How Greg Bowes Is Right and Why It Won't Save Him (My Opus in Response to His Opus)

Marion County Assessor and prosecutorial candidate, Greg Bowes (D), dropped a four-paged, single-spaced letter that was the the campaign equivalent of War and Peace into D precinct committeeperson mailboxes this week. Bowes should expect to feel more war and less peace.

The letter's main points are:

(1) Bowes is qualified to be prosecutor based on his 25 jury trials and 85 criminal appeals in attempted murder, rape, child molest, and battery cases;

(2) Bowes is the most viable candidate because he won county-wide, managed a large office, and "successfully navigated the intense scrutiny that came with the property tax crisis" (as an aside, he did?); and

(3) The D's new slating agreement is unfair, so he won't sign it.

For the newbies, let's do a quick "slating 101."

Before the primary election lets self-identified D's, R's, or L's to decide who are "their" parties' candidates, the parties' hold "primary conventions" during which only precinct committee people get to choose who "the party" endorses. Why, you might ask, would parties host what is essentially a mini-primary before an actual primary?

Precinct committeepersons register voters, put up yard signs, staff the polls, and get out the vote. PCs do this for free (except in Lake County where precinct organizations routinely seek "walking around money" from statewide candidates). Slating is the one PC perk (if you discount getting invited to State Representative Greg Porter's annual barbecue. Tasty!)

Parties want to reward hard work, but when patronage got snuffed, this was what was left - the right to participate in a non-smoke-filled room with people who really are the party.

I understand the appeal. It's not right (or productive) that two DINOS (Democrats in name only) who never donate to, work for, or advocate for, the party's candidates might trump a PC's primary vote. It's like letting people who never show up for church but who call themselves Catholic have a vote equal to the members of the church board. This is why I support the general idea of slating.

But here's the problem. It's easily rigged.

The voting pool consists of all elected precinct committeepersons and their appointed vice-committeepersons, but Democrats never have enough elected PCs (those who run as candidates in the precincts they actually reside) to fill all the slots. According to Bowes, the current number of elected folk is only 260.

One might think, "Well, that's your voting pool. Go to it." Oh, no, my friends. State party rules gives county chairs the right to fill vacant slots, and the appointed PC need not reside in the vacant precinct. This appointment right is a commonly employed perquisite in Marion County politics. To illustrate how abuse might occur, here's a conversation I had within the last eighteen months:

Me: (Ring, Ring). Hello?
Caller: Would you like to be a precinct committee person?
Me: Sure. What do I need to do?
Caller: Do you like (insert candidate's name)?
Me: Yeah.
Caller: You're good.
Me: Is this in my precinct?
Caller: No, it's (insert township ward and precinct).
Me: It doesn't matter I live downtown?
Caller: No.

Shortly after slating, Marion County consolidated its precincts, and I lost my "home precinct."

Nobody can dispute Greg Bowes is putting it in Ed Treacy's eye when he writes "one might also think that the MCDP county chair might want to wait until PCs and VPCs have made their decision before he takes any action in support of one candidate or another." But Bowes is right that appointing PCs (or removing them) before slating is the best way to "stack a slating field."

Bowes is also right that this system can circumvent geographic representation, as some townships can gain a disproportionate share of influence by having its members spread throughout the vacant PC slots county-wide. This is completely counter-intuitive because a D PC working the "hard areas," such as Franklin Township, shouldn't see his or her vote diluted. There is little incentive to work for candidates hoisted upon you by perceived (or actual) political manipulation.

Admittedly, if the county chair likes your person or cause, you'd love the current system. By the way, guess who gets to elect the county chair? PCs! But my rule of thumb for how anything should be fairly structured is, "How would we set it up without regard to how it works for us right now?"

Unfortunately, that's not how we operate, and as a result, few candidates have confidence in the slating process, which makes slate challenges all the more likely. And this is the value of the new agreement.

One might think that the best way for the party to fend off slate challenges is to just destroy the unslated candidates in the primaries, right? Great idea. Except the MCDP gets beat often, in particular by African-American candidates (in particular women) with names at the top of the alphabet.

