Indiana Blog Review

Brain Drain

Manfred Eye:

How does a city such as Indianapolis stack up in this attempt to draw young, qualified professionals? Not very well.

Central Indiana Financial Shenanigans

Advance Indiana, "Carl Drummer's Fleecing of Center Township."

Indy Undercover has a couple of posts suggesting more of the same in the City-County Council here and here.

Senate Jockeying

Frugal Hoosiers:

One interesting story that came out of last week and received little attention was the attempted shake up of the Senate Democrat Caucus.  Senator Vi Simpson attempted to take control of the caucus by running for minority leader, a position that has been occupied by Sen. Richard Young for years. This move presumably was a first step toward a Vi Simpson run for Governor, putting her a position of leadership and giving her a platform of relevancy for two years.

Legislative Pay

Chris Douglas:

Never has a  topic been thrown about with so much heat and so little light as legislative pay and benefits.  If we don't begin to pay our elected officials seriously, we're going to get the worst form of public servant.  In many  cases, we already have it.

Marcia Oddi:

Could this be a coincidence? So far I've read three stories today, from different parts of the state, all making a point that Indiana legislators are poorly paid.

She also finds more on the topic.

Advance Indiana:

It seems to me that Indiana's current compensation system is not at all transparent. Per diem pay is being systematically used and abused to boost legislative pay . . .

The current system is also quite generous to lawmakers who hold jobs where employers do not penalize them for time spent away tending to legislative business . . .

. . . if Indiana legislators think they are undercompensated, they should begin by devising a more straight-forward system of pay than the current system, which by design makes their pay appear much less than what it actually is. Indiana should also consider whether it wants full-time or part-time legislators.

Leo Morris:

But unless we're going to make it enough for a full-time job, the General Assembly will continue to draw the same kind of people it now does -- i.e., people who can take off from their normal jobs a few months a year -- and continue to not attract the "middle class."

Graduation Rates

RiShawn Biddle was impatient for the numbers.  Now that they're out, Advance Indiana laments, and Abdul has a radical suggestion.  Mark Rutherford, "But at least we have palaces to house our failed government schools."  His suggestion for regional centers sounds promising.

Leo Morris says of the methodology, "Both ways of calculating the graduation rate are arbitrary, and you could make good arguments for either one . . . The important thing is to have a system everyone understands."

But Biddle counters that the new rate isn't arbitrary.  Both agree that greater transparecny will lead to new solutions.

More Post-election Commentary

Chris Douglas:

The voters have spoken in Indiana's Marion County, and it's important to understand one of their messages: The Republican Party, both locally and statewide, must now stop its attacks on the glbt community if it is to achieve an electoral majority in a close election.

And if you have interesting comments on the broadcast media ads from this past election, your participation is solicited:

The Howey Political Report and IndianaOnMessage are inviting readers to participate in an interactive project. Most of the legislative and Congressional campaign TV and radio ads are posted on the HPR/IOM websites. We're asking readers to tell us which campaign ads were the best, the worst, and the most innovative and why.

FSSA Privatization

Advance Indiana: "The $1 billion privatization agreement is being done for all the wrong reasons."

MORE: AI continues:

The Star's Tim Evans describes Governor Daniels' $1.16 billion decision to privatize Indiana's welfare system as "bold", but I can think of several, more apt descriptions. "Ill-advised", "reckless" and "rushed" are all better adjectives in my mind.

And Doug Masson says the recent snag "highlights one of the problems with privatization — lack of transparency and lack of accountability."

Retreat America

Advance Indiana gleefully points out an FEC ruling that further casts doubts as to the legality of voting guides produced by Eric Miller's front organization, Advance America.

He follows up with a critique of a recent interview with Miller.

(Bil Browning also pokes at the interview.)

Kenn Gividen notes that AA won't include Libertarians in the guides, and Democrats rarely respond, " the guides are little more than a list of Republican candidates."

Purged Precincts

Scott Tibbs notes that purging the bloated voter rolls in Monroe County (all those former students) will lead to local redistricting and ensuing turmoil.

