When making a decision to attend a political party slating convention, the big thing I ask myself is which one will be more interesting.   This year the winner was the Marion County Democrats.  They had four contested races which in turn led to a lot more drama.  My Republican friends only had a couple contested District races.

As I worked the room I had some pretty good conversations.  I have no doubt that with most of my Democratic friends, their hearts are in the right places, it’s just where there heads are at times that concerns me.   However the one thing that really got my attention was seeing Sam Carson, Sr.   Carson, the son of the late Julia Carson, had just announced a few days before he was running for Mayor and although he did not go through slating he was there working the room.

I thought that took a lot of chutzpah, so I walked up to him and asked him a few questions.  I asked him what he thought of Chairman Ed Treacy’s comments about his candidacy?  And he told me, please note these are his words not mine, that Treacy called him the equivalent of a “dumb nigger”.   My jaw dropped to the floor.  I asked him again was her sure about that, he said yes.   And I asked him if I could quote him on that, he said yes.  So I quoted him.

The rest of slating was pretty standard.  Both Melina Kennedy and Andre Carson gave their speeches.  The Chairman got the candidates he wanted.  And Democrats  left with energy and a goal to take back the City-County building.   But I couldn’t help but wonder if Sam Carson’s words won’t come back to haunt these guys later down the road.  Oh well, we’ll see.

Here’s who got slated today.  I’ll have some perspective tomorrow.

Republicans
Mayor: Greg Ballard

City-County Council

At-Large: Jackie Cissell
At-Large: Mike Kalscheur
At-Large: Barb Malone
At-Large: Angel RiveraDistrict 1: Susan Blair
District 3: Ryan Vaughn
District 4: Christine Scales
District 5: Ginny Cain
District 6: Janice McHenry
District 8: Stu Rhodes
District 12: Mike McQuillen
District 13: Bob Lutz
District 14: Marilyn Pfisterer
District 17: Gary Whitmore
District 19: Jeff Miller
District 20: Susie Day
District 21: Ben Hunter
District 22: Jason Holliday
District 23: Jeff Cardwell
District 24: Jack Sandlin
District 25: Aaron Freeman

City of Lawrence
Mayor: Paul Ricketts*
Clerk: Treasurer Kathleen Walton
Council:
At Large: Jeff Coats
At Large: Doug Reeser
At Large: Tom Shevlot
District 4: Desmond Woods
District 5: Stan Stevens
District 6: David Freeman

City of Beech Grove
Mayor: Terry Dilk
Clerk: Treasurer Chris Duffer
Council:
At Large: Sam Merl
District 3: Anthony Davidson
District 4: John Jennings
District 5: Greg Allison
Judge: Andrew Wells

Town of Speedway
Clerk Treasurer: Sharon Zishka
Council:
District 1: Gary Raikes
District 2: Jeff Hartman
District 3: Bill Suffel
District 4: Eileen Fisher

Democrats
Mayor: Melina Kennedy
City-County Council
At-Large A: Joanne Sanders
At-Large B: John Barth
At-Large C: Zach Adamson
At-Large D: Leroy Robinson
District 1: Jose Evans
District 2: Angela Mansfield
District 3: Len Farber
District 4: Kostas Poulakidas
District 6: Brett Voorhies
District 7: Maggie Lewis
District 8: Monroe Gray
District 9: Joe Simpson
District 10: William “Duke” Oliver
District 11: Steve Talley
District 12: Regina Marsh
District 15: Vop Osili
District 16: Brian Mahern
District 17: Mary Moriarty Adams
District 18: Vernon Brown
District 19: Dane Mahern

*Democrats slated Dean Jessup for Mayor of Lawrence which is odd because he was a member of Democrats for Ricketts in 2007.

Sam Carson, the son of the late Julia Carson, told me Thursday morning that he is running for Mayor of Indianapolis.  Shortly after formally announcing, Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy put out this statement.

