled Stevens’ unsubstantiated charges about Kiser to a Star reporter, who passed on it because he believed Kiser was going to lose badly anyway so why bother. At no time did Rep. Carson seek to distance or disassociate herself from Stevens’ smear of Kiser. Although Kiser had a very successful career as a legislative staffer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C. prior to his first bid for public office, he had only lived in the district about a year before jumping into the race against Carson. While he certainly hadn’t earned the right to represent the 7th District voters, he certainly didn’t deserve to be personally and professionally smeared in this manner by the Carson campaign, particularly when he posed no real threat to her re-nomination. Kiser tells AI that his professional career has been badly damaged as a result of the damaging, unsubstantiated charges Stevens’ published against him, making it difficult for him to find employment.
While AI emphasizes that there is absolutely no evidence linking Fifth Third in any way to the Carson campaign, it is extremely troubling that Fifth Third opted the lawsuit route against Dickerson in this instance based upon what the bank has publicly released to date. The bank had to know that Dickerson was in the midst of a campaign against an incumbent member of Congress who sits on a committee of the House which oversees federally-regulated financial institutions like itself. By filing the lawsuit against him, the bank raised the specter of Dickerson being perceived by the 7th District voters as just another failed businessman. While the bank may not have had a motive to harm Dickerson, Carson’s past practices give us every indication she has a motive and opportunity to smear her opponents in this fashion.
Shortly after Dickerson routed his GOP rivals, including the slated party candidate with 54% of the primary vote, the Star’s Matt Tully had these flattering words for Dickerson:
While Tully’s words may not mean a lot to the average voter in the 7th District, I assure you they made Rep. Carson’s blood boil. If there is one thing she dislikes more than anything, it’s an uppity black person ala Clarence Thomas who dares to think for himself. In Carson’s world, the only black people who are permitted to get ahead politically in Indianapolis are those who have her permission. Dickerson’s success had nothing to do with her, and in her mind he posed a threat to her hold on the black community, much the same way she erroneously perceived Kiser to be a threat to her lock on Indianapolis’ GLBT community.
I know there will be many skeptics who will consider all of this to be too conspiratorial in nature to absorb. And that’s understandable. But to those skeptics, I ask you to examine what happened to Rep. Carson’s ex-husband, Sammy Carson, after he spurned her for a younger woman he married after he was divorced from Rep. Carson. As the old saying goes, “Hell hath no fury like a woman spurned.” The following account is based on Indianapolis Star & News accounts at the time.
Carson’s ex-husband, Sammy, was a disabled veteran. He remarried Virginia Carson, a secretary with a local Knights of Columbus hall, after his divorce from then-State Sen. Julia Carson. A few years later, both Sammy and Virginia would find their world turned upside down when they found themselves in a federal criminal court in Indianapolis charged with petty income tax evasion from alleged gambling and lottery winnings the couple were alleged to have earned but not reported on their federal income tax returns. Among other things, the federal prosecutor would tell jurors the Carsons had too much money to spend for the money they reported because they had purchased a $6,770 diamond ring and $2,718 worth of furs. The Indianapolis Star’s David Rohn reported on the opening day of their trial on July 30, 1980: “One of the spectators in the courtroom when the trial began yesterday was Sen. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis, who is the former wife of Sammy Carson.”
So what does Julia’s presence in the courtroom have to do with the prosecution of her ex-husband and his younger wife on income tax evasion charges? Well, there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence. Carson worked for Rep. Andy Jacobs before she was elected to the state legislature. At the time of the trial, Jacobs was a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the IRS. The K of C hall at which Sammy Carson’s wife worked was the subject of a rare audit by the IRS, and the case was turned over for criminal investigation in 1977, soon after Democrat Jimmy Carter won the presidency.
