MONDAY MORNING MUSINGS
There are a couple items to report to get the week started and both, in a sense, are related to each other.
First, Mayor Bart Peterson’s campaign has been push-polling over the weekend. I’ve got a number of e-mails from voters who were annoyed at the calls. They say the pollsters talked about Greg Ballard’s lack of political experience and saying that if he got elected he would cut sidewalk repair and other city services. What’s interesting is that the polls seem to be pushing the voters in the other direction. This goes back to my underlying theory that the voters are really angry and there’s not much the Mayor can do about it, except hope they stay home.
Second, on Wednesday, the Indiana Tax Court will hear arguments on the city’s 65 percent tax increase. Attorney John Price says they will argue the tax increase was passed illegally because City-Council member Patrice Abduallah should have never voted because he vacated his seat when he moved out of his district earlier this year. The city argues case law say even when an official is elected improperly they can still serve, however Price says this case is not about elections, but the fact that Abduallah was sitting on the council illegally when the vote was taken. No smart lawyer would ever try to predict what a court would do, but looking at the city’s track record on legal issues (child welfare, violent video games, etc.) I would not be surprised if the tax court came down on the side of the taxpayers.
