Since his election in November, Mayor Ballard has has one heck of a job trying to weed out undesirables on the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Today, the Indy Star is reporting that two more officers are in hot water. Both may lose their jobs and face criminal charges.An Indianapolis police officer faces a misdemeanor charge of false reporting after his fiancée fled the scene of an accident while she drove his squad car.
Yesterday, it was announced that another officer is in the same dire straits.An Indianapolis police officer has been suspended without pay and is under criminal investigation as the result of a citizen complaint.
Put that with this recent story, and we have four officers in two weeks up against the wall.A former Indianapolis police detective attended a Marion Superior Court hearing Thursday after a judge threatened his arrest.
This doesn't count the others that have been fired and charged with other crimes earlier in the year.The saddest thing in all of this is, there have been some Democrats that have been blaming Ballard (who has been in power for a grand total of some eight months now) for this current mess. They claim this never happened under the Peterson Administration and are looking to pin this on the current one, but only an idiot would do so, knowing that the IMPD was under Sheriff Frank Anderson's control until earlier this year. Anderson and Peterson, both, conspired to lower the standards and now things are coming to light as a result of this act of incompetence.It takes some time to identify and investigate bad apples. After the process has begun, if it's done right, one can usually expect some positive results. At this point in time, we are seeing those results and I think it's only reasonable to expect there will be more.The message to IMPD officers that think they can run afoul of the law and get away with it becuse they have a badge, should be crystal clear by now. The countless officers that put their lives on the line everyday to protect the citizens of this city are sick and tired of this. This will not be tolerated any longer. These reprobates will be caught, they will lose their jobs, and if they are convicted of criminal offenses, they will be in jail with many of those they have locked up over the years. If that isn't enough to straighten their dumb asses out, they will be paying the price in the protective custody section of prison.I have nothing but respect for police officers. They have one of the most endless, tireless, thankless, and underpaid jobs on this planet. But when one of them hides behind a badge to do his/her dirty deeds, I take no greater pleasure than seeing them sweat it out behind bars. They deserve every bit of shame and ridicule they get. And if they get recognized in the prison yard, so be it.Worthless bastards, they are.
If you watched the San Diego-Indianapolis playoff game this past Sunday (the one in which the Colts' defense could not stop a Charger drive late in the game, with LT and Rivers both out of the game). You might have caught the annual NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick winners being announced in between the 3rd and 4th quarters.In the girls' category was one New Hampshire girl that had a New England Patriots jersey on and as you might expect, she got booed by some of the Indy fans. It was classless, in my view. But she took it well, and has received a lot attention over it.In fact, she has some pretty good parting gifts coming to her.The owner of the Patriots, Robert Kraft, felt badly about the reception the teen got in Indy, so she's getting tickets to the AFC championship game on Sunday.
"Our whole family was invited to the game. We have tickets. They want to take me out on the field as the guest captain for the coin toss. That's pretty exciting," said Anna.
Not a bad deal for getting booed. In fact, maybe I could apply somewhere to get booed for monetary compensation (plus benefits). But it doesn't end there. A local TV station felt bad for her and wanted to make it up to her, as well.WTHR also wanted to set things right so that Anna and her family have a good impression of Hoosier hospitality, so we're giving her an Indianapolis 500 prize package including VIP tickets to the race, 500 Festival Parade, a chance to go around the oval as well as some shirts and hats. Anna's reaction? "Wow! Thank you so much!"
VIP tickets? I have never sat in a suite there, but from what I hear, it's not a bad experience. These packages aren't cheap either. But beyond it all, she will get to see a better side of Indy, when it's not in football season. It's called Hoosier Hospitality, not Hostility.Like I said before, this is not a bad deal, just for getting booed. Now where did I put that comedy club application?
