Proponents of mass transit in Indianapolis and Central Indiana say they have a plan which the voters will approve if the Indiana General Assembly gives them permission to put the $1.3 billion measure on the ballot.   The plan, to be unveiled today,  would allow voters to decide to increase the county option income tax by .003% or $30 for every $10,000 they make and in exchange bus and rail service would be expanded in Marion and Hamilton Counties.  The surrounding counties would given a chance to opt-in at a later date.

The plan would include a northeast corridor rail line from Noblesville into downtown Indianapolis, using existing rail lines.  The average travel time would be 31 minutes and there would be 10 stops.   Bus line service in Indianapolis would move from a spoke pattern, where riders have to go downtown before connecting to another line, to a grid system.  It would double the number of buses, increase frequency and add new routes.

There would also be express bus service as well on College and Keystone avenues which would eventually connect Carmel to the University of Indianapolis and Greenwood to the northside.  There would also be a Bus Rapid Transit system as well.

The system would cost approximately $1.3 billion to build and $131 million annually to operate.  Since there are multiple counties involved, there would be a governing board representing multiple jurisdictions, similar to the Regional Transit Authority based out of the Chicago metropolitan area. Proponents say the cost of expanding rail is less than the$1.5 billion costs of the Accelerate 465 project near I-70 and I-74, rebuilding US 31 in Hamilton County from Carmel to Westfield and the I-465 and I-69 lane expansion projects.  They also say the project would reap more than $2.3 billion in productivity such as travel time and cost savings, economic development, reduction in pollution and enhancement of the ability of low-income residents to get jobs.

Mass transit supporters also say their polling data (taken on 8/8 and 8/9 of this year) shows more than 80% of the public thinks there should be better bus service, 90% think the measure should be put on the ballot and 60% would support a .05% increase in the income tax to pay for it; that number goes higher as the tax increase rate is lower.  Despite that the big challenge will likely be the Marion County Republican delegation in the Indiana Senate.  By last count State Senators Mike Young, Mike Delph, Scott Schneider, Brent Waltz and Bev Gard were at best cool to the idea of a tax increase to pay for mass transit, even though this measure would be implemented via referendum by the voters.

Both Republican State Senator Luke Kenley of Noblesville and House Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich of Uniondale are reportedly coming up with plans that could put the measure on the ballot by November of 2012.  The first phase of the plan, which would only impact Marion and Hamilton Counties would take 10 years to complete.

You can view a copy of the map below.  (Note: It is saved in Slideshare which may not be compatible with some Apple products.)

One of the fun things I get to do with political musings is get on the e-mail lists of candidates and organizations.  However, because a significant number of people in this town aren’t crazy about me, I try to not to use my “Abdul” e-mail addresses, but instead, one of several other ones.  It works quite well.  That’s how I found out that former Indianapolis west side resident and State Senate candidate Robin Shackleford is having a campaign kick-off for the seat being vacated by Bill Crawford in House District 98.

I knew she and the political powers that be had edged out incoming City-County Council  Majority Leader Vern Brown out of running for the spot but I didn’t think the group was putting itself in a position to run afoul of federal law.

Shackleford is hosting her event on Thursday at the Forest Manor Multi-Service Center.  The invitation is pretty straightforward. It lists the usual group you would expect to find hosting this event and invites the public to come from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.  The problem is that Forest Manor is listed with the IRS as a 501(c)(3).  And here is what the IRS has to say about 501(c)(3)’s getting involved in political campaigns…

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.  The prohibition applies to all campaigns including campaigns at the federal, state and local level.  Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

And it gets even better…

Allowing a candidate to use an organization’s assets or facilities will also violate the prohibition if other candidates are not given an equivalent opportunity.

So let me see,  Forest Manor, a 501(c)(3), is allowing its facilities to be used to host a political event for a Democratic candidate for State Representative. If you’re expecting me to go off on a rant of self-righteous indignation, sorry, not gonna happen.  You know why?  Because I am sure when Marion County GOP Chairman Kyle Walker finds a candidate to run in House District 98, he can pick up the phone and call Forest Manor Executive Director Regina Marsh, who by the way is a Democrat  who ran against Republican Mike McQuillen in Council District 12 and lost.  And knowing Regina like I do, she will be more than happy to allow the Republicans to use her facility for their candidate to kick off his or her campaign, because we all know Regina would never do anything that would jeopardize the tax status of  Forest Manor by engaging in anything that would even have the slightest hint of impropriety because we know that type of behavior is reserved for Republicans and redistricting,  right?!

Right!

I know the Baptist Ministers Alliance of Indianapolis is still smarting from the wounds it received after taking a “Rootsesque” beating in the last election, but the latest rumor on the street seems a bit much for them.

I hear that Mike Jones, son of the late Sam Jones, and the BMA are working to bring the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to Indianapolis next year, perhaps during Indiana Black Expo.  I am told the point of bringing Wright here would be to “highlight the need for social justice in the black community.”

This is where I yell the Black version of “give me a break”!  (Do a Google search to find out what that means.)

