Archive for May, 2008

I had mentioned previously that, even though we’re strongly in Greg Zoeller’s corner for AG, I’d still post anything, for those who may still be undecided, the Costas crew sent me. So in keeping with that, here is the letter that Jon Costas supporter, State Treasurer, Richard Mourdock, will be sending the delegates to the state convention.

As our Republican convention approaches one thing is obvious: the party has two excellent candidates for Attorney General. Their resumes are different, backgrounds unique but each is well qualified.

Delegates have an important task that will impact not only the nominating process but ultimately the general election. Few will meet one-on-one with both of the candidates and so, after hearing third person reports or reading campaign materials you may still be undecided. But, you must cast your vote. With two excellent candidates, how do you decide?

Our party has long made the point of having “geographic balance” on the ticket. Election after election we have acted to develop the Republican Party in all areas of Indiana by offering a state wide ballot with representatives from northern, southern and central Indiana. This year the nomination of John Costas from Porter County, Tony Bennett from Clark County, Becky Skillman from Lawrence County and of course, Governor Daniels from Marion County would assure us that needed balance.

How important is geographic balance in 2008?

(Find out after the leap) (more…)

[The Directors of Hoosier Access welcome this post from, Indiana's Current Attorney General, Steve Carter on why he is supporting Greg Zoeller for Attorney General.]

I am writing to endorse Greg Zoeller as the 2008 Attorney General Nominee that you will select in your role as a delegate to the Republican state convention. It also seems like the right time for me to thank you for having chosen me as your nominee at past conventions. Together, your selection of me as the candidate for Attorney General and the electoral victories bestowed on me by the voters in the 2000 and 2004 general elections provided me with an opportunity to serve the state. I have worked to the best of my ability to serve with the honor our citizens deserve.

I trust you to use your best judgment to select the best qualified candidates to put before the voters in November. I don’t believe in strong-arm tactics or using an endorsement to pressure you, as someone entrusted with the honor and duty of serving as a state convention delegate. I trust your conscience will lead you to a good decision for all.

If you review the qualifications of Greg Zoeller to be Indiana’s Attorney General, I think you will find they are exceptional. Things like keeping telemarketers from violating your privacy, returning record amounts of unclaimed property, fighting public corruption and vote fraud in Lake County, and creating an independent Conner Prairie are successes that occurred with Greg Zoeller’s leadership in the Attorney General’s office. We have a strong record and it’s one that Greg, as Indiana’s Chief Deputy Attorney General, can run on in November. He knows the office from top to bottom and can run it well from the very first day in office.

He has served the entire state, not just as Indiana’s Chief Deputy Attorney General, but also as leader of Vice-President Quayle’s U.S. Senate office here in Indiana. With your help, I know he can continue to do that as your next Indiana Attorney General.

Greg Zoeller is a person who you can trust to serve with integrity.

Thank you for your willingness to thoughtfully participate in the process of choosing our party’s best nominee for Attorney General.

*Update* - The Costas campaign was able to provide me with a more complete list for you to review and the link in the post has been updated. It includes 5 statewide elected officials, 10 Republican state committee officers, 29 Republican county chairs, 13 state senators, 18 state representatives, and 19 mayors.   Like I said before, impressive.

During this whole AG race, it’s been very interesting to see who has come out showing support for each of the two candidates. While Jon Costas has been able to put together a mighty impressive list of elected officials, Greg Zoeller has gone for a different approach instead focusing on party leadership on the local level and a few elected officials. These are the people who have more direct contact with the voters, the precinct committeemen and the delegates. What’s more interesting is, if the rumor is true and that someone out there is “keeping score”, then it’s a very bold move for these party loyalists to be stepping out and endorsing Greg Zoeller.

Republican Party Leaders Endorse Greg Zoeller for Attorney General

22 County GOP Chairmen Announce Support

Indianapolis – Several key Republican Party officials have announced their support for Greg Zoeller for Attorney General including 22 County GOP Chairmen from all corners of the state. “Greg has worked hard to build a statewide network of supporters from throughout Indiana by reaching out to the hundreds of people he has called friends while working for great conservative leaders like Vice President Dan Quayle and Attorney General Steve Carter,” said Jim Banks, Whitley County GOP Chairman and Zoeller for Attorney General Campaign Manager. “This support from Republican Party leaders statewide is a testament to Greg’s hard work and his conservative record of leadership for Indiana for many years.”

The list of party leaders include:

(See the list after the leap) (more…)

The world is watching, and Indiana Republicans are waiting, Mr. Costas.

And yet you are still silent.

Will you, in a public statement, denounce the tactics of some of your supporters?

Not on the phone to a delegate (where you can tell one delegate what they want to hear, and tell the next delegate the opposite, because it is what they want to hear).