Maverick was a popular western TV series many years ago that attained somewhat of a cult following. I can't tell you why exactly it was so successful after the series ended, except, it could be that Americans love maverick personalities.There's nothing wrong with it, mind you. I cannot see a thing wrong with it, when the maverick does the right thing.In this day and age, corruption and arrogance reign supreme. Politicians court money and influence, while taking money and marching orders from powerful lobbyists. And yet, while the trend looks rather bleak to say the least, there are a handful of positive moments in politics (when a maverick not beholden to special interests can get elected to anything of any real importance).Those of you that have been following my story of Greg Ballard and his quest to get elected Indianapolis mayor, probably already know he won. Many of you also understand that winning the election is the easy part, and the hard part will be governing. This is where it gets tricky, because this is where the successful candidate gets to show who he is beholden to and has fours years to do what he/she wants, to attain whatever objectives they all have.So, today we have noted what kind of footing the Ballard Administration will get off on, as evidenced by the announcements in this Indy Star article. Already, the new mayor is winning respect for his choices.Olgen Williams, chosen to be a deputy mayor, is a well-known community leader whose connections, supporters say, can help the incoming Ballard administration address the concerns of the city's poorer neighborhoods.
"He knows the neighborhoods and the players," the Rev. Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church, said of Williams. "Olgen knows everybody in the community, and he brings a collaborative approach to get others involved."
Olgen Williams is not well-known outside of Indianapolis. But that doesn't make his story any less interesting, as a sliver of it can be found further on in the article. But what many in Indianapolis may not know about this guy is, he is an excellent mediator than can see both sides of the coin. He will be a most valuable adviser for the new mayor and can work well with both political parties. He brings a lot of respect and says much about how Ballard intends to unite the city, instead of dividing it.He is not the only appointment that has been announced so far, the others can be found here at Indiana Barrister. Not all are household names known in Indianapolis political circles. Some are new faces. Some are from the private sector and will be good for business.Picking the right people is agonizing in some ways. But like the election itself, it is easier than having to do the job. Once all of the players are known, they must then get to work. that's where we can truly evaluate whether the team is working well together, or not.
Like I said earlier, that's the hard part.
Three altercations in a bar over the last year or so, involving Pacer players. One at a strip club during training camp last season, one during the season at a dive, and now one the other night after drinking in another dive. The common name that surfaces is Jamal Tinsley.Here is a cartoon by Indianapolis Star cartoonist Gary Varvel, which sums the situation up pretty well.
Here's a story for my newly acquired post-election local readers. It seems the Indianapolis City-County Council wants to repeal their hefty county income tax increase, before Republicans take over. This was but one of the reasons they were soundly defeated in the election, earlier this month.From the Indy Star article comes this snippet:With just weeks left before Republicans take control of the Indianapolis City-County Council, Democrats on the council are discussing attempts to repeal or "sunset" the county income tax increase they pushed through in August.
After ramrodding this thing through against the wills of vast majority of the people, now they want to repeal it. Can we say, "sour grapes"?This goes to show the kind of sabotage that often takes place in politics when a party loses and has to hand the reins of power over to the other party. It also shows the level of maturity that sore losers often have. It's not that I am against the repeal, I am not against it at all. It should have never been voted in to start with. But instead of giving the GOP a chance to repeal it, they are merely wanting to throw a wrench into what would otherwise be a smooth transition from Democratic control to Republican. Not only that, according to the Indiana Barrister, it's illegal. Repealing the tax would be illegal because the law says it can only be voted on once in a calender year. The new talk is amending the proposal so it can sunset. That may still run against the law and intent of the legislature. If they wanted to sunset the tax they should have done so when it was first passed.
I-l-l-e-g-a-l, which means not lawful. Or against the law. But I guess the Democratic members of the council shouldn't worry about legalities of said action, a few of them have been known for breaking and bending laws, for the entire four years they have been in control.
