Brutal Battle Opening for HD 50?

House District 50, comprised of Whitley and Huntington Counties, is currently represented by Republican Dan Leonard.  As you may recall, Leonard is the prime mover behind the House amendment that seeks to insure that standardized blueprints for schools are used to save local school boards and taxpayers money that would otherwise be spent on expensive architects. 

Leonard is facing two primary challengers, one of whom, Gary Snyder, seems to be bent on running a campaign aimed at Dan Leonard and not ideas for good government.  Here is what Snyder had to say in a recent op-ed piece (that we may actually be the only ones to run):

[Read more below the fold]

Little did I know that when Rep. Leonard responded to my criticism regarding voting himself nearly a 100 % salary increase in the General Assembly last year, that it would create such a fire storm, one by the way that continues to grow.  To be honest, I was a little shocked at his answer, “If I had known I was going to get this kind of competition, I wouldn’t have voted on the salary increase.”  Since words mean something; I will let you, the voter, come to your own conclusions on his statement, but let’s have a little fun and see how Rep. Leonard could answer some questions on the rest of his record

Rep. Leonard, you took 22 contributions for nearly $9000 from special interest groups last year while only garnering 3 contributions for $650 from individuals in your district, how do you explain this?  One possible answer could be; if I had known I was going to get this kind of competition, I wouldn’t have taken all this special interest money and watched out for my district’s interests instead of the special interest group’s concerns.

Mr. Leonard, why did you vote against the residents of Huntington and Whitley counties receiving a property tax relief check?  Maybe a possible answer for Mr. Leonard could be; if I had known I was going to have this kind of competition, I would have voted for the homeowners in my district receiving the property tax relief checks.

Let’s try one more, Rep. Leonard, since you have been in office, property taxes in Huntington and Whitley counties have gone up nearly 35% and 34% respectively, why?  Maybe one answer could be; if I knew I was going to have this kind of competition, I would not have consistently voted for policies that directly raised property taxes nearly 35% in my district.

While the three questions were in jest, the underlying representation and seriousness of Mr. Leonard’s record is not.  For him to answer with such contempt in a public form epitomizes the entrenched Indianapolis politician, not a politician representing Huntington and Whitley counties.

Here’s the analysis of what was written above.

Something is wrong with taking money from “special interest groups”?  If you are taking money from special interest groups in return for legislative favors that is pretty bad.  However, just about everyone is a special interest group-including voters.  If you take some checks ($9,000 isn’t a huge amount) from organizations that support what you already stand for, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Why did Rep. Leonard vote to “deny” constituents rebate checks?  He voted against the plan because it would not be in the best interest of taxpayers.  Short term, temporary band-aids that make politicians feel good and cost local governments extra money and cause extra headache aren’t in the best interest of taxpayers.  Rep. Leonard had the foresight to see through the charade being played here by the House majority.

While charges that Leonard is an Indianapolis politician sound good, they can’t be true.  The guy-and I’ve met him-is a down home fellow who owns a furniture store.  Nothing against lobbyists and lawyers, but Leonard isn’t one of them no matter how much you wish to lump him into that crowd if you find that group distasteful.