“The entry into the mayor’s race of the unemployed Sam Carson brings an interesting development — a candidate with neither the experience nor the capacity to address the three most pressing issues in Indianapolis — jobs, crime and education. Sam Carson has no experience in these areas and will bring nothing to the table in addressing them.”

Okay,  I understand Andre Carson is supporting Melina Kennedy for Mayor, however you have to wonder if he spoke to Ed about his public comments regarding his Uncle.  We all know politics is politics, but would you let someone say this about a member of your family?  Particularly when it’s someone who you you already don’t necessarily have the best relationship to begin with.

See you at slating.

I’m doing the morning show live from the Indiana General Assembly today, so this will be short and to the point.

Politico is reporting that Governor Mitch Daniels will announce later this Spring whether he will run for President.  The article is pretty interesting.  Of course looking at the current field of contenders, Daniels would be refreshing since he would be the intellectual grown up in the room and I’ve always preferred grown ups to grizzly bears.

An Indiana Senate Committee is moving forward with an Arizona-type illegal immigration bill.  It passed overwhelmingly.  Frankly I think lawmakers should have waited until the courts decide what to do about Arizona’s law.  I’m also still trying to see where all the illegals are Indiana?  I need some work done around the house.

Speaking of laws, as if the issue of gay marriage weren’t enough, Indiana lawmakers are looking at legislation that would require couples who want to marry to take a marriage class or pay extra for a license.  No offense, but I took a class before I got married and it didn’t tell me anything I couldn’t have figured out for myself.   And here’s the kicker, the fees from the license would go toward subsidizing poor couples who can’t afford to pay the fee.  I think there’s a term for government actions like this.

The hits just keep on coming in the debate over school reform.  I hear some union members are so mad at reform supporters that they planning another protest.  This protest would take place this Saturday at the floral shop owned by State Representative Bob Behning in Indianapolis.   While I think it is totally uncool to take your political issues to someone’s job, the good news is the union members can pick up some flowers just in time for Valentine’s Day.

And for anyone who cares, Sam Carson, the son of the late Julia Carson, is announcing today that he’s running for Mayor of Indianapolis.

That’s all for now.

Oh, one more thing.  Wednesday was a good day for shameless self-promotion.  My inaugural monthly column appeared in the Indianapolis Star this week and the Indianapolis Business Journal did a nice write up of yours truly.

I attended the Statehouse teacher (union) rally Tuesday afternoon and stayed for the subsequent charter school vote in the House.  The measure passed 59-37.

What was most interesting was the reaction of the teachers.   I have honestly never seen so many people so angry and afraid like that in a while.  I’ve embedded their comments below.  Listen for yourself.  Each segment is between 5-6 minutes in length.

Teacher montage

Ft. Wayne teachers

In today’s episode of the battle over education reform, two of the state’s biggest teachers unions have scheduled rallies in Indianapolis, Anderson and East Chicago to protest what Indiana lawmakers are doing at the statehouse.

I think it’s rather ironic the Indiana Federation of Teachers and the State Teachers Association chose two school districts that the liberal think tank, Center for American Progress, have labeled as the worst in return on investment to the taxpayers.  That list also included Gary, but being on the streets of Gary after 5 p.m. could prove to be hazardous to your health.  And I also wouldn’t go investing my hard-earned money in Anderson schools either.

Now I don’t expect to hear much of anything new coming from the unions, however if they really wanted to have an impact, instead of their usual rhetoric regarding school reform and accountability they would offer up some ideas for the debate.  Actually, if they were really sharp, instead of coming across as educational obstructionists, they would pull their resources and create their own charter schools and show everyone else how it’s done.

Think about this for just a second.  The unions are notorious for saying that  “charters take and resources away from public schools”, “no school reform will matter unless you have parental involvement”, “performance based evaluation is unfair.”  If these folks are so smart and know what works, because according to them no one else does, then the unions should be willing to put its money where its mouth is and start a school, owned and operated by teachers.

I did some research and it costs about $250,000 to start up a charter school.  The Unions spent more than $1 million in the last election cycle trying to help Democrats keep control of the Indiana House of Representatives.  The money they spent could have created four schools where they would have gotten to run the show.  And they could use any model they saw fit, they are teachers after all.

