Local Democrats Display Uncivilized Behavior At Redistricting Meeting

Democrat Party Chairman Dan Combs and local Democrat activist Don Moore provided another unbecoming display at the recent redistricting organizational meeting. What people witnessed was the epitome of incivility. During the meeting Democrat Party Chairman Dan Combs was disruptive by attempting to talk over local resident John Newlin while he attempted to speak on behalf of the redistricting process. Mr. Newlin was interrupted several times before he turned to Mr. Combs and asked him to refrain from his interruptions since he was previously allowed the opportunity to speak without interruptions. After the meeting ended Don Moore resorted to finger pointing and harsh words for Libertarian Party Leader Margaret Fette, he took opposition with her for calling the current districts gerrymandered. In an obnoxious and demeaning outburst Moore accused Mrs. Fette and her Libertarian Party of being “insignificant” in our community. The Democrat Party Leadership has once again shown their ugly side by utilizing an intimidating shout down tactic that has worked well for them in the past. Ironically this type of amateurish and childish behavior is from the same group that claims to want civility to resonate throughout the county.

Interestingly enough the Herald Times failed to report either of these incidents in their coverage of the meeting. Kurt Van der Dussen wrote the article, which reportedly was not seen in attendance at the meeting. Since the meeting was not televised someone that was not given credit in the article must have covered it. Instead of balancing the articles’ content by highlighting Mr. Newlin’s support for redistricting Mr. Van der Dussen reported the partisan opposition of Democrat activist Scott Wells. Van der Dussen did however include County attorney David Schilling’s response to Dan Combs’ accusations that the Republicans were "trying to cram this in before the end of the year". Schilling pointed out that back in 2001 the county redistricting panel, which the former Democrat-controlled commissioners had appointed, squeezed its entire process into October and November of that year adding that was less time than the current committee will have. Again Combs’ has proven his total disregard for the facts by throwing out these baseless and unfounded allegations against this legal and necessary process.

The tactics by the Democrat Party is increasingly disenchanting citizens of Monroe County. Their win at any cost philosophy seems to always resort to this type of manipulative brainwashing. They don’t want fairness they want it all and that includes every elected office at every level at any cost. They talk of bipartisanship but they don’t play the part that is unless they happen to be in minority. The voting public deserves redistricting because redistricting will clean up the boundaries; make them more compact and more equal in population. I am hopeful the Republican Party’s proposal will better comply with the law and furthermore, if its done correctly, it will be difficult to improve upon until the next US Census in 2010. With the revised voting districts and the new voter identification laws that will be in place by the next election I am hopeful the citizens of Monroe County will be able to appreciate the hard work that has went into making the 2006 election, what some have suggested, to be the first fair election in Monroe County in years. We will all be able to take comfort in knowing the phrase one person; one vote will truly mean something. Hopefully the disruptive tactics by a handful of local Democrats will be seen for what they really are, insulting.

Just Like A Trip To Disney World, County's Budget Is Goofy!

Rarely do I agree with the Herald Times’ editorials but hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. In the Tuesday, August 23, 2005 editorial labeled “County council’s funding priorities are questionable” the editorial staff has finally provided local citizens something worth reading. They outlined the high points or should I say the low points of the County Council’s budget process in which the Democrat majority made good on its promises to increase funding for all of the social service agencies that are on their pet list. Anyone with even a minimal amount of financial reasoning should have been able to recognize the dilemma the Council was faced with, a substantial increase in the cost of doing business with only a slight increase in overall funding.

The fiscally responsible and prudent thing to do would be to provide funding for only the most basic of necessities and then if anything was left over, which there wasn’t, divvy it up accordingly. What this Council did was just the opposite, they started with increases in several social services providers and then worked their way backwards by making cuts in other areas that include some of the most basic areas of local government, like fuel money. The Democrats on the Council think the average person doesn’t understand the budget process well enough to understand what they have done, hopefully most people are smarter than they give them credit for. What they have done is balance their irresponsible budget with cash reserves, money that was prudently put aside by former Auditor Barbara Clark. Money that is required to run our County government until the next dispersement from the State arrives. Money that once it’s gone it’s really gone.

