More Twists and Turns in the AG Endorsement Game
Several key conservative State Representatives today gave their support to Valpo Mayor Jon Costas in his bid to be the Republican nominee in the AG’s race:
“It is important that the citizens of Indiana have a true conservative in the Attorney General’s office working for them,” State Representative Eric Turner (R-Cicero) said. “Jon has done Christian relief work across the globe and helped found a crisis pregnancy center in Porter County. Jon Costas has a long history of putting his conservative beliefs into action.”
“Jon Costas is the conservative Republican leader Indiana needs at its next Attorney General,” State Representative Woody Burton (R-Whiteland) said. “Jon embodies our conservative principles and family values.”
Along with Representatives Turner and Burton, Costas was endorsed by State Senator Greg Walker of Columbus, State Senator Mike Young of Indianapolis, State Representative Bill Davis of Portland, and State Representative Jackie Walorski of Lakeville.
There sure is some highly charged language in that presser, such as Rep. Turner saying that a Indiana needs a “true conservative” in the AG’s office. So does that mean that the existing AG isn’t a conservative? Also, I find it interesting that Woody Burton is supporting the opposite candidate of his brother, Congressman Dan Burton.
Is is just me or is this race increasingly getting more interesting? That’s quite a list of supporters for Costas that’s for sure.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Do people bother to do their homework any more? Costas is no doubt a good man, good father, and good Republican. However, I have posted *some* of the experiance Zoeller brings to the table as AG. I am sure Costas is a talented elder lawyer, but Zoeller has extremely valuable private practice background.
“Mr. Zoeller has also served as the president and director of the World Trade Center of Indiana, a post that he assumed in 1999 when he initiated the development of a strategic plan at the Hudson Institute. He negotiated a contractual relationships with the Indiana Manufacturer’s Association and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce to provide benefits to their respective membership. As the president of the World Trade Center, Mr. Zoeller managed the business services provided through the World Trade Center Association in New York City and was the chief contact with 316 member World Trade Centers in nearly 100 countries worldwide.
An attorney licensed to practice in Indiana and Washington DC, Mr. Zoeller is certified as a mediator and had previously maintained a private practice representing corporate and business clients as outside counsel in strategic corporate planning, project and business development and international law.”
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 am
Yeah, and Jimmy Carter has more “experience” at being president than any of the Republican presidential candidates, but I wouldn’t want him near the oval office ever again. The experience factor argument doesn’t work with me, because at one time Steve Carter didn’t have any experience as AG. At one time Mitch Daniels didn’t have any experience running a state government. Everyone starts out at some point, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified to do the job. You’re going to have to find another argument to convince me and others, because this one isn’t working.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 am
That argument can work the other way, too… Jimmy Carter never had any experience when he got elected beyond a couple of years as governor of Georgia. It sure didn’t prepare him for being President of the United States.
I don’t think being mayor of a city of 24,000 people can prepare someone for being attorney general — experience is necessary — but I also think it’s highly insulting to compare any Republican to Jimmy Carter regardless of how clever and true the analogy might be.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
But the point is valid: experience is good, but the question is if it is the right kind of experience. Some here are arguing that beating a Democrat in an election for a city of 24,000 is not the right kind of electoral experience needed. Others do not think that the experience being highly involved in the AG office is necessarily good. It is a valid question.
I don’t know much about A) the kind of election that Costas had to deal with and B) the level of activity that Zoeller has had in the AG office. My suspicion from what has been said is that Zoeller’s experience is fairly significant. My guess is that a Zoeller campaign would center around “Are you happy with what the AG office has been doing? If so, I am the guy to keep it up” and I think that will be a credible message.
I don’t think the comparison to Carter works here. Yes, Carter has experience, but it was a very bad experience. The parallel would have to be that the AG office is a disaster right now.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
In an effort to not go back to negative, I’ll refrain from shooting at the current AG or the state of the office. Sure, there are people who don’t like the office or the office holder or the job they’ve done.
That’s not my issue, this may seem naive but I don’t thing the job of AG is that hard. Like many elected jobs the actual work is pretty much handled by staff. The tough part of Governor, or State Rep, or AG or even Mayor of city is getting elected. I could be wrong and maybe AG is the hardest job ever, but I bet not. I bet the politics and the government getting in its own way is the hard part. Winning the election against a well financed Democrat, that’s going to be the extremely hard part.
The Dems probably know JLT can’t win, so if I were they, I would invest heavily in the AG race.
Jon beat a 6 term democrat incumbent who was well liked by the City of Valpo, he did so by never going negative and casting a vision for the City that enthralled the residents. He made people feel empowered to change from status quo to dreams. That has been called “progressive” and has also been maligned as “liberal” by others. That’s not liberal, that’s leadership. He’s definitely no bureaucrat who’s managed the status quo and is next in line.
Jon is pro-life, returned tax rebates this year, held the line on the city budget, worked to get strong conservatives elected to state senate and state house for NW Indiana, and yes has worked very closely with Mitch Daniels.
He is a conservative, but perhaps a conservative with the ability to get along with others. That will make him electable and not polarizing. Nuff said for today.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
Daltonsbriefs,
That is a good argument for your guy. I like it. I don’t know how difficult the AG job is, BUT I would argue that if the job of Gov or Mayor were not difficult we would not see the differences between administrations. There are several things that make an elected politician effective: 1. Do they have a vision for what should be done with the post; 2. Are they competent enough to do that job–which may mean effectively delegating the results to the right people?
One of the reasons why Mitch is a better governor than the previous three governors is because he has competently managed the State government where much of the previous 16 years was inept.