Camm Glam

Scott Fluhr explains how a years-old, local murder sensation has propelled a Southern Indiana prosecutor into a rising Republican star.

Mommy Star

Ruth Holladay takes a look at some 'journalistic paternalism' from the Indianapolis Star.  Others have called it racial pandering.

Major Unmoved

Advance Indiana discusses how Governor Daniels has ignored a one-year-old study of an Indianapolis bypass.

Iraq'd

Craig at R&F:

I seem to remember sitting in a room with a certain U.S. Senator from Indiana, and this certain Senator said something about the Iraq government needing to show it's effectiveness within 6-8 weeks. This was on May 22.

Absentee Democracy

William R Groth at the American Values Alliance discusses how Indiana's new voter ID law leads to more great disenfranchisement via absentee ballots.

Banana Peels

Dave Haxton wants to know what Russ Pulliam is smoking.

A Day at the Roundtable

Chris Douglas reports from the Diversity Roundtable, "a nonprofit organization representing an assembly of some of Indiana's leading employers."

Partisan Judges

Advance Indiana:

Terre Haute attorney Jim Bopp's nationwide drive to force judicial candidates to announce their views on cases or issues likely to come before the courts in which they will sit in judgment took a step forward in Indiana.

O-Day

Abdul reports from the General Assembly's Organization Day.

Smokin' Healthcare

Reactions to Gov. Daniels' proposed healthcare scheme:

Chris Douglas --

It is entirely appropriate to be thinking of ways to extend better health care to the poor.  And it is entirely appropriate to collect tax from smokers to offset the higher cost of health care that the smoking addiction imposes on the rest of society.

Dave Haxton --

Bottom line: neither the state nor any governmental body really wants smokers to quit. They want to bleed us a bit more, making us feel guilty for funding their new projects as they go. And if we ever do really kick the habit completely, well, the taxpayers in general will be left holding the bag for all these grand illusions.

Doug Masson argues it'll be less expensive and inefficient than emergency rooms.

Mark Rutherford says this is more proof that Daniels doesn't understand free markets.

Kenn Gividen (who needs permalinks) --

We get free health insurance thanks to Gov. Mitch Daniels' latest plunge into Keynesian economics . . .

In the end analysis, the Republicans just handed Hoosiers another bureaucratic program that – like Social Security – will burden future taxpayers, lock in a poverty class and have no exit strategy.

Advance Indiana has a good analysis but concludes --

The Governor's plan is a nice start, but I think he would be well advised to reach out to people other than lobbyists for doctors, hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies to develop a more successful program.

Black Priorities

RiShawn Biddle says the black students at IUPUI agitating for a list of demands are ignoring some larger issues in Central Indiana.

Straight and Narrow

Advance Indiana:

What I really find disturbing in the Marion County results is the number of straight-ticket voters. Over 60% of the votes cast were straight-party votes . . . Unless that trend is reversed, Marion County will soon become a one-party county ala Cook County, Illinois--and all that that implies.

Arts? What Arts?

Ruth Holladay takes a look at the demise of Arts coverage in the Indianapolis Star.

The rise of citizen journalism to replace it, though, is probably extremely promising -- if the arts community is willing to meet them halfway.  (Free tickets, please!)

Move On in the Spring, Move Back in the Fall

Doug Masson:

I really hate the phrase “let’s move on” when used in the context of political debate. It almost always means, “my side won, now shut up.” The Lafayette Journal & Courier tells us to move on from the Daylight Saving Time debate because that debate “should be considered settled.” If there had been anything like a consensus supporting Daylight Saving Time bill in the House of Representatives in 2005, maybe I could agree. But the DST legislation died, by my count, 3 deaths during the course of that session only to be resurrected through various parliamentary tricks each time. And, even on its fourth chance, it only passed because the voting machine was held open while Troy “I’ll Never Vote For It” Woodruff’s arm could be twisted long enough for him to break his promise and cast the 51st and last vote in favor of passage.

