New Albany is a state of mind … but whose? Since 2004, we’ve been observing the contemporary scene in this slowly awakening old river town. If it’s true that a pre-digital stopped clock is right twice a day, when will New Albany learn to tell time?
Call it an endorsement if you will, or think of it as my personal support, backing, seal of approval, recommendation or advocacy.
In New Albany's 4th city council district, the best choice is political newcomer Cisa Kubley. I'd vote for Cisa if I lived in the 4th district.
Cisa is an independent local business owner (Sew Fitting at Underground Station). As an immigrant from Bloomington, she brings a fresh perspective and vast experience volunteering in community affairs.
She belongs to the New Albany chapter of Business and Professional Women, was named one of the 2013 "20 under 40," and now serves on the national board of the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals.
I got to know her a few years back when we worked together with others to enable New Albany First, an independent business association, with the aim of organizing grassroots local indies into an organization of stakeholders with input commensurate with their contributions. The idea did not come to fruition, but it remains something we need, and it is my hope that regime change can help bring it about beginning in 2020.
Another strong plus for Cisa is her advocacy of a sensible downtown street grid for all users, not only drivers and their cars. She strongly supported the entirety of Jeff Speck's suggested downtown street grid makeover, which the incumbent Pat McLaughlin eventually came around to supporting only reluctantly without ever revealing a genuine grasp of the material or enthusiasm for fundamentals.
I stopped by Kolkin Coffee today to observe the scene as the Floyd County Republican Party rolled out its slate of candidates for municipal elections in 2019.
Mayor: Mark Seabrook
City Clerk: none
District 1: Stefanie Griffith
District 2: Scott Stewart
District 3: none
District 4: Cisa Kubley
District 5: Josh Turner
District 6: Scott Evans
At-large: David Aebersold, David Barksdale and Al Knable
Therein lies an 800-lb incongruity, which is a concise way of saying something is "out of place or keeping."
Seabrook said during his short speech Friday afternoon at Kolkin Coffee shop in New Albany there needs to be more transparency in city government and that the Gahan administration has wasted taxpayer money on projects, singling out the current rehabilitation work on the old Reisz Furniture building for the new city hall. He also criticized Gahan for not working with county leaders during his two terms.
Standing four feet away from Seabrook was Very Incongruous Barksdale, who garnered nowhere near the level of applause given the others.
His presence proved a bit strange. If the GOP intends to cite the Reisz Mahal as a prime example of Jeff Gahan's debt-laden waste -- and this is entirely true -- then why did Barksdale, one of the party's three council incumbents, provide THE critical vote to move the boondoggle forward?
Just remember that when it comes to manipulation and money, the mayor can be trusted to exploit the weak and vulnerable by finding and tapping their jugulars. Gahan simultaneously milked Barksdale for a crucial fifth Reisz Mahal vote and neutered a Republican. The historian blithely handed the charlatan power on a silver platter.
Barksdale's abrupt collapse might be sad, except it's all hamartia and hubris to to me: "Hamartia is the (fatal) flaw, hubris is the behavior that does not acknowledge it."
Apart from Barksdale's capitulation to Dear Leader -- can he be redeemed? -- it's a fine and balanced slate, surely the deepest we've seen from the GOP since this blog's inception.
NEW ALBANY — The Floyd County Republican Party candidates for city offices in 2019 want residents to know they will always listen to their concerns. Their ears, and doors, are always open. That, they said, has been missing in the last eight years from Mayor Jeff Gahan and other elected Democrats.
"We will listen," Mark Seabrook said. "We will listen to every citizen. The days of a city administration going it alone will be over. We want the community involved and we want to make New Albany the best it can be. Being the best New Albany can be is what this campaign is all about."
snip
Floyd County Republican Party Chairman Shawn Carruthers said he is "very happy" with the slate of candidates, which can still grow before the filing deadline of Feb. 8.
"We have a diverse group of people who are talented in all aspects of industry," he said. "There is a lot of energy in the room."