In short, I think it wise to make sure that whoever is put forward be at least competent at both the running for office and performing in office.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
exactly-The object of the game comes down to the constituents–qualifications and experience are one thing, but what that person will actually do for the taxpayers and (in this specific case) do the candidates already have an established track record of performing said job. With carter’s right hand man, greg zoeller has HAD to have done at least a good portion of the job he’s applying for–and seeing as how the overall view of carter’s performance has been rather favorable, that in turn will reflect positively upon greg zoeller…
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Winning this election is hiighly questionable with costas. Everyone says mitch is doing bad in north and south. Zoeller is a great name in south and most think he is a great candidate. The list of supporters for each is impressive but zoeller has followers with choice, costas list are all the people who cant think for themselves or want business (big firms). Mitch was in Iraq telling them it is important to be free to vote. bet he thinks tom john and bob grand are really neat guys to help him back here.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Are you trying to imply that Zoeller will help Mitch in the Gubernatorial election? It doesn’t usually work UP ticket.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
why would he not? after they’re both republicans…
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I’m more confused than ever. There are ultra conservatives supporting both candidates. I’ve heard so many rumors that it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not.
Why are some high ranking Republicans dumping on the current AG and Zoeller? Can anyone give me an honest answer. I’ve heard that it’s because Carter schmoozes with too many Dems. Is that truth or fiction?
On the other side, I’ve heard that Costas won’t answer questions about where he stands on the issue of hate crimes. That rumor should be addressed, because I know for a fact that it’s scaring off potential Costas supporters.
I’ve seen up close and personal that certain Indy lawfirms have way too much influence in state government. Who is the best candidate to support to put a stop to that sort of abuse? Or would that sort of thing be a problem with either candidate?
I really would like answers because people whom I respect have advised me both ways. My attorney recommended Zoeller but other conservative insiders have recommended Costas.
Can anyone give me truthful answers and not rumor mill answers.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I just saw the Costas video and have no doubt that he is an honest man of integrity, and I’m especially glad that he shared the fact that his faith is important to him and that he’s not ashamed to publicly proclaim it. Mr. Costas also called me and personally asked for my support, which went a long way with me. He offered to answer any questions that I might have, and gave me his cell phone number in case I thought of additional questions. I really appreciate that kind of accessibility.
I know there are some who have been offended by “strong armed tactics” of some of Costas supporters. I’ve also witnessed personal attacks from overzealous Zoeller supporters. I hope that delegates keep in mind that the candidates have no control over the actions of their supporters, and I doubt they approve of these types of actions. They should not be punished for the actions of others, and it should not be a consideration when we cast our vote.
I’ve heard good things about Zoeller as well, and I’m sure he is also an honest man of integrity.
Republicans can’t go wrong with either one. I just hope that when the convention is over the party can work as one to elect a Republican candidate. It’s discouraging to hear all the negativity associated with this campaign. That’s too bad, because the last thing we need is a Democrat in that office.
I hope that whoever is elected will not tolerate cronyism and be above reproach when it comes to conflicts-of-interest. I hope that the concerns of individual citizens will not be ignored. There’s nothing worse than getting the brush off from a politician and nothing better than being listened to by a statesman.
Most of all, I hope that whoever takes office will take each word of his oath of office seriously.
I’m looking forward to meeting some of you at the convention.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:38 am
“I’ve seen up close and personal that certain Indy lawfirms have way too much influence in state government. Who is the best candidate to support to put a stop to that sort of abuse? Or would that sort of thing be a problem with either candidate?”
Well, you know where I stand on Zoeller and Costas, but it is worth nothing that Jon Costas used to work for one of those “certain Indy lawfirms” that have way too much influence in state government:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/04/13/news/top_news/doc6ed8dc124c8aa7598625742900761194.txt
It’s also worth noting that Costas’ campaign for mayor of Valpo was bankrolled with a lot of money from the big Indy law firms, to the tune of about $11,500 (from Krieg Devault, Baker Daniels, and Barnes & Thornburg).
Labor unions gave him about $10,250 (much of it this last go around, when Costas was the only game in town).
You can draw your own conclusions from that.
Carter and Zoeller have a record of not outsourcing work from the AG’s office to the big Indy law firms, which has not made the big Indy law firms too happy. It would be interesting to see whether Costas would change this policy or not.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
Oh, and while the dollar amounts above are “small” compared to statewide races, they are pretty big considering that Costas was running for mayor of a city that has only 28,000 people in it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 am
Scott - Yes, the amount raised by Jon Costas for his mayoral election seems small, but didn’t Greg Ballard have just a tad over that in his win over Bart Peterson?
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
aha-touche
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:45 am
Oh, certainly. But my point was that they gave him a lot of money, particularly relative to the size of the city for which he was running for mayor.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I remember Greg Zoeller from his Quayle days. I don’t understand why he doesn’t have Quayle campaign for him here. The former VP is very popular in my area (3rd District). I still feel he was treated badly by the media unfairly.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I am not a delegate so I will not be voting. I am totally turned off by this whole process and will not vote for republicans in upcoming elections. I think this is too negative and the strong arm tactics from Indy are too much. No I won’t stoop as low as to vote democrat.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
uhhh tinman–i hate to break the naivety bubble you are surrounding yourself in, but smoky backroom politics happens on BOTH sides of the aisle. (example: Andre Carson’s slating”. I don’t suppose you’d extent the same courtesy to the democrats?
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm
*edit* (example: Andre Carson’s slating).
I’m off my game today…