The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 18: Clark Dietz, CD PAC top Gahan's "Quality of Distant Corporate Donors" chart.

Previously: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 17: Denton-Floyd feels M(ighty) Fine -- and the resulting Reisz Krispies Treats never tasted better to Mayor Gahan.

Some people climb mountains, but during the coming weeks we'll be plucking highlights from eight years of the Committee to Elect Gahan's CFA-4 campaign finance reports. Strap in, folks -- and don't forget those air(head) sickness bags.

Mayor Jeff Gahan's campaign donations for 2018, a non-municipal election year, came to $64,250.

That's right: $64,250, or almost exactly two bucks for every man, woman and child in New Albany, with precious little of it actually coming from inside the city proper. Combined with sloppy seconds from 2011-2017, this sum brought Gahan's 2019 cash-on-hand to $128,000 prior to an expected 2019 haul in excess of $100,000.

Meanwhile the median household income in New Albany is $41,456, meaning that half our households earn more and the other half less.

Think about that. If you're angry about the unprecedented power of money in elections, especially as it emanates from big corporations elsewhere, then look no further than our own quaint city for a primer. With each passing year, Gahan's CFA-4 forms read like a who's who of companies scoring lucrative deals to dine at the taxpayers' trough, most often on a "contractual" basis without any semblance of competitive bidding.

None of it is illegal, and we're not suggesting it is. Rather, it's indicative of a patronage system of meticulously organized beak-wetting built to harvest mountains of cash.

And the single greatest exemplar of this trend is Clark Dietz, a virtual arm of city government, from which Gahan quite possibly lifted his "(luxury) quality of life" mantra.

Clark Dietz, Inc.: "We are engineering more than infrastructure. We are engineering quality of life."

Clark Dietz has established a new yardstick for platinum-level Gahan giving in 2017 and 2018 with $7,500 each year -- not counting the fruit baskets.

The CD PAC always gives strong.

Just for amusement, I went back to 2015 for a look at CD PAC's tithe to Gahan's re-election campaign: $5k.

Look ahead a year at the other side of the ledger -- where Clark Dietz's beneficiaries donate into the pool of funds, and there's this from local CD workhorse Wes Christmas.

Exactly $5k; surely a coincidence.

Going back to the 2015 CD Pak report, you'll have noticed that in the address column, the $5,000 donation from Clark Dietz was listed as going to Gahan at Eastridge Drive, the mayor's home.

Oddly, though perhaps not oddly at all, an entirely different $400 donation was made to Jeff Gahan at 210 Lynnwood in Clarksville (the suits misspelled it), which is the address for Public Finance Management LLC, David Duggins' own personal tiller.

Freudian slip? The state's info on Public Finance Management is here, and an RIP is in order.

If I'm reading correctly, it looks as though Duggins dissolved his PFM just four days after cutting a check to Jason Applegate, then (2018) a candidate for commissioner.

But that's another story for another time.

Clark Dietz and CD PAC
A yearly donor since 2011
Total: $34,400

#FireGahan2019

Rebuttals are welcome and will be published unaltered -- so don't forget spellcheck. If you have supplementary information to offer about any of this, please let us know and we'll update the page. The preceding was gleaned entirely from public records, with the addresses of "individuals" removed.

Next: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 19: Department heads, insurance peddlers, duffers and a few other odds and ends from Gahan's long and winding money trail.

The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 16: Last week's minutes from the Board of Public Works and Safety reveal big donors daintily lapping their gravy.

Previously: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 15: Beam, Longest and Neff -- they're why Jeff Gahan is HERE and awash in cash, 16,500 times over.

Some people canoodle, but during the coming weeks we'll be plucking highlights from eight years of the Committee to Elect Gahan's CFA-4 campaign finance reports. Strap in, folks -- and don't forget those air(head) sickness bags.

After a while, it makes your head spin. You see those donor dollars multiplying up there on Jeff Gahan's campaign finance tote board, then you spin the Wheel of Random Meeting Minutes and see the fats cats eagerly queuing for their treats.

