Archive for August 2nd, 2007

By: Tom Dermody, State Representative, District 20

The property tax problem has been hitting residents all over Indiana with this latest reassessment. While many in Indianapolis are clamoring for a special session of the General Assembly, I do not think we should hold one unless there is a specific plan in place for us to vote upon. I am concerned with the property tax problem and feel that a special session, without a plan, would result in wasting taxpayer dollars.

The General Assembly has seen this crisis coming for years. Even as a freshman legislator, I knew this issue had been looming for years, but I was shocked to find that everyone keeps punting it. We spent four months from January to April arguing over property tax relief, instead of taking real action; we attempted to put a Band-Aid on the problem. Unfortunately, we used a Band-Aid when we needed a tourniquet. There is no reason to call the legislature into special session if the results, wasting taxpayer dollars while arguing over how to provide relief, will be the same. Unless a bipartisan solution requiring legislative consent is forged for immediate tax relief, there is no need to have a costly special session. Every day the legislature is in session it costs Hoosiers tens of thousands of dollars. That money can be saved for another day.

It is increasingly apparent that our tax system, created in the 1800s, needs to be modernized and brought into the 21st century. Politicians from both parties have had their chance to create a fix to the sticker-shock property taxes that seem to happen every spring. Clearly, that has not worked in the past.

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South Bend has had a Democrat Mayor for over 30 years. Juan Manigault is the first Republican in a long time to wage a legitimate challenge for the Mayor’s office as he runs against a very vulnerable incumbent in Steve Luecke. Manigault announced today that he is committed enough to this race that he has resigned from his full-time job to focus his energy on winning this November’s election.

Learn more about Juan’s conservative credentials here.

By: Brian Sikma 

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) highlighted Sen. Greg Walker (R-Columbus) in it’s weekly nationwide e-mail to supporters and members.  Sen. Walker, as you may recall, defeated long-time incumbent Bob Garton in the 2006 Republican primary and then went on to defeat Democratic candidate Terry Coriden in the District 41 general election.

You can read the brief article on Sen. Walker here.

The District 41 primary race is a lesson legislators would do well to remember.  Sen. Bob Garton was about as bullet-proof as they come.  He had the backing of the GOP establishment and he’d built up quite a list of relationships with key people during his service at the State House.  However, Sen. Garton found himself on the wrong side of two issues.  Number 1, he wasn’t keen on eliminating the health care perks that legislators and their families received.  House Republicans had already taken action to eliminate the perks.  Number 2, he killed pro-life legislation in his last session as a Republican Senate leader and then when approached about changing his behavior in the future on the issue he brushed the affair aside. 

While party endorsements can help, in a political climate that was fed up with politics as usual they didn’t help Garton.  Legislative leaders interested in holding on to their seats next year should recognize the tax revolt that is taking place and quickly move to pay more than just lip service to their constituents.  What is needed at this time is political courage that will aggressively seize the offensive and provide both short-term and long-term solutions to the problem.

When the grassroots catch fire about something and have a candidate that they can rally behind, incumbents better beware. 

Poor Indiana Democrat State Chairman Dan Parker. Former Congresswoman (and candidate for every other office imaginable) Jill Long Thompson is leading a poll that her campaign released of Democratic Candidates for Governor. But what will probably really make Parker’s blood boil is that his “chosen” candidate Jim Schellinger (he of the construction companies that build our huge schools and makes money off our property taxes) came in a distant fourth behind Long Thompson and Democrat State Senator Richard Young while “Don’t Know” led the entire pack!

But this poll says something even if it was released by Thompson’s campaign. It says that Democrats around the state prefer a wild, out of touch liberal who has made her life as a political insider by lobbying in Washington, D.C., political appointments and by losing elections. Thompson recently lost to Chris Chocola in Indiana’s 2nd District in 2002, but initially got the boot from the 3rd congressional by Republican Mark Souder in 1994.

There seems to be no joy in Mudville at the Democrat State headquarter, as the mighty Jim Schellinger has struck out.

Hat tip: Frugal Hoosiers

This post also available at Josh in the Box

Politics can turn dirty even at some of the lowest levels of government & the smallest of races. What really stood out to me in this situation was the husband saying “he knew it wasn’t right to take the signs but didn’t realize it was against the law.” Something seem wrong with that? I find it hard to believe that he actually thought that this would help his wife get elected.

The fight for the position of Bargersville clerk-treasurer turned dirty in the past week when a candidate’s husband was arrested on a charge of stealing campaign signs belonging to his wife’s opponent.

Elmer A. Roy, 46, was arrested on a preliminary misdemeanor charge of theft after admitting to police that he snatched 15 signs belonging to Clerk-Treasurer Amy Carson. Roy’s wife, Carla, is running against Carson for the GOP nomination for the job this weekend.

Carson said her husband noticed the signs missing from around town Friday afternoon, and she contacted Bargersville police. They obtained surveillance video from the gas station and said they saw Roy circling the station in his tan truck before stopping, getting out and taking the signs.

Police went to his home, where he admitted to the crime, according to the police report.

Carson’s 15 signs were returned, and she immediately put them back up.

Carla Roy said her husband’s action was the culmination of dirty campaigning. She said some of her signs had disappeared, been pulled out of the ground or blocked by Carson’s signs.

“It was frustrating,” she said. “It was a childish high school game, and I was trying to just let it go, but it got the best of my husband.”

Carla Roy said she had no part in the incident and has since talked about the incident with her husband of more than 20 years.

According to the police report, Elmer Roy said he knew it wasn’t right to take the signs but didn’t realize it was a crime.

Source: Indianapolis Star

Greg Goode received great publicity yesterday in the launch of his Congressional bid in Indiana’s 8th District. You can read and watch some of the coverage here:

Evansville Courier Article

Terre Haute Tribune

WFIE-14 Video Coverage

Check out this full-page ad that AFA of Indiana paid for in Rep. Terri Austin’s hometown newspaper today regarding her broken promise to support the state marriage amendment. Austin infamously flip-flopped on the issue leading to its defeat in committee earlier this year. Great work AFA!

Check out the Terri Austin Ad here.

His gubernatorial bid is spinning its wheels and going nowhere.

His website is already being ruthlessly parodied.

When you Google his campaign, you get Hoosierpundit at the top of the list.

But all that hasn’t stopped Democratic hopeful Jim Schellinger from finally saying something about property taxes: (more…)