Home

Join

Main Menu



blog advertising is good for you
Powered by Disqus

Links

Like IB

«
»

Money Matters and Other Stuff

It’s amazing what you come across when you’re playing on the Internet and scanning through local campaign finance reports.  For the record, I do have a life, I was just killing time before meeting up with friends for cocktails.

You come across the usual things; Greg Ballard raised more than $1.3 million in 2009, with about half the donations being between $250 and $750.  John Layton, Democratic candidate for Sheriff had $108,000 in cash on hand, etc. etc.   But there were also some other interesting tidbits.  For example…

  • Up until December 2008 it looked like  County Auditor Billie Breaux was raising money for a run for Treasurer.
  • Former City-County Councilman Ike Randolph still has City-County Council political action committee.
  • Up until he got out of the race for Sheriff Kerry Forestal raised $88,000.
  • Frank Anderson’s “exploratory committee” for something raised about $13,000.
  • The fund raising arm of the Marion County Republican Party pulled in about $33,000 last year.   The Marion County Democrats fund raising arm didn’t do anything in 2009.
  • And believe it or not, former Indy Mayoral candidate Jocelyn Adande still has a Mayor political action committee.  It’s empty, but still there.  Insert your own joke here.

Posted: 01|21|10 at 7:17 am by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
Follow this entry via RSS 2.0. Comment | Trackback

  • pogden297

    Keep up the spin, Abdul, and maybe people won't actually look at the report. The notion that 1/2 of Ballard's contributors are small contributors (suggesting they are average Joe's contributing to the Mayor) is a fallacy. Plus you're ignoring the fact that many people and companies are giving multiple times, such as people giving $500 four times. Not sure how someone giving $2000 in a non-election year is considered a small contribution.

    Bottom line is Ballard's contribution list is a who's who of the law firms and companies doing business with the city. It might be a step above pay to play Illinois politics, but it's only a small step.

  • Think Again

    Paul is right. The mayor's total is impressive. But it's typical mid-term mayoral stuff: those who want contracts, pony up. The only thing more whorish is the annual Judicial Reception each party throws for judicial candidates: attended by judges, lawyers who practice in their courts, and maybe one or two hangers-on. The judges are often listed as hosts. I'm sure they've checked the COurt rules of procedure, but if this doesn't violate some ethical standard, well…it should.

    I don't know how it happened that the Dems reported no money raised. I gave. I know many others who did, too. So they must be late with their report.

    Ike Randolph anywhere near public office again–very scary. I know you like him Abdul, but that man's a puzzle inside an enigma inside a puzzle. What you see is wayyyyy more than what you get.

    Forrestal. Hilarious. He was never going to win, and most of his money came form one guy–who's now under federal investigation.

    What about some of the other announced candidates?

    Jocelyn's committee treasury. Empty. Like her head. A good friend, every time he sees JT, says: I swear that's a man in drag. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But occasionally she hits a home run. Like the bar inside the Center trustee building.

    Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

    Time for a Bloody. Hair of the dog….

  • IndyRacer57

    Let me remain everyone of the last Mayor election. The supporters were laughed at and they said we could not even drum up support for Greg Ballard. Remember the little group of people that gather across the street from Peterson's tent? I was there. There is a nice picture of someone giving us the figure as he left. You can find this on Bart Lies website. You laugh because you did not think a guy like Ballard did not stand a chance against Bart. How much money did Peterson spend on his run? Then take a look at how much Ballard could raise on his first run. Ask around at nomal everyday citizens and see who they will be voteing for in the next election. I have one thing to offer the democrats or republicans that think they have a chance running agianst Ballard. Save you money.

  • melyssa

    I was there too IndyRacer. I was called foul names by the people at that Democrat Unity Rally.

    I endured a tremendous amount of personal abuse and accepted a great deal of personal loss to help Ballard win that election.

    I didn't want thanks. I wanted promises kept.

    I would have liked to see the city's legal business spread among lots of independent lawyers. I'd like to see Ballard stand up to Tom John, who treated him like a 2nd class person during the election. I expected Ballard to step up and own his words to end country club politics in Marion County.

    I think most of all I would have liked to see Ballard use the position we worked to give him to clean up the filth in the Marion County GOP.

    Ordinary citizens sacrificed plentry to secure Ballard's win.

    There will be poetic justice.

  • gmoore9643

    I hear a high ranking official is being investigated by the feds, any truth? Also hear same official resigned one of his jobs.

  • guest

    Abdul, You and Gov. Daniels need to keep up the good work. Shut all the schools down. Just wait till property tax caps take effect. Keep up the great work.

    Warren schools consider layoffs
    Updated: Thursday, 21 Jan 2010, 2:01 PM EST
    Published : Thursday, 21 Jan 2010, 1:50 PM EST
    http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/education/warren…
    Deanna Dewberry
    Patrick Tolbert
    INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Warren Township Superintendent of schools Dr. Peggy Hinckley said in a statement to the board Wednesday that the district will have to consider cutting jobs as they prepare to reduce the overall budget by $3,567,852.47.

    “Our challenge is that 91 percent of our budget is salaries and fringe benefits, people. Our decisions will be painful. We are not going to find millions of dollars of cuts in nine percent of the budget,” Hinckley said.

    24-Hour News 8 has heard from several Warren TWP schools employees who say they are afraid that they will lose their jobs.

    Hinckley also called on those in attendance to ask for legislators to grant schools the power to move money around saying “As we thoroughly review all expenditures, we are looking to the Indiana General Assembly to give school corporations the authority to transfer money among funds. We currently do not have that authority. Transferring money will save jobs. Please contact your legislators now.

  • Think Again

    Mrs. Hinkley needed to go long ago. Warren has become IPS East.

    Every school district in the state has 85-90% salary stories. Here's how you reduce that figure and put more money in the classroom, or, better yet, back in the pockets of taxpayers:

    1. Evaluate all central fofice tasks. Not the persons, but the TASKS needed to be performed on a weekly, daily, monthly, annual basis. Determine how much of that workload can be performed at the building level, and by what level of employee. I'm betting most of it can be done by lower-paid (but still important) personnel. No school superitnendent graduating 45% of her students needs assistant superintendents. Nowhere.

    2. Pool purchasing with the Educational Service Centers that already exist, or voluntary cooperative agreements with other school districts. We don't need nine bus maintenance barns, nine security forces…get the picture?

    3. In addition to educational performance bonuses, start rewarding Ms. Hinkley and her ilk for budgetary benchmarks. A novel concept, that. Most school administrators dont know a P&L statement from their hind ends.

    Stand aside, Supt. Hinkley. That roar you hear is the public demanding you do a better job, more efficiently.

  • Barnard

    Abdul..
    I'm looking at Ballard's finance report now and I don't see $1.3M raised??!! I see $830K raised + the $550K cash on hand at beginning of 2009. Add those together and you get the $1.3M. Then he spent $350K which leaves him with roughly $1M COH. Still a decent number but not as impressive for a sitting mayor. Fact Check 101.

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    I think it's VERY impressive for a non-election year. But the most interesting note is that the MCRCC (I'm guessing Marion County Republican Central Committee) owes Ballard $15k. Quite interesting since Terry Burns at the Indianapolis Times as been posting about rumored money problems for Marion County GOP.

  • pascal

    I suppose Peggy's health insurance numbers aren't those of Marion Indiana ($29,000 per year at one time) but I'll wager that trimming the annual employee cost of same to the same level as the average taxpayer in her district would end her budget problems.