Mayor Ballard Plays Cloak and Dagger

Matt Tully has a great piece today in the Indianapolis Star on how Mayor Greg Ballard leaned on Republican city-county councilors in a secret cloakroom meeting to ensure that no smoking ban ordinance would ever reach his desk. He did this because he didn't want to have to veto the measure.

Many Republican bloggers contend Mayor Ballard had no ultimate hand in the measure not passing, as he didn't influence any votes.

That's really your defense?!?! That, yes, the mayor did put a dagger in the back of public health advocates by pressuring counselors to vote against the ban that he publicly supported during his campaign, but it's okay because he's so ineffectual as a leader that he couldn't persuade a single member of his own party to do an about-face?!?!

If I were City-County Councilor Ben Hunter (R), I'd be irate. Nothing is worse in politics than getting beaten up for a tough stand when you don't get the positive result. Had Hunter known the Mayor would veto the measure, does anybody think he would have been carrying the water for so long and taking arrows from every bar owner in Indy? Way to leave your guy hanging, Mayor!

At least now we know the Mayor's position on a full ban. There was some ambiguity before Tully's investigation. On WTHR-13, the news reporter actually said the following:

"The Mayor had previously stated that he was not sure if he was ready to sign such a bill (a full ban) into law. He said tonight that his position on the measure has not changed."

I laughed out loud. He actually told a member of the media that his position, which was to not have a position, remained the same. Way to remain fully committed....to your own ambivalence.

Mayor, let me introduce you to a well-known phrase from Congressman Andre Carson: bold leadership. Try it sometime. If you had done so, you wouldn't have public health advocates and Ben Hunter at your throat now, and Luke Kenley wouldn't be sore at you for disappearing into the rabit hole while he was taking political shrapnel for you with a CIB bailout proposal.

Mayor Ballard Plays Cloak and Dagger

Does Tully Read IPOPA or Do We Share the Same Brain? You Decide!

A reader told me I suffer from "keyboard diarrhea." Unfortunately, my brain is about to explode with “I told you so," and I can't explain why quickly. Grab your mental TP.

Matt Tully had a fascinating column in the Indianapolis Star last Friday. But for the fact it’s Hoosier common sense and many people can have identical thoughts independently, I’d tell Tully that, while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, God also said, “Thou Shalt Not Steal.” The jist of Tully’s column is that the Democratic Party “brand” is tarnished at the city-county level by a run of ethical lapses and public embarrassments. I've heard this “brand” idea before? Where was that? Oh, yeah. I’ve said it for the past three years to anybody who would listen.

The Marion County Democratic Party’s greatest failing is poor candidate recruitment (Ken Ackles, anyone?!?) that leads to embarrassing PR problems, which we follow up by a “circle the wagons” mentality that plays like cover up. And, because Marion County Democratic politics is seen through such a racial prism now, any allegation against an African-American elected official is met with defensiveness, whether the charge comes from inside or outside the party. In fairness, this response is caused, in part, by critics' phraseology. Have you ever noticed how Republicans use the phrase "thug" (which has prevalency in hip hop culture) to describe Andre Carson's followers? You never hear this phrase to describe the Congressman's white supporters, I assure you.

The latest news? An “ethics committee” (well, actually, two Republicans, as Paul Bateman resigned and Bill Oliver didn’t show up) voted to censure Monroe Gray and referred him for criminal investigation by Carl Brizzi.

The committee recommendations were a long time coming. Though the resolution to investigate Gray was sought in March of 2007, my own party sadly voted against an investigation twice. The investigation only passed on October 27, 2008, when the committee was made truly bi-partisan by a Sherron Franklin amendment.

But if the composition of the investigating body was the sticking point, this could have been addressed in March. Had the Democrats simply done then what they ended up doing anyway, they would have preserved their at-large city-county council seats and avoided back-handed compliments from Republican Party Chair Tom John.

