Post-Election HumpDay Edition:
Fort Wayne has a new mayor...finally. We can only hope that the people who have elected Tom Henry will be satisfied with whatever may come down the pike for the next four years. The voters have made their bed...now they have to sleep in it.

My personal take on this is that if Matt Kelty was NOT going to be mayor, my NEXT choice would have been Henry, so I'm not totally put out by the outcome. One thing I will miss is all the bloggers that have focused SO much on all the political nit-picking on a seemingly DAILY basis.
I found it funny that so many people could devote so much time to ragging on one another. There were a few times when the local blogs DID provide some good, solid information, and (as a decision-maker) I appreciated that to no small end. I just hope the dust is allowed to settle and everyone gets along again.

I honestly wish Mayor-elect Henry the best in his new "job", and trust that people will not pre-judge or harbor grudges. What's done IS done, and we can only do the best we can to support him. What we can ALSO do is be vigilant, and be ready to call him (or anyone else in local public office) on issues that need addressing.
It was nice to see the CANDIDATES run a good, clean campaign. I can't say as much for all the ancillary people, especially the parties fronting the candidates. The Dems did nothing but stir the s**t pot (and IMHO, unjustly) against Kelty when it was the campaign finance LAW that was flawed in the first place. And having the GOP (especially Souder) all but bailing on Kelty gave a completely *new* meaning to the word LOYALTY (or the lack thereof).
If I had a DOG "that loyal", I'd have to shoot it for fear of being MAULED TO DEATH!

The City Council DID receive a nice shake up in the process. Congrats to MITCH HARPER for winning the 4th district. Barring any recounts, it appears as if both Doc Crawford AND Don Schmidt will not be returning to the council chamber. We already knew that Sammy (the Bull) Talarico wouldn't be seeking re-election. It will be good to see (Cpt) Marty Bender back on council, and hopefully the *new* faces will provide new insight and opinion worthy of debate and not be a bunch of hand-raising sheep.
But the TWO people I would have LOVED to have seen defeated were, sadly not. Tim (I get in your face for no reason) Pape and Glynn (I look like I'd rather be elsewhere) Hines were both re-elected by large margins, so that means more of the "same" for the SOUTH SIDE of town....and by that I mean NOTHING (and lots of it). That would also make those two the "senior" members of the council (that's all we need...one of THEM as council president).
I do hope Tom Smith becomes council president.
City Council looks to remain at 5 Reps and 4 Dems, so that will prove as amusing as ever when it comes to the "yay or nay" sessions on cable access.
I will say one thing...out of ALL the candidates that were running (and could garner votes on the south side of town), ONLY ONE had the cajones to actually come to MY house (and HE got the vote), and that was 6th district council candidate ROBERT ENDERS. He's a good kid (at my age almost everyone is a "kid") with good ideas and plans, and he should not let this deter him from running again. But considering the mayoral candidates as well as all the council-at-large candidates that COULD have come through our neighborhood...ALL of them were AWOL! And it's not like people would NOT be at home if they came knocking. Hell, nobody WORKS down here (save for a very few at REAL jobs), so someone is ALWAYS at home (that would be ethnic males as well as the white trash contingent).

So...what does all this mean for our fair city? Well, in some cases, your guess is as good as mine. But I will be watching...and listening, as I trust most all of YOU will be doing. One thing I AM hoping for is a tougher stance on CRIME down on the south side (but as usual, I am not holding my breath on that one).
I'd like to see Rusty get replaced with someone more like Sheriff Ken. I think the time of having the FWPD walk on eggshells when it comes to fighting crime should be OVER. And it would be real nice to get Karen Richards replaced with someone who has a REAL zeal for nailing perps and not plea-dealing them back onto our streets.
As for deputy mayor...who else? Matt Kelty. Yeah, I can dream (the price is right).
But a lot CAN (and usually does) happen in four years. All WE can do is pay the hell attention and not buy into the crap we've been spoon-fed over the last four years.

There IS good news for those in INDY...Bart Peterson is NO MORE!
He is OUTTA THERE!
I guess the people didn't like all the crime and corruption down there, eh? Greg Ballard, a retired marine Lt. Col. is the mayor-elect of our state capital (Semper Fi), and if he's ANYTHING like the marine officers I've had the "pleasure" of knowing, there WILL be changes, and they WILL be for the good of ALL concerned...now drop and give him TWENTY!

You just gotta LOVE democracy...especially when it WORKS.