Some Inide Scoop…
There were a lot of little things going on yesterday. Here they are…
Police Merger Suit?
I’m told that a number of Marion County sheriff’s deputies are mad as hell over Sheriff Frank Anderson offering early retirement to some of the higher ups in his department and allowing them to retire with their salary based on their last three years of service as opposed to five. I’m told litigation may be filed soon to block the pension plan. The officers believe it will force them to make bigger contributions to the pension fund and place in financial jeopardy down the road.
Civil War or Civil Disobedience?
I mentioned yesterday how there may be a civil war brewing the Marion County Republican Party. That blurb stirred quite a few phone calls and e-mails. Upon closer investigation what occurred was the head of MCGOP, Mike Bieberstine filed challenges to filing petitions of about a dozen precinct committeemen in Lawrence Township. Apparently the committeemen, many of whom had ties to former Lawrence Mayor Tom Schneider, did not live in the precincts they filed in, which is necessary under Indiana election law. However, since Bieberstine does not live in Lawrence he could not challenge the filings, so the committeemen got to stay. However that could not stop someone from filing a lawsuit later and having the committeemen removed later. I spoke to Bieberstine yesterday and asked why would the head of the local GOP try to remove his fellow Republicans from the ballot? His response was that he wanted everything to be above board and these guys, in his opinion, were circumventing the process and he wanted to keep everyone honest. Good luck, Mike.
Brainard on Regionalism
Although Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and I have had our differences in the past, I have to give credit where it is due. In a speech to downtown Indianapolis Republicans, Brainard said that a regional transportation system will be crucial to the area. He also said and elevated system may be the way to go. He said while it would be the most expensive to build it would be the cheapest to maintain. He also said as the region continues to grow, expand and become inter-connected, it will take regional solutions to address the areas needs. I agree whole heartedly.
Brizzi and Bucks
I poked my head in Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi’s fundraiser last night at St. Elmo’s. A decent crowd and they raised nearly $350,000. They’re going to need every penny of this race is going to be as intense as everyone thinks it will be.
Mitch and Heineken
The Governor was also at Brizzi’s event. I noticed his beverage of choice was “Heineken.” I jokingly asked him if it was ironic that while fighting to lease the toll road to a Spanish-Australian conglomerate, he’d drink a Dutch beer. The Governor joked back, “Abdul, it’s a global economy.”