Almost one month ago, the Indy Star published an article that gave its readers a short biography of the man that just this week defeated the two-term incumbent, Bart Peterson. Because he had very little money to get his message out, this is the only real review of who this man was/is.Today, in the same newspaper, we can learn more about this man that beat the odds, so heavily stacked against him. Here is an interview he gave after his upset victory. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this election was a tough road for the new mayor. In fact, just a couple of months ago, it was considered next to impossible. At the very least, most political aficionados thought he would score a "moral" victory by just making the race close. By doing this, many had hoped that it would merely send a message to those in power that they had better get their acts together, or the next time they would be out of power. But apparently, the voters thought four more years (for a spend-aholic government) was too long of a period to waste, hoping that the elected officials would get the message. So, they left nothing to chance.The news of Ballard's victory may have been shocking to many people, but those of us who can gauge discontent in the electorate, it is not. One other person that gets around town is a man that knows the pulse of the city's political climate, very well. He is a fine American that just happens to be a black, a conservative, and a Muslim. His leanings are mostly Libertarian and believe me when I tell you, if he were to run for an office that I could vote in, I'd give him a good look. Abdul Hakim Shabazz is not someone that you will hear the ideology of Louis Farrakhan expressed in any other terms, than divisive and dangerous. He has his own morning radio talk show on WXNT AM 1430 and covers many stories here in central Indiana, at the city, state, and national levels. I listen to him on my way to work and I have to say, he accurately predicted that Ballard had a real chance of winning this election. He sums his afterthoughts up well:I took a few hours off this morning to recuperate from the Election. As I said before, the victory of Greg Ballard over incumbent Bart Peterson was no big shocker. Anyone who paid attention to the rather angry electorate saw this coming. However this is not about past election results, but the new world we enter into today.
But before we look to the future and some real possibilities that a new administration and council may have to offer the people of Indianapolis, let's look at some of the other things that Mr. Shabazz has noted.First, here's a stunt that is rumored to be in the works from outgoing Democrats:If Mayor-elect Greg Ballard wants to cut city spending he may find that problem more difficult than he thinks. Sources tell me the Peterson administration is in the process of entering into contracts with vendors that will last well into the Ballard Administration.
This is one problem I have with outgoing governments, they often try to sabotage the incoming crew by creating scenarios that make it difficult for the new group to implement their policies. This is why I think, barring emergency and other serious pressing matters, the old government should not have the authority to enter into situations that will affect the new government. And if they do, the new government should be able to repeal those acts and rescind any contracts that are deemed to not be necessary, once in office.Then, there is a coming racial component within the local Democratic Party, with the old guard still wanting to cling to what little bit of power, they can. Here is Mr. Shabazz's take on this situation that may be brewing.Finally, when doing the post-election analysis, there are a lot of things to consider. Again Mr. Shabazz has an excellent take on things. Here is his view and this is one area I would highlight in his analysis:Since Tuesday I've discovered that a number of Black pastors told their flocks to stay home on Election Day. This would explain why in many areas of town where Democrats were counting on heavier voter turnout, it never materialized. Even the polls showed a significant number of Black voters still undecided about whom to vote for.
So instead of voting for Greg Ballard, they stayed home. I am not surprised at this.
One lady, I know and work with, did not stay home. She is a lifelong Democrat and pretty much votes a straight ticket, every election. She told me after the election, she had never in her life voted for a Libertarian, but voted for every single one in which there was one running in her district. And that included mayor.Normally a vote for a Libertarian, means one less vote for a Republican and gives some advantage to the Democratic candidate. But in this case, it didn't. Although she couldn't bring herself to vote for a Republican, she also couldn't bring herself to compromise her conscious and vote for the Dems. So, there you have it. It's more complicated than this in many respects, but this is it in a nutshell. As I have said before, the election (as tough as it was for Ballard to win) is over. Now the real task is to govern and govern well. Ballard will not make everyone happy, it's not possible in politics; there will always be a long supply of critics, no matter what happens. But since he had no support from his party, he will not owe any favors to anyone. He is free to govern according to his conscious and according to the will of the people that gave him this opportunity.I truly hope he does this, or we will back to square one, in four short years.