Bowes notes that people who have run against the slate include such party stalwarts as Julia Carson, Rozelle Boyd, Bill Crawford, and Billie Breaux (and I'll add both Linda and Kim Brown).

Normally, you "freeze out" or punish your political opponents, but if the MCDP loses a slating fight, the second the election results are certified, those opponents are the MCDP's candidates with whom it has to play kissy-face. Moreover, if a slate buster is part of a key D constituency group (such as African-Americans, labor, GLBT), the county chair can't even bash him or her publicly for fear of alienating the larger constituency, which might sit it out and damage the remaining slate.

That's got to be pretty frustrating for a county chair.

What to do, what to do.

So Ed Treacy put forth an idea in consultation with elected county Democrats. Here's how it works. You pay the slating fee, which is 10% of the salary of the office you seek. Normally, all but 25% of this would be refundable to unslated candidates.

Under the revised plan, you sign an agreement that says if you are not slated, you may not run in the primary. If you do, you forfeit your slating fee in total, and you cannot participate in slating for six years. The agreement also says that, if you are slated, you must be listed on promotional materials with the slate, the whole slate, and nothing but the slate. If you are an elected official, you must back all future slates during your term. If you do not comply on either count, you get the six-year ban.

I like this idea on the surface. If you swim in our pool, you don't get to pee in it with impunity. The idea that elected officials must back their fellow Democrats is appropriate. But will we actually enforce it equally? It would have been really amusing seeing Linda Brown not support her own sister, Kim, had this agreement been in place earlier.

But herein lies Ed's genius. He didn't get this approved by precinct folks. He got it approved by elected officials. This agreement is theoretically iron-clad, incumbent protection. It says "us and only us." Where can a candidate who isn't slated turn for comfort? Not to the party apparatus!

Now Ed just has to hold it all together. I'm told he approached some affinity groups about committing to only backing the slated candidates, too, but it was rough going. That's not surprising. Can anybody see labor standing with somebody who is lukewarm on their issues, or the Stonewall Democrats backing a homophobe, just because they were slated?

In sum, Ed Treacy has a good idea. And Greg Bowes knows how to make it better. But I don't see this peanut butter to coming together with this chocolate anytime soon. I'm pretty sure only one of these guys is still viable in Marion County Democratic politics.

How Greg Bowes Is Right and Why It Won't Save Him (My Opus in Response to His Opus)

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!

With Family Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

Kudos to Jen Wagner at http://www.hoosierpoliticalreport.com/ for catching that Sam Carson, cousin to Andre Carson, is running against Ed Treacy to fill the vacancy for Marion County Democratic Party Chair. Sam Carson has no political track record that anyone can find, so why he is doing this is a mystery. What we do know is that the Congressman is strongly supporting Treacy, which shows that Carson is politically astute.

Some will say, “Let Democracy work. Treacy will win easily with the Congressman’s support.” Unfortunately, it’s a sad reality that a single contest for county chair might not draw a quorum among precinct committee folks for the meeting, which is this Wednesday. If the county fails to fill the vacancy, by state party rules, the Indiana Democratic Party takes over and selects the next Marion County Chairman. That would be quite embarrassing for Marion County (though I suppose most Marion County Democrats have grown somewhat accustomed to this feeling over the past two years).

City-County Council legal counsel and Monroe Gray attorney, Aaron Haith, was also making phone calls to gauge support for his candidacy, but he smartly opted not to challenge Treacy. Though Haith is likeable and well-known for supervising GOTV efforts for the party, had he prevailed (he wouldn't have), he might as well have painted a bull’s eye on his chest for Republican County Chair Tom John. If Haith is interested in moving up the political hierarchy, he needs to wash the Gray out of his hair.

With Family Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

Clash of the Titans Averted!

For those Republicans looking forward to a divisive "clash of the titans" between former Marion County Democratic Party chair Ed Treacy and UAW legend, Terry Thurman, your hopes have been dashed.

