City-County Councillor Paul Bateman Pays the Price: Nice Knowing You!

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Matthew 16:26

Minister Paul Bateman, the Democratic City-County Councillor who broke party rank to give approval to Mayor Greg Ballard's short-sighted and short-monied fifty-year parking lease to ACS, might as well vote with Ballard and the Republican caucus for the remainder of his short time in office in exchange for a job with the City or with a city contractor because this is almost certainly his last term.

Steve Talley, the former council president who resigned the District 11 seat, which Bateman assumed, to take a job in the Department of Public Safety in the Peterson Administration in 2005, has decided he'd like his seat back. Needless to say, party faithful and elected officials in Lawrence Township are strongly supportive. Talley already did an impressive amount of door-to-door for other Democratic candidates in 2010, so he's undoubtedly reconnected with many of his constituents.

In his short time on the council, Bateman had already stained the Democratic Party's brand when, in late 2009, a bankruptcy trustee sought a nearly $1.3 million judgment against Bateman and others for allegedly using money, or authorizing the use of such monies, from the Russell Foundation for personal expenses, such as clothing, dental work, and purchase of a fleet of vehicles. Bateman was never charged criminally, and he made the right decision to step down from the Council's Ethics Committee when the investigation was ongoing. But I never understood how someone could be so integral to an organization while knowing so little about expenses of over half of its total donations toward non-charity related activities.

Moreover, that cloud was hardly one the party needed hanging over it while it was trying to contend that the GOP had bred a "culture of corruption" via Tim Durham, Lincoln Plowman, and Carl Brizzi.

In the interest of full disclosure, when I served as campaign manager for Pam Carter's attorney general race in 1992, Paul Bateman was one of the first people on board. Bateman was working with the UAW then out of Anderson, he was very helpful to our effort, and I've liked him personally since then. In fact, even today, if I saw Councillor Bateman on the street, I'd shake his hand and wish him well.

But not as a councillor.

City-County Councillor Paul Bateman Pays the Price: Nice Knowing You!

Ogden Raises Interesting Questions About Plowman

Republican Paul Ogden asks some interesting questions about Lincoln Plowman in a recent blog post.

Specifically, why would the Marion County GOP donate $2400 to Plowman in February of 2009? That's two years before his next election, and the guy is in a staggeringly Republican district. Oh, wait! Did anybody else notice and think it was fishy that the exact same day that check came in, Plowman wrote a check to himself for $1930 for money he had loaned the committee? Why did he need that money so urgently?

After reviewing Plowman's last report, I have questions of my own.

Is the cool thing now in the GOP operating above your means and then loaning yourself money so it looks like you raise more than you do?

Plowman repeatedly loaned himself money, including a $3,082 on March 5, 2009, the exact day his campaign bought a PC from Fry Electronics for that exact amount. Why? Because his campaign only had $1300 at the time. He makes the purchase, records the loan, and presto, because campaign finance laws require all incoming "dollars" to be recorded as "contributions," he's just added "$3,082" to his year-to-date fundraising total. (This is why cash-on-hand if the only intrinsically valuable piece of information on a CFA-4. Plowman raised $14,000, a very healthy sum for a councillor, but he only had $500 in the bank at year's end).

Also, last time I checked, campaign finance law say you can spend contributions only on things reasonably related to campaign activities. Raise your hand if you believe that Plowman actually spent $4041...yes, that's four THOUSAND....on the purchase of a new campaign phone and only campaign cell phone bills. (iPOPA looks across entire county, sees no hands).

Just like Carl Brizzi, Plowman also has numerous "meetings" that look an awful lot like a guy eating out on his donors' dime. This practice troubles me because the only difference between campaign donations and something that resembles implied bribery is the law prohibiting candidates from benefitting personally from contributions.

Also, if Plowman resigns and is done with politics, what will happen to his new iPhone? What will happen to his new laptop? Will he keep them? Or will he donate them to another committee or sell them and transfer the proceeds to another committee? Only the latter practices are legal, and I assure you, I'll be watching.

And it won't just be Plowman from here out. Fair warning to both R's and my fellow D's alike....if you use your campaign committee like a personal bank account, you should probably reform your ways, or you might get your feelings hurt.

Ogden Raises Interesting Questions About Plowman

Mansfield Pushes Plowman Out the Door?

Sometimes political officials step down because they realize it's necessary to restore a broken public trust. And sometimes they step down because they're about to get busted wide open politically.


Let's play a game called, "Which one describes Lincoln Plowman?"

Word has been circulating all last week about City-County Councillor Angela Mansfield's (D-District 2) planned ethics complaint against Plowman, which was filed today. iPOPA suspects that buzz prompted Plowman's expedited resignation, which will be delivered on Monday. Kudos are due to Mansfield for speeding the return of integrity to the 25th District.