Gray’s censure was based on his failure to disclose that his cement company was receiving money as a subcontractor for a major city contractor. This is the same company that has been the subject of several lawsuits, at least one default judgment (where a verdict is rendered against you because you don't even show up in court), and complaints for shoddy workmanship. Gray also suffered a major brain fade over 300 East when he told the Indianapolis Star that he knew nothing about the project, even though his wife, Teresa Gray, was a major investor. Does anybody breathing believe he really didn’t know?

The criminal referral is more troubling. Councilor Gray received a salary from IFD for...well, we’re not sure what he did for IFD, though critics say he was drawing a city salary to lobby the council on behalf of the IFD. We also know that Gray has was not willing to provide a single document – no e-mails, no meeting notes, no correspondence, no day planners – to prove his work for the IFD. The alleged charge, accordingly, is ghost employment. The fact Gray accepted this IFD “job” (and that he voted on a resolution to investigate himself) is terribly troubling.

For Bateman’s part, he resigned from the Committee after he found himself in a firestorm regarding a not-for-profit which is being investigated for a laundry list of financial improprieties. Word is that Bateman is fully cooperating with this investigation, so it is premature to paint him with ANY type of “criminal” brush. He is entitled to the benefit of the doubt. But how can you not paint him as being at least naive?

Paul Bateman is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in politics. I’ve known him since he helped Pam Carter get elected in 1992 when he was working with the UAW. But I can’t change my approach because I like somebody. That's what gets us in trouble as a party.

When we let you wear the elected Democrat uniform, your obligation to avoid trouble intensifies. Your obligation to pay attention to what those around you are doing intensifies, in particular if you lend your name to their cause. NOBODY believes, “I didn’t know,” even if true. If you cannot handle that reality, DON’T run for office. You will quickly find yourself in a situation that detracts from what the rest of us are trying to get done for Marion County residents.

Tully used another of my frequent metaphors when he said the Marion County Democratic Party was becoming just like the Indiana Pacers. Let me finish the analogy for you since Mr. Tully didn’t.

Jamal Tinsley was shot at outside the Conrad Hotel. Was it Tinsley’s fault?

The public responds in unison: “WHO CARES!?!? It was 3 a.m., Tinsley was a wealthy celebrity, and he drove with a group of friends to a bar where the collective net worth of all the patrons was probably less than the value of one of the flashy cars in which he arrived. What did he THINK was going to happen?”

Nobody cares about the "fairness" of the situation when it comes to pampered players and politicians, except for pampered players and politicians. If you can't deal with THIS fact, don't run for office.

Smart political figures, like wealthy celebrities, do not put themselves in positions where controversy CAN follow. Are you listening, Ron Gibson? They don't associate with people who will get them into trouble? Are you listening, Councilor Bateman? As Gibson now knows, being exonerated of all criminal wrong-doing is NOT the public relations battle. AVOIDING the public relations battle altogether is the battle.

This is a lesson Doris Minton-McNeil needs to learn as well. I do not believe she will be charged with any criminal conduct, nor do I think she intentionally pushed the officer. But anybody who thinks that this is all that matters in politics is delusional.

And the “defensiveness” of which I spoke is best exhibited by a story making the rounds that the IMPD officers who went to Doris Minton-McNeil’s home were "out to get her." The true part of that story is that McNeil apparently met with the district commander for her neighborhood and said some not-too-kind things. But even if you buy the motive part of this story, SHE CALLED THEM. Am I supposed to believe that the officers who were dispatched by the 9-1-1 operator were able to hatch an elaborate conspiracy to make Minton-McNeil look bad before they even knew who she was? If so, that’s seriously quick thinking.

The truth usually lies in the middle. I’m told that Ms. McNeil tried to show the officer’s her business card because she did not believe they were taking her seriously. I can see that. But because McNeil was flashing her business card, who believes she didn't pull the "you can't arrest a city-councilor" card when they tried to place her under arrest. And as a city councilor, she has to know better than anybody the appropriate way to make a grievance about police conduct known. She could have NOT confronted the police, gone to the caucus and formulated a public response, and avoided this entire embarrassment for herself and every other Democrat in the county.