Long-time Carson friend and supporter, Virginia Dill McCarty, was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. McCarty would make the decision to indict the Carsons on income tax evasion charges after the case languished for several years. McCarty, who died recently, would later be hired by Carson to serve as Center Township’s attorney when she became Center Township Trustee, and McCarty regularly made large contributions to Carson’s political campaigns. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paula Lopossa would prosecute the case on behalf of McCarty’s office. She too is a long-time friend and political supporter of Julia’s. Carson helped Lopossa win a seat on the Marion Superior Court and, after she lost her seat on the bench, Carson helped her win the post as Center Township’s small claims court judge. Lopossa also has contributed to Carson’s campaigns, including $1,000 during a recent election cycle.
Fortunately for Sammy Carson, the jurors weren’t convinced by McCarty’s and Lopossa’s case against them. The jury failed to convict Sammy on any of the charges and found Virginia guilty on just one charge after only 4 ½ hours of deliberation. The Indianapolis Star reported on August 2, 1980:
It may well be the case that Fifth Third’s lawsuit against Dickerson was made with the purest of motives. The bank has had little to say about the matter. Alan Statman, an attorney for Fifth Third, told the IBJ at the time the suit was first reported on that he was hopeful both sides could resolve the issues without further litigation. Based on subsequent news reports, that is exactly what happened. Statman could have cleared up this matter at the time had he or someone else from the bank more fully explained why they decided to file suit against Dickerson. Instead, the bank sat by idly while the Carson campaign pounced on the news to discredit him as a failed businessman. Given the highly-charged atmosphere of political campaigns, replete with dirty tricks, people have a right to be skeptical. AI, for one, is very skeptical about everything that happens in a Carson campaign. Things never seem to be as they first appear.
As a result of the down-sizing of General Motors and the decline of the Buick division, Dickerson decided to sell his north-side Buick dealership to Ed Martin Automotive Group. As Dickerson neared the completion of the transaction with Ed Martin, he was blind-sided by a lawsuit by Fifth Third Bank in mid-July, alleging that he defaulted on loans to buy vehicle inventory, which included a $2 million personal guarantee from Dickerson. Dickerson says the lawsuit was completely unnecessary because Fifth Third’s loan was secured by a lien, and no funds from a sale to Ed Martin could be satisfied until the Fifth Third loan was paid off. Further, Dickerson insists that he had never missed a payment due under the terms of the Fifth Third loan and had not otherwise defaulted on it.
In fact, Fifth Third itself did not allege that Dickerson had not made all payments due under the loan when it filed suit against him. Instead, Fifth Third alleged that repayment of the notes was not made within “applicable time frames,” which it says triggered default according to an Indianapolis Business Journal report on the suit. That could mean that a payment that was due on the 1st of the month was paid on the 5th of the month. I suspect that anyone who has a monthly mortgage payment or car payment has on occasion made a payment late by innocent mistake, but your lender didn’t rush to the courthouse to file a lawsuit against you for what is at best a technical default, although the technical terms of the loan agreement may permit the lender to declare you in default. The bank also alleged that the loans were in default because neither the dealership nor Dickerson filed annual financial and tax statements for 2005. Again, as long as Dickerson had made all the payments, this should not have caused the bank to rush to the courthouse. It had a recorded lien to protect its interest in any sales proceeds.
By filing the lawsuit when it did, just weeks before Dickerson was scheduled to close on his sale with Ed Martin, Fifth Third's actions created the impression that Dickerson’s Buick dealership was failing. It also had the potential of blowing up the sale by unnecessarily creating misapprehensions on the part of Ed Martin as to the solvency of the business. Within days of the story of the lawsuit breaking in the Indianapolis Business Journal, Fifth Third had its money according to news reports, and the lawsuit was dropped just as Dickerson had insisted when he was first asked by news reporters about the lawsuit. Is it not fair to question whether Fifth Third had an ulterior motive given that Dickerson was in the midst of a political campaign for 7th District Congress?
