It looks like City-County Council Minority Leader Joanne Sanders is going to keep her title, for now.  As I told you a few weeks ago, some of her fellow Councilors were not happy with her support of David Orenlichter in the May primary so a move was a foot to get rid of her and replace her with Mary Moriarty Adams.  However as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Apparently the co-conspirators did not count on the media to get wind of this.  Between the news posted here and over at Bilerico – Indiana, the plot to take out Sanders was exposed to the light of day.  It’s still unclear who was exactly the mastermind behind all this.  Some evidence points to Vernon Brown and Monroe Gray (revenge) and some points to the Maherns, Brian and Dane (blatant power grab).  It’s not enough to condemn, but it certainly is enough to make you go “hmmm”.

What has been the saddest note in this entire fiasco is that the pretext for all this was that Sanders did not back the slate.  My Democrat friends picked a heck of a time to find religion.  So many other Democrats had strayed and gone against the party line (Mahern’s  vote against former Mayor Peterson’s 65-percent county income tax increase, for example) and there were no consequences for their actions, so it seemed odd that Sanders would finally be standing on the block when it was time for the axe to fall.

The even bigger irony in all this is that had the story not been written, the plot would have gone forward, Sanders would have been out of job, Democrats would have their fifth Council leader in four years, divisions would have continue to grow, and the local party would have continued to spiral into disarray engaged in internal bickering instead of offering an alternate vision to Mayor Greg Ballard and the Republicans.

Oh well, there’s always next month.

Politico has an interesting story this morning on a new book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan takes several shots at the Bush administration over its handling of the War in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.

What makes it so fascinating is that McClellan was truly considered to be the “loyal soldier”  of the administration and for him to stray off the plantation says quite a bit.  I will say this, if McClellan had all these problems with the administration then he should have stepped down. 

Having worked for elected officials in the past,  I understand a need to be loyal to your boss. But loyalty isn’t just telling your employer what they want to hear.  You give the candid advice that you are hired to do and then you go do your job.  When that stops working, you need to go find something else to do. 

At the end of the day, you have to be able to sleep at night and look at yourself in the mirror when you wake up in the morning. 

Plans to change the name of the Indianapolis International Airport have been grounded, for now.  A proposal to change add H. Weir Cook’s name to the Airport failed to garner a do-pass recommendation from the Council’s Rules Committee.  Cook was a World War I aviation hero, shooting down more than a half dozen German planes during the conflict.  His name was part of the Airport’s name until 1976 when it was changed to the Indianapolis International Airport.  The vote was 3-3, which still allows the full Council to take up the proposal at its next meeting in June.

With June right around the corner, both Indiana Republicans and Democrats are getting ready for their state nominating conventions.  Normally, these are periods of party unity and togetherness, however this year may be a little different.  Both Marion County political parties could be going into the state conventions with some “family issues.”

On the Republican side, Chairman Tom John tells me there are some differing opinions with regards to the race for Attorney General.  Current AG Steve Carter is stepping down, the two main candidates for the job are his Chief of Staff Greg Zoeller, who’s been endorsed by his outgoing boss and Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, who enjoys the support of the Governor.  According to John, Marion County will back Costas with a solid majority, but there have been those Republicans backing Zoeller, the most notable is Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.   Some pundits are accusing John of playing hardball by forcing delegates to sign oaths that they would support Costas and retaliating against those who don’t get on board.  John says his job as County Chairman is to back the Governor’s pick, but anyone who has lost a party  position, as of late, has been more about competency than politics.

Things aren’t all rosy on the Democratic side either.  I wrote a while back that City-Council member Joanne Sanders might be in jeopardy of losing her position as Minority Leader because some Council Democrats thought she should have backed Andre Carson in the May primary instead of David Orenlichter since Carson was the party’s slated candidate.  It seems now that movement is gaining steam.  My sources inside Democratic circles say there is a growing movement within the caucus to replace Sanders with fellow Democrat Mary Moriarty Adams.  If  Adams replaces Sanders she will be the Democrats fifth Council leader in four years.

Today your favorite (fill-in-the-blank) turns another year older.  When someone asks my age I tell them “I’m old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and still young to act with occasional wildness abandonment.”

I do find that as I get older, I find myself keeping a more even temper about things.  I’ve adopted the rule that for every moment of joy, rapture and divinity the universe gives you, there has to be an equally excruciating moment of pain.  It’s like a great night of wine, women, cigars and songs followed by a really bad hangover the next day.

