Archive for December 10th, 2007

Should we be surprised?  “Rep. Ellsworth Breaks Written Vow to Indiana”

No offense to those living in The Region, but sometimes I forget that Pete Visclosky is a member of the Indiana Congressional delegation. (I get the feeling the few Repubs there are up there won’t be offended) So when I heard the news this morning that an Indiana Congressman is getting married on New Year’s Day, I had to think about who it might be for second.

From the Indy Star:

Indiana congressman plans Jan. 1 wedding
Associated Press
December 10, 2007

GARY, Ind. — U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky has announced that he and congressional attorney Joanne Royce are engaged and will wed Jan. 1 in a private ceremony.

“I’m happy and shocked to find someone who will marry me,” said Visclosky, D-Ind., who is keeping details of the wedding and engagement private.

Royce works as the investigative counsel for the Energy & Commerce Committee for the House of Representatives. She previously was a senior litigator for the Government Accountability Project, an organization that provides legal assistance to government whistleblowers.

Visclosky, a 12-term congressman, has two children from a previous marriage: John, 20, and Timothy, 17.

This is the first marriage for Royce, a Jacksonville, Fla., native who received her law degree from the University of Florida Holland Law Center and her master of laws degree in international and comparative law from Georgetown University.

Visclosky, who’s represented Indiana’s 1st District since 1985, is a member of the Appropriations Committee, serving as the chairman of its energy and water subcommittee. He is also the chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus.

As the article said this is Pete’s second wedding, he’s in (probably) the safest Congressional seat in Indiana and he’s been a member of Congress long enough to be vested in all the retirement perks. So, for those invited to the wedding, you have to ask yourself, what do you get a Congressman that has everything?

Partisan politics aside, congrats to the Visclosky and Royce families.

(H/T - Loyal HA reader and native of the Region)

Item One: Endorsement for the Shell?

Judy O’Bannon, wife of the late Governor Frank O’Bannon and formerly the campaign chair for Richard Young’s ill-fated gubernatorial bid, will endorse Jim Schellinger “soon” (probably later this week).

I wonder what they promised to give her in exchange, but I digress.

Word has it that the Democrats down south are lining up behind the establishment’s man.

Whether it’s because the screws are being put to them by the state party or because they distrust a liberal former congresswoman from northern Indiana depends on who you talk to.

Schellinger is coming to Clark County to speak at an event for the Democratic Party there soon, and they are reportedly solidly behind him.

Monroe County (surprise, surprise) appears to favor Jill Long Thompson; they may be alone in the entire 9th District in that respect.

35% of all Democratic primary votes in the entire state will be cast in the 8th and 9th Congressional districts; the candidate that locks up that support in southern Indiana will accordingly have a substantial advantage on primary day.

Item Two: Mitch’s Plan Better by Comparison?

“Strong medicine” will be recommended by the Kernan-Shepard commission in their report next week.

From what I have heard, they are going to call for the abolition of township government, the dramatic reduction of the number of elected county-wide offices, and the establishment of a centralized single-person county executive (similar to a system currently used in Kentucky, for example).

How much of a chance does such a bold program of action have of getting past the legislature?

Probably about zero, given the entrenched local interests that will oppose it.

But it adds to the pressure on the General Assembly and–in what I am sure is just a coincidence–the sweeping eliminations proposed are sure to make the local reforms contained in the Daniels’ property tax package look so much better and politically expedient by comparison.

The report would substantially move the political goalposts on the issue, and perhaps reframe the debate entirely.
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