In a public statement.

Will you call upon Dave Miller, the fired Marion County volunteer sacked by one of your supporters without cause, to be reinstated?

Will you insist that the threatening of county chairs and elected officials with phrases such as “keeping score” end?

Will you ask that delegates forced to sign a loyalty oath be released from that pledge and allowed to vote their conscience?

What say you, Jon Costas? (more…)

This is Lauryn Walls a local four year old girl who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in January. In our heavy discussions about the AG’s race, we can’t lose site of some of the really important matters out there, such as the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Earlier this month I wrote about fellow blogger Mark Warner who is raising money to run in the Chicago Marathon in October. The money he raises will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a participant in their Team In Training program. Mark has written an update to his progress and I ask that you check out Mark’s training page and consider helping Mark out. Below is a portion of a recent letter he sent out.

I am training for my very first marathon and am doing so with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT). TNT is the largest, oldest and most successful sports endurance program in the world. People just like me volunteer to fundraise for the society’s mission of curing blood cancer, while training for an endurance event.

The inspiration for me to complete this program is Lauryn; a local four-year old girl who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in January. Lauryn loves playing with her big sister, Jordyn, traveling to Florida (me too!), reading, playing school, riding horses, painting fingernails and playing make over on her mommy, Dea. She is an amazing little girl and is the honored hero I am running for.

I am asking for your help so that the society can achieve its goal of curing blood cancer by 2015. My personal goal is to raise $3,000. I would greatly appreciate a donation for this worthy cause. Please check out my Web site to donate online or send me any check donations, made out to LLS, by Wednesday, July 23.

Apparently, Republican Senator John Waterman will be no threat to Mitch Daniels getting re-elected after all. Waterman, who was contemplating a run as an Independent, probably wouldn’t have had much of chance at winning anyway let alone getting the needed 32,742 signatures required by June 30th for him to get on the November ballot.

(Lord help me, I’m quoting Jen Wagner)

Running for Governor is harder than it looks, and it looks like Republican State Sen. John Waterman is dropping his bid for the state’s top job.

He’s in good company.

In all seriousness, there’s a huge difference between wanting to run for statewide office and actually running for statewide office.

Indiana Senate Minority Leader Richard Young acknowledged as much when he gave up his quest for the Democratic nomination late last year after running a strong grassroots campaign for many months.

Off topic here a bit, Wagner’s new site isn’t as bad as I was expecting. She seems fairly even-handed. How long that lasts, I’m not sure.  But motherhood seems to have had a very positive effect on her.  Kids will do that.  As a father of two (soon to be three), I know.

From Mitch Harper and Fort Wayne Observed:

Republican precinct committeepersons in the district of State Senator Robert Meeks will meet on June 7th to nominate a candidate for the general election.

The caucus will be held in Kendallville at the Four County Vocational Center.

Senator Meeks is not seeking re-election due to health concerns.

Last week, I blogged about the loyalty oath being required of appointed delegates in Marion County.

I have also blogged about the firing by Marion County GOP chairman Tom John of a long-time party volunteer for criticizing such tactics (when said volunteer wasn’t even in the United States to make such criticisms as claimed).

And I have blogged about a meeting of Marion County GOP leaders where Tom John and Jon Costas’ campaign manager laid down the law, saying that the Governor said that “any county or delegate who did not cooperate would be punished.”

I have even named names and pointed out that most of Marion County’s 103 appointed delegates are either members of the Mitch campaign, staffers for the Governor, lobbyists, or their spouses.

Since then, Jon Costas told convention delegate (and fellow blogger) Brian Jessen that the “strong-arming needs to stop,” despite (unbelievably) denying any knowledge that it was going on in the first place.

Yesterday, Tom John even admitted what he was doing.

I’ll now join the calls of others.

What say you, Jon Costas?

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

[The Directors of Hoosier Access welcome this post from, Marion County Prosecutor, Carl Brizzi on why he is supporting Greg Zoeller for Attorney General.]

In the fall of 2006, I ran for re-election committed to a philosophy that Experience Matters. Voters expected an experienced prosecutor to lead the 175 attorneys who prosecute without apology the violent felons, drug dealers and habitual criminals who prey on the innocent.

The voters believed that when it came to going after the bad guys there just wasn’t time for on the job training. Our team had experience – my Democrat opponent never worked a day in the prosecutor’s office – Not 1. My opponent was quoted as saying “Experience Just Isn’t An Issue.” Turns out experience was the only issue. And the reason we broke the trend of Democrat victories and won re-election in what proved to be the toughest year for Republicans since Watergate.

Like Prosecutor, the office of Indiana Attorney General needs a leader who has been in the trenches fighting everyday to protect Hoosiers. That is why I’m supporting Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Zoeller during the Republican State Convention.