Carruthers said Republicans enjoyed great success in the county-wide election last year, and he believes that momentum will carry over to this year.
ON THE AVENUES: It's the beginning of the end of insipid Gahanism, so let's look back at the Top Ten columns of 2017.
A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.
For the final ON THE AVENUES column of 2017, I'd dearly love to conjure something striking and profound, perhaps an all-encompassing summary like Donald Sutherland gave to Kevin Costner as they sat on the park bench by the Washington Monument in Oliver Stone's JFK -- but I don't watch many films these days, and I'm not sure there's a single written soliloquy left in me as this strange, confusing and exhausting year draws to a close.
No worries; the beatings must continue until morale improves, but you'll be surprised and pleased to hear the wonderful news, because in my view, New Albany has witnessed the apogee of Gahanism, and the high water mark of this dull political mediocrity's obsession with illicit campaign finance and Greg Fischer (on second thought, I risk redundancy).
The surreal and absurd Kim Jong-Jeffrey cult of personality that Gahan uses to extract so very much public money has become gut-punch laughable to almost everyone apart from his sycophantic bunker mates in the DemoDisneyDixiecratic Party, whose expressions are beginning to resemble those of the local Sarajevo administrators saying goodbye to the Archduke.
Gahanism's fissures are visible, and the impending TIF drought risible. The onetime veneer salesman's signature cash-stuffed envelopes will be markedly thinning, and by the occasion of New Albany's next municipal election, it will have been 64 years since a mayor won a third consecutive term -- and it won't happen again in 2019.
For the record, C. Pralle Erni (D) served four straight terms from 1948 through 1963, totaling 16 years. Beginning in 1964, Republicans occupied the mayoral seat for 16 of the next 20 years, interrupted only by Warren Nash's underachieving tenure.
I'm not saying the resistance will be easy. However, at all times we're compelled to remember the example of Toto ...
... no, not THAT Toto or THIS forgettable prom song theme from the heyday of most current city council members, but rather Dorothy's inquisitive mutt ...
... who by pulling back the curtains, allows us to see that when push comes to puke, Gahanism is no more than smoke and mirrors. It's a ruse, with no substance behind the endlessly vapid press releases.
I'll continue to do my part while transitioning toward what I earnestly hope becomes Pub Mach II. Just remember the hash tag: #FireGahan2019
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To end this year, let's take a look at the ON THE AVENUES columns recording the most page views according to Blogger's forever Byzantine metric.
Half of the year's most-read columns dealt with what will be remembered by future generations as Gahan's own personal Waterloo: Dear Leader's hostile takeover (putsch) of public housing and his subsequent installation of the worst conceivable choice to act as human relations slapstick Gauleiter, David "Bag Man" Duggins.
Gahan's mythology-impelled spite and ceaseless avarice with regard to New Albany's most vulnerable population stand an excellent chance of splitting the local Democratic Party, and although Team Gahan's cadres insist they didn't read my accounts of their boss's slow-motion but inexorable train wreck (the guffaws erupt), thanks to all of you who did.
Several other columns were about drinking, which remains the New Albanian's traditional default mechanism for coping with the mendacity, cowardice and overall foolishness that permeate local pillars.
However, the single most pleasing aspect of this year's most-read list is the fact that "number one" was written not by moi, but was contributed by guest columnist Cisa Kubley. It deals with one of the topics Team Gahan is most panic-stricken to even consider, and is least interested in exploring -- verily the third rail of politics in this town, Harvest Homecoming.
And yet if everyone is delighted with the way Harvest Homecoming's annual occupation trickles down on downtown each year, why would Cisa's open letter record triple the page views captured by a typical column?
Cisa's guest column was timely, analytical and well written. This makes me very happy. Remember that I'm forever ready to accept such contributions, and enjoy the following recap.