Consider that Rep. Julia Carson is a member of the House Banking Committee which has jurisdiction over legislation affecting federally-regulated financial institutions. She supported key legislation supported by the banking lobby, including the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2004, which eased numerous banking regulations. According to federal campaign disclosure statements, her campaigns have been financially supported by senior officers of area financial institutions. Also, consider the fact that Rep. Carson has successfully pressured local financial institutions in Indianapolis to hire minority employees for key banking positions, and to provide more business loans to minority business owners. This alone is mere circumstantial evidence at best. Moreover, AI did not uncover any Carson contributors who work for Fifth Third Bank from a review of her recent campaign finance disclosure forms. And if that’s not enough, most observers gave Dickerson little chance of defeating Carson. What motive would she or anyone at Fifth Third have to damage his campaign?
In Carson's case, you need look no further than this year’s primary for the answer to that question. Consider the fact that during this year’s primary election when Carson faced opposition from an openly gay, self-financed Democratic candidate, Kris Kiser, GLBT activist Marla Stevens posted a scandalous story on Kiser at Bilerico.com, which accused Kiser of virtually every imaginable misdeed, including criminal activity. AI will not recount those charges because of their extreme, defamatory nature. Bilerico’s Bil Browning purged the offending Stevens’ post after she failed to produce evidence to document some of the more wild and salacious charges she leveled against Kiser.
This Kiser incident is worth mentioning because Stevens is one of Carson’s largest, individual campaign contributors during the current election cycle, having given the Carson campaign $4,100. AI has also learned that the Carson campaign, prior to the May primary, peddled Stevens’ unsubstantiated charges about Kiser to a Star reporter, who passed on it because he believed Kiser was going to lose badly anyway so why bother. At no time did Rep. Carson seek to distance or disassociate herself from Stevens’ smear of Kiser. Although Kiser had a very successful career as a legislative staffer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C. prior to his first bid for public office, he had only lived in the district about a year before jumping into the race against Carson. While he certainly hadn’t earned the right to represent the 7th District voters, he certainly didn’t deserve to be personally and professionally smeared in this manner by the Carson campaign, particularly when he posed no real threat to her re-nomination. Kiser tells AI that his professional career has been badly damaged as a result of the damaging, unsubstantiated charges Stevens’ published against him, making it difficult for him to find employment.
While AI emphasizes that there is absolutely no evidence linking Fifth Third in any way to the Carson campaign, it is extremely troubling that Fifth Third opted the lawsuit route against Dickerson in this instance based upon what the bank has publicly released to date. The bank had to know that Dickerson was in the midst of a campaign against an incumbent member of Congress who sits on a committee of the House which oversees federally-regulated financial institutions like itself. By filing the lawsuit against him, the bank raised the specter of Dickerson being perceived by the 7th District voters as just another failed businessman. While the bank may not have had a motive to harm Dickerson, Carson’s past practices give us every indication she has a motive and opportunity to smear her opponents in this fashion.
Shortly after Dickerson routed his GOP rivals, including the slated party candidate with 54% of the primary vote, the Star’s Matt Tully had these flattering words for Dickerson:
Dickerson has everything the GOP could want in a candidate. He’s a black businessman with a great resume. He knows how to reach voters, as proved by his trouncing of former City-County Councilman Ron Franklin in the GOP primary. And Dickerson has a name everybody knows—because of years of advertising for his self-titled Buick dealership, and because of that onetime Colt. “I call it the Eric Dickerson bump,” he said of the perception among many that he is the former NFL player. “I don’t mind.”
While Tully’s words may not mean a lot to the average voter in the 7th District, I assure you they made Rep. Carson’s blood boil. If there is one thing she dislikes more than anything, it’s an uppity black person ala Clarence Thomas who dares to think for himself. In Carson’s world, the only black people who are permitted to get ahead politically in Indianapolis are those who have her permission. Dickerson’s success had nothing to do with her, and in her mind he posed a threat to her hold on the black community, much the same way she erroneously perceived Kiser to be a threat to her lock on Indianapolis’ GLBT community.