Apparently the Journal & Courier thinks thats the sort of vote that settles a debate. Not likely.

Koles & Objectives

Mike Kole gives further reflections on his benchmarks.  Ballot access is still pretty huge.

The Pack of Pastors

Abdul has some juicy yet confusing gossip on behind-the-scenes politicking amoung Marion County bigwigs and a fiesty pack of demanding Black Pastors.

Disconfirmation Bias

Frugal Hoosiers swims upstream and points out three things countering the CW that Indiana is turning into a swing state.

You Tubed

via FWOb, and then via Fetchy, we come across a blog by Fort Wayne Detective Everett D. White, who caught some local buglars on YouTube.

I think this sort of thing is going to happen more and more often.

Leadership in Ft. Wayne

credo:

Rev. Michael Latham, executive director of Fort Wayne NAACP won his re-election bid for president. This election, according to a blog post by Vince Robinson, was a close one. Latham winning only by a slight margin. This could be membership sending a message to the NAACP leader, that the community expects more from the NAACP leadership.

A Pence for Your Thoughts

Two different takes on Mike Pence's failed bid to become Minority Leader:

Chris Douglas --

His leadership in my opinion would potentially  undermine the future of the Republican Party as a majority party, not enhance it.

Scott Fluhr --

Today's vote was an unclear outcome for the Republicans, but a defeat for Indiana.

Counting Noses

RiShawn Biddle:

How will school districts, after being forced by the state to report more accurate graduation rates, deal with the fact that they must admit by month's end that their graduation rates have been inflated for far too long. Judging from the responses so far, many will come up with seemingly reasonable arguments that fail to stand up to scrutiny.

Minority Report

Scott Fluhr on Mike Pence's bid to become Minority Leader in the House of Representatives:

Mike Pence, while known as somebody with new ideas and seen as a fresh face, probably simply just hasn't donated enough money to his fellow Republicans to secure the leadership. Money matters . . . that's an objective fact; it matters regardless of principles.

I'd give Pence an outside chance to win. He'd certainly be better than Texas' Joe Barton or Ohio's John Boehner, but the smart money seems to be on Boehner . . .

That Bar, Again

Advance Indiana:

The leadership of the Mapleton-Fall Creek Neighborhood Association has obviously been compromised as a result of the handy work of the proponents of the 300 East bar at the Julia Carson Government Center.

Trouble in Harrison County II

Scott Fluhr updates us on the Harrison County Courthouse scandal.

Mayor Brizzi?

Jen Wagner reacts to Tully's speculations about Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi running for mayor of Indianpolis:

Tully proclaims Brizzi "king of the Marion County GOP." Which, when you think about it, is kinda like being elected Summer School Class President.

TDW thinks Brizzi would have a tough time running for Mayor. It's a very different job than what he's used to, and people demand things of a mayoral candidate that they don't even think about when they elect a Prosecutor. Also, Brizzi just spent $2 million taking ownership of crime in Marion County. But hey, if he wants to give Ike Randolph a run for his money in the primary, have at it. Because Republicans spending money trying to beat other Republicans is always fun to watch. (TDW's money is still on Brizzi running for Dan Burton's seat.)

The Dawn of DST

Doug Masson pokes around for archival coverage of Indiana, DST, and time zones.

Sparks to Fly

Advance Indiana looks at the future of Indiana's same-sex marriage debate.

Transparency Or Muddying the Waters?

Doug Masson says Gov. Daniels has plenty to worry about if the legislature gets involved with the FSSA privatization contract.

More Post-Election Commentary

From Resisting Inertia, with a rundown of our House delegation.

MEANWHILE, Abdul chimes in, "What's interesting is the GOP won all the statewide races. And the Indiana Congressional delegation went from 7-2 Republican to 5-4 Democratic. To me, it shows Indiana may now be the new battleground state. We'll see in 2008."

MEANWHILE, Scott Fluhr writes John Hostettler's political obituary.

More:  He also surveys the coming statewide political landscape.

CCC

RiShawn Biddle looks ahead to the future of the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council.

