Evans Mayoral Bid Curious, But His Water Company Meddling Dead-On

Democratic City-County Councillor, Jose Evans, will file paperwork at 2:30 p.m. today that establishes his "exploratory committee" to run for Mayor of Indianapolis, a move that will surely have people shaking their heads.

With a clearly-established candidate among party faithful in Melina Kennedy, a formidable "outsider" candidate in Brian Williams, and even an African-American candidate in former At-Large City-County Councillor Ron Gibson, one may ask, "What's the play here for Evans?" Is this what iPOPA has dubbed a "Braveheart maneuver" (trying to get concessions from your opponents to force you off the battlefield) or just an effort to elevate profile, as Jim Shella with WISH-TV suggests.

Before Gibson's entry, Evans had a hail mary-type long-shot chance at potentially garnering support for a plurality in an inverted Thomas Carcetti/The Wire scenario. But now that Gibson stepped in, he forces Evans to fight to preserve the segment of voters with no real connection to political folk but who think it's time for Indianapolis to have an African-American mayor.

Also, it's not clear who supports Evans' bid yet, nor will we find out immediately. Evans is not announcing his candidacy like Gibson, who drew at least 50 supporters to a rally; he is only handing over paper for said "exploratory committee," which makes it sound like Jose is two-stepping his way into the race. This late in the game, Evans cannot afford to be coy, and he should expect some political blowback from this effort. To paraphrase sage words once uttered by Democratic Party Chair Ed Treacy, "We need fewer candidates, not more."

But when praise is do, I give it, and here it is.

For months, Evans has been criticizing the Ballard Administration's handling of the water company, and he's been trying to publicly force the Mayor's Office to discuss what plans its has for a sale to Citizens Gas. I've seen at least three separate press releases for such calls that went unheeded and, perhaps in part because council Democrats just assumed Evans was seeking the limelight and going rogue, nobody signed on.

This is not to say none of the D's on the council weren't paying attention. Democratic City-County Council leaders have been working behind the scenes collecting information, believing that the Mayor would let them know before any real progress was made, and last week, the caucus introduced a resolution seeking that the mayor ensure a public process. That resolution was sent to the rules committee by Republicans, and the meeting at which it was to be heard last Tuesday was cancelled.

Now guess what? Democratic blogger Terry Burns reports there is now a "deal" that will be presented to the caucus this evening. The presentation was already made to Republicans on Monday, and I'm told that, but for Citizens and its attorneys, no presentation would have been made at all to Democrats.

There are all kinds of "teachable moments" here for my fellow Democrats, so absorb them:

1. You can't trust anything Mayor Ballard says about "transparency."

2. There's a fine line between paranoia and political astuteness. We like to believe when people say, "I'll let you know," and that's fine. But on this one, Jose Evans fell on the right side on the line. I admire the council resolution, but I can't help but wonder. If the entire caucus had "gone public" to the media, might an enterprising TV reporter have gone to the 25th Floor and asked, "Is city legal and/or an Indianapolis law firm representing Citizens Gas negotiating and/or writing up a purchase agreement as we speak? Doesn't the public have a right to be heard on this?"

3. We should remember to check our human nature, which often lets our feelings about the "who" prevail over our logic surrounding the "what." Even if Evans' critics think he got information wrong or did this for all the wrong reasons, he rightly saw a ram-rod coming.

4. The Ballard administration is ingenius at buying off individual Dems. Now that a deal seems to be a fait accompli, expect it to chisel off individual D councillors by offering a cut of the pie. Hopefully, D councillors will not fall for the siren song and completely fail to recognize potentially catastrophic long-term implications.

5. Finally, remember Luke 12:24: "You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and not care about the other." Every elected official or party with the mind to take advice from an attorney better memorize the attorney's client list because the Rules of Professional Conduct require allegiance to the client's interests to trump any political friendship you think you have.

As two of the Marion County Democratic Party's most prominent advisors and financiers serve with the law firm representing Citizens Gas, the effort to persuade D's to vote in favor might actually be led by my own party's consiglieres, bringing with them, not horse heads in beds, but statements like, "This is going to happen, so you need to get what you can as quickly as you can before there's nothing left."