Anybody who heard the 9-1-1 tape (in which she says there is a “pedophile motherf-----” in her house) knows Ms. McNeil was very clearly amped up and/or intoxicated before police got there. Nobody who heard that tape will believe she was not confrontational with the officers in some way, even if they believe she didn't call them racists. Nobody who has ever hung out with an intoxicated friend will doubt that McNeil bumped into the officer by virtue of alcohol-related loss of coordination.

Ms. McNeil could have probably made this whole thing go away by issuing a public apology (without admitting criminal liability). Instead, she opted to put the entire caucus in the spotlight with her.

As for Councilor Bateman, while I doubt the criminal investigation leads to anything, only he KNOWS what it can turn up. If he knows there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING illegal or unethical, then by all means, Councilor, dig in and weather the storm.

But if anything questionable can materialize, Councilor Bateman should vacate now before every sordid revelation becomes "council business." Otherwise, the media will be there, photographing him and the caucus, just as they did with McNeil, and asking all its members for their position on "the Bateman matter."

In short, Bateman, too, decides whether his colleagues avoid the spotlight or get put squarely in it. Don't put them there, Councilor, unless you KNOW there's no way they can get burned.

All elected officials owe at least that to their party.

Does Tully Read IPOPA or Do We Share the Same Brain? You Decide!

O'Connor Has Left the Building!

In today’s Indianapolis Star, Matt Tully provides a balanced perspective on Mike O’Connor’s term as chair of the Marion County Democratic Party. Many want to hang O'Connor in effigy. In every venture, be it athletics, business, or politics, the “leader of the team” often gets too much criticism or credit for what is essentially a team game.

In the interest of full disclosure, Mike O’Connor is an affable fellow, who I’ve always liked personally. I have no interest in hearing people tear him for things he could not control. Once you’ve been a campaign manager, you know that the role does not convey the ability to make a candidate do something uncomfortable to him or her. But having said this, O’Connor was involved in several disastrous tactical decisions that spanned two campaigns.

First, he made a horrific call by signing off on the Melina Kennedy’s candidacy for Marion County prosecutor. As IPOPA stated previously, Kennedy was handicapped by a complete lack of prosecutorial experience.

Let’s be clear on something. The Marion County Prosecutor is mostly a manager. Unlike in smaller counties where the prosecutor actually tries cases, in Marion County, the prosecutor recruits talent, sets office policies, administers a budget, helps coordinate anti-crime policy for the city, and occasionally plays Jack McCoy on a lay-down trial so he can say, “I put (insert heartless killer’s name here) on death row” in a TV commercial in the next election cycle.

But the public can’t be sold on this idea; voters expect a trial lawyer. And without criminal law experience, Kennedy could not counter the preconceived notion, held still even by many women, that women are “soft on crime.”

Moreover, Republicans have an elephant as their mascot for a reason. They remember everything. In 1996, when Jeff Modisett was elected Attorney General over out-going Attorney General Steve Carter, we attacked Carter for never having prosecuted a case. “Not One.” That was the name of the ad put together by Christopher Klose, our campaign’s political consultant(and a guy O’Connor knew well from their mutual work with Joe Hogsett years earlier).

In candor, I can say I do not know an Attorney General who HAS personally prosecuted a case of any type, and yet, Carter’s lack of experience helped us defeat him. How surprising would it be that Republicans were lying in wait for Democrats to put up somebody without experience in a job where it would acyually matter. Not surprisingly, Brizzi’s attack ads basically mimicked “Not One.” We set the table for Republicans by selecting Kennedy as our candidate.