Indy Undercover reports, "Republican City-County Councilmember Scott Keller is in talks with Democra[t]s to change parties."

More:  Advance Indiana, "I find that report very hard to believe."

Elrod-o-rama

Advance Indiana:

While the clerk's office has yet to track down those missing memory cards from about 66 precincts, party workers were able to provide printouts of vote results in those missing races. In the case of the 97th District, the unofficial results put Elrod up about 60 votes, a large enough lead to survive any recount. There is a bit of irony in Elrod's victory. Mahern was the person who master-minded the House Democrats legislative map which gerrymandered the districts to heavily favor Democrats. Apparently, he didn't do a good enough job drawing the boundaries of his own district.

UPDATE:  As Elrod's lead shrinks to 9, AI ponders why one precinct decided to rely so often on two touchscreen machines, normally reserved for disabled voters, which don't have a papertrail.

For Whom The Road Tolls

• Advance Indiana:

Could someone try to convince me that this wasn't a plan drawn up by a group of greedy road contractors sitting around the same table with a group of lawyers from Ice Miller?

• Jen Wagner:

So, can anyone explain the political logic behind announcing, a mere 48 hours after an election where you personally helped generate several GOP losses, that you want to build a toll road in Central Indiana? (Central Indiana being the only place in the state where you are still liked by slightly more than 50 percent of people.)

• Fort Wayne Observed:

Most important to Fort Wayne is that this will provide a more direct route to Greensburg's new Honda plant from northeast Indiana's auto parts manufacturers . . .

One other point likely to be debated is whether the Governor should have made the announcement prior to this week's election.

• Gary Varvel:

You have to admit the guy is full of ideas and the timing of this announcement changed the subject from the Democratic takeover to another Daniels' highway makeover. Genius.

Here is a suggestion for the governor that just might win over some of his opponents. Turn this beltway into the Indy Autobahn. I'm talkin' no speed limits. What better way to entice the toll haters to take the toll road than by giving them the opportunity to really open it up.

• Jane Lichtenberg, "Gov. Mitch Daniels demonstrated once again Thursday that he has “the vision thing” down pat."
• Dan Carpenter, "And he'll do it in 10 years. Ask the ghosts of I-69 Past about that one."
• Tim Swarens:

After his party lost the Indiana House on Tuesday, political observers wondered if the governor would roll back the fast-paced agenda he’s pushed for the past two years. Not Mitch.
On Thursday, he unveiled a highway construction and economic development plan for Central Indiana that is nothing if not bold. Next week, he plans to take on welfare reform. Full-day kindergarten is at the top of his legislative agenda. Daniels made it clear Wednesday night at an Indiana Chamber of Commerce banquet (he was honored as the government official of the year) that he has no intention of slowing down.

More:

• Chris Douglas:

Try this.  Go to Mapquest and play.  Begin by entering Detroit, MI as a starting point and any major Texas City as a destination.  Or any city at all in the nation's southwest.  Where does that map take you today?  Through Indianapolis, where I-69 meets 465.    Now expand that map to include Toronto, Canada.

• Ruth Holladay:

The buzzword for Indiana's future supposedly is logistics . . .

If that's true, then Gov. Mitch Daniels' bold plan to build an outer loop around greater Indianapolis is a stroke of genius . . .

I'm a fields-and-water kind of girl, and far be it from me to recommend anything that is going to destroy farmland, but the truth is: we're dying out here in the boonies. Farming isn't cutting it for a lot of Hoosiers . . .

• Scott Fluhr:

Winston Churchill once said that there is nothing so exhilarating as to be shot at without result. Having dodged the bullet (or only been lightly grazed) this time, the governor seems eager to attempt the same thing again. Maybe he can pull it off.

• RiShawn Biddle says the concept isn't necessarily bad, but the Daniels Administrations plans aren't even half-baked, "But Daniels should have told his aides to do more heavy lifting on the proposal before making it public. "

And More:

• Doug Masson has a few good questions about this thing.
• Fred McCarthy says none of this makes sense.

