05 January 2007

Now Here's a Really BAD Idea........

OK, so by now, you already know I'm not "that much" into the political realm, but there was one story that I haven't seen around the blogosphere that I think might warrant our close attention in the not too distant future. It concerns the Gubernatorial elections next year. It seems that BART PETERSON "might" well be tossing his hat into the arena, giving Mitch someone to go up against. (And they ARE poitical enemies). This does NOT bode well with this blogger, and the rest of you should be saying likewise. Bart is the current "emperor" of Indianapolis, and I use the quotes because as far as most mayors go, he's pretty damn far removed from what the office entails (imho).

Most recently, with the city/county merger of the LEOS (law-enforcement officers), a HUGE rift has opened between them and "hizzoner". Seems the police have been WITHOUT a working contract since 2004! And there appears to be NO settlement for their contract in sight. Add to the mix the fact that there are about FOUR TIMES the number of "boots on the ground" (approx. 1600 officers) than we have in Fort Wayne, there was the SECOND HIGHEST number of HOMICIDES in the history of Indy! They are short of officers, and resources - only TWO "wagons" (prisoner transports) in the city, and the "beats" (we call them sectors here) are either short-staffed or not staffed at all times! The merger plan was thrown together in haste (as many admit), and nothing is being done to rectify the growing debacle. Morale is quickly becoming a thing of the past within the department.

And this is the SAME MAYOR that pushed that new COLTS stadium through to the tune of quite a lot of MILLIONS of dollars (when the old stadium was perfectly useable and not in disrepair).

Gee...is some of this starting to sound just a TAD "familiar"?

Now we see that he doesn't just want to screw up the capital of the state....he wants to screw up the WHOLE state. Well,like my Dad used to say: "If you're going to do something...do it to the BEST of your abilities". That isn't (exactly) what my Dad really meant by the statement, but the irony still remains.

We can plainly see that Bart Peterson EXCELS in what he seems to do best, namely toss caution to the wind, bilk the taxpayers of Indy, and never give a rat's ass in the process. Doesn't quite sound like anyone I'd want to vote for as our next "Guv"...does it? He may not have created the fiscal disaster that Indy finds inself mired in, but he's sure as hell not doing much (if anything at all) to turn it around. He'd much rather build that new Colts stadium....and erect some useless "Circle Gateway Truss" monument (and I thought a "truss" was like a girdle...used to hold in that burdgeoning stomach)....another "Irony-alert" here?

There are also allegations of corruption with his office as well as the Sheriff's department. He privatrized the city's water system in 2002 (corruption). Oh, did I mention he's a Democrat?

*** Quote from the Indy Star: ((Mayor Bart Peterson will present the financial challenges facing the city when he discusses his legislative agenda at a lunch with Democratic state lawmakers today.Peterson said his objective is to point out for lawmakers the numbers behind the city's expansion of the criminal justice system, an ongoing deficit in public safety spending and a long-term, $800-million liability in police and fire pensions. The mayor said he will present his agenda to the public next week. A blue-ribbon panel of community leaders on Tuesday will present its months-long study of how to pay for improvements in crime prevention. The county added prosecutors, defenders and courts in the last six months in order to speed up the court process and end early releases from crowded jails."We're committed to creating a criminal justice system that is the right size for our county," Peterson said. "We've taken the steps, and now we have to pay for them."Peterson said he wants to present his agenda in the context of the panel's report. Potential solutions include tax or fee increases and requesting state assistance to pay for state-run child welfare and justice programs."There's a mismatch between our revenues and expenditures," the Democratic mayor said. "We need a long-term solution so we're not having to figure out how to come up with our last dime or cut services every year."Another focus area of the mayor in 2007 will be downtown development, including finalizing a hotel deal near the convention center and finding a new development for the former Market Square Arena. He said he will also look to bolster neighborhoods through a tax-based development program and hopes to make progress with regional rapid transit plans.His primary focus, however, will be crime and how to pay for better public safety.))

Now I might not be getting all my "memos", but isn't that what they ALL say? And don't "we", the taxpaying public wind up with Vaseline smeared all over our arses (if we're that lucky, that is)?
Let's just hope this guy doesn't run for Governor....we've got enough damage control with Mitch right now outsourcing the state to foreign entities. And we don't even KNOW the impact to all of us yet (and probably won't know for some time). The LAST thing we'll need is some guy with "Blankcheckitis" compounded by Cranial-Rectal Inversion, whatever party he's with.

This is one case where Fort Wayne doesn't have to "Keep up with the Joneses", right?

In fact, WE have a chance to SURPASS Indy in MANY more ways...all we have to do is WANT it bad enough, and not cave in to "flights of fancy", however nice the "airport".

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