In addition, if you can get any Democrats to speak candidly, many will comment on Melina’s lack of “physical presence.” Ms. Kennedy came across as a confident speaker, but that confidence was somewhat belied by her physical bearing, which struck me as mousy at times. Also, the photographs on her billboard actually made her look somewhat sickly. I would have reworked those and had her work on posture and presence.

But the coup de grace that really doomed Kennedy was….say it together everyone – GANG AMNESTY!” I’ll never forget reading Kennedy’s plan a few days after it was released and getting to that dreaded proposal. I called a high-ranking Democrat in Mayor Peterson’s administration and said, “We just lost the prosecutor’s race.” I knew Republicans would find and exploit this proposal.

It could have been the single greatest law enforcement strategy in history, but it wouldn’t matter. “Amnesty” means ONLY forgiveness in the public mind. Mitch Daniels engineered taxpayer amnesty, and everybody loved him for it. It brought in tons of money, just like Kennedy’s plan might have arguably given law enforcement tons of leads. But Daniels wasn’t a woman running for prosecutor, and nobody finds people who skirt paying state taxes terrifying enough to make bad Sean Penn movies (Colors) about them.

I don’t understand how that proposal saw daylight. In every campaign, there has to be somebody (usually the manager) whose job is to be the “(excrement) catcher.” That person’s critical function is to make sure nothing idiotic leaves the building. If that person is doing his/her job, every statement and proposal is subjected to a mental review process during which “the catcher” attempts to figure out how the other side can turn the idea on its head. On gang amnesty, somebody fell down on the job, and when they did, Melina Kennedy couldn’t get up.

As Jon Easter properly noted in a comment on this blog, Brizzi and the Republican Party put heavy bank into this race and outspent Kennedy because it was (at least then) thought to be the setting sun for the R’s. Easter is right, but TV ads don’t move numbers without something compelling to say. We wrote their script.

Still to come…

…O’Connor’s Mayoral Mishaps

…How Pam Carter Got It Right in 1992

…The Great News for Melina Kennedy

…Who Looks Good as Your Next Prosecutor

and

…An intriguing experiment to help you determine whether you hate black people as much as George Bush

Stay tuned!!!

O'Connor Has Left the Building!

Jill Long-Thompson In Striking Distance

Pay attention, class! Here's a key political lesson from IPOPA.

How is it possible that a man can spend MILLIONS to own the airwaves unanswered for months, travel the state non-stop for a few weeks as "empathizer-in-chief," and still find himself only five points ahead in his gubernatorial election?

The answer is simple. Personal experience always trumps salesmanship, no matter how much Matt Tully raves about it.

If you have never been a victim of violent crime and your friends haven't either, I can sell you on the idea I reduced crime as your Governor, even if the truth is the exact opposite. But if you've been a crime victim, no amount of persuasion will make you believe things are better.

In the recent past, there are thousands of Hoosiers who have suffered economic violence in the form of layoffs, downsizing, rightsizing, and factory closings, which some (but not all) Republicans write off as "market corrections" while shortening the time during which you can receive unemployment benefits. You see, the free market hand has to put the hammer down on the unruly workforce inntent on preserving its standard of living. Oh, you silly blue collar types with your ridiculous "living wage" expectations!

So Governor Daniels caravans the state sounding like George Bush, Sr. in 1992, when he was telling everybody the economy was on the upswing. But the problem the Governor faces is that too many Hoosiers have lost their jobs, and those who weren't simply cut were "bought out." This means that even though these employees may not feel the immediate pain, they will next year when their retirement money is gone, and they can't find another job with a comparable salary. Apparently, the Governor doesn't think we can see what's coming.

And, respectfully, when you're unemployed and can't find a job, it's not all the comforting to hear the Governor tell you that "we're better than Ohio."

I predicted before (and I'll say again) that Jill Long-Thompson WILL be our next Governor if she can raise 1 dollar for every 2 dollars Governor Daniels raises.

Here's your homework, class.

Jill Long-Thompson In Striking Distance