Bannination

The big splash in the Fort Wayne Bloghood is that Fort Wayne News was kicked off of TypePad (which also powers IBR).  The proprietor of that site, Dan Turkette, has a recurring feature on which he cuts and pastes the online information on local sex offenders and deadbeats, which includes home address.  The problem, it seems, was that the TypePad's terms of use prohibit posting such contact information . . . or speech that could be deemed dangerous.

On the first point, TypePad, as a private business, is certainly within their rights to suspend whomever they want.  On the second point, it's probably less clear that his blog was inciting violence, and the genesis of the complaint to TypePad has become a topic of some discussion.

FWOb reprinted an excerpt from an email sent to FWN that states similar complaints were also sent to the FBI, an attorney, and "other organizations."  FWOb also attracted a commenter named Michael H. Reese who discussed the complaint against FWN at greater length and predicted forthcoming charges. Mike Sylvester has some strong critisims of Mr. Reese.

In the meantime, Fort Wayne News has moved to a new server and is back online.

The Fightin' 7th

Ruth Holladay:

I have to wonder if reporters at the Star had more consistently reported on Carson's health, mental alertness, her voting record, etc., would she have been re-elected? Tully's upclose and personal look at her, tinged with humanity, is too little, too late . . .

One has to conclude that Carson has been ill-served by her own party, which apparently prefers to prop her up in spite of everything rather than face facts ...she is old and she deserves a rest.

Advance Indiana points to new evidence that those DCCC fliers were targeted toward predominantly white areas.

RiShawn Biddle takes a look at the upcoming and agonizing battle to find Carson's successor.

The Ethics of the Revolving Door

Jen Wagner posts some details on out-going Chief of Staff Harry Gonso's request on a formal advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission on returning to the private sector.

IRV!

Leo Morris picks up on a couple of FWOb's posts dealing with elections and participation and comes up with a great solution: Instant Runoff Voting!

I heartily endorse the suggestion.

Stifling Free Speech?

Prof. Eisenstein's criticisms of Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott (D) have really gotten under his skin.  So much so that the Mayor has now filed a lawuit againt the Professor.

Suing bloggers almost never works -- and usually backfires.

Silver Medalists

Doug Masson has an interesting note:

Just thought I’d take a look at how the second place finishers did in the Congressional Race. Here they are in order of vote percentage:

#1 - Eric Dickerson (IN-07) - 46.41%
#2 - Chris Chocola (IN-02) - 45.9%
#3 - Tom Hayhurst (IN-03) - 45.7%
#4 - Mike Sodrel (IN-09) - 44.85%  (Libertarian Eric Schansberg took 5%   of the vote in this race.)
#5 - Barry Welsh (IN-06) - 39.8%
#6 - John Hostettler (IN-08) - 39.33%
#7 - David Sanders (IN-04) - 35.33%
#8 - Katherine Fox Carr (IN-05) - 32.89%
#9 - Mark Leyva (IN-01) - 26.85%

IndyGoNowhere

Manfred Eye:

IndyGo, the Circle City’s pathetic excuse for mass transit, has decided to raise fares again. Why do you suppose that this would be necessary? Could it be due to the fact that nobody rides IndyGo because of the crappy service?

Spoils of the Spoilers II

Mike Kole:

I had to think about this for a moment, but then it dawned on me that this year, Todd Rokita failed to finish first in Marion County . . .

While I'd like to take credit for the spoiler role, a look at the 2002 returns for comparison's sake is worthwhile . . .

Looks like the Dems' numbers are about the same, but Todd Rokita lost about 3,000 votes in Marion County. Maybe Todd just didn't campaign enough in Marion County. Go complain to him.

MEANWHILE, Chariman Rutherford points to three races where the spoiler effect isn't supported by the data.

School Dean

Thomas Kemp:

Newslink Indiana is reporting that plans are underway to restore the old high school in Fairmount, Indiana [attended by James Dean]. . .

