Here Comes the Race Card…
Normally I leave town Friday afternoons and go back to Illinois to play and relax. Not this time. I spent a good chunk of my time on the 9th floor of One North Capitol at the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute attending the hearing that resulted in the termination of Executive Director Heather Bolejack and Deputy Director Kate Gullans. The two were dismissed for alleged improprieties including issuing no-bid contracts and travel voucher discrepancies.
Although the Inspector General’s report hasn’t been made public yet, that hasn’t stopped the race card from being played. Bolejack made statements in Saturday’s Indianapolis Star that she was targeted because of race. I’m not kidding. Already an Indianapolis talk show host (who has no clue by the way as was apparent when he showed up at the Governor’s press conference Friday) has alluded that race is playing a role in the firing. And Democratic strategist Ann Delany, I’m told, made similar hints on Indiana Week in Review.
If this is the way this debate is going to go, it’s unfortunate. Injecting race into the issue does more harm than good. And it also usually means that you have nothing left to go on. And it does more harm than good in the long run, because people who have a legitimate issue regarding race are taken less seriously down the road. As an attorney I strongly believe Heather is entitled to due process and should have a fair day in court. To argue race does her a disservice. If anything the Daniels’ administration is very sensitive to the fact there are not enough minorities in leadership positions in state government and is stepping up their efforts for outreach.
To play the race card is unfortunate and also uncalled for.
