And the Oscar Goes to…
After taking Wednesday to get some overdue sleep, I thumbed threw my legislative notes and audio clips and have decided to scribble down a few thoughts on this past legislative session. However, instead of doing the traditional analytical piece, the actor in me decided to do things in the spirit of the Academy Awards. I call them the LAAWS (Legislative Academy Awards) I made the pics based on my primary observation that Major Moves was the most important piece of legislations this session. Feel free to offer up your own…
Best Lawmaker — Governor Mitch Daniels. Once again Mitch managed to get his project Major Moves and make change in Indiana. This will have political and economic implications for the long haul. Now it’s time for INDOT to deliver.
Best Supporting Lawmaker — Sen. Glen Howard. Glen was the first Statehouse Democrat to support Major moves. He put his community and jobs before politics.
Best House Member — Randy Borror. This guy from Ft. Wayne carried the water and made sure Major Moves got through the House.
Best State Senator — Robert Meeks. Meeks said negotiating Major Moves was like herding cats. He was right and managed to herd enough, with two Democrats votes.
Best Local Official — Jonathan Weinzapfel. The Evansville Democratic Mayor was a big supporter of Major Moves and I-69 expansion.
Best Bill That Did Not Become Law — The Brian Bosma/Bart Peterson version of fire consolidation should have been passed. Better luck next year.
Best Bill That Did Become Law — Major Moves.
Best Legislative Moment — The last day of session verbal exchange between House Speaker Brian Bosma and Democratic Leader Pat Bauer. It made the front page of the Indianapolis Star. It was priceless.
Best Missed Opportunity — The State Senate’s failure to give up its health care benefit. This will come back to bite several people in the rear end.
Most Stupid Legislative Moment — House Republicans introduction of a Right to Work Bill. Not one of the great moves of the 21st Century.
Best Legislative Blog(ger) — Brian Howey of the Howey Political Report. Brian kept an eagle eye view of the legislature while also getting into the grit and details of the process from a number of perspectives.
Best Legislative Correspondent — Mike Smith, Associated Press. Without Mike, a lot of news organizations across Indiana would have been out of luck. We depended on his work a number of times.
Best True Believer — State Sen. Mike Delph. We don’t agree on the cultural issues, but Mike is a person of integrity and you can trust him.
Tomorrow: Some advice for my friends in Indianpolis Mayor Bart Peterson’s office.