With all the falling down buildings in rural Indiana (the school will need to be gutted), pouring money into an abandoned school strikes me as wasteful. Maybe these stars would have a better impact n Fairmount if they offered to build something for today’s Fairmount students in honor of Dean, instead of shoring up a bunch of old masonry.

Your Attention Please

"Fort Wayne Observed is proud to present its first Fall Conference.  It will be held Thursday morning, November 16, 2006, at the Hilton Garden Inn at the southwest corner of I-69 and US 24 in Fort Wayne.

The Fall Conference is to explore public policy, legislative and municipal actions, and community issues.  It is for as well as attorneys and community leaders.

Indiana attorneys attending the conference will be eligible for Continuing Legal Education Credits."

Click here for online registration

Baron von Hill

Scott Fluhr has a couple of interesting thoughts on Baron Hill:

• In Jeffersonville, Baron Hill outlined his hopes on the first issues to be handled by the next Congress. Curiously missing from that list was his proposal to reform the ethics committee. Perhaps, now that he is back in office, Hill doesn't want to be overseen by people with the experience to know what is going on and why.
• Hill is interestingly mum on a question about the possibility of a run for governor . . .

Standing Pat

RiShawn Biddle, "Expecting Pat Bauer to come up with anything close to a logical agenda once he regained the state House speakership is asking too much. But even he should have better sense than to mess around with Daylight Saving Time again. "

Coronerd'd

Advance Indiana has the scoop on the very troubled Marion County Coroner's Office.  He quotes at length and comments upon a letter to Mayor Bart Peterson from Dr. Stephen S. Radentz, the Chief of Pathology for the office, who blasts Coroner Kenneth Ackles' inexplicable decision to terminate the contract for the forensics staff.

And some background:

Ackles, who is a chiropractor and not a medical doctor, was slated by Marion County Democrats in 2004 to run for the office being vacated by Dr. John McGoff after 8 years due to term limitations. Ackles was chosen over a much more qualified candidate and long-term employee of the office at the urging of Rep. Julia Carson (D) during the party's county slating process.

He provides more coverage as the story developes.

Disco Inferno

Prof. Eisenstein reviews the electoral aftermath in Northwest Indiana.

>2%

Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State Mike Kole's initial post-election thoughts.

Be a Pal

Thomas Kemp:

The Pal-Item announced today its new online feature, My PI where us simple common folks can contribute our own stories and photos for others to view. Hey, That sound sort of like a blog, no?

Rational Ignorance

Greg @ Inside 465 explains why he didn't vote this year.

13/14

Indiana Pundit evaluates his election predictions.

Hummmmm

Post-election analysis from Kokomo from Indiana On Message.

Your Attention Please

I've always heard that the way to distinguish your new blog is to find a niche, but this is the most specific blog I've come across so far:

• Indiana Commercial Foreclosure Law -- "Welcome to John Waller's blog, which is dedicated to commercial lenders and banks that need to foreclose on loan collateral and collect commercial debts. "

The (Other) Good Effect

Fort Wayne Observed points out a benefit of Indiana's voter ID law:

Thousands of Hoosier voters will have their voter registration address records changed to reflect their proper voting address.  This will ensure much more accuracy in 2008 in ensuring voters are properly represented in elections for legislative seats and possible congressional seats.  It will mean that voters are properly allocated in the correct city council districts.

Keep Going

Mike Sylvester is making post -2006 predictions, and he's soliciting comments.

Updated already: "Yesterday I posted 22 predictions I have for the next couple of years. MANY of these will not be able to be graded for at least a few months.  A couple are shaping up already."

The Good and the Bad

Chris Douglas:

Democratic control of the House of Representatives in Indiana offers the good and the bad.  The good is that Democratic control may place a check on schemes hatched in the Republican Party to exploit  areas of Hoosier division, rather than nurture areas of agreement . . .

The bad, though, is also considerable, for the House Democratic Leadership, and the Democratic Party leadership in Indiana as  a whole, do  not  offer a  compelling economic vision . . .

This economic intransigence is nothing new.  We have lacked economic leadership in Indiana through Democratic administration after Democratic administration, however well-intentioned.