Over the past seven years, Greg has been a tireless advocate for Hoosier families. He helped fight the nightly invasion of telemarketers by implementing one of the strongest Do-Not-Call lists in the country. Greg then aggressively pursued telemarketers who violated the Do-Not-Call list and returned almost $800,000 to Hoosier taxpayers.

Greg also keeps our families safe from dangerous criminals. The Attorney General’s Office is responsible for representing Indiana whenever a criminal attempts to appeal their conviction. I, along with every prosecutor in the state, rely on the Attorney General’s Office to keep the convicted murderers, rapists, and child molesters behind bars. When one of these predators attempts to appeal his conviction, I’m comforted knowing Greg’s team wins over 93% of the time.

I’ve been friends with Greg for over 10 years. I’ve seen first hand how deeply he cares about protecting Hoosiers from sexual predators, telemarketers, and those who prey on innocent consumers. No candidate - Republican or Democrat - has the experience Greg has. Please join me in supporting Greg Zoeller for Attorney General.

So I have not been paying enough attention to the GOP race for AG here in Indiana lately. I knew there was a race and that I would be backing Jon Costas for two reasons:

1. He is from northern Indiana and being a big partisan from my part of our state I have to be with my people.
2. He is a former client and I would need a pretty good reason not to back someone I have help get elected in the past.

So what about Greg Zoeller? Greg is a great guy and would make a great AG but I can only choose one.

Now on to my subject. “arm twisting” and “strong arming”? Do we have a kerfuffle?

I know lots of friends and colleagues who are backing Zoeller and some are concerned about what the Governor’s endorsement means and some supposed “heavy handed” activity by his surrogates. Let’s all be grown ups for a bit.

Party discipline for Republicans has always been a fickle issue. We are all about it when we are getting our own way but cry foul when it goes against us. In all seriousness Indiana Republicans have been without any real party discipline for almost 20 years. Ask anyone over the age of 45 who has been active in GOP politics and it used to be a different political world we operated in. Anyone remember Keith Bulen? I mean come on guys. We used to draw blood on each other on a pretty regular basis.

In regards to the the Governor weighing in…is anyone really surprised? He is the leader of the party. I would be the first one to admit as a former County Chairman that there were times when I wished he was more partisan and skipped all that talk about “bipartisan cooperation”. I backed Mike Delph for his Senate bid in 2005 despite some somewhat mixed signals from the Governor’s corner. I laid my cards down for my friend and never regretted it (a lot easier when they win). My point is that those of us that are actively involved with politics, despite what we say, often respect and admire political authority and those who use it. I genuinely believe that we want and expect strong leadership from the top of our party (I am a veteran of the Bush Cheney operation know what loyalty to the family means).

In less than a week our party will nominate one of two great guys and to go on to kick the crap out of the Democrats in the fall. So then those of us on the inside of party politics will need to go out for drink, yell a little, trade some stories and move on.

[The Directors of Hoosier Access welcome this post from, Allen County Recorder, John McGauley on why he is supporting Greg Zoeller for Attorney General.]

As an elected officeholder, I believe that I owe taxpayers a level of job performance above and beyond the black-and-white minimum duties that come along with my office. I am supporting Greg Zoeller for Indiana Attorney General at next week’s Republican State Convention because he believes the same thing - and he has the track record to show it.

In recent years I have had the opportunity to work with the Attorney General’s Office, where Greg Zoeller serves as Chief Deputy, on difficult consumer protection issues. Most recently, the Attorney General’s Office helped my office bring to light questionable business practices that were costing Allen County property owners thousands of dollars. Thanks in large part to intervention by the Attorney General’s Office, that company in question no longer preys upon unsuspecting citizens in this community.

My personal experience illustrates just one of the many ways in which the Attorney General’s Office has stepped outside of its “traditional” role to go to bat for consumers across our state. Greg Zoeller’s drive to get more out of government is a big reason why the Attorney General’s Office has been able to do that.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

For all the talk of the Democrats having one devil of a time with their gubernatorial race, Republicans sure have made life interesting for themselves this year as well. From the three person race for who would be the Republican nominee for the 7th CD special election back in January, to three person caucus race for who would replace Senator Jeff Drozda, and of course, the AG’s race, Indiana R’s have not beens ones to back down from a fight. The battle for who will win the caucus to replace the retiring Senator Bob Meeks apparently just got a little more crowded.

I just received this anonymous tip from a Hoosier Access reader:

The race to succeed Senator Bob Meeks just got more interesting—Sue Ann Mitchell, former Kosciusko Auditor & Assessor, filed her candidacy for Meeks’ seat to be determined at the upcoming GOP caucus.

If true, Mitchell joins an already crowded field that includes previously announced candidates State Reps Marlin Stutzman and Matt Bell.