This ideology is similar to the average family spending money they don’t have on some discretionary item like “they’re annual trek to Disney World”. Lets say as an example this family has in years past saved the money and was able to make the trip without going into debt. However this year because of expenses beyond their control they were not able to put aside any money. All the while knowing they don’t have the money to cover the expense they go ahead and put the entire trip on a credit card thinking they’ll pay it off with future income. However their income doesn’t go up, as a matter of fact their income doesn’t even keep up with inflation thus resulting in the family having to borrow money just to make ends meet. This is all just basic Economics 101, a lesson most of the members of this County Council obviously missed.

The lesson that we will all learn from their action is next year as expenses exceed budgets for basic items like fuel the Council will be confronted by department heads requesting “additional appropriations” and they will have no choice but to borrow money to fund them. They’ll pontificate on how they don’t have a choice because of increases that are beyond their control but remember they did have a choice and they choose to ignore the facts. Bottom line, with their irresponsible actions the Democrats on the Council have once again proven they really don’t care how high you taxes go. Sometimes government is just like Disney World, just plain Goofy!

League of Women Voters Letting Their Partisanship Show

A recent letter to the editor in the Herald Times by Patricia K. Harris, President of the League of Women Voters opposing the County Commissioners plan to redistrict goes way beyond non-partisan advocacy. Rather than remaining objective and unbiased about the redistricting process Ms. Harris’ letter positions the local League staunchly in the corner of the Democrat Party. Taking a position so early in the redistricting process proves without a doubt that Ms. Harris has strong leanings toward the Democrat Party and further solidifies the GOP’s concerns about liberal manipulation of this organization. For the last several years it has been widely rumored that the Monroe County Chapter of the League of Women Voters has been under the control of people with strong ties to the Democrat Party. By taking a biased and slanted position on redistricting Ms. Harris has only further damaged the reputation of the local chapter and provides yet another strong reason for the Republican Party to boycott any future League sponsored events or publications.

For year’s Republican candidates have been faced with a dilemma, confront an all Democrat panel at the League’s pre-election forums with questions and topics that are going to be aligned with liberal ideologies or boycott and be labeled with “no response”. Past League sponsored forums have completely avoided important issues that affect our community by grossly limiting engaged conversation thus evading topics that are not on their liberal agenda.

Until there is some resolution to the Leagues partisan behavior local voters should not put much stock in their viewpoints or processes they utilize to disseminate information. Like most organizations the League is open to anyone that wants to join however when a group of likeminded individuals take control of an organization it looses its ability to remain an unbiased source of information and unfortunately this is what has occurred locally. If the League were concerned about the perception of bias, they would take steps to correct these problems. Don’t expect change anytime soon however as it appears they are quite satisfied with the existing arrangement, all the while utilizing the League of Women Voters’ reputation to add validity to their biased duplicity. Regardless of the make up of their total membership, this problem will remain until the local chapter decides to end this charade by appointing committees that are representative of all three parties. You should let the national office of the League know how a few people with a very narrow agenda are manipulating the local chapter. The link is as follows: www.lwv.org/forms/contactus.cfm

Local Environmentalist Are Inconsistent

At the Monroe County Plan Commission meeting last Tuesday night the usual group of eco friendly activists provided the Plan Commission with letters of opposition to the Shawnee Bluffs project on Lake Monroe. Even the League of Women Voters weighed in with a letter of opposition. The environmentalist all claim to want to protect this area, an area they have described as sensitive and fragile, which boarders Bloomington’s water source. The focal point of their argument is basically any development on the Shawnee Bluffs site will directly lead to the demise of our drinking water. Not necessarily true but certainly an effective talking point. Similar projects have also drawn a lot of attention but typically they have focused on the removal of trees. All of these concerns are certainly valid and merit the close attention of every citizen.

What I found interesting was at this same meeting another petition was heard and passed without even a mention of the destruction of nearly 19 acres of what has been described by the owner as “mature hardwood trees”. The Shaw petition includes almost 26 acres bordered by the sprawling North Park development and the new section of highway 46. This tree-covered site includes a meandering stream that cuts through it and is a natural habitat for several varieties of wildlife and plant varieties. The Shaw’s proposal included a preservation clause that would allow 25% of the sites trees and green space to remain undeveloped. Their hopes for this site include some type of office complex.