In short, the updated comprehensive plan is equal parts fiction, theater and suburban-weighted dreckscape. Reading through these sterling commitments to bedrock facets of urban life that have remained entirely alien to the plan’s authors, most of whom don’t live these tenets and wouldn’t recognize one if it wandered by mistake into their Olive Garden chain-haven and pulled up a chair, you become jaded remarkable quickly.
For instance, I saw a handful of references to bicycling, felt a surge of excitement, then realized that all it really means is the procurement of more spray paint to draw sharrows, the most useless of a city planner’s excuses to do absolutely nothing, declare victory, and gaze lovingly at holiday photos of the time share.
If you intend to “resist” Trumpism by doubling down on behalf of the Democratic Party as it currently exists and operates on a daily basis right here in the real world, as opposed to Disney World, then you’re in for yet another apocalyptic shock, because the party requires gutting down to the foundations, and probably beyond.
Speaking personally, I don’t care. Both major parties can go to hell, and the Democrats might as well go first. If the Democratic Party disappears, perhaps something better can be built in its place. How can it be worse?
Our gutless right-wing local version of pretend-Democrats is on life support, and the chairman’s delusional cluelessness seems to have become institutionalized. The humane thing to do would be to euthanize the party, and start all over again.
Yes, I have a car, too. However, since around 1992 it has been my aim to organize my life so as to facilitate other transportation options – walking, biking, Uber-ing, light rail -- whatever. I'd rather take the money and buy a plane ticket to a European city where I can ride the tram.
I haven't eliminated the need for a car, mind you, but have been shrinking it down, so as to be fit comfortably within the perimeter of a typical oil filter. I've purchased homes twice, one for each marriage, with this in mind. If I return to business, it will be downtown, where I can walk to and from work.
Point "c" is an example of classic Gahanite circular reasoning. These "recommendations" are not to be found in the detailed program already devised by the professional, trained staff of the New Albany Housing Authority, but rather as stipulated in the form of demolition-friendly reductions forced on the NAHA by means of a daintily termed Memorandum of Understanding, a writ of annexation slated for approval by a board packed by the mayor with the usual servile sycophants, as fully intended to render the result Gahan has fixed in advance.
The Green Mouse believes former Redevelopment Commission kingpin David Duggins, now the interim director of the demolition-of-housing authority, was a prime junket honoree, presumably as a measure of heartfelt thanks for his efforts on the city’s behalf to assist Denton Floyd’s and Vitality’s project at M. Fine – and as a prelude to whatever luxurious domiciles eventually are constructed atop the smoldering remnants of public housing in New Albany, which of course is one reason for Duggins being cozily ensconced within his current sinecure – this, and for catering to the eccentric whims of Dear Pretend Democratic Leader.
Picking up the story on Monday, 18 May 18 1987, I'd arrived in Sarajevo from Zagreb and found cheap, legal lodgings ($5.50 per night) in the spare room within the apartment of a man named Mickey (real name: Milenko Ćurčić). At the time, the street address was Ulica J.N.A. 37, or the Yugoslav People's Army Street. Now it's Ulica Branilaca Sarajeva 37 (the Defenders of Sarajevo Street).
Before the drinking starts, let’s return to the analogy of a ship leaving the dock and making for open water.
This was something we experienced first-hand just last year aboard a big Baltic ferry, first leaving Tallinn for Helsinki, then again on the trip back later the same day.
At night, the specific sensation might be described as lights fading, but by day it is the gradual disappearance of land as the ship moves farther away from shore. Depending on the weather and the strength of one’s eyesight, there comes a split second when land no longer is visible. It’s a melancholy feeling, like the place itself has ceased to exist apart from the imagination.
Gahan proceeded to run down the list of previous multi-million dollar quality-of-life luxury improvements, praising the investments while never revealing their true cost in terms of municipal subsidies and post-ribbon-cutting maintenance.
Verily, Gahan’s done it all; laid the bricks, moved the dirt, smoothed the asphalt, sold hot dogs and swept the floor. It was repulsive and sickening, and within a few seconds it became evident to me as never before that short of getting caught in bed with a known book reader, Gahan has emerged as the odds-on favorite to serve indefinitely as New Albany’s de facto mayor-for-life.