Buffering . . .

In about the only way I can think we'd want to be like Ohio's government, Marcia Oddi points out that we should be streaming and archiving the proceedings of state government:

In 1851 the debates and journals of the Indiana Constitutional Convention were carefully and laboriously preserved for the ages. We continue to use and reference them today. Recording and preserving today's sessions of the General Assembly is a very simple thing. But we are not doing it very well.

Wednesday Morning Quarterback

Abdul chimes in from Indianapolis, "Instead of writing some long, drawn out piece about the election and statistics and analysis on results and numbers on the Democratic sweep, I decided to give a little advice to the major players in town. Here it is."

Good Mark

Fort Wayne Observed:

Mark Souder should do very well in the minority in Congress.

I am not saying he will like it. I am saying that he is much better prepared than many of the other returning Republicans who had gotten used to the committee chairmanships, the favorable rules treatments that comes with serving in the majority, and the minutia of the log-rolling that goes into the writing of legislation.

Mark Souder cut his teeth in politics in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  Those of us who began our political activities at that time assumed that the Republicans might remain in minority status in Congress for most of our lifetimes.

The Spoils of the Spoilers

Mike Sylvester on the Libertarian Party in Indiana:

Three of our candidate got more votes then the margin of difference between the Dem and Rep...

Eric Schansberg ran for the 9th Congressional District. He won 4.5% of the vote. This race was won by 2.8% of the vote.

Greg Kelver ran for the 20th State House District and got 7.8% of the vote. This race was won by 6% of the vote.

Rex Bell ran for the 54th State House District and got 14.4% of the vote. This race was won by 6.5% of the vote.

Local News

RiShawn Biddle, "Contrary to what the pundits will say, the reality is there is no overwhelming theme in this year's elections. All politics is local, Tip O'Neill once said, and it's as true now as it ever was."

Grand New Party

Chris Douglas, "Yesterday's votes are not fully counted, but already there are some important lessons helpful to progress within the Republican Party for the glbt community."

The Bloody 9th?

Scott Tibbs:

I've been watching election results come in, and it is way too early to call anything. Some media organizations are already calling the 9th District Congressional race for Baron Hill, but we may not have the full election results for a few days because of absentee ballots. There have been very disturbing reports of attempted voter fraud and ballot tampering, so we'll see how that turns out.

Putnam County

Ruth Holladay reports from Putnam County.

On the Front

RiShawn Biddle is also liveblogging the election.

Um

Update: stAllio! noticed it, too.

Needling the Election

Advance Indiana has an election thread.

Listen Up

Fort Wayne Observed is posting regular audio updates of live election coverage.

Turning OUt

One report puts it as high.  From Indiana Pundit:

This is what I have observed in doing my civic duty and making the roll around precincts. Turnout appears to be low (though Channel 15 claims it isn't).

Poll workers have seen an unusual amount of youth turnout at some precincts. This must be a qualified statement though as a lot of these poll workers are elderly and consider anybody under 40 to be the youth vote. I don't know what to make of it at this point.

UPDATE 3:10PM
Turnout does appear to be high in most places. It will be interesting to see who's base the push is coming from. Is it for the Democrat candidate's? If so will it be enough? Or have recent comments by the Democratic leadership pushed the GOP out to vote?

A Little Ray of Sunshine . . .

. . . on a rainy election day.

Matt Tully links to a creative, humorous, and effective radio ad from Allen County.

Update:  FWOb pointed this out weeks ago.

Legitimacy, Turnout, and Access

Fort Wayne Observed:

Indiana legislators ought to take a step toward greater voter participation by returning the ballot access requirements for minor parties and independent candidates to the historical percentage of signatures needed to qualify.

It might well inject more vitality and ideas into the public arena. It might fulfill another historical role that third  parties have had.  That is in introducing committed activists of all stripes who later gravitate to one of the major parties and provide new energy.

. . . voter turn-out will probably end up being in the neighborhood of 35% of the eligible electorate.

Each decline in turnout raises concern about the very legitimacy of government.