Ahh, my kingdom for a modicum of Democratic solidarity even when the Mayor deals a bad hand. But, hey, politics isn't pretty, and somebody has to pay for the re-election campaigns.

Evans Mayoral Bid Curious, But His Water Company Meddling Dead-On

Slating Convention Notes

Today, I tag-teamed with Abdul of "Abdul in the Morning" (which I'll appear on Monday at 7:30 a.m.) and Indiana Barrister to cover the parties' slating conventions. Here we go:

DEMOCRATS DETERMINED TO DO DAMAGE - by iPOPA

Democrats packed the Indiana State Fairground today for their slating convention. Every seat was full and the walls were lined, which was surprising since the only contested races were for two township offices and a state rep slot. In short, if the Democratic Party is supposed to be on its heels, somebody forgot to tell Marion County.

The voting portion got off to a rousing start when beloved labor leader, Bob Voorhies (the husband of Marion County Recorder Julie Voorhies and the father of state representative candidate Brett Voorhies), rose to make a motion to accept by acclimation a slate of uncontested candidates - Terry Curry for Prosecutor, John Layton for Sheriff, Beth White for Clerk, Julie Voorhies for Recorder, and Billie Breaux for Auditor.

Voorhies punched the air prize-fighter style, which prompted a roar from the crowd, as he told all he was in a battle with stage-four cancer. Voorhies said he would ignore doctors advice and go door-to-door to defeat the GOP.

Former state rep and prosecutor candidate David Orentlicher then delivered a brief "seconding speech," that contained a strong plug for Curry. David O. stepped aside last week and endorsed Curry, which lets you know there are certain privileges to be had if you make nice with the party).

Voting was completed with impressive efficiency and results were known quickly.

By a 39-1 vote, Voorhies won the right to challenge incumbent Republican Phil Hinkle in House District 92, wich covers Wayne and Pike Townships and the town of Speedway, where Brett has been a lifetime resident. Hinkle will have his hands full in November.

In Warren Township, Garland Graves, the former assistant corporation counsel for Mayor Bart Peterson and current Warren Township court administrator, defeated attorney Todd Woodmansee, 48-16.

Graves got a big push from the endorsement of Marion County Clerk Beth White, and his long-term relationships with party folk paid dividends.

Graves said he was extremely humbled by the support he received today, and added that he would employ a grass-roots, door-to-door strategy. Woodmansee promptly congratulated Graves and vowed to support his effort.

The Warren Township race became a two-man fight when incumbent Ricardo Rivera did not file for re-election. Rivera's mother's illness and her subsequent passing last month made it impossible for him to campaign in the way he needed to retain the seat. Our sympathies go out to Judge Rivera.

In Lawrence Township, Judie Conley, the wife of former city-county councilor "King Ro" Conley (who I'm told wants his seat back), defeated political newcomer Jackie Butler, 33-16.

Without impugning the credentials of Graves or Conley, some party folk I spoke with were concerned about lack of enthusiasm and ballot fatigue among African-American voters with all-white township tickets in areas that are increasingly diverse. The fact that Warren Township Trustee Jeff Bennett's victory in 2006 didn't come until a recount challenge would certainly have impressed on folks the need to get voters excited about the township ticket. The same could be said for Lawrence, where my former county party executive director and blogger extraordinaire, Terry Burns, is running for constable.

Consensus among precinct committeepersons todaym though, was that the biggest "problem" was too many good candidates.

Other notes of interest...

Marion County Prosecutor candidate Greg Bowes was on-hand, though he opted not to particate in the slating process. Bowes has stated emphatically that he will stay in the race until the party's primary voters tell him to exit. (Look for a May checkout).

Also on hand was newly-announced Mayoral candidate Ron Gibson. I observed Gibson for a long while, and while he was greeted warmly by a few folks, he also spent a lot of time looking like a man lost in a crowded airport. On one occasion, a lady who was seated waved to a man several rows back. Gibson waved back enthusiastically before realizing the wave was not intended for him. The reception didn't seem to bode well for Gibson's mayoral prospects.

