A Few Items of Interest
Good News for Independents
There’s good news and bad news for political independents. The good news is the Cook Political Report shows that “independents” (36%) are polling higher than Republicans (29%) and Democrats (30%) and the number of people identifying themselves as “independent, and do not lean toward either party” is up to 18% from 10% in February. Tha”s a pretty significant change. The bad news though is that it also means that nearly 36 % of the population is also not being represented in our government.
City Budget
“Hizzoner” Mayor Bart Peterson announced a couple measures to fill a $10 million budget gap in the city’s budget. The Mayor is spending down some of the city’s fund balances and using money from the commercial vehicle excise tax and pension fund overpayment to pay for public safety. Three million will go towards this year’s budget while $7 million is for next year. The Mayor said he will announce more long-term measures to deal with the city’s financial problems later this year. I give the Mayor high marks for solving the current financial problem without a tax increase or more borrowing. However, I learned a long time ago in politics, that when you’re talking about how broke you are, keep the city employees out of the room unless you absolutely need them. I noticed about two dozen in the back at the news conference. It would have helped if they weren’t there. Just a future note for FYI.
Prayer Suit
House Speaker Brian Bosma gave us an update on the Prayer Lawsuit. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago will hear the case on Thursday. The Speaker also talked about a fund where the public could donate if they wanted to help pay for the suit. If you want a good study of the case law on legislative prayer, I recommend going to www.firstamendmentcenter.org. It’s a good website with a lot of information. A quick glance of some of the current case law from around the country, doesn’t look too good for Indiana. But with a court, you never can tell.
Brizzi Ads
Look for ads from Marion County Prosecutor Republican Carl Brizzi to begin Wednesday. A second set of Melina Kennedy ads, the Democratic challenger, should also be running.