I know there will be many skeptics who will consider all of this to be too conspiratorial in nature to absorb. And that’s understandable. But to those skeptics, I ask you to examine what happened to Rep. Carson’s ex-husband, Sammy Carson, after he spurned her for a younger woman he married after he was divorced from Rep. Carson. As the old saying goes, “Hell hath no fury like a woman spurned.” The following account is based on Indianapolis Star & News accounts at the time.
Carson’s ex-husband, Sammy, was a disabled veteran. He remarried Virginia Carson, a secretary with a local Knights of Columbus hall, after his divorce from then-State Sen. Julia Carson. A few years later, both Sammy and Virginia would find their world turned upside down when they found themselves in a federal criminal court in Indianapolis charged with petty income tax evasion from alleged gambling and lottery winnings the couple were alleged to have earned but not reported on their federal income tax returns. Among other things, the federal prosecutor would tell jurors the Carsons had too much money to spend for the money they reported because they had purchased a $6,770 diamond ring and $2,718 worth of furs. The Indianapolis Star’s David Rohn reported on the opening day of their trial on July 30, 1980: “One of the spectators in the courtroom when the trial began yesterday was Sen. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis, who is the former wife of Sammy Carson.”
So what does Julia’s presence in the courtroom have to do with the prosecution of her ex-husband and his younger wife on income tax evasion charges? Well, there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence. Carson worked for Rep. Andy Jacobs before she was elected to the state legislature. At the time of the trial, Jacobs was a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the IRS. The K of C hall at which Sammy Carson’s wife worked was the subject of a rare audit by the IRS, and the case was turned over for criminal investigation in 1977, soon after Democrat Jimmy Carter won the presidency.
Long-time Carson friend and supporter, Virginia Dill McCarty, was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. McCarty would make the decision to indict the Carsons on income tax evasion charges after the case languished for several years. McCarty, who died recently, would later be hired by Carson to serve as Center Township’s attorney when she became Center Township Trustee, and McCarty regularly made large contributions to Carson’s political campaigns. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paula Lopossa would prosecute the case on behalf of McCarty’s office. She too is a long-time friend and political supporter of Julia’s. Carson helped Lopossa win a seat on the Marion Superior Court and, after she lost her seat on the bench, Carson helped her win the post as Center Township’s small claims court judge. Lopossa also has contributed to Carson’s campaigns, including $1,000 during a recent election cycle.
Fortunately for Sammy Carson, the jurors weren’t convinced by McCarty’s and Lopossa’s case against them. The jury failed to convict Sammy on any of the charges and found Virginia guilty on just one charge after only 4 ½ hours of deliberation. The Indianapolis Star reported on August 2, 1980:
Although the government was not required to prove specific allegations about the source of unreported income, evidence showed Carson was a gambler and that he and his wife ran a Knights of Columbus lottery where Mrs. Carson was an unusually frequent winner.What do you believe? Do you think it was just happenstance that a K of C hall where Carson’s ex-husband’s wife worked would get audited by the IRS; that illegal gambling winnings of the Carsons would be discovered; and that criminal income tax evasion charges would be brought against he and his wife by prosecutors who just happened to be good friends and supporters of Julia’s? Perhaps. Or is Julia just really good at exacting punishment on anyone who gets in her way? Again, it is all just circumstantial evidence, and there is absolutely no proof that Carson conspired with government prosecutors to get even with her ex-husband. AI also isn't condoning the gambling winnings the Carsons may have failed to report on their income tax returns. But how often do you see the federal government pursuing these types of income tax evasion cases? I suspect very few people report gambling winnings from poker games at the VFW hall or other gambling winnings garnered by those who frequent these establishments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paula Lopossa told jurors it was not necessary to prove where the unreported income came from, only that the Carsons had access to the additional income that a record of their purchases reflect they received . . .
The Carson’s attorney, John J. Rochfordd, said a $17,000 inheritance Carson received from a sister and the non-taxable income he received as a disabled veteran contributed to income that permitted such purchases. Regarding any suggestion that she skimmed profits from the K of C lottery, Mrs. Carson said that her continued employment at the K of C until the lottery ended was evidence that her superiors did not suspect her of any wrongdoing.