As much as I have grown to have a genuine disdain for politics, it hasn't always been so. As a political aficionado for most of my years, there is nothing like election night. But lately, there really hasn't been much to look forward to. You hear people complain about their elected officials, they rip them a new orifice at every opportunity, they threaten to vote "the bums" out, and then they go vote for them. That's how machines get built. When the machine wears down and fails to perform adequately, you must get a new one. When a group of elected officials insulate and distance themselves and thoroughly disregard the rights and the will of the people, they must be replaced. The only way to do this is to vote against them.That's what the city of Indianapolis did tonight. They saw an ineffective, corrupt, and arrogant machine and they traded it in. Tonight, LTC Greg Ballard USMC (Ret.) became Mayor-Elect Greg Ballard, leader of the nation's 12th largest city. With no party support and no money, he has won one of the biggest upset victories in the history of Indiana politics and one of the largest grass roots campaign ever. With some civic outrage, some will, and some determination he has beaten a machine candidate that had millions to spend. Not only did the mayor's race fall to the opponent of the mighty Democratic incumbent, the city-county council also changed hands. Rozelle Boyd (former council president), Lonnell Conley (lover of taxation), and Ron Gibson (the one accused of assault on a police officer at Indiana Black Expo, charges were later mysteriously dropped.) were all voted out of office. Other Democratic incumbents were too. But, Indianapolis residents know that the GOP had their dinosaurs too. A couple of them decided not to run early, because they were tired of not being in control. So, in a sense, it was a double whammy. Larry Philip Borst (minority leader) was one prominent name that didn't seek re-election for this reason, and subsequently, he will lose out on the celebration. Democratic incumbents voted out, GOP incumbents not running, it seems like Indy purged itself of some dead weight today. There was a ballot box revolution. And when all is said and done, this election will go down in the record books and forever be known as one in which the people got mad and did something about, instead of just bitching about it. This is the one that will be known as, the one that made a difference.This was a true anti-incumbency movement that both got a hold of and gained traction, the closer the election came. It is a microcosm of what could happen on a national level, if people got their collective heads out of the sand. It showed what could happen when someone has the guts to stand up for their wishes and desires. It is the essence of what has always fascinated me about American politics, the fact that people can fire their government and never fire a shot. So to the new mayor and council members, I say congratulations. You have your work cut out for you. But never forget, why you were sent. People were irritated enough to send someone with no prior political experience, to do their business. They have entrusted you to clean up the stinking mess. And with that in mind, when you govern and make important decisions, you should always keep in mind the ocean tide. The same tide that swept you in, can also sweep you back out. Note-I misidentified Mr. Borst as Larry, not Philip. Larry was his father the long-time state legislator. It has been struck and corrected. My apologies for the confusion.
I am used to getting more hits from France than Indianapolis, where I live. But as of late, my posts on the Indianapolis mayoral election have been smoking. This is the closest contested election in these parts, since I have lived here (with the one in 1999 as the only exception). The heat is on. Election Day is tomorrow. It's crunch time. Interestingly enough, during the local 6:00 PM newscast, it seemed like about every other commercial was for Bart Peterson. (Greg Ballard must have blew his short stack of bills earlier.)When you are at the local level there are no international politics to deal with. You don't have to deal with complex issues like how to handle the relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russia, China, and others (that are under the delusion that America is some evil empire that wants to see people suffer under oppression). There are countless other difficult issue that you do not have to deal with,as well. There is no war to fight, no social security to worry about saving, and no real fundamental differences in the way the world needs to be viewed. Sure, Democrats are better known to raise taxes and spend more than Republicans do (at least most of the time, they are). But I have lived in areas where Republican administrations did their sharing of spending and driving up taxes, they're not exactly innocent in all cases.The big thing the GOP seems to promise every campaign season is cutting both, spending and taxes. What they often end up doing is, do is cutting services and not lowering taxes. Dems can vote in a tax hike, the voters get mad, and then they'll often vote in a Republican. When a Republican promises this standard campaign promise, what is the first thing a he/she will invariably do after getting elected? They say how bad the finances were and immediately claim there is no way that taxes can be cut at this time. Then, when they run for re-election they run on a platform of not raising your taxes.The Dems are less subtle. They promise the world. Then, when they get elected, they run us all into more debt than we were already in, before the election. Naturally, to pay for everything that was promised (and not received) during the campaign, taxes almost always have to be raised. But, the biggest thing to understand about local elections is not that complicated. It's usually the machine trying to hang on to power and the outsider trying to save us all by dethroning the incumbent. There's the experience factor involved vs. the inexperience (the pro vs. the novice). There are some similarities between local and federal levels of government. There are always the issues of, who takes more bribes, kickbacks, or at very least who can pile up the most ethical violations during a term in office. Such is usually the very essence of negative campaigning; not what you can do for the city, but why the other person is not-fit to what you have been doing. In this 2007 Indianapolis city election, we have a government that is running up massive debt, raising taxes, yet, the people are not seeing any changes in the level of services. There is a disenchanted electorate and those that are now in power must face accountability. The question is, to return a corrupt council back into power for another four years, to run up more debt, to squander more money like a drunken sailor, and raise taxes at will (so that a few council members can play big shots once a week at a meeting). Or, to give a novice whose only claim to fame is being a retired United States Marine, a chance to do better.I cannot vote, I live outside Marion County. But, if I could, this choice would be one of the biggest no-brainers ever, since it was discovered that 1+1=2.