IT REALLY WAS A GRAND OLD PARTY - by Abdul

Whenever I want to gauge the mindset of a political operation, I look for little signs that act as canaries in the coal mine. For the Marion County GOP, it was the slating contest for Indiana House District 99, the seat currently held by Vanessa Summers. There was actually a contest between two candidates to take on an incumbent who won by 88 percent the last time around, and there was only a Libertarian on the ballot against her.

That tells me the local GOP is caught up in the national fever that will make this a tough year for Democrats nationwide. I also spoke to individuals who want to challenge long-time Democratic politicos like Bill Crawford and Greg Porter.

Can they win? Maybe, maybe not, but what it does tell me is that if the GOP is willing to run into such hostile territory, and spend real time, energy and effort it forces the opposition to defend turf it isn't used to defending and it puts a strain on resources that could be used somewhere else. If this strategy sounds familiar it's the same one that was done by the Obama campaign in 2008.

At the top of the ticket, the good news for Republicans is that their precinct committeemen were very excited about the candidacies of Mark Massa for prosecutor and Dennis Fishburn for Sheriff (he beat Bart McAtee and Steve Davis) [Ed. - with 5%) and Carlos May for the 7th District.

In the race for prosecutor, I argue the controversies surrounding Carl Brizzi's exit and Helen Marchal's entrance and sudden exit were actually good for the party. It had held the prosecutor's office for 16 years and was starting to get somewhat complacent. There's nothing like a smack in the back of the head by the winds of political fortune to make you get off your rear and get your act together.

I doubt the Democrats plan to attack Massa as a "puppet of the Governor" will get much traction, as the Governor's approval ratings are at about 70 percent in Indianapolis. Also, unlike Marchal, Massa doesn't have the baggage that comes along with being part of the Brizzi administration. He also gave a speech that was well-received by delegates.

Dennis Fishburn should prove to be an interesting candidate against John Layton. While Layton has the backing of the Sheriff and County party, there are some potential landmines out there which could put his candidacy in a tailspin. Fishburn will mainly have to worry for now if McAtee will use his resources to run against the slate.

For May, running in the 7th is always an uphill battle for Republicans;however, in this climate no one should take anything for granted, nor for a lost cause. It will be interesting to see how May taps into the Latino vote in Marion County and whether that is enough to change any dynamics in an off-year election.

Speaking of minorities, I have covered the last five slating conventions and have never seen one with so many people of color and under 40. It is definitely not your father's Republican party.

Overall, my assessment for the local GOP is that they are energized and ready for battle, which they

Slating Convention Notes

Ron Gibson & A Thing I Hate About Political Parties

Earlier in the week, I noted that former City-County Councillor Ron Gibson (D-At Large, 1999-2007) had more cash-on-hand in his campaign account (a bit over $11,000) than any sitting or any trying-to-be city-county councillor, except Toby McClamroch, Joanne Sanders, and Ike Randolph. In short, I hypothesized that Gibson was in decent shape to try to reclaim his seat.

But the day before yesterday, my man Jim Shella at WISH-TV reported that Gibson will announce on Friday that he is running for Mayor.

My colleague Jon Easter at IndyDemocrat gave a solid overview of Gibson's dreamquest, but I want to amplify it a bit.

Gibson's announced opponents in the Democratic field are Melina Kennedy and Brian Williams. Kennedy had $220,485 cash-on-hand at the end of 2009. Williams had $101,000. They both have been campaigning for a long time now, and they both have campaign apparatuses up and running. Gibson wants some of that?!? (I've e-mailed Ron on Facebook to get his motivation, but I haven't heard back yet).

I doubt any political observers will think he legitimately believes he can win the Democratic nomination. So what is his endgame?

I submit that this is a simple Braveheart maneuver. In that movie, the king's commmanders always offered land to the opposing force before waging battle, even when the odds overwhelmingly favored the king's army. This approach helped the king avoid looking like his kingdom was divided and losing resources he'd need for a bigger battle.

If Gibson runs, he'll elevate his county-wide name ID just by being consistently referred to as a mayoral candidate. City-County Councillor Jose Evans hasn't even announced for mayor, but in most stories about the race or about his activities, he's referenced in that fashion. Assuming no adverse political effects, Gibson's play is smart.