What is interesting to me about this proposal is the inconsistency of the people that call themselves environmentalists. I have witnessed discussions that seemed to have gone on forever about projects that posed a threat to our eco system because of the removal of too many mature trees. During the discussion of the Shaw project Democrat Plan Commission member, Sophia Travis, commented it was a “model project”, one that will hopefully be used as an example and followed by others in the future. Deforesting 19 of the 26 acres of mature hardwoods is her idea of a “model project”? Another Democrat Plan Commission Member, Kevin Enright who on more than one occasion has argued over the destruction of trees in excess of eleven inches in diameter, never uttered a word. Were they so focused on their opposition to the Shawnee Bluffs project that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees?

Even when projects seem to follow all of the applicable ordinances to the letter there are always a few that seem to oppose trees being cut down. What I want to know is what happened to them? This type of inconsistency has got to drive developers crazy. I can’t help but remember when the existing Walmart site was proposed a few years back, people lined up to talk for hours about the removal of trees, the displacement of toads and destruction of indigenous snails. It seems to me that these groups are not as concerned about the protection of our environment as they are using the environment as the basis for their arguments to oppose certain projects. If these people were truly concerned about our local environment they would have surely provided some opposition to the Shaw petition. The message is loud and clear, next time a developer wants to clear trees to make way for a new development they need to remember Shaw petition, the new standard of excellence for development in Monroe County.

Mayor's Slush Fund

There are several line items of note in the City of Bloomington’s proposed 2006 budget. One that is literally squealing of pork is Fund #3970 Mayor’s Promotion of Business. In 2004 the budget was $8,200, in 2005 the budget was increased by a whopping 1800% to $155,500. In 2006 the proposed amount is $198,000, a 2300% increase from just two years ago. It’s up another 27% over last year. This is on top of another $399,000 that is budgeted for economic development. Some have suggested the Mayor’s fund will finally have the accountability of the Mayor’s office behind it, suggesting groups like the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation are not accountable. The Mayor, Democrat City Council Members and other Democrat leaders have had an ongoing feud over funding for the BEDC. They have long argued that they were more qualified to distribute the money themselves rather than giving the money to people that really understand how businesses works and letting them utilize it to bring real results. Interestingly enough they never gave anywhere close to that amount to the BEDC.

This accountability double talk may satisfy those with only a partially functioning brain but it certainly should raise some eyebrows on everyone else. This increased funding will go to an administration that has done more to discourage businesses from coming to our city than any in recent history. Between the two funds, what in the world are they planning on spending almost six hundred thousand dollars on? It is inconceivable that any elected official would approve this type of increase however it is with almost certainty that they will. This money is nothing more than a slush fund that will end up being spent at the Mayor’s discretion all the while excess levy’s are necessary to give our city employee’s a raise. It is shameful what these Democrats are being allowed to do in the name of economic development. The duplicity in the marketing of this budget as responsible or even close to reasonable should fall under the category of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

"The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling"

The citizens of Monroe County are constantly being bombarded with major concerns that affect the quality of life in our community. The most recent concern that has been raised by the City of Bloomington involves the capacity of our water treatment facility on Lake Monroe. Information was released last week that indicated that our plant was operating at near capacity with an equivalent of a 23.5 million gallon per day demand over a four-hour period. The plants capacity is 24 million gallons per day. Obviously this summer’s heat index has taken its toll on water usage as we have experienced an unusual number of days above 90 degrees. In January of 2003 a report provided by the brain trust at the City of Bloomington Utilities Department indicated that Bloomington’s capacity would be surpassed by consumption in the year 2010. These are the same people that have been in charge of the recent $14 million upgrade that has been plagued with cost overruns.

Systematically we have heard from the City of Bloomington that we are lacking in various fundamental infrastructures including both sewer and water capacity. This message goes hand in glove with the Democrat’s strategy to limit growth in Monroe County. The City Utilities Board has requested capacity and usage documents to determine the actual limitations of our utilities capacity but to date no reports of any significance have been produced. It is questionable why the Utilities Board would approve a $14 million upgrade and improvement plan for the Lake Monroe water treatment facility without at least considering the need for increased capacity. The only rational could be they didn’t have sufficient information to make the decision, which has historically been the case.