I personally would like to see them shoot for the inner-city charter boarding school model myself.  Since the parents are usually the problem, then take the kids out of that learning environment and put them someplace where they can get not only get proper instruction, but the necessary after school reinforcement and let the parents come visit on weekends.  That’s just one suggestion.  I’m sure the best and brightest minds of the union establishment can come up with something.

And if they really wanted to make the rest of us close our mouths and take notice the unions would only take the worst of the worst kids from failing schools and really put them in a structured environment.

Of course this all inquires a lot of work.  But think, the opportunities to not only prove Governor Mitch Daniels, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett, and yours truly wrong should be more than worth it.  And you get the added bonus of educating kids who badly need it.  So, what do you say teachers unions?  You guys up for it or what?

And by the way, if you did form your own school, how would you deal with the union?  Just a thought.

There’s a joke I tell in my comedy routine about same-sex marriage.  Once you get married, the sex is always the same!  (Rimshot here)  Now I make it a point not to tell that bit with my lovely wife in the audience, otherwise sex won’t even be a question when we get back to the house because the answer will be “no”.    So, as Indiana lawmakers get ready for another constitutional amendment on protecting “traditional” marriage, I just have one question, why?

Same-sex marriage is already against the law in Indiana and in the 6+ years I’ve been here, I have yet to see a successful legal challenge to overturn that.  And even if gay marriage was made legal, are gay couples who want to tie the knot really that much of a threat to the fabric of the Hoosier landscape?  No offense, but I will gladly take my gay neighbors across the street who keep their home in nice shape and look out for us as opposed to the single-mom breeder down the street who pops out unruly kids like a pez dispenser.

In the year and five months that I’ve been married (notice how I got that timelime correct) and three years and two months my wife and I have been together as a couple (not bad for a married man), of all the things we ever fought over, gay marriage has never been one of them.   And even in our worse fight where one of us ended up on the couch for a couple days (she slept comfortably, by the way) gay marriage wasn’t on the radar screen.  It was over something I didn’t do, but as a man realized that if I just accepted blame my life would be a lot easier.

So let’s be reasonable here.   I know the marriage amendment will likely pass, however I’m not sure if everyone has thought out all the consequences of this,  such as what this does for local governments that want to offer domestic partner benefits?  I know Indianapolis City-County Councilor Angela Mansfield is looking at offering such a proposal.   And what does this do for private companies that want to offer such benefits as well?

Like I said, gay marriage is already against the law in Indiana, although I really don’t see why.  And I wonder if an amendment is really necessary in this case.  However, if lawmakers really wanted to put an end to gay marriage they would sign off  on the plan, because if gays are anything like us hetros  one of every two gay marriages with end up with gay divorcees.  Sorry about that, Fred.

Since today is Super Bowl Sunday and politics is probably the last thing on your mind, I’ll try to be as brief as possible while talking the latest gossip, rumor and blatant innuendo.

Mark February 22 on your calendar at Republican State party headquarters in downtown Indianapolis.  That is reportedly when and where Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock is going to launch his campaign to replace Dick Lugar in the United States Senate.   Up until two weeks ago, my reliable sources were telling me Mourdock was not getting into the race, but a recent trip to Washington D.C. changed all that.   I’m told Mourdock met with individuals from D.C. and New York who are willing to finance his campaign.  In addition Mourdock is supposed to be in possession of a poll that shows Lugar is extremely vulnerable and he reportedly has commitments from dozens of county chairman.  I tried calling Mourdock over the weekend to get his take on events but was unsuccessful.  Stay tuned.

The race for Indiana Governor looks like it’s going to get more crowded.  My colleague Jim Shella at WISH-TV Channel 8 says former Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter may get into the race.   Indiana Congressman Mike Pence is likely to run as well as Indianapolis businessman Jim Wallace. What makes Carter an interesting candidate is that he has executive experience in running a statewide office, which something Pence and Wallace don’t have.  I’m definitely keeping an eye on this one.

