Political Potpourri
Now that we’ve cleared the Indiana Black Expo hurdle, I can post about some other things that have been going on. So here is all the gossip, rumor and political innuendo fit to print. Take it for what it’s worth.
- The Decatur Township Small Claims Court has made the Wall Street Journal, and not for a very good reason. The WSJ shows how the Court is basically a creditor’s dream because of forum shopping. In English that means if you’re suing someone on Marion County in Small Claims Court the rules allow you to sue basically anywhere, even if there’s no nexus between the forum and the parties. For example, if I buy a car from you and the check bounces and you live in Washington Township and I live in Warren, you can sue for damages in Perry. Exactly. The only exception to the rule is when it comes to landlords. And since there’s no easy way to get to the Small Claims Court in Decatur, it’s easy to sue someone who doesn’t drive and get a default judgement. I heard about this at a candidates forum I moderated back in October of 2010 but never got around to following up on. Thank goodness the WSJ did.
- The City of Indianapolis has started the budget process. Agency budgets were submitted on Friday. Due to declining sales and income tax disbursements from the state, budget officials are trying to fill an estimated $30 million shortfall. We’ll be following this one closely to see how it pans out.
- Former U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks is expected to announce today she is getting in the race for the 5th Congressional District against Dan Burton. John McGoff is already in and former Congressman David McIntosh is expected to get into the race.
- Indiana Democrats are not having the best of luck in finding someone to run against 9th District incumbent Republican Todd Young. Former candidate for State Auditor Sam Locke announced via Twitter he was not getting in the race. And State Representative Peggy Welsh says she’s not running either for the seat.
- The race for Governor may be getting testy and not between the candidates, but between the Mike Pence campaign and the Statehouse media. I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints lately from my brothers and sisters in the press about Pence’s media apparatus and how they have been doling out information. From what I’ve been able to gather somebody better get on the ball and start healing those relationships soon. Pence is a former broadcaster and he off all people should know that you never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel or have access to broadcast towers.
- Although she made the rounds at Indiana Black Expo this past weekend Democratic Mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy has a couple bumps in the road. At a ceremony honoring outgoing State Representative Bill Crawford, Kennedy apparently was not too thrilled that noted activist Jesse Jackson took a photo with Republican incumbent Greg Ballard and told the Mayor he wanted to work with him on some initiatives and she left in a huff. Kennedy apparently didn’t tell anyone because when Crawford tried to acknowledge her publicly she was already gone. In addition, Kennedy raised several eyebrows when she appeared (unscheduled) on stage at the Friday night free concert being promoted by Jeffrey Johnson of Eastern Star Church. Johnson did not have permission from convert promoter Amp Harris to do that. In addition Kennedy staffers reportedly made several older women give up their seats in the VIP section so Kennedy could have a spot.
- Speaking of Mayor’s race, the two major candidates have both penned pieces on education at the the University of Indianapolis’ new website Hoosier Ed. Give it a read, I think you will agree with me that there is a stark difference between the ideas being offered by the candidates.
- And speaking of education, hundreds of parents have signed up to get more information on Indiana’s school voucher program. So what, you might say. Well, the registration took place at Expo and most of them lived in the Indianapolis Public School District. That ought to say quite a bit.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your day.