The list of baubles, glitz and glitter – of bright, shiny objects that function as Potemkin facades, suggesting municipal progress while obscuring the ongoing rot proceeding apace underneath – has become as lengthy as Shane Gibson’s arm.
I drink very differently now than before, and far less overall, but drinking's still a conscious lifestyle choice. So it goes.
Back to these fictional drinkers, who in my view reflect an existential aspect of the human condition. To be succinct, what else remains to be said, done or alibied when life’s fundamentally surreal futility strikes you as inescapable, and is best addressed and assuaged by peering through the bottom of a lifted glass, one deftly drained just seconds ago?
Cisa Kubley composed an open letter to Harvest Homecoming. In it, the owner of Sew Fitting patiently and meticulously explained why Harvest Homecoming isn't always a positive interlude for independent small businesses downtown.
Cisa's guest column proceeded to triple the number of page views one of my columns normally receives, and is by far the most-read ON THE AVENUES of the year to date. You can read it again, below, for reasons that soon will be obvious.
Even before Cisa's column was published, I spoke with David White and asked him if Harvest Homecoming would tender a reply, for which I'd supply as much space as necessary. Here it is.
I am not asking that the festival be shut down or done away with. I am asking that the festival committee do more than offer excuses and hollow apologies to the dozens of businesses which are negatively affected because the festival is still set up and run as though downtown were a ghost town.
Take seriously the fact that refusal to change the festival model impedes the livelihoods of hundreds of downtown workers. If shops can’t be open, workers aren’t paid. The business generates no revenue and yet they still incur their regular expenses. How is our business community supposed to be sustainable when a festival that claims to celebrate that community actively gets in the way of business operations?
As of Saturday morning, it has become the single most read ON THE AVENUES of 2017, doubling the views usually garnered by one of my columns.
This is richly deserved. Cisa's essay is cogent and hard-hitting, and I'm delighted she submitted it to NA Confidential. It's an example of a point-of-view the newspaper cannot do in mandating 250-word letters to the editor -- and probably wouldn't even then, as I suspect there's gold in those Harvest Homecoming advertisements.
In the interest of fairness, I've spoken to David White, chairman of the board of Harvest Homecoming. He is writing a column in reply to Cisa's, and I hope his essay will be ready for posting on Thursday, November 9.
Regular readers already know that Cisa's argument mirrors that of this blog.
These aren’t new issues, these aren’t new complaints. At what point will the Harvest Homecoming committee and the city finally make adjustments for the betterment of the whole community, not just those who enjoy the festival?
With all due respect to the history of Harvest Homecoming and my assumption of good intentions on the part of the committee, I simply cannot support an event that shows such blatant disregard and disrespect for the year-round businesses that lose money year after year.
I'll add only that the very weakest arguments mustered in response to critiques of Harvest Homecoming are these: It's inevitable; it's always been done this way; if you don't like it, just leave.
Apart from the fact of the city's existence for 150 years prior to the advent of Harvest Homecoming, it should be pointed out that the festival's inevitability has no absolutely no basis in statute.
Harvest Homecoming is mentioned exactly twice in the city's rule book for self-governance (excerpts below), first with regard to daily leased parking in the lot adjacent to the festival's headquarters, and then as the recipient of an annual exception to registration requirements for "peddlers and solicitors."
Every other facet of Harvest Homecoming's peak street grid usage during the parade and subsequent booth days -- except for Dan Coffey's commandeering of city-owned property to park cars for self-enrichment -- is vetted and approved yearly by the Board of Public Works and Safety, just like any other request to interrupt normal operational procedures for a special activity.
Harvest Homecoming cannot function as it does without the express consent of the city, as well as traditionally uncounted city expenditures for ancillaries and overtime.
Knowing this, think again about the points made by Cisa Kubley in her guest column. In essence, City Hall approves that her business and others like it be inconvenienced for the benefit of the festival.
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