With so many serious concerns facing our elected officials the least of which is being able to provide adequate sanitary sewer and water treatment capacity, why do they continually flirt with disaster by wasting time on less important and sometimes even foolish projects. A 2003 study provided by the consulting company of Black & Veatch indicated that a project to add additional water treatment capacity should be underway by 2006, going online in 2008. Why have they ignored this information? It simply does not make sense that we can allocate and spend tens of millions of dollars for the purchase of land and development of projects like rails to trails and yet not be able to provide an adequate supply of clean drinking water to our community. Coining and old line from the movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” If we had rational thinking individuals on the City Council they would be incensed by the mere thought of not being able to provide adequate utilities to their constituents. A simple and yet basic requirement of any governmental entity is to provide these most fundamental necessities.

Do we really have a sewer treatment capacity problem? Do we really have a water treatment capacity problem? Where is the documentation to support these claims? If we really do have these problems our elected officials are not doing their job in properly anticipating the needs of the community. The citizens of Monroe County should be demanding an independent audit of the City of Bloomington Utilities Department. Secondly, it’s never to early for the citizens of Monroe County to be gearing up to raise the money to clean house in the 2007 city elections, if not, just expect more of the same.

Duplication Would Waste Tax Dollars

Interestingly enough the citizens of Monroe County are being faced with proposals from two fire protection agencies for training facilities. One proposal comes from Bloomington Township fire department located on old State Road 37 North. Research indicates that Bloomington Township initiated its plan to build a training facility two years ago with a $400,000 proposed a budget. Apparently, at that time Jeff Barlow Bloomington’s Fire Chief was on board with the concept of a joint training facility and efforts to build the facility progressed accordingly. The 2006 City of Bloomington’s proposed budget contains $350,000 funding for a training facility, a one hundred and eighty degree turn around compared to just two years ago.

When questioned why there is a need for the City to build its own training facility Chief Barlow indicated the Townships’ old State Road 37 location is to far out and would not allow for adequate response time in the event of an emergency call. This assumption is based on the proximity of the City’s five fire stations located around the city and an ideal response time of four minutes. The logic being if one of the five stations crews were in training at the old State Road 37 North’s facility, their response time to an emergency call would be at least eight minutes which is unacceptable by current standards.

Grants are always utilized to build this type of public project and in this instance it’s no different. A current proposal by Governor Daniels’ administration suggests building ten regional training facilities across the state instead of funding several smaller facilities thus eliminating duplication and wasted resources. The City’s proposal raises several unanswered questions. Did the City of Bloomington decide to get into the fire training business before or after the regional training proposal was announced? Since fireman are constantly undergoing specialty training in locations in and out of state, why is the proximity of Old State Road 37 suddenly a problem? Is it really necessary to send an entire fire stations crew to train at the same time thus leaving that station empty during a training exercise? Regardless of where the training facility is located if a crew is engaged in a training exercise with a majority of the trucks hoses and gear unloaded is Chief Barlow suggesting that his firefighters can pack up and still respond to a call in less than four minutes? Shouldn’t the other four stations be able to cover while one is in training?

It would appear the City of Bloomington’s proposal is based on the concept that tax money is unlimited. The City’s 2006 budget includes several wish list items that bear no resemblance to reality. Building two training facilities in the same county is not responsible use of our tax dollars. Furthermore since Bloomington Township is already two years into a four-year $400,000 plan and it already owns the ground the facility is being built on it would appear the City of Bloomington’s proposal is too little, too late. The City’s 2006 budget includes $350,000 however, my guess is by the time the City purchases property and builds a facility it will cost well in excess of two million dollars. Additional cost would be borne by the taxpayers to staff the facility all the while the Bloomington Township’s facility is being staffed by existing personnel. It appears this budget item will sail right on through the process but it is once again proof that our current administration and several of our elected officials are out of touch with reality.

Democrat Chairman Embarrasses Himself and Party

Democrat Party Chairman Dan Combs was on the AM1370 call in radio show this afternoon attempting to justify why his party has vilified the redistricting process. Several listeners called in and posed questions to the Chairman of which he either couldn’t answer or talked in rhetorical circles until he was off the point. The listening audience was left with the impression that the only reason the Democrats are opposing redistricting is because they’re not the ones in control of the process. On a couple of occasions Combs was left speechless until he retreated to an arrogant and demeaning dismissal of the caller’s question. You could almost hear him squirming in his seat when one caller asked him why Mayor Mark Kruzan is opposed to the redistricting process proposed by the GOP when he was involved in writing the very amendments to the Indiana Code that allow this redistricting to occur.

