Marion County Judge Louis Rosenberg ruled late Thursday that Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was ineligible to hold the office and ordered he must vacate it and the seat goes to Democratic challenger Vop Osili.   White had come under fire for voting from a precinct where he did not live. White had argued it was an honest mistake because he was moving and starting a new life.  The Indiana Election Recount Commission had agreed, unanimously,  with White and ruled he was eligible to serve.

In his opinion Judge Rosenberg said despite the error, “The fact that Mr. White knowingly registered in the wrong precinct is sufficient to render him ineligible for the office of Secretary of State.”

A spokesman for the Recount Commission said the board plans to appeal the decision as well as ask for an emergency stay of the order.  Regardless, nothing is going to happen immediately as the State of  Indiana is closed until Tuesday because of the Christmas holiday.  In addition, there would have to be 48 hours notice of any Commission hearing, so the earliest the Commission could meet would be Thursday.

A spokesman for the White said the finding by Judge Rosenberg was “unprecedented”.  He also said that White plans to continue to serve until this entire matter has played itself out.”

A copy of Judge Rosenberg’s order can be found here. Vop Osili has reportedly already signed an oath of office for his District 15 Council seat.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says he will appeal the decision.  He issued a statement saying the following.

“One obligation of our office is to represent state government boards such as the Indiana Recount Commission in lawsuits, and when a board’s unanimous administrative decision is overturned by a court, the order should be reviewed by a higher court. We will seek a stay of the court’s ruling and are in communication with our client the Recount Commission to discuss the process of an appeal.”

I wanted to add a couple quick things to the news about the indictment of outgoing City-County Councilman Paul Bateman and two other men for alleged public corruption and wire fraud.

Here is the link for the actual complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

And here is the link for the audio of today’s actual news conference.  It runs about 22 minutes.

Outgoing Indianapolis City-County Councilor Paul Bateman says he did not do anything wrong with respect to an indictment being handed down against him today by a federal grand jury.

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that Bateman, along with two others, is being charged with fraud and money-laundering for allegedly defrauding an elderly Indiana physician out of $1.7 million.   RTV 6’s Jack Rinehart first reported on this more than three years ago.

Bateman is accused of eight counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of money-laundering.  The other two individuals, Micheal Russell and Manuel Gonzales face similar charges.  According the indictment, Bateman and the others used a charity called the Russell Foundation to get the physician to invest in the organization’s “charitable projects.”  RTV 6 originally reported the foundation listed its mission as ” trying to develop rail- and ethanol-related economic ventures that benefit minority workers and contractors.”  However U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett’s office says money was spent on personal expenses for themselves, friends and family members.  The foundation has since then declared bankruptcy and had more than $2.6 million in debt.

I contacted Bateman late Monday via text message to get his reaction.  His response was as follows…

“I don’t know why they [are] messing with me.  I guess I just have to prove I didn’t do anything wrong I am not that kind of person.“

Each count of wire fraud carries a sentence of 20 years, while the money-laundering charges carry a 10-year sentence.

A news conference is slated for 9:30 this morning at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  I will be updating frequently on Twitter.  You can follow me at AttyAbdul or IndyPoliticsOrg.

As I sat and watched the oral arguments Monday over vouchers in Marion County Superior Court all I could think is why do teachers unions continue to fight reform?  Why do they continue to want to deny parents and their kids the opportunity to get a decent education?  And for a bunch of people who say they care about kids, their actions sure don’t match their words.

Take Indiana’s school voucher program, for example.  The attorney for the teachers union argued that the voucher law was unconstitutional because the main beneficiary of the vouchers were the private, religious schools.  Huh?   I thought the primary beneficiary of the vouchers were the children and their parents.  And as long the money goes to the parents and they make the decision where to send their child to school, I don’t see what the big problem is.

But taking the thought process of voucher opponents to its logical conclusion then government scholarships that students use to attend places like Notre Dame are illegal.   A local government entity could never partner with a faith-based organization to help address societal ills such as crime, poverty and offender re-entry.  You could never have a polling place in a church.  Or heck, a city could not plow a street that had a church on it because the church gets a benefit and taxpayers dollars are being spent removing the snow.  Of course those are ridiculous assumptions, but so is fighting to keep kids in bad schools by limiting the choices they have for an education.