By getting in, Gibson recognizes the possibility that either county party or one of the mayoral candidates will pledge support for him in 2011 in exchange for him stepping aside and delivering the support of whoever he musters to his cause. At least six names are currently floating for at-large on the D side; I anticipate that number will grow. Locking up some slating support certainly wouldn't hurt Gibson's chances.

Now, maybe this is "just politics," but political parties (mostly mine) buy off people too often who try to dance on our stage with promises of future support, jobs, or who knows what else. I hate this because it encourages everybody else to play it the same way. If you have even a handful of influential fans or the ability to scorch some earth, by all means, jump into the field and create distraction! Even if you have no chance at winning, we'll cash in your bargaining chip.

I have no problem with candidates competing for an office at the onset when it's not clear who is going to prevail. What bothers me is when a candidate comes in late in the game who must know he can't win. (Of course, there are people on American Idol who you would assume know they can't sing, but they'll still jump on stage, either because they're delusional or they want some fame, so who knows). In short, at this juncture, Gibson's candidacy feels like prelude to a bartering session.

My advice on this to the party and the other mayoral candidates is this: don't give in. As a guide post, look at how the party has handled Greg Bowes, the Democrat opponent to party favorite for prosecutor, Terry Curry. As of this posting, I can say with almost certainty that Bowes has been offered nothing but the political equivalent of a horse's head in the bed (though I'm not sure what anybody could offer that he would find satisfactory).

My point is that my party and its front-runner candidates need to send a message by not only refusing to barter with the other long-shot, johnny-come-latelies, they need to demolish them politically for diverting party resources when we'll need every dollar to defeat Greg Ballard.

My first thought was that Gibson realized the value of beating City-County Councillor Jose Evans to the punch with his announcement. I confess to being uncertain on this fact, but I believe when Gibson announces on Friday, he'll become the first African-American male to run for Mayor of Indianapolis (African-American woman Z. Mae Jimison - God rest her soul - ran against, and lost to, Steve Goldsmith in 1995). Having an African-American man running would be an event long-delayed for Indiana's most populated city (thank you Unigov!).

Unfortunately, even with racial history up for the making, I doubt this gambit will pay dividends for Gibson. But I'll know more with a level of confidence when I see who is standing with him at his announcement. I'll know for sure if I hear political chatter about a deal that made Gibson go home. Then I'll know another player cashed in on nuisance value.

If that happens, we'll have only one question to ask:

Who's next in line?

Ron Gibson & A Thing I Hate About Political Parties

Randolph Accounts for Account

In response to my post, I received an e-mail message from Ike Randolph stating that all his money is safe and sound, and that there have been no transactions for the 2009 year. He states an amended report is on its way.

That being the case, Randolph's $11,546 represents one of the biggest cash-on-hand money stashes of any sitting City-County Councilor or Councilor contender. Former at-large city-county councillor Ron Gibson has a similarly tidy sum of $11,134.

The only people with more than Randolph and Gibson are both current council members. Democrat Joanne Sanders leads her caucus with $13,993 cash-on-hand, and Toby McClamrock, who has nearly three times the money of anybody else, stands at $36,168. What makes McClamrock's figure all the more astounding is that he hasn't raised money since the Clinton administration. McClamrock raised approximately $90,000 in 1999, and he's been politically trust funding it ever since.

Council President Ryan Vaughn demonstrated fundraising acumen with $16,933 raised in 2009, but all but 3 grand was spent, with four thousand going to Vaughn's senate campaign. What is most interesting is the $1750 and $500 donations Vaughn gave to the GOP of Hamilton and Hendricks counties, respectively, from his City-County Council campaign committee. (Hey, if that helps sell GOP state reps and senators on the a "regional" solution for the CIB, I say send them more of your money, Mr. President).

iPOPA gives respect to Vaughn for donating $250 to Indiana Equality. While many Republicans are obsessed with generating "wedge issue" votes on symbolic issues like a constitutional amendment forbidding gay marriage, Vaughn has the moxy to give to a group fighting that very amendment. If only Vaughn could talk some sense into House Minority Leader, Brian Bosma, and Senate Majority Leader, David Long, maybe we could accomplish something meaningful at the General Assembly.

Randolph Accounts for Account