I will admit to every once in a while throwing a grenade or two to stir things up, but that’s only when things have gotten too quiet around here. 

I consider myself a very fortunate individual.  I’m doing what I love and getting paid for it.  I have a great family, an awesome circle of friends and a woman who can see past all the bravo and bluster, see me for who I really am,  and still likes me anyway.  She should be nominated for sainthood.

I’m taking the rest of the day off and will post again on Tuesday.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and take a second to remember what this day is really about; the men and women who laid down their lives for this nation, so we could enjoy the freedoms that we have.

I hate to sound like the bad guy here, but someone needs to tell people who get government assistance that it is not a right, but a privilege.  I cite the recent ACLU lawsuit against the Indiana Family Social Services Agency over the privatization of the agency. 

The ACLU maintains the privatization of the eligibility portion of FSSA has resulted in thousands of Hoosiers being denied benefits they are entitled to.  No offense, but the last time I checked, government benefits are not a right. 

I am all for helping people and think there should be a safety net for the neediest of the needy, but there is nothing that says the state has to do anything.  We made a decision as a society to help people out of the kindness of our hearts and the money in our wallets.  However someone needs to tell the 1.1 million people who are getting the benefits as long as someone else is paying the bill, that the day is coming where some of us may decide not to do that anymore.

So why did Indianapolis get a Super Bowl this year as opposed to last?  Good question.  Fair question.  I asked Mayor Greg Ballard that this afternoon.  He gave three reasons.

1.  The city tied its legacy project to IPS and the new facility that will go up at Tech High School.

2.  The city did not put all its cards on the table right away and held back part of its proposal to the very end.

3.  Having 8th graders from not only Indianapolis, but across the region participate in presenting the city’s bid to show wide support for the project.

You may not agree, but it didn’t hurt.

I also asked the Mayor who should deserve the credit?  He acknowledged the work of the previous administration in the bid, however he also recognized the work of people like Dick Lugar who really laid the groundwork for what Indianapolis is today.  And he also said the real winners are the community, as he labeled this a community bid.

Much to the dismay of his critics, you have to give Ballard credit.  Not only for this, but for retaking the police department and putting it back where it belonged,  the state taking over the pre-1977 pension problem,  and seriously promoting  government consolidation that went  beyond Indy Works I, II & III.  (And need I remind some of you that former Mayor Bart Peterson could have had consolidation had members of his own party not blocked it in the Indiana General Assembly.  I can say this because I was there and many of you were not, so save us all the grief and hassle of trying to argue the point.)

I think a Super Bowl will be good for the city and will open a number of doors if it is done right.  That will be the biggest challenge for the administration.  There is no do-over for this one and 2012 will be here before you know it.  The good news is that Indianapolis has  handled major events before, this is the granddaddy of them all.

Nice job.  Now get to work!

The city of Indianapolis has landed the 2012 Super Bowl.  More details later.

There is a very good chance Indianapolis will be awarded the 2012 Super Bowl this afternoon in Atlanta.  Indy is competing with Houston and Phoenix.  I rule out Houston because the 2011 Super Bowl will be right outside Dallas.  And the Phoenix was a logistical disaster, ergo Indianapolis gets the bid.  However, if the city does get the bid, that presents an interesting question, who should get the credit? Bart Peterson or Greg Ballard.  The Peterson people will say they laid the groundwork for the bid.  The Ballard people will say they sealed the deal.  What do you say?

Although the city of Indianapolis is facing tens of millions in budget shortfalls, the Council overwhelmingly tonight approved spending $1.5 million for the arts. Councilors said the arts programs went to help youth and would in turn help lower crime and stimulate the economy, however critics said the city had to pay for other priorities.   Many Councilors felt that since the money was allocated from last year’s budget and many organizations had already spent or had plans to spend the money, it would have been unfair to change things midstream.  However some supporters of the measure told the arts community that the money would probably not be there the next time around so they should start making other arrangements.

In other news, the Council went forward tonight with a measure that would allow the city to appoint members of recently merged fire departments to be the head of IFD. Current law only allows the head of IFD to come from within the department and did not include the merged departments. A proposal that would have allowed the Mayor to appoint a chief from outside the department did not make it to a full vote. However, despite the passage of ordinance, sources say if the Mayor cannot find a qualified candidate for the job within IFD, he can come back to the Council and they will change the rule.