1Si backs away from candidate endorsements.

The Green Mouse has been digging. For 1Si to back away from endorsements is an unqualified plus. Now we need only convince the organization to curb the rhetoric, ditch the unnecessary downtown bridge, and realize that tolling and "prosperity" are not the same objective.

One Southern Indiana announces it will not endorse candidates in 2012; Group will continue its support of Ohio River Bridges Project

NEW ALBANY, Ind. – (December 12, 2011) – One Southern Indiana, the chamber of commerce and economic development group serving Clark and Floyd counties, announced today it will not endorse candidates running for public office during the 2012 election cycle.

“We have listened to our members and investors, many of whom have told us they prefer that we not endorse candidates,” says Vaughan Scott, chairman. “There are other ways that we can work to be pro-business and pro-Southern Indiana.”

The organization endorsed in the races for Congress and state elections in 2010 and for mayor of New Albany, Jeffersonville and Charlestown earlier this year after interviewing all candidates.

Scott says One Southern Indiana will be very active in public policy and advocacy in other ways as outlined in a new strategic plan also approved by the board of directors last Thursday.

“We intend to start new programs and work with our elected officials to promote and advance our area,” says Scott. “For example, we will sponsor a reception in Indianapolis during the budget sessions of the Indiana General Assembly and provide forums for local elected officials to share their ideas with business leaders.”

As part of its Legislative Policy Priorities for 2012, One Southern Indiana will continue advocating for the Ohio River Bridges project to build a new east end bridge as well as a new I-65 span. The long-awaited project recently received federal environmental approval for a revised cost of $2.9 billion.

“The closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge was further proof that we need to start building the new bridges in 2012,” says new One Southern Indiana President & CEO Jody Wassmer. “We will do all we can in coming months to move the project forward for the long-term prosperity of the region.”

“Building the east end bridge to complete the I-265 corridor, in particular, promises huge economic development opportunities for Southern Indiana,” says Scott.

One Southern Indiana’s full Legislative Policy Priorities include promoting several other pro-business issues, including local government efficiency and simplification.

Its complete Legislative Policy Priorities can be found online under the Public Policy tab at www.1si.org