On more than one occasion Mr. Combs provided the listeners with his typical Democrat partisan rhetoric that the redistricting would disenfranchise voters. Even host Daryl Neher had problems with that statement. Combs shared his foresight that if the Republicans go through with the redistricting it would lead to a windfall for his Party in the next election. He also threatened that if the GOP goes through with their plans the citizens of Monroe County would be subjected to redistricting again as a retaliatory measure as soon as they took control of the Commissioners office. This threat is once again proof that Democrats will stoop to any level to maintain the upper hand, legally or otherwise. Combs loves to rouse his Party and he played it like a broken record by once again indicating the GOP's actions have motivated his Party better than any speech he could have written. These lame and desperate talking points are getting old as they continually pull them out of the drawer like an old sweater. Combs continues to lay false accusations about secrecy by the GOP, this too is getting old but it does show proof that he must still be stinging over the Brian O’Neil “Busted” mailer where the Democrats got caught secretly attempting to push through an increase in the County Option Income Tax. That debacle cost them dearly by eventually leading up to the Commissioners office falling into the GOP’s control.

Discussions with individuals from both parties have indicated this recent action is nothing more than a smoke screen by the Democrats and they further indicate that people are becoming increasingly suspicious of these desperate allegations. I will agree with Mr. Combs the voters are being disenfranchised; only it is the Democrat leadership that is leading the charge by landing these disparaging claims against the GOP. Voters are becoming increasingly discouraged by these partisan gang wars and are growing weary of the ongoing personal attacks and baseless allegations by the Democratic leadership. As the Democrats continue their maligned diatribe the GOP can present their case for redistricting in the appropriate fashion at the appropriate time and allow the Democrats to fully embarrass them selves in the process.

Redistricting Has Local Democrats Running Scared

Local Democrats are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Republican Party for their attempt to clean up the gerrymandered district maps the Democrats drew up when they were in control of the Commissioners office in 2001. It doesn’t take anyone very long to grasp the term of gerrymandering when they look at the present district maps. As an example take District 4, it was created by taking a little wedge from the center of the county north from Bloomington all the way out to take in the far reaches of the northwest corner of the county which includes Stinesville. The county was sliced and diced into districts that would give Democrats a distinct advantage in three of the four district races. The Democrats consolidated the areas they were weak in and gave up District 3 where Marty Hawk has had a cake walk during past elections.

Democrat Party Chairman Dan Combs was at the Commissioners meeting last Friday to stir the pot by claiming that not enough public input or notice was given along with taking the opportunity to take a variety of partisan shots at Commissioners Poling and Kilmer as well as the rest of the Republican Party. Unfortunately no one from the Republican Party was there to provide a balanced viewpoint on why this action is necessary. Without even being given the opportunity to present its case the Republican’s plan to redistrict was shot down by County Clerk Jim Fielder and Councilwoman Marty Hawk. I’m sure Fielder’s concerns center around the work that redistricting will cause his office to develop voting boundaries, records and voting locations in the upcoming elections. Marty Hawk’s opposition to redistricting is understandable and rather self-serving; she is in a district that is heavily Republican, possibly as much as 65%, and who wouldn’t want to run under those conditions? The idea of her being pitted against Mark Stoops, if they were both to seek re-election, would be very interesting. If the newly redrawn lines of District 3 included parts of both of they’re districts, which would include the northern part of the county, it would appear the district would still remain safely in favor of a good GOP challenger.

Obviously the purpose in redistricting is to balance out Districts 1, 3 and 4 and clean up the boundary lines in the process. Spending any time on District 2, which includes all of downtown Bloomington, a heavily Democrat district, would be a waste of time. Many questions should be brought up like, why does District 3 extend from Richland Township on the northwest corner of the county to Polk Township on the southeast corner of the county? Another question that plagues the old maps is what do the residents from the north side of Bloomington have to do with residents of Stinesville, they are not even in the same school district?