Where does one begin?  First of all, bringing Jeremiah Wright to Indy has nothing to do with “social justice” but everything to do with another attempt to embarrass Mayor Greg Ballard.  I guess since calling him a racist in the last election didn’t work out too well, they have to try something else.

More importantly, who thinks that bringing the most divisive figure from the 2008 election to Indianapolis, during Indiana Black Expo and a Presidential year is a good idea?   You see how well bringing Al Sharpton to town last year worked out?  Bringing Jeremiah Wright to town has got to rank right up there with charging up the hill at Little Bighorn in 1876.   Any appearance by Wright would not only anger white voters, but a lot of black voters as well who say Wright nearly cost Barack Obama the Democratic nomination four years ago.

But for some strange reason, the same people who thought it would be a good idea to play the race card only to get politically pimp slapped by the voters think it would it be a good idea to bring Rev. Wright to town.

Part of me hopes I am wrong on this one, but another part of me says I’m probably not.  I’ll keep you posted.

I had to emcee an event Wednesday night with the Educational Choice Charitable Trust, Governor Mitch Daniels was the honored guest.  It was also as you know my wife’s birthday, so I had to get special permission to do the event.  While on stage I jokingly asked the Governor if I could borrow some of the $288 million the state “found” via clerical error to take my wife out and make amends.  He politely smiled and gave me that “Abdul, you’re on your own with that one” look.  I was kidding of course and didn’t expect the Governor to take me seriously, just like I can’t take people too seriously who are calling on the state to spend the $288 million on programs.

Schools are already clamoring for it, saying they need it because of cuts in education and property tax caps. House and Senate Democrats are calling for an “investigation” and the more liberal members of the Indian blogosphere are attacking the administration’s financial street cred and wondering why the State Auditor’s office didn’t find the error.   Okay everybody, let’s put the car in park for a moment and take a deep breath.

First, schools, you are not getting any more money. Deal with it.  In fact, there is a good chunk of the populace that thinks that despite tax caps and state cutbacks you still get too much money and haven’t done enough to consolidate and collaborate your efforts to provide the taxpayers with better service for their dollars.   For those of you want an “investigation” this is pretty simple.  An auditor in the Indiana Department of Revenue was processing a corporate electronic tax check and when he was entering it into the system noticed that it was going into a segregated account instead of the General fund.  He did some checking and found out that this had been going on since 2007.  The first year about $4 million went into the special fund, by 2011 more than $168 million had gone in as more corporations paid their income taxes by electronic check.  He reported the error and the state fixed it. This was the result of a computer glitch.  The money was still in the state coffers.  And if someone really wanted to play spin doctor the error actually worked out in the taxpayers favor because instead of going into the general fund and being spent immediately it was earning interest over the past few years.

So what to do with the “extra cash”? Well, the last time I checked this national economy was still sputtering along and while revenues are slowly getting better we are all just one Euro crisis away from being back where we started, so spending “extra” money might not be the best idea right now.  I like the idea of  paying off some bills (put half toward to teachers’ pension fund), put some in the bank (rainy day fund) and give the rest back to the taxpayers (rebate/refund credit).  What a novel concept.

I am always amazed at people whether they be regular folks or government officials where as soon as they find a dollar their first inclination is to run out and spend it.  What makes matters worse is when it isn’t their money they’re spending.  Now I have to go shake the pillows on the couch so I can take my wife to dinner this Saturday night.

Today is the lovely Mrs. Shabazz’s birthday so you guys are on your own.  Feel free to pick a topic from IndyPolitics.Org. I have to go be the best husband in the world.

If anti-smoking advocates were hoping to reduce the number of smoking establishments in Indianapolis before the Super Bowl,  they will have to wait until the next one comes to Indianapolis, whenever that is.

A proposal that would have banned smoking in most businesses with a few exceptions failed to garner support tonight in the Democrats’ caucus.  Prior to tonight’s City-County Council meeting Democrats took an informal poll to see if members would support the current compromise that would expand the current smoking ban to all bars and taverns in the city, with the exception of cigar and hookah bars as well as private clubs and tobacco shops.

The compromise had been reached by outgoing City-Council President Ryan Vaughn and smoking ban proponents Democrat Angela Mansfield and Republican Ben Hunter.  According to my sources,  Democrats were non-committal to the proposal and the consensus was to try again next year and go for a complete ban with no exceptions.

Mayor Greg Ballard reiterated his position to me earlier at a Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce event that his position was clear and that the only ban he would sign was the proposal offered up by Vaughn with its exemptions.

Democrats will take control of the Council next year with a 16-vote majority, however 20 votes are needed to override any Mayoral veto.  Vaughn’s proposal had about 10 votes at best, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.

Vaughn’s proposal is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday in the Rules committee.  Some Republicans say they could back a smoking ban if it grandfathered in existing bars or exempted bars outside the mile-square of downtown.  However proponents say they want to try and shoot for a total ban next year.

