Loading ...Today’s Political Landscape
There are a quite a few items of political note today. Matt Tully has a pieice on how gracious Governor Mitch Daniels has been regarding the defeat of the Commerce Connector and part of the Illiana Expressway. I agree with Matt that the Governor has been gracious in defeat. He’s a much better person than me because I’d start building a Death Star to deal with people who didn’t get it.
Discussion gets underway at the Legislature today over Indy Works. State Senator Jim Merritt is offering an amendment requiring more community input on fire consolidation and also keeping the Township Assessors in place for now. Merritt’s bill would require townships to have three public hearings on fire consolidation and then vote. If approved the departments would consolidate and the township trustees would eventually be out a job becaue their poor relief efforts would be turned over to Marion County’s Health and Hospital. Under the current proposal, only a City-County Council vote is needed for consolidation. Merritt says the Assessor issue is one that should be decided statewide. While I have as much use for the Township Trustees as Stevie Wonder does for contact lenses, they are still elected officials and should have a say in the matter. The Mayor has already had victories in Washington and Warren Townships. I think he can do it in the other townships, but he may have the most problem with fellow Democrats Pike Township Trustee Lula Patton and David Baird, the Wayne Township Trustee. I don’t see these guys giving up power without a military junta overthrowing them.
Speaking on consolidation, the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns will hold a news conference today calling on more autonomy for local governments. Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson may have some ammunition under his belt. Standard and Poor has a report out that says without legislative help, the city could lose its AAA bond rating. James Weimken of S& P goes on to say that if the Indianapolis is not in a position to address its structural deficit, pension liabilities and growing public safety needs in a meaningful way, its credit rating will be lowered. A lower credit rating would mean higher interest payments when it comes to issuing bonds. Don’t be surprised if you see this argument surface today.
The City Ethics Board has agreed to hear the CC President Monroe Gray’s request for an ethics investigation. This will be fun to watch.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:11 am
I don’t know which planet you and Tully are living on, but I thought the governor’s comments about I-69 on Monday were anything but gracious. Yeah, we have money to build I-69 from Evansville to Crane, but you folks further north will just have to wait 7 or 8 years, unless you want to put tolls on your road. I guess you and Tully just hear what you want to hear.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Gary,
I know we split on this issue, but I honestly think Mitch has been too nice and accomodating dealing with his opposition in this state. I personally think it’s time for him to start showing people who’s boss in this state. Call me a good old-fashioned dictator at heart. :-)
March 28th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I vote Abdul for dictator as long as I can be in charge of the “Secret Police”. Boo-yaaaa
Crow
March 28th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Uh, the people are the boss, not Mitch. It’s not his money, it’s not his state (except in his capacity as a citizen like the rest of us). It’s ours. Mitch has had at least some support on many of his ideas–DST, Major Moves, selling the Toll Road, various privatization and reorganization efforts. People at all ends of the political spectrum are opposed to the outer loop for a variety of reasons. It is a terrible idea.
I realize that you are nothing but an opportunist for whom the state of Indiana is nothing but a gig. Many of us who care about the future of Indiana have supported some of Mitch’s ideas and opposed others based upon the merit of the ideas. I reject your simplistic notion that every proposed change would result in positive progress, and really reject your idea that Mitch Daniels (or any other governor or government official) is the “boss of us.” He serves at our pleasure.
I agree with Gary’s take. I think Mitch’s response was classic passive aggressive. “Ok fine, fine, I’ll go along with the overwhelming sentiment in central Indiana. Oh, and by the way, I’m going to build the Crane to Evansville portion of I-69 first, even though the northern half would be much more heavily traveled and immediately useful.”
March 28th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Would it be wrong to support the anti I-69 people in order to realize gains for Northwest Indiana?
The Illiana’s route from I-94 in Michigan City to I-57 and beyond in Illinois was clearly a way to make the area attractive to Canadian and Mexican trade.
Right now, I-94 & I-80 are part of the “Super Corridor” that connects up with I-35 and travels southward to Mexico.
Building I-69 could hurt Northwest Indiana interests.
All is not lost for Northwest Indiana. Even without the Illiana, we’ve got an extra lane each way on the Borman Expressway that can be opened up when Illinois finishes their road projects.
And, I bet one of these days, there will be an Illiana Express running south along to LaPorte Co. line south to Jasper Co. (where the farmers banded together to build the Exit 220 interchange to allow easy interstate access to be able to ship their milk to various markets) and on westward to Illinois where traffic will eventually connect up with the NASCO Canada-Mexico trade route.