When the Democrats oppose something this much you can bet the Republicans have struck a very sensitive nerve, something that is certainly worth exploring further. Its also interesting that when the Republicans start using the same tactics the Democrats have used for years the Democrat Party leaders cry foul. Finally it would seem the GOP has learned that you can’t play fair with the opposition and the only way to beat them is to beat them at their own game. The GOP might get their knuckles bloody in the process but the end result will be for the better. Hopefully our Commissioners will stay the course and not submit to pressure from the left.

HT's Community Columnists Are Too Biased

In the August 4, 2005 addition of the Herald Times Michael Wilkerson, Community Columnist, provided another daily dose of biased and politically slanted rhetoric labeled “2004 Exit Polls Ask: Do We Still Have A Democracy”. The basis of his commentary was to once again insinuate that elections were stolen including that of the President and the 8th and 9th District Congressional Races. It is really getting old reading the same recycled talking points over and over again as it seems at least once a week the newspaper prints a column by a “Community Columnist” that allows them a platform to dispense their partisan doubletalk. This along with a continual barrage of letters to the editor provides the reading public with a controlled view from the liberal kaleidoscope. This organized and relentless effort is done solely to paint a negative image of our duly elected officials to the uninformed public. Their strategy evolves from the concept that if you throw enough mud some of it is likely to stick.

By indoctrinating the uninformed with a short list of talking points in various medias all without the fear of opposing viewpoints it is easy to see how these uninformed citizens evolve into nothing more than puppet voters. This psychological technique works best when used with negative stimulus. As an example, mention something good about someone and it is usually forgotten within the same day. Conversely, mention something bad about someone and it is locked into memory for weeks if not months. The same holds true for complainers. People are much more likely to complain than to praise. We allow this process to continue because we find ourselves in the group that rarely applies praise. You’ve all heard the reasons why not to get involved, I’m not a good writer, I'm too busy to get involved or it takes too much time. Obviously the liberal opposition in our community has overcome these concerns.

Start today; write something good about our President, and our Congressmen from the 8th and 9th Districts. Every time you read one negative letter see that two positive letters go to the editor and beat them at their own game. Unfortunately we only have one local newspaper, don’t concede without a fight. You should also take the time to email or write the newspaper and let them know how you feel about these politically biased Community Columnists. You can also email Mr. Wilkerson at wilkers@indiana.edu and inform him that you didn’t care for his column and you don’t share in his opinions. Let Mr. Wilkerson know that whether he likes the label or not, any Democrat that keeps beating the same old drum, as he says, is a "Sore Loserman".

Pierce Needs Some Cheese To Go With His Whine

It’s laughable that Representative Matt Pierce, Democrat from Bloomington, feels compelled to complain about censorship by the Republican Party when the system was just fine albeit when the Democrats had control. Just because Representative Pierce and others in his Party have utilized these taxpayer-funded newsletters to politicize issues to their constituent base for years doesn’t mean the practice is going to continue. Pierce has laid claims that House Republicans heavily edited Democrats’ mailings to their constituents and were “particularly sensitive about any kind of text explaining Republican cuts in education funding and how the new voter ID law will block many people from voting”. Why would the Republicans want to edit the Democrats talking points, because there not true or factual, there just opinions.

When asked about Representative Pierce’s claim, House Speaker Brian Bosma indicated that Pierce is the only member of the House Democratic Caucus and the full House who refuses to comply with a system the Democrats themselves initiated when they ran the House. Bosma went on to say “It is unfortunate that Representative Matt Pierce is unwilling to follow standard House procedure regarding taxpayer-funded mailings,” a procedure that applies to both parties’ mailings. “When language is questioned by either caucus and then proven not to be factual, is inaccurate, or is overly political, staff from each caucus works together to correct the language and reach a compromise that is factual and mutually acceptable,” he stated. “This policy has been agreed upon by both House Republican and House Democrat leadership".

I’m glad that House Speaker Bosma has insisted that Representative Pierce comply with the rules, as we all know he has utilized this technique for far too long. I don’t want my tax money dollars going toward publicizing politician’s opinions or their efforts to sway mine; just give me the facts. Let them spend their own money if they want to campaign. This political posturing by Pierce is an embarrassment to not only to himself but also to his party and it’s very unfortunate that he felt compelled to take this frivolous complaint public.