And finally, the Marion County Democrats grabbed shovels and cleared some walkways at a few Indianapolis Public Schools over the weekend.  Several of them got mad at me when I posted on my Facebook page that they were playing politics to embarrass the Mayor who is in Dallas for the Super Bowl. I wouldn’t have made the accusation if MCDP Executive Director Adam Kirsch hadn’t included this in his news release…

“Given the Mayor’s failure to clean off his desk before jetting to Dallas for this weekend’s Super Bowl, Marion County Democratic Party officials and volunteers will meet tomorrow to do their part to get schools open by Monday.”

And by the way, there was no mention of Eugene White in the release who is also in Dallas with the Mayor  for  the Super Bowl and it’s Dr. White’s schools that were snowed and iced in.  No, there’s no politics here.  This was all for the kids.

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday.

I always say this kind of weather brings out some bizarre behavior in people, particularly some of my Democratic friends.

Over at Indy Democrat, Jon Easter bemoans the fact that the Superintendent of  Public Instruction, Dr. Tony Bennett, is not granting waivers for schools that were closed due to the weather.

Easter must have forgotten that under former Superintendent of Public Instruction Sue Ellen Reed schools would have had to make up the first five days they missed due to weather and then make up one day for every three days missed after that.   If anyone is going to get their underwear in a bunch it should be over the idiotic school administrators who only built one snow day into their calenders.

And over at the Indianapolis Times,  Terry Burns is lamenting the Mayor’s trip to Dallas for the Super Bowl as the city digs its way out of this week’s snowstorm.  Burns thinks the Mayor should stay here with a shovel.  Apparently he’s not aware that the primary and secondary roads are in great shape and the city is moving into clearing residential neighborhoods and looking at ways to assist school districts with their issues.

The weather does do funny things to people, but now that things have cleared up my friends can get out of the house and get some fresh air.  it will do them some good.

In the debate over education reform in Indiana schools, it took a little while to figure out exactly how the opponents of education reform would try to frame the debate, but they have finally tipped their hand.  They are calling it a “war on public education and a war against teachers”.

I find that somewhat odd, because I can’t figure out who made the declaration!   Was it the Governor, Mitch Daniels?  Was it Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett?  Was it the Speaker of the House Brian Bosma or Senate Protempore David Long?  I ask because in the conversations that I’ve had with these gentlemen I’ve never heard anything that could be considered a declaration of war against public education or teachers.

I’ve heard things that could be considered a declaration of war against bad schools and getting rid of bad teachers, but educators as a whole, I don’t think so.  I went back and reviewed the Governor’s State of the State address.  It was 3,795 words long.  The only time the word “war” showed up was in the words “forward” and “awareness”.  He mentions accountability and improving student performance and rewarding teachers based on merit and not time served in a classroom.  How is that a declaration of war?

I did a Google search and typed in “declare war on education” and mentioned the above names and I came up with nothing.  I searched the news and the blogosphere and got nothing.  Now I did go to Facebook and found three pages  “Educators Against Mitch Daniels”,   “Educators Against Tony Bennett” and “Parents & Educators against the Daniels & Bennett Educational Reform.”

And by the look of the rhetoric, if anyone has made a declaration of war, it’s the folks who are running these websites.  Of course I do think if they put as much energy and effort into educating kids as they do lobbying maybe some of Indiana’s school reform might not be necessary.  But I digress.

I do think there are some valid questions about education reform.  For example, is pay for performance the best incentive to offer someone who went into a profession not for money, but because they love what they do?  And how do you develop a metric that measures student performance while taking into account various socio-economic backgrounds?  These , as well as others, are valid questions but that’s not what I’m hearing from the opponents of education reform.

All I hear is that proponents are “against public schools”, “anti-teacher” and the most egregious complaints say reform is racist and is designed to hurt  minority children.  Come to think of it, if this all the anti-reform voices can bring to the table, perhaps they are better left unattended.  After all, if it weren’t for them, this discussion wouldn’t be necessary in the first place.