The last time I checked, choice and competition tend to bring out the best in all of us, so why be afraid of it.  And if these people were serious about helping kids, they would put aside their fear and take some of the energy they expend fighting choice and reform and actually offer up an idea or two on how to improve school performance.

But that would actually take more careful thought and fewer histrionics, something I am not quite sure the opponents of school reform and vouchers are quite capable of just yet.

How can a political party that can’t pick a chairman win a race for Governor and the U.S. Senate in a political climate where the President of their party is polling at 38% heading into the 2012 elections?  That is the question Indiana Democrats will have to answer.  Following a weekend political family fight that looked like something out of the Jerry Springer show, Democrats are going to have to do a lot of soul searching if they plan to have any victory next year.

As we first reported, on both occasions, Indiana Democratic Chairman Dan Parker turned in his resignation last week.  The decision was based in part on Parker wanting to move on and members of the party (i.e. Gubernatorial candidate John Gregg and U.S. Senate candidate Joe Donnelly) wanting a fresh face.  Several other party members wanted a clean break from the Evan Bayh days.

The original choice to replace Parker was former Gregg Chief of Staff Tim Jeffers.  However, too many Democrats were not happy with the way Jeffers was being forced on them, so he dropped out of the race, leaving the contest between Joel Miller and Sarah Riordan, both Democratic operatives in Marion County.   Miller was backed by the Marion and Lake County delegations while Riordan had the backing of Gregg and Donnelly.  Miller was also backed by Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy, a longtime enemy of Parker.

It turns out during Saturday’s meeting Riordan did not have enough votes to win so Parker withdrew his resignation and used a procedural move to allow appointed members of the State Central Committee to vote to accept his non-resignation.  This has resulted not only in a cornucopia of bad blood between Democrats but Republicans are also taking shots at Gregg’s leadership.

This is not a good lead-in to 2012.

As I stated earlier, the political climate does not favor Democrats.  Also, in order to successfully combat Republican efforts to implement Right to Work legislation and other measures, Democrats need to be united in both the legislature and on the campaign trail.   In addition, the rank and file have to have faith in the party leadership as well.  Yesterday did not help as numerous comments on Facebook and Twitter revealed angst to disgust at what happened Saturday.

Also, throw in the fact the Democrats have to find candidates to run against Greg Zoeller for Attorney General and more importantly, Tony Bennett for Superintendent of Public Instruction and you could see how 2012 could turn into a political disaster of Titanic proportions for Indiana Democrats.  Right now the only declared candidate against Bennett is Justin Oakley,  a teacher from Martinsville.

I think Hammond mayor Thom McDermott served up the sentiment the best in this quote from his Facebook page, “The Indiana Democratic Party should lead the way in holding fair & DEMOCRATIC elections. Instead we get this, a fraudulent chairman who is beholden to a former US Senator that doesn’t even live in Indiana any longer. Our party leadership is a disgrace.”

Granted people can always bury the hatchet, but from the feedback I saw following this weekend yesterday, the only place where Democrats are likely to bury the hatchet is in each other.

The education reform organization, The Mind Trust , is unveiling a plan which would radically change Indianapolis Public Schools.  Citing graduation and ISTEP test results which place IPS Schools far below the state average, and only 41 cents of every dollar spent making it into the classroom The Mind Trust, has drafted a proposal which will change the way IPS schools are governed as well as how they operate.  The plan calls for Mayoral oversight of schools in the IPS district  while each school would become an independent operator or an “opportunity school”.

Under the Mind Trust plan the following would occur…

• The majority of IPS funding control would go from the Central Office to the individual schools.  That would allow for $12,000 to be spent on the average student instead of the current $6,000.
• Pre-kindergraten for 4-year olds.
• Schools would be given control over their own personnel, curriculum, budgets and services as long as they met high standards.
• Teachers would be given more say in the classroom.
• The city’s public, magnet and charter schools would be put under one organizational umbrella known as “Opportunity Schools”

The Mind Trust makes the argument that it can accomplish this without spending additional tax dollars, but instead prioritizing current  dollars which would allow more than 75% of dollars spent to go directly to the schools.  Right now that number sits at about 41%.
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To help achieve this new system, the Mind Trust proposes dissolving IPS’ current structure and creating a new five-member board that would be appointed by the Mayor of  Indianapolis and approved by the City-County Council.  The organization says that would create more accountability as well as serve as a central provider for back office functions such as debt financing.

