Election 2011: Hack, cough, wheeze ... whoa, here it comes ... wait a minute, you're not Erika ...

Freedom to Screech offers candidate endorsements in a haze of cigarette smoke and cheap Kessler, One Southern Indiana's oligarchic political faction committee follows suit (see shameless agitprop below), and amid the inevitable yawns and concurrent sounds not unlike those occurring when your cat coughs up the most massive hairball you've ever seen, I'll tell you who I'm voting for, omitting the districts otside my own 3rd:

Gahan for mayor, Phipps and Gonder for council, and Glotzbach for clerk.

Although I must say that reading Jeff's 1Si comments below make me want to emulate those felines and launch a wet, gnarled one. Me thinks, and hopes, that he was bluffing the oligarchs -- and that's better than fluffing the Clere Channel groupies, any day.

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Focus: legislative agenda ... 1SI announces endorsements
in three mayoral races

Action stances on the Ohio River Bridges Project and strengthening education to best prepare local students to benefit businesses and remain in the area were deciding factors in One Southern Indiana's endorsements of mayoral candidates in Charlestown, Jeffersonville, and New Albany.

The board of directors of One Southern Indiana (1SI), the chamber of commerce and economic development entity serving Clark and Floyd counties, this morning approved the recommendations of its 18-member Public Policy Council (PPC) who had invested time interviewing candidates over the last several months.

Following objective questions specific to the city of each candidate who responded to the invitation, 1SI endorsed four individuals who most closely support the chamber's annually drafted legislative agenda, according to Tonya Fischer, One Southern Indiana's vice president of investor and government relations and liaison to the PPC.

Getting the nod are incumbent Bob Hall (Rep.) and challenger Donna Ennis (Dem.) of Charlestown, incumbent Tom Galligan (Dem.) of Jeffersonville, and Jeff Gahan (Dem.) of New Albany.
"The fact that both opponents in Charlestown were endorsed is because the two aligned their objectives with our legislative agenda," Fischer explained.

She pointed out that all of the mayoral candidates were evaluated by their comments to the PPC in reference to 1SI's policy positions.
"We are looking for leaders who would have the largest positive impact on the business and economic prosperity of the two counties," she said.

STRONG FOCUSES
--Mayor Hall identified major issues facing Charlestown as safety, education, and the infrastructure and rectifying the years of neglect of its water lines. He supports the Ohio River Bridges Project (the construction of two bridges and the modernization of the I-64, I-65, and I-71 interchanges known as Spaghetti Junction in downtown Louisville) while emphasizing that tolls on bridges must be reasonable for working families.

--Ennis focused on water plant issues and the deteriorating distribution lines. She rejects spending money on Tax Increment Financing (TIF)- and Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT)-funded projects with no ROI (Return On Investment) submitted and maintains that the Ohio River Bridges Project would help enhance property values and lead to higher wages for residents.

--Mayor Galligan supports the same economic development principles as 1SI and its results-driven approach to attracting, retaining, and expanding new business. His understanding of the fragile state of the area's existing infrastructure prompts his stance for the needed improvements to begin immediately. In addition, he is committed to better communication between government and business.

--Gahan advocates that New Albany more appropriately use its TIF and EDIT funds. He believes that the City Council should support the work of 1SI, he said, because both entities are committed to creating an environment that helps businesses grow, benefitting themselves, the community as a whole, and individual workers and families.

Other candidates who participated in the interviews are Dale Bagshaw (Rep.), Thomas Keister (Lib.), and Jack Messer (Ind.) in New Albany and Bob Isgrigg (Lib.) and Mike Moore (Rep.) in Jeffersonville.

According to 1SI's ratified operating guidelines, the objective, one-on-one interview process was in response to the chamber members' expressed need for information for all voters and specifically those in the business community. 1SI's political advocacy is reviewed by the PPC and board of directors to align the organization's advocacy with the members' interests on the legislative agenda and candidate endorsements, according to Dale Gettelfinger, Public Policy Council chair.

While 1SI is announcing endorsements only for mayoral races, all city and county council candidates in Clark and Floyd counties were invited to respond to items relating to business and economic development. Answers to the identical questions from those who responded were released by 1SI on Oct. 1.

For details about 1SI's legislative agenda, look under the public policy tab on its the website at www.1si.org.