THE GREAT DEBATE, PART DEUX
My wireless laptop could not get a signal out of the Indiana Historical Building, so I had to switch to old fashion pen and paper instead of live blogging. Overall, both candidates performed well. However, as I gave the first debate to Mayor Bart Peterson, I have this one to Ballard on a technicality. For the first time on TV, Ballard actually looked mayoral. And since he had a longer road to go than Peterson, he won the debate because for all intent and purposes it was a tie, and in baseball the tie goes to the runner.
Both candidates hit the main issues, crime, taxes, spending, etc. And I thought the answers they gave were consistent with responses that were done in the past. I’ll dissect some of the answers tomorrow and Friday but for now, here’s a summary.
Spending
Ballard – He would go after “other services” in the city budget to the tune of $68 million.
Peterson – He cut $63 million in taxes and spending from the budget.
Property Tax Elimination
Peterson – Get the counties other 44 taxing bodies under control and use the state surplus ($1.2 billion) for tax relief.
Ballard – Adopt one of the existing tax elimination plans.
Public Safety Tax
Ballard – The tax increase was a bad idea in light of rising property taxes.
Peterson – The money was needed to fight crime and shore up police and fire pensions.
Abandoned Homes
Peterson – Part of a national problem, but the city has new tools to eliminate them.
Ballard – The number is increasing and we need to speed up the time the city can take the property.
Unelected Taxing Boards
Ballard – Put them all under one control board.
Peterson – Put them all under one control board.
Monroe Gray
Peterson – He’s his own person and his voters will decide his fate.
Ballard – He personifies what is wrong with local government.
Super Bowl
Peterson – He would try to get another one.
Ballard – He would try to get another one.
Biggest Weakness
Peterson – I work too hard.
Ballard – I work too hard.
Schools
Ballard – Create more charter schools and change the education model.
Peterson – Give parents more choice and help IPS.
Indy East Motel
Ballard – It’s the same as the problem with abandoned homes.
Peterson – We’re working to close it down.
Immigration Reform
Both thought this was mainly a federal issue.
Pea Shake Houses
Ballard – Goes to the broken windows theory and quality of life in the city.
Peterson – The city is working to close them down and keep them closed.
I’ll have fact checking for you tomorrow.