The transition from IPS to the “Opportunity School” Model would take place over a several year period with 10 schools a year being transformed into “Opportunity Schools”.

I like the part about blowing up the bureaucracy in the central office at IPS and redirecting those funds toward the individual schools.  I have some questions about how this would work with the existing governance of Charter schools, however, this shows a thoughtful approach to dealing with education.

If anything, it is a very good starting point for a thoughtful debate.

You can read the Executive Summary (six pages) of the report here.

A more detailed report (160 pages) can be found here.

Although he announced last week that he was stepping down as Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party it looks like Dan Parker is  sticking around for a while.

Parker withdrew his resignation today at a downtown meeting of the State Central Committee where his successor was supposed to be picked.  The early from runner was Tim Jeffers, however Democrats wanted to make a clean break from the Evan Bayh days and so Jeffers withdrew.  The race came down to party activists Joel Miller, who was backed by Ed Treacy and the Marion and Lake County factions of the party and Sarah Riordan who had the support of gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, U.S. Senate candidate Joe Donnelly and the much of the rest of the state. Howey Politics is reporting that Miller had the votes to win over Riordan.

Parker reportedly used parliamentary procedure to withdraw his resignation and then allowed appointed members of the Central Committee to vote.  No word yet on the vote total, but I am told it was very slim.

All inside baseball aside, this can’t be good news for Indiana Democrats.  This kind of political dysfunction can’t be good with 2012 elections right around corner.  In addition, this has also got to be major defeat for Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy.  He has hated Parker for years and was behind Joel Miller’s run.

Ah politics.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

Will someone please tell me why most unions and labor are afraid of “right to work”?  It’s almost like a phobia.   Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels released a statement Thursday in support of “Right to Work” and is expected to reiterate that support today in a speech in downtown Indianapolis.   His argument is basically that an individual should not have to choose between their job and joining a union.  (Catchy phrase!)

I’ve stated  before that if a union is providing quality service for its members they will gladly stay and join, if not they’ve got a problem.  And therein lies the rub.  Under the current version of RTW, not only could an potential employee not be forced to join a union as a condition of employment, but also anyone who is currently in a union and paying dues could leave the union and stay on the job.

That is what really scares unions and labor.

They aren’t so much worried about new employees, per se.  They are scared “excrementless” that their ranks will dwindle even further because the members who didn’t liked being forced to join or don’t like like the way the union is being run will take the path of least resistance and quit.  Remember, union membership has already been declining in this county, so forced membership is the only way to keep the ranks filled.  When you look at it like that, I’d be scared too.

It is much easier to force someone to join and organization rather than be responsive to their needs and provide them good service in order to get them to stay, although it can be done.  I site two examples of high union membership sans the compulsory element, the union that represents most city employees and the union which represents employees at the Indianapolis Star.  Membership in the unions is not mandatory, but their ranks are high and members pay dues, because the leadership is doing its job.  The only unions that would suffer under RTW would be the ones that more concerned about taking care of themselves than taking care of their members.

This is some pretty big stuff.  It would also explain why I’ve been hearing rumblings of the International AFL-CIO setting up an office in downtown Indianapolis to better coordinate efforts to make this ground zero of the RTW battle.   I am also hearing about protests during the Super Bowl to draw attention to the RTW issue.  Frankly, I think if labor and unions would out as much energy into keeping their members happy as they did forcing them to pay dues, they would be a lot better off and wouldn’t have to stay awake at night being afraid of right to work.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of voter referenda.  I think when we elect people to make decisions, that’s what they should do.  Talk to voters, study the issues, make the decision and live with the consequences.  However, sometimes there are decisions so big, that you don’t want to jump off that bridge alone and you need the voters’ assistance.  So with that said, let’s have a vote on mass transit once and for all and be done with it.

This week, Marion and Hamilton County leaders, as well as the business community came out with a $1.3 billion plan to expand bus and rail service in the two areas.  It would be financed, in part, by a .03% increase in the local option income tax which translates into $50 for every $10,000 you make annually.  Seeing how $50 is my monthly cigar budget, I can’t really complain about that part of the equation.  Also what made me more open to the idea is that we are spending $1.5 billion on the I-465 Accelerator between I-74 and I-70 on the west side, US 31 between Carmel and Westfield and the never-ending Indianapolis version of the hillside strangler, I-69 and I-465 on the northeast side of town.