Incumbent Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's campaign has finally made the switch to negative ads, probably due to Greg Ballard's recent surge in the pre-election polls. At least that is what one IUPUI political science professor, Bill Blomquist, is implying. (Story here in the Indy Star.)For several weeks now, Peterson has been seeking his third term, content to tout his accomplishments (real or perceived) with vibrant (and almost histrionic) positive ads. But when the poll numbers are down, desperation usually sets in. This is the point, when a campaign will usually pull out the stops to slow down the opposition's momentum. One ad recently questioned Ballard's experience to be mayor. That, within itself, is ironic because when Peterson was first elected eight years ago, he had no experience. He asked to be trusted then, but now questions the wisdom of trusting a novice. There are two ways to look at this. Yes, Peterson can sell himself as the one with more experience. He has been in office, Ballard has held none (that I am aware of). But on the other side of the coin, we can see that experience doesn't always mean better service to the people. Sometimes, when a machine is built, it distances itself from the people that empowered it and believes itself to be more relevant than the people that entrusted it to do their business. That is what got Mr. Peterson elected in the first place.Jack Cottey, the corrupt Republican two-term sheriff wanted to be the kingmaker. For this reason, he persuaded the GOP candidate (Sue Anne Gilroy) of that election to join forces with him, for the specific purpose of empowering himself. He could not get elected, he has an unethical rap sheet a mile long. So, by propping her up, he thought he could assert himself as the most powerful Republican in the city. For this reason, the people wre able to see past this facade and subsequently gave Mr. Peterson a chance to shake up the status quo.Now, Mayor Peterson, the man who brought down the GOP machine in 1999, has become a machine (unto himself) which is now the status quo. And from what I am hearing privately from lifelong Democrats, of all demographics, he is now in trouble. He is not popular. Much of this discontent is from the astronomical county income tax hike that he and the city-county council ramrodded through. This same vote is now the subject of a lawsuit, because there are questions on the legality of the vote.All of this is making the people of Indianapolis nervous about giving another four years (with virtually no accountability) to a man that has insulated himself from the people that entrusted him to change the status quo, not to assume it. Not only is Peterson's job hanging in the balance, many in the city-county council are under fire for supporting the Council President Monroe Gray for what is looking to be some serious ethical missteps. There is even talk of a large protest vote by pulling straight GOP tickets, in the voting booths. And from the sounds I am hearing, it may just happen. Sit tight, folks. The ride isn't over yet.
For my readers that care, this is a follow-up to a recent post about the mayoral race here in Indianapolis. A couple of weeks ago, I posted this piece on Greg Ballard, a retired marine, who is running against Democratic incumbent Bart Peterson, on the Republican ticket. At the time of that writing, polls were showing Ballard trailing Peterson by 13 percentage points, despite his party not providing any money to his bid, having virtually no money at all (approx. $51,000), and Peterson having a huge war chest. Well, today the Indy Star released results of a newer poll.Skyrocketing taxes appear to be fueling a tightening race between Mayor Bart Peterson and GOP challenger Greg Ballard, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll.
The poll of 400 likely voters in Marion County shows Peterson with a narrow lead over Ballard, 43 percent to 39 percent. Libertarian Fred Peterson received 5 percent of the vote in the poll.
Thirteen percent of the poll respondents said they were either not sure or did not support any of the candidates. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The thirteen percent undecided will likely decide the race. Again the amazing thing is Ballard has no money. As a result, the only ads seen in Indy television have been from the mayor's campaign. In fact, since the last numbers were released, there has been a blitzkrieg of ads for Peterson, which apparently has been to no avail. Most of them are hollow and empty, in the substance department.One ad I find interesting is one where a lady is telling us all how she credits Mayor Peterson for giving Indianapolis the kind of school system that have kept her two twin 16 year-olds, in school. It all sounds good. But the fact is, the mayor has no control over the schools. In Indiana, schools are a separate entity and the mayor has no authority or influence over them, whatsoever.To me, this is a sign of desperation. (Local journalist Matt Tully has a more in-depth analysis.)When asked about the numbers today, as you may guess, the mayor's campaign downplayed them. The mayor, himself, said that the only poll that counted was the one on election day. In essence, he's right. But, it was his body language and the tone of his voice that indicated to me that he was more concerned than he would have us all believe. With all of this in mind, it calls to mind the national scene and the large amounts of money that the Democrats are amassing right now. Money can be raised, money can be spent. But, when all is said and done, the mood of the voters will determine the outcome of the election, not the balance statement of the campaign's bank account.
