Indianapolis

Mayor Peterson outlines how Daniels is going to screw Indy

Very interesting article in the Indianapolis Business Journal with outgoing Mayor Bart Peterson, and how Indianapolis is going to get screwed with Daniel’s proposed property tax reform.

IBJ: The Legislature is preparing to substantially reform Indiana’s property tax system. Lots of Indianapolis residents are very concerned about their property taxes. They want to see them reduced and permanently stabilized. What can the mayor do specifically, as opposed to the Legislature or other officials, about that problem?

Peterson: There’s only a limited amount that the mayor can do. You control the property-tax-supported spending that the City-County government engages in. But you can see how limited that authority is by the fact that property taxes in 2008—our last budget—the city property taxes that I’ve had responsibility for are actually going to be lower than when I took office. And yet, of course, property tax bills have skyrocketed.

One of the key things to keep an eye on in property tax reform is how are the interests of the cities being taken into account? Property tax payers have to be the number one concern, and they will be. I’m confident of that. Property tax payers will be winners in this restructuring. The question is what condition are Indiana’s cities going to be left in after it’s all over?

One of my highest priorities, had I been re-elected, would have been to be an advocate for Indianapolis and Marion County in that debate. An advocate without a vote, but nonetheless an advocate. I don’t think there’s anything more important to the future of Indianapolis than making sure that we have enough money to have excellent public safety, that we have enough money to be able to run local government. Because local government is the level of government that most touches people’s lives.

IBJ: You repeatedly trimmed local budgets that you controlled for the city and county. If Gov. Mitch Daniels’ property tax plan goes through as proposed, it would eliminate an estimated $100 million in local revenues. If a city the size of Indianapolis is forced to make that substantial a cut, or to increase its income taxes equivalently in response, what will be the result?

Peterson: The answer I just gave deals partially with that, in saying I think that’s an example of how, with taxpayers being the winners, as they should be, there’s got to be somebody who’s a loser. And it seems pretty clear that’s going to be the cities.

You’re not going to find $100 million of fat in the city and county budget. If the city of Indianapolis and Marion County have to cut $100 million in spending, believe me, people will feel it. This won’t be the city we want it to be if the city has to lay off police officers, close parks, not pave streets or build sidewalks, all those basic services that city government provides. That needs to be understood and taken into account in the upcoming debate.

Continue ReadingMayor Peterson outlines how Daniels is going to screw Indy

links for 2007-12-29

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Julia Carson’s replacement should be LGBT Friendly

This is really disturbing – one of the names being discussed as a possibility for Julia Carson’s office by the Democrats is Indiana State Representative Carolene Mays, who voted in favor of SJR-7, the amendment to ban equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. More from Jerame Davis on Bilerico:

The passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson has left a gaping hole in Indiana political life. Julia Carson was a great leader and a strong progressive voice. As we consider her replacement, we should not forget the legacy Julia left and who can best live up to the service she provided and the strong support she gave to the LGBT community.

The winner of the special election to fill her remaining term will likely win the seat in the November general election and go on to serve a full term in Congress. This is not a decision to take lightly. Of the names coming forward as likely replacements, one in particular should infuriate LGBT voters in the 7th District.

Carolene Mays is no Julia Carson. She doesn’t even deserve the honor of being named among the possibilities to replace her and it is a disgrace to think she could live up to the job.

On paper, Carolene Mays looks like the perfect replacement for Julia. Mays is the president and publisher of the Indianapolis Recorder, the paper of record for the African-American community in Indianapolis. She is a 3 term Indiana State Representative. She serves (or has served) on numerous non-profit and foundation boards. She’s won numerous awards for service and she’s even a member of the same church Julia attended.

The area she falls most short of Julia is her support of LGBT Hoosiers. As a State Representative, Carolene Mays voted in favor of SJR-7, the Indiana Constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Mays has never disavowed her support of the marriage amendment – an amendment Julia spoke against often – and she has shown no indication she would change her vote if it came before her again.

Carolene Mays is no Julia Carson. Either she’s a shameful political opportunist, who worried more about her political skin than the rights of LGBT citizens or she is a true believer in discrimination against LGBT Hoosiers. Either way, she pales in comparison to the Julia I knew.

We could count on Julia to stand up for us; there was no question. She was a regular presence at our Pride festivals. She’s been lionized by the Stonewall Democrats. She was instrumental in helping Indianapolis move forward with an inclusive human rights law. She voted against DOMA. She supported ENDA.

We cannot count on Carolene Mays for any of these things.

Julia was usually right and stood up for her beliefs. She voted against the war and spoke against both the war and George W. Bush long before it was popular to do so. Her funeral was a panoply of leaders and dignitaries who spoke of the fire and determination Julia had for her issues and her constituents.

If Carolene Mays will kowtow to the religious right over something as non-critical as gay marriage, how can we count on her to make the right decisions when it comes to war and peace or life and death?

Continue ReadingJulia Carson’s replacement should be LGBT Friendly

links for 2007-12-28

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Indianapolis

There are times when I love living in Indianapolis. And there are times when I can’t imagine why I didn’t leave on the few occasions that I’ve considered it and looked around at other places to live.
I find myself feeling the second emotion after reading the IndyStar’s talkback forums regarding Congresswoman Julia Carson’s recent announcement that she has terminal lung cancer.
Sadly, Indianapolis is home to some truly vile and disgusting people.

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My Comments on other’s stuff….

My reply to Richard Prince’s column on Rishawn Biddle, on the Maynard Institute website. The column was being discussed in the forums.

If a white male writer in Indianapolis had written what Rishawn wrote he would have been fired, and probably a lot more quickly than Rishawn was.
What he wrote wasn’t edgy or even necessarily correct, especially in some of the original, non-cleaned up versions of the blog post which are floating around on the web. He actually revised it repeatedly and only in the fourth version did it have somewhat of a point; the originals were offensive beyond measure.
An African-American city-county council president is under investigation for ethics violations, but the end of that investigation is by no means a foregone conclusion, even though the local right-wing blogosphere has tried and convicted him repeatedly in volatile rants laced with racial epithets, all of which have little to do with the actual supposed violations and everything to do with trying to break down the democratic power base of Indianapolis’ urban townships.
Rishawn got caught up in the noise of Indy’s politically-charged, shoot from the hip blog world, and forgot he worked for a newspaper that has actual fact-checking standards and ethical requirements.
The Indy Star’s reader’s forums have repeatedly been criticized on a national level for being full of racially charged, borderline KKK rants, and the newspaper has been under scrutiny both by their corporate offices and by national journalism standards boards for it, so it’s not surprising that they were sensitive enough to the issue to go to pinks slips quickly.

Continue ReadingMy Comments on other’s stuff….