Now that said, I perfectly understand the hesitancy of some people to spend that kind of money on mass transit.  Factors such as population density, financing, and ridership are all legitimate concerns and proponents are going to have to make their case.  However, Indiana lawmakers should allow for a vote.  I say this because lawmakers have no problem allowing referendum for other matters.  Some extremely important, such as when local governments need to get around property tax caps, i.e. school construction and Wishard hospital.  And some not so important issues like the marriage amendment.  So to me it’s a little late to get cold feet on letting the people of Marion and Hamilton County decide whether they want to pay more for mass transit.

There is a legitimate question on how the referendum should take place.  The two main players in the mass transit discussion have different views on how it might work.  Indiana House Ways and Means Chair State Representative Jeff Espich of Uniondale prefers a voter referendum and then a vote by the local city or county councils.  State Senate Budget guru Luke Kenley prefers the local governing bodies make the decision.  Either way, both men agree in letting the locals decide.

Republican State Senator Mike Delph of Carmel has come out against the proposal. He released a statement saying, “I am opposed to my constituents in Marion and Hamilton Counties paying more income taxes to fund an unproven Mass Transit system. If the so called leaders in the business community believe so strongly in this proposal, let them lead by example by raising private dollars. They can start by looking inward to their own revenue. It is easy to ask others to pay for your expenses. User fees and free market capitol need to be tapped in advance of any effort to raise taxes. And to date to my knowledge such a plan has not been advanced.”   I don’t fully agree with Delph’s statement, but I think he should vote “yes” to get it to the voters in his district and then vote “no” when he goes to the ballot box.  By the way, history is Delph’s favor.  An analysis by the  shows that since 2008, there have been 71 school referenda to raise taxes either for the general fund or construction fund, 30 passed and 41 failed.

Giving the voters the opportunity to voice their opinion on a project this huge is not only reasonable but the right thing to do.  Proponents are going to have to fine tune their messaging on this one and remind people what we’ve spent on road construction to alleviate traffic in some areas only to have to come back and widen the roads again.  They are going to have really synthesize and crystallize their arguments to make the sale.  As well they should on something this huge.  But at the very least, Indiana lawmakers should give the voters of Hamilton and Marion County the power to make this decision, since they are the ones who will have to live with the consequences.

Every once in a while you find friends and allies in the most unlikely of places.  Today, I have found a friend in District 2 City-County Councilor Angela Mansfield.  In the seven years that I’ve written about city government Angela and I have never been all that close, it has been a cordial relationship on a good day, however, when I am downtown today I just may actually send her a gift and thank her for all she’s done for the smoking ban.  It’s because of her and sticking to her principles the likelihood of the current smoking ban compromise being expanded over the next four years ranks right up there with Donald Trump living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Although she was on the grasp of getting 90-percent of what she wanted in an expanded smoking ban, that wasn’t enough.  The measure failed to get a do-pass recommendation by a vote of 6-2 on the Council Rules Committee.   Yes, most of the Republicans voted no, but what did you expect?   Had Mansfield, Monroe Gray and Joanne Sanders voted “yes” we would be having a different conversation today.   According to her public statements, it was an amendment by outgoing at-large Councilor Angel Rivera that would have allowed minors to enter a private club as long as smoking was in a segregated area that did it.  I don’t believe that for a minute, but Mansfield had to come up with a reason to vote no and that one was as good as any.

By voting no and keeping the status quo Mansfield and the Democrats have clearly stated demonstrated that sometimes principle is more important than compromise.   And walking away with nothing is what you have to do when the something you would have gotten was unacceptable.  I would have taken the deal, declared victory and immediately retreated, however, I have been cursed with a very practical nature that can see the political handwriting on the wall and accept reality.

And for now, the new reality is we will likely live with the current smoking ban that keeps minors from being exposed to smoke and let’s everyone else with a brain make an informed decision about whether they want to patronize a place that allows smoking.   And to think, none of this would have been possible without the biggest smoking ban proponent in Marion County.  If Mansfield smoked, I’d buy her a box of cigars; CAO Sopranos Boss Torpedo Maduros.  They retail for  $300.00 a box, but after Tuesday night’s Committee meeting on the smoking ban, they are worth every penny.

Editor’s Note:  Check out my monthly column in today’s Indianapolis Star. I offer Mayor Greg Ballard some advice for his second term, “Don’t get mad, just even with a few people.”