Archive for November 28th, 2007

Apparently the Grinch is on the loose again.  In Porter County local officials still have not gotten property tax bills to residents.  After several snags the latest projected tax payment due date is December 21st.  Merry Christmas!

Porter County isn’t the only county with late tax bills.  Neighboring LaPorte county has also failed to mail its tax bills to citizens.

According to some officials, citizens can begin paying their taxes now even though they’ve not gotten a bill.  It’s my guess that local officials would love to have some revenue coming in to offset the money they are having to barrow to carry them through until they start getting tax money.

If you want to buy the Dr. Seuss book as a Christmas present for your local officials you can do that here.

Congressional Quarterly Politics did a round-up of key Mid-West congressional races today and here is what they had to say about Indiana:

Democrat Favored:

Indiana 2 — Joe Donnelly , D

2006: Donnelly 54%, Rep. Chris Chocola (R) 46%

Donnelly ousted Chocola from this GOP-leaning seat, which stretches from South Bend to Kokomo, after losing to him in 2004. And so far Donnelly’s amassed one of the least-liberal voting records among his party’s freshmen. Republicans will be unable to capitalize on presidential coattails unless they find a candidate; two would-be challengers have terminated short-lived bids.

Indiana 8 — Brad Ellsworth , D

2006: Ellsworth 61%, Rep. John Hostettler (R) 39%

Ellsworth leans to the right on social and fiscal policy, and that — along with experience as a county sheriff and his telegenic appearance — helped him defeat six-term Republican Hostettler by an outsize margin. But Ellsworth is still a Democrat, and the state’s southwestern corner, from Terre Haute to Evansville, usually exhibits strong GOP tendencies. Republican Greg Goode, a former House aide, is running.

Leans Democrat:

 Indiana 7 — Julia Carson , D

2006: Carson 54%, Eric Dickerson (R) 46%

Indianapolis is decidedly Democratic, but Carson has had health problems and hasn’t voted in the House since Sept. 20; a series of underwhelming electoral showings by Carson — she’s never topped 60 percent in six wins — and the defeat of Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson this month keep this district on the watch list. Wayne Harmon, a Marine Corps veteran, and state Rep. Jon Elrod want to be the Republican challenger. 

Indiana 9 — Baron P. Hill , D

2006: Hill 50%, Rep. Mike Sodrel (R) 46%

The state’s southeastern corner has seen nothing but Hill vs. Sodrel since 2002, with Hill winning twice (as the incumbent in 2002 and the challenger in 2006). After wavering for months, Sodrel announced in October that he’s in for Round 4. GOP strategists hope the presidential election, which almost certainly will favor the GOP nominee in this part of the state, will boost Sodrel in 2008 as it did in 2004. (Bush, his popularity sagging in so many parts of the country, has made two trips to the district this year.) Democrats say Hill has proved he knows how to win this matchup.

In looking at these opinions keep in mind that this is the view from 30,000 feet and in each case the incumbent is a Democrat.  Incumbents generally have a natural advantage and any early review of a race is probably going to favor them. 

One of the districts I’m very concerned about is the 2nd.  Donnelly has played very carefully and without any challenger emerging on the Republican side he will probably win a second term.  In each of the other districts the races could be getting very hot with the Hill vs. Sodrel race being of special interest because of it’s historical 4th match-up status.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A judge today ordered a recount in the Terre Haute mayor’s race, which was decided by 107 votes.

Vigo Superior Court Judge David Bolk ordered all the ballots cast in all city precincts to be recounted. He also ordered ballots and electronic voting systems used in the Nov. 6 election to be impounded.

Democratic Mayor Kevin Burke had asked for a recount shortly after he lost to Republican Duke Bennett.

Bennett’s attorney, James Bopp Jr., asked the judge Monday to dismiss the recount petition because it did not include Bennett’s full name as it appeared on the ballot.

Bennett appeared on the election’s sample ballot as “Duke A. Bennett.”

Bennett defeated Burke by 107 votes among some 12,000 cast in the Nov. 6 election.

Source: IndyStar

Chris Cillizza from the Washington Post’s Blog “The Fix” further analyzes the Indianapolis Star/WTHR poll:

A new poll out of Indiana should give hope to Democrats who believe Bush’s eight-year tenure and the continued unpopularity of the war in Iraq has fundamentally altered the partisan composition of the country.

The survey, which was conducted by highly regarded Iowa-based pollster J. Ann Selzer, showed broad dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the state as well as with the current President and Indiana’s Republican governor.

Just 20 percent of the sample said the nation was headed in the right direction while 74 percent said it was off on the wrong track; the numbers were only slightly more optimistic when it came to Indiana with 35 percent saying the state was moving in the right direction and 57 percent believing it was off on the wrong track.

More: The Fix