Parking!

More on the Hollywood Bar & Filmworks flameout, from Advance Indiana:

It seems the Mayor was talking to Terri and the Pidge on WIBC when he suddenly started having trouble hearing after Pidge asked him about the parking question. When Terri jumped in and repeated a question the question to him, the Mayor said he couldn't hear her either and hung up, which provoked laughter and disbelief in the WIBC studio and listening audience.

Pre-Election Awards

Jim Shella makes his picks:

This is the time for some end-of-the-campaign awards:

Best commercial -- none comes to mind

Worst commercial (quality category) -- Joe Pearson for Secretary of State

Worst commercial (content category) -- John Hostettler's radio that tries to tie Barney Frank's sexual history to his opponent

Most confusing commercials -- The Indiana House GOP TV ads that combined a positive message for a candidate in one district for the first 15 seconds with an attack on another candidate in a different district for the last 15 seconds

Most memorable yard sign (good or bad) -- Kathryn Densborn

Least visible politician (on the ballot category) -- Marion County Sheriff candidate Steve Davis

Least visible politician (off the ballot category) -- Mitch Daniels

Most calculated move -- Julia Carson's mention of Eric Dickerson domestic abuse record followed by her condemnation of Democratic mailers that made use of it

Worst direct mail piece -- David Orentlicher's use of a corpse to make his point in a stem cell debate

Most reliance on outside help -- Mike Sodrel

Most likely to take credit for the success of others -- Evan Bayh

Best Performance by a candidate -- Brad Ellsworth

Worst Performance by a candidate -- John Hostettler

How About Those Poll Workers

Dan Turkette reports from his local polling station:

The place was basically empty as you can see from the picture. After finding my name I was handed a card and told to proceed to the machine. But I said "ugh, I guess ID is not required at this polling place?". I was never asked. Maybe it was the suit and tie? After posing the question she said, "oh, okay I'll look at it".

Carson Being Carson

Matt Tully notes the momentous vote of Rep. Julia Carson:

I start every Election Day the same way -- by heading to 23rd and Park to watch U.S. Rep. Julia Carson vote. The reason? Something always happens.

Today, though, was slightly disappointing. No confusion over her ID and no problem with the machines, as in past elections. With the exception of a little mistake -- workers had to void her first ballot because she filled in her party's symbol and not the corresponding oval -- Carson's voting experience was smooth.

Scandalista

FWOb asks, "How is Fort Wayne Community Schools like Nicaragua?"

Marion County Volcano

Advance Indiana:

An hysterical Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy told reporters this morning that County Clerk Doris Ann Sadler and Republicans were guilty of criminal conduct because election workers had trouble starting voting machines this morning. He falsely claims that it was a deliberate attempt to block Democratic voters from voting. There are several problems with Treacy's "grassy knoll" theory . . .

Your Attention Please?

I'm not sure if this is legal, considering how hyper we are about polling places, but I'll be curious to see whether Shawn Plew's plan works:

I’ll be workin’ the polls tomorrow in an effort to GOTV for IN State house district 89 candidate John Barnes. By my side will be my (friend’s) trusty laptop. If I can get a wireless connection I’ll do my own version of precinct polling during the day. I have no earthly idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing, but I’ll make an effort to post info about my experience as “Joe Volunteer”.

Update:  Just showed up in my RSS feed: 10 am, 3:15 pm, 4 pm, and 6 pm.

Trouble in Hamilton County

Jen Wagner:

Word on the street is that Hamilton County Election Administrator and Republican State Rep. Kathy Richardson is now under investigation by the Hamilton County Sheriff and the State Police after the local Democratic Party requested and obtained public records showing that she has been using her taxpayer-funded office to coordinate campaign events for her re-election bid and to conduct official legislative business.

Not to distract from the newsworthiness of the post, I do have to take issue with Ms. Wagner's titling.  How is this Carmel fun?  Rep. Richardson represents Noblesville (and a smidge of Hancock County).  Noblesville, my hometown, is also the county seat for Hamil