As Mansfield rightly points out, because Plowman has essentially pled the 5th on why he is on administrative leave and being talked to by the FBI, the council cannot ascertain whether any conflict of interest exists in his service. This is problematic because it could potentially jeopardize future votes.

Republican Council President Ryan Vaughn and GOP Chair Tom John are undoubtedly ecstatic to see Plowman go, whatever the cause, as there was a radioactive glow of corruption and chicanery lingering over the entire Marion County Republican Party before Plowman's administrative leave.

As I've said repeatedly, a party label is a brand. Right now, the Marion County GOP is the Toyota of Indiana politics.

Plowman Complaint[1]

Mansfield Pushes Plowman Out the Door?

Plowman Resigning for Bribery?

WRTV reported that Republican City-County Councillor Lincoln Plowman is expected to resign on Monday.

Though I am still seeking to confirm this (so don't take it for gospel), rumor is that Plowman allegedly took money from an undercover agent impersonating a strip club owner who gave Plowman cash on tape in exchange for a zoning variance.

This sounds way too Marion Barry to believe, and if this were true, why isn't the man in cuffs?

But property records reveal that Plowman had a foreclosure action filed against him in August of 2005. He cured that defect, but somebody falling behind on a $130,000 home doesn't exactly speak to a man flush with cash. Yet, somehow three years later, he buys a $280,000 home at 7356 Oxbridge Place. I knew he got a promotion, but wow, it just makes me wonder if he knew anybody who was really good at picking stocks or something.

UPDATE: New version of the story circulating doesn't have Plowman with cash but receiving an in-kind benefit.

Plowman Resigning for Bribery?

Truth Gets Plowed by Plowman

Say you are suspended from your job, and say a few weeks later, the media asks you why.

What is the percentage chance that you'd say you don't know? Probably zero. Unlessss...you're Lincoln Plowman.

In a staggering interview with WTHR-13's Mary Milz, Plowman says he doesn't know why he's being investigated. When asked about whether the inquiry against him is personal or professional (counsel-related), Plowman pleads the 5th, literally.

Counsel President Ryan Vaughn also says he doesn't know any details. How do you keep your own caucus in the dark? Is Plowman working as a confidential information now to fry a bigger fish?

What is it with Republicans clinging to office long beyond the point of losing the public trust, which was further eroded today. (Everybody doing the Elephant Walk knows he's as problematic as Brizzi. One GOP councillor even referred to Plowman as "a selfish idiot.")

I don't know either. But on behalf of Democrats who are going to campaign in 2010 on the GOP's culture of shady financial dealings and influence-peddling, I thank you.

Truth Gets Plowed by Plowman

Plowman Pulling a Durham?

On January 14, 2010, Lincoln Plowman put his Craftsman tool bench up for sale on Craig's List for $1,500. On January 15, 2010, he listed an extensive comic book collection for $1,000.

Why would a guy sell a work bench? After all, he's a guy. And why sell a comic collection that you've obviously taken quite a while to compile? I get Durham's sell-off. He knew he was in trouble. So can we conclude Plowman knew he'd need money shortly, given he started selling stuff two weeks before he handed over his badge? After all, Jim Voyles' brilliance doesn't come cheaply.

Here's something else that's intriguing, if maybe just to me. What's with Plowman saying he's a "private investigator" when he applied for four scanner frequency licenses? Why would a guy need that stuff if he works for IMPD? If it's because he's doing side jobs, what jobs? When does a city-county councilor and major with IMPD have time to do side jobs? Makes you wonder who might be having equipment they shouldn't have.

The onion is unraveling around the GOP, and each layer seems to smell worse.

UPDATE: The FCC license request is from 2004. But what's interesting is that under "contact information," Plowman lists Skylines Unlimited out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Huh?

Plowman Pulling a Durham?

Sorry, T.J., But How's That Crow Taste?

When Democratic city-county councillor Doris Minton-McNeil was arrested for battery (she was ultimately found not guilty), Marion County GOP Chair Tom John issued the following statement calling for her resignation:

"We are deeply saddened that once again a Democrat member of the City-County Council has shown such public contempt for law enforcement and disregard for the laws of our great city and the State of Indiana. The citizens of Indianapolis demand leaders who are servants of the law, not people who think they are above it."

I'm sorry, but how can you not read this statement and laugh? Durham? Brizzi? Plowman?

I don't mind saying that I've had some extremely harsh words for Democrats (including Minton-McNeil) who embarrass the party with their imbecilic conduct. But in my mind, there's a far difference between somebody who has too much to drink and acts foolish and somebody who auctions off his office to the highest bidder.

When Tom John publicly calls for Plowman's resignation, as requested by Democratic Party Chair Ed Treacy, that's when you'll know he's serious about getting rid of people "who think they are above" the law.

Sorry, T.J., But How's That Crow Taste?