Though Thurman's feet have been touted to fill outgoing Democratic Party Chair Mike O'Connor's shoes (and though Thurman himself has expresseed interest in Democratic circles), Thurman has agreed for party unity (and for some as-of-yet undisclosed concessions) to step aside and support Treacy.

There is collective relief for many Democrats, who were skittish about a protracted in-party fight and who almost uniformly view Treacy as a superb tactician.

In fact, but for Treacy's involvement on behalf of his wife, Rebecca Pierson-Treacy (and the supposedly suspicious but not confirmably improper manner of her slating for Judge), you would be hard-pressed to find much criticism of Treacy.

Does Treacy have enemies? Sure, but you cannot tell people "no" as much as a county chair has to without alienating somebody. And both parties have their "colorful personalities" (a/k/a "the crazy people") who a chair has to continually foil in their electoral efforts without looking anti-democratic.

Whatever public faults Republicans voice about Treacy, their private gripes will surround him winning too many elections.

Clash of the Titans Averted!

Not Again!?!? Please, God, Not Again!!!! City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil Arrested

Remember when this blog started, and I said one of my goals was to drive my party to do a better job recruiting candidates? I urged the party to preserve its credibility by pulling the plug on Democrats, even those IN office, when they embarrass us. I talked about how humiliating it is having to constantly apologize for your own people. Remember?

So I'm perusing the headlines on-line this morning, and I see "councilmember arrested in police scuffle." I can't lie. Without seeing a name, party affiliation, or picture, I swear I honestly thought, "It's a Democrat." I click the story and guess what? It is.

Doris Minton-McNeil, the woman who JUST took over Andre Carson's city-county council seat in April after a caucus, was arrested for allegedly running into a female police officer and injuring her wrist. (I promise you some Carson haters will unfairly try to tag the Congressman with this simply because Minton-McNeil lived in the same district and filled his seat).

Among the allegations are that Ms. Minton-McNeil told police she could not be arrested because she was a councilor, and she tried to give police her business card and repeatedly told them to call city officials.

Marion County Republican Party Chairman, Tom John, called for Minton-McNeil's resignation, noting that nobody is above the law. If the councilor is convicted or pleads guilty of this charge, I'm praying my party will take up John on the offer. It's getting to the point where I can't tell whether I'm a member of a political party or the Indiana Pacers.

Let's be frank. Many of us have probably been at home watching a football game or at a party (bachelor or otherwise) with a designated driver and had a bit too much to drink. We're not worried about drinking and driving, so maybe we overdo it. I get that. But that is in the festive context of social interaction.

In contrast, according to several reports, despite saying she had only had two margaritas, the councilor could not control her bodily functions in the squad car on the way downtown, and she was with only her father, who apparently wasn't drinking. Who gets that hammered at 5:30 p.m. on a Sunday by themselves? I assure you that were she not a councilor, she'd face disciplinary action at IPS. I bet, by virtue of her power, IPS is now too afraid to even issue a reprimand.

This incident serves as a valuable opportunity to revisit my "brand" speech. The Democratic Party is a brand, and all of the candidates and elected officials are the product lines. If one product (or series of products) disappoints consumers (voters) it can demolish trust in the entire brand, in particular if those who put the product out don't take appropriate corrective action. That's where we are in Marion County. We put people in positions of authority that shouldn't be there in the first place to satisfy a demographic need or to placate somebody's nepotism goal or patronage demand. Then when they use bad judgment, we reflexively defend them (and ourselves) and attack their accusers, instead of cleaning house.

Think about what happened after Tylenol was contaminated. The company not only took every single bottle off the shelf, but also, it put a tamper proof cap on the product, at great cost, to ensure that people could trust the specific product AND the brand name. Imagine if Tylenol had instead just left it at, "The company did not contaminate the product. An individual who obviously had a bias against us did this, so we can't be held responsible."

They'd be out of business.

There's a LOT that's not known, so let's not rush to judgment yet. But if this thing culminates in a conviction, I'll be calling on the Marion County Democratic Party to wake up...and stop my nightmares.

Not Again!?!? Please, God, Not Again!!!! City-County Councilor Doris Minton-McNeil Arrested