Here's an interesting story on the Republican candidate for Mayor of Indianapolis, you might find worthy to read. Greg Ballard was so good at running things at a Saudi Arabian seaport at the end of the Gulf War that one of the generals nicknamed him the "Mayor of Jubail."
Now, he's hoping to persuade voters to elect him the mayor of Indianapolis.
Ballard, a 52-year-old Republican making his first run for office, is challenging two-term Democratic incumbent Bart Peterson.
For the record, when I lived within the city limits, I voted for Bart Peterson. He was what Indy needed at the time. I do not live there now, so it's imperative to note that I do not have a dog in the fight. Peterson was what was needed at the time, as the city had been under republican control for 31 years. And like any party that builds a machine, it gets corrupted. After two terms of Mr. Peterson, there seems to be more of a feeling of disconnect between Bart and the people that elected him. He consolidated IPD with the Sheriff's office and IFD with those departments in the townships, in a haphazard way to drain revenue from them, to minimize the losses that have been incurred under his administration. Property taxes are hitting the sky, county income taxes have been raised. Restaurant and hotel taxes have been hiked up, to subsidize the new stadium and hand out corporate welfare to millionaires. We all love our Colts mind you, but other things are quickly slipping into the abyss.Bart hasn't been a complete failure, he has done some things well. But, there comes a time when all of the signs of a machine beginning to break down, appear. The disconnect comes from the way he handles criticism. He insulates himself from it. He turns a blind eye to bad behavior within his own party and administration. Indianapolis is primarily Democratic these days. The Republican machine is gone and the Dems are riding one right now. The City-County Council was Republican up until a few years ago, now the Dems are embroiled in much scandal, starting with Council President Monroe Gray.Bearing gifts of smoke detectors, City-County Council President Monroe Gray added prestige to an Indianapolis Fire Department outreach event in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood in August.
What's not clear is exactly whom Gray was representing.
He could have been there in his role as a council member, since he represents that Northside neighborhood, a part of the 8th District.
Or he could have been there acting in his capacity as the community liaison for the Fire Department, a job that Gray acknowledges has some of the same responsibilities as his council role.
Gray earns two paychecks from the city of Indianapolis: $83,000 a year for being a fire official, a position from which he will retire this year, and another $16,000 for serving on the council, with an additional $2,000 for serving as president.
Another Democrat that has been in the hot seat for his behavior is, City-County Councilman Ron Gibson.Bart has yet to distance himself from these kinds of activities. Mum has been the word. The cricket sounds coming from the City-County Building have ben deafening. (Like I said, he insulates himself.)So now, enter LTC Ballard:Here is a man that is 14% behind in the polls right now. But he hasn't spent a cent. He hasn't had it to spend. What I am finding interesting in this race is, there is a chance that he could win this, but he must make up some ground between now and November 6th. He is hanging around at 14 % after Peterson has spent a mint and the colonel is waging a full-time grass roots campaign (and is connecting).He may not win, but I wouldn't rule it out just yet, either. I know a lot of Dems that are planning to vote for Mr. Ballard. Little is known about him, the article does a good job of introducing him. The biggest accomplishment in his life seems to be a successful career in the U.S. Marine Corps. That may not count much for some and I would in no way say that should ever be the only criteria for public service. (See: John Murtha and Duke Cunningham) But on the whole, I would say this qualifies as a definite plus in his case, especially given the fact that his opponent has had eight years to produce, and has failed to do it efficiently. If you look at Ballard's military service record here, you will see that he is certainly qualified to be given a chance. And a chance he may get. For this reason, it would be advisable for him to get ready to govern and always remember that the next election is always down the road.