Redistricting is always an interesting process.  I enjoy looking at it from a  political perspective, although it can freak some people out.   I attended the last two hearings on the new proposed City-County Council maps and the one thing that stuck out was the handful of people protesting that the eastside neighborhood of Irvington was being split into three council districts.  You would think the world was coming to an end the way things were going.  Critics were complaining that Irvington can’t speak with one voice if it is split up.  Once again, as much as I love democracy, sometimes the public can make the perfect case for an oligarchy.

First all, Irvington is already represented by two Councilors, Republican Ben Hunter and Democrat Mary Moriarty Adams.  Although Hunter has about 95% of Irvington, I have never know Adams to not be responsive to the needs of her constituents.  Secondly, and most importantly, Irvignton while may be split into three districts but the neighborhood isn’t being split into three parts.  In fact, I would argue Irvington has more influence under the new maps than the old maps because now the neighborhood residents have three voices to represent their collective interests instead of one or two.  How is that bad?  And by the way, if you look at the current City-County Council maps, there are tons of neighborhoods and areas which are split up by District boundaries.

But back to Irvington, how is giving people more representation with their government and expanding their spheres of political influence a bad idea? It’s bad enough some Council Democrats are complaining about increased minority participation on the Council because the number of minority-majority districts has gone from four to six; or eight if you count the districts where minorities are 45% of the population.  Now people are complaining about what amounts to more representation and more voices in their local government.  It is never a dull moment in this town.

By the way, there are two more hearings scheduled over the new maps.  One is Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Sterrett Center at 8950 Otis Avenue.  The second is Thursday at the City-County Building in the Council chambers.  It is also at 6 p.m.

Hope to see you there.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard today met with officials from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in an effort to lure the exchange from the Windy City to the Circle City.   The Dow Jones News wire has reported on the meeting and city spokesman Mark Lotter confirmed the Mayor had left a conference in Wisconsin early to attend the meeting at the exchange.

The Mercantile Exchange as well as the Chicago Board of Trade have threatened to leave Illinois over high corporate taxes and the failure of the Illinois General Assembly to address the issue this past session.

Lotter would not say what incentives the Mayor offered in his proposal, however he did confirm that the city and state had been talking to the Exchanges for months.  Long before Illinois failed to act to lower its corporate tax rate.

I originally wrote about this Thursday on IndyPolitics.Org.   If I learn more details over the weekend, I will keep you posted.  However it is worth noting that in the last 43 encounters  where Indiana and  Illinois have been in competition for jobs and new investment and Indiana won 40 times bringing 4,000 new jobs to the state and more than $2 billion in new investments.

(Full Disclosure before you read, I am an independent  contractor with the Indianapolis Star for the monthly column that I write.)

This week I saw about 100 people, some of them I know very well, take to the picket lines over at the Indianapolis Star to protest working conditions, cut backs and outsourcing of jobs to Kentucky.  Now with my general dislike and distrust of unions as well as my support of  right to work legislation, I am probably going to cause a lot of you cardiac arrest and say “God Bless Em! for protesting”  You can pick yourself up off the floor anytime.

You may find this hard to believe, but I have never had a problem with people deciding to come together and collectively bargain if they think their is strength in solidarity.   What I have a problem with is individuals being compelled to join a union or pay dues.  With the Star’s Newspaper Guild, no one is compelled to join, however, membership has increased steadily over the years, because the employees see a value in the Guild and the Star’s parent company, Gannett, has done a few things to motivate people to join.  And I can’t say 100% that if I were in the same set of circumstances as my fellow print media brothers and sisters that I would not have given serious thought to joining if I thought it was in my best interest to do so and I thought we could get results. I would do what I thought was in my best interests.  And if I figured my best interest were in being part of the Guild, I’d sign up in a heartbeat.

I am told the Wednesday protest has already gotten some positive results as the tone of the conversations between labor and management have improved.  Maybe it was the threat of a strike or  maybe the threat of the Guild going to the Star’s advertisers, whatever it was someone got results.  And if a union can get results and clearly demonstrate to the workers why it is valuable, the the union should have no problem getting people to join.   And with respect to the “freeloader” argument, I have never understood why any group would make the conscious decision when it is formed to represent people who won’t pay dues.  What business provides services for people who don’t pay for them, unless they are a not-for-profit?

This to me seems like a pretty simple premise.  Provide people with a valuable service, reason to join and be relevant and reasonable and they will gladly sign up on their on accord. The Star’s Guild seems to realize that and maybe the rest of organized labor should follow their example. I know outgoing City-County Minority Leader Joanne Sanders and Nancy Guyott of the Indiana AFL-CIO were on the picket lines with the employees so maybe they took a hint.

Solidarity brothers!!!

If you’ve been following this blog you’ve known for a while what happening with the smoking ban.  The Mayor said he would sign off on a plan that exempts private clubs, VFW halls, cigar bars, tobacco shops and hookah bars.  The latest addition includes off track betting parlors.   Right now the measure’s fate lies in the hands of the Democrats as there are still not enough Republican votes to pass the ordinance. However some had told me they may be willing to support the ban if existing bars and taverns are grandfathered in.  We’ve embedded a copy of the proposed ban here for you to read yourself.