It may well be the case that Fifth Third’s lawsuit against Dickerson was made with the purest of motives. The bank has had little to say about the matter. Alan Statman, an attorney for Fifth Third, told the IBJ at the time the suit was first reported on that he was hopeful both sides could resolve the issues without further litigation. Based on subsequent news reports, that is exactly what happened. Statman could have cleared up this matter at the time had he or someone else from the bank more fully explained why they decided to file suit against Dickerson. Instead, the bank sat by idly while the Carson campaign pounced on the news to discredit him as a failed businessman. Given the highly-charged atmosphere of political campaigns, replete with dirty tricks, people have a right to be skeptical. AI, for one, is very skeptical about everything that happens in a Carson campaign. Things never seem to be as they first appear.
Bloggers Collide With One 7th District Candidate
At least one of the candidates vying to represent 7th District voters in Congress showed up today for a panel discussion with area bloggers, Jen Wagner of Taking Down Words, Abdul Hakim-Shabazz of Indiana Barrister and RiShawn Biddle of the Star's Expresso. Republican candidate Eric Dickerson was on hand to answer questions today. Consider this an open thread to comment about today's event sponsored by the Coalition for Open Government. The photos are courtesy of the trusted man with the camera and die-hard Carson supporter and opposition research specialist, Wilson Allen. Carson had more important matters to attend to than answer questions about why she should be re-elected by the voters of her district.
Facebook Users Slightly Favor Dickerson Over Carson
The popular Facebook site which allows its users to share information online through social networks the same way they do in the real world is taking the pulse of its users in the upcoming election. And in the race between Rep. Julia Carson (D) and Eric Dickerson, Facebook users slightly favor Dickerson over Carson by 49.77% to 48.86%. Libertarian Rick Hodgin gets 1.36%.
The unscientific Facebook poll also shows Democratic congressional challengers Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill with large leads over the incumbents they are opposing, Rep. John Hostettler (R) and Rep. Mike Sodrel (R), respectively. It's worth noting that all recent scientific polls taken in those races have shown Ellsworth and Hill with significant leads. The Facebook poll shows Rep. Chris Chocola with a slight lead in his race, while recent scientific polls show his Democratic opponent Joe Donnelly leading the race.
Interestingly, when the poll first started Carson was leading Dickerson 58% to 42%. Over the last 2-3 weeks after Carson falsely accused Dickerson of "beating up his wife to a pulp", Dickerson erased Carson's lead and now is ahead.
Facebook launched in February 2004, and the website now has over 10 million registered users across over 40,000 regional, work, college and high school networks. According to comScore, Facebook is the seventh-most trafficked site on the web and is the number one photo-sharing site. Facebook is a private company located in Palo Alto, California. They prepopulated 1600 candidates. They allow the members of facebook to pick any candidate they want to support.
The unscientific Facebook poll also shows Democratic congressional challengers Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill with large leads over the incumbents they are opposing, Rep. John Hostettler (R) and Rep. Mike Sodrel (R), respectively. It's worth noting that all recent scientific polls taken in those races have shown Ellsworth and Hill with significant leads. The Facebook poll shows Rep. Chris Chocola with a slight lead in his race, while recent scientific polls show his Democratic opponent Joe Donnelly leading the race.
Interestingly, when the poll first started Carson was leading Dickerson 58% to 42%. Over the last 2-3 weeks after Carson falsely accused Dickerson of "beating up his wife to a pulp", Dickerson erased Carson's lead and now is ahead.
Facebook launched in February 2004, and the website now has over 10 million registered users across over 40,000 regional, work, college and high school networks. According to comScore, Facebook is the seventh-most trafficked site on the web and is the number one photo-sharing site. Facebook is a private company located in Palo Alto, California. They prepopulated 1600 candidates. They allow the members of facebook to pick any candidate they want to support.
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