To illustrate this, let's look at the minutes from the March 12 meeting of the Board of Public Works and Safety -- but first, this wonderfully revealing moment as the bored prepare to approve the HWC Beautifies IKEA-ly work currently underway on Market Street between State and Pearl.

Somehow awakened against all odds, board gatekeeper Warren Nash actually asks a good question of city engineer Larry Summers.

Mr. Nash asked if the properties on the south side

(of the street) have been notified.

Mr. Summers stated they will still have access.

You'll notice Summers did not answer the question -- but of course Nash didn't follow up. Who's he think he is, a News and Tribune editor?

This Mr. Oakes works for AllTerrain, which won the Market Street project with a bid far below what had been expected ... so far that David Barksdale envisioned trees outside the project area being felled so they wouldn't block the view of the Fork in the Road, but seeing it was easier just to remove the public art installation without bothering to inform the artist who designed it ...

Stephen Triplett (owner) and AllTerrain Paving have shoveled a whopping $10,750 to Gahan since 2015. Meanwhile, with an emergency situation on Old Vincennes Road, normal procedures are circumvented for the sake of speed (for the repairs, not lead-footed drivers).

Jeff Eastridge (CCE) has donated $5,500 to Gahan's coffers, and various arms of Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz have poured some $33,225 of sugar on Dear Leader since 2011, contributing all eight years.

The beak wetting intensifies on Mt. Tabor Road.

United Consulting (including owners and employees) has accounted for $15,650. However we've saved the best for last.

I've yet to devote an episode of this series to the sheer numbing ubiquity of Clark Dietz, which serves as an unofficial department of city government.

Wanna know a secret? Clark Dietz sits atop Jeff Gahan's campaign finance suction magnet with $34,400 in donations since 2011, including his two largest bursts ever, $7,500 in 2017 and 2018. Still, Clark Dietz is only a whisker ahead of Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz ($33,225) and a combined grouping of John Neace companies and allies ($32,250).

That's still a cool $100,000 between only three power brokers. Think about this, and #FireGahan2019

Hold on ... 2-way streets from State to West 5th? Whatever it is, don't expect it in an election year.

Rebuttals are welcome and will be published unaltered -- so don't forget spellcheck. If you have supplementary information to offer about any of this, please let us know and we'll update the page. The preceding was gleaned entirely from public records, with the addresses of "individuals" removed.

Next: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 17: Denton-Floyd feels M(ighty) Fine -- and the resulting Reisz Krispies Treats never tasted better to Mayor Gahan.

Gahan Money Machine 2017: Tens of thousands from corporate outsiders, who by sheer serendipity get lots and lots of work here.

Mayor Jeff Gahan's campaign donations for 2017 -- a non-municipal election year -- came to $56,175.

That's right: $56,175.

That's a buck and a half for every man, woman and child in New Albany -- and precious little of it actually coming from inside the city proper. This is in addition to what Gahan's campaign had left over from 2011-2016, and what's to come in 2018 and 2019.

The median household income in New Albany is $41,456, meaning that half the household earn more and the other half less.

Think about it.

If you're angry about the power of money in local elections, especially as it comes from corporations elsewhere, then look no further than our own quaint city. Gahan's 2017 form reads like a who's who of companies that have scored lucrative contracts, most often without competitive bidding.

None of it is illegal, and we're not suggesting it is. Rather, it's indicative of a patronage system of meticulously organized beak-wetting built to harvest mountains of cash.

It turns out that Aaron Fairbanks and I both have taken an interest in this esoteric hobby known as Following the Money. As for me, paraphrasing FDR, "Gahan's bootlickers are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred."

Aaron's been taking some flack for digging, especially as it pertains to Jason Applegate's campaign for commissioner. This a diversionary tactic, and the newspaper should consider hiring him as a free-lancer. Alas, perhaps they're busy with Son of Cooking School, or trying to corral a few more column inches for Tom May to colonize.

Their (no, our) loss. This is fun and educational, and I'm interested in widening the search by going through all of Gahan's reports dating back to his first mayoral run, and also from city council members, especially the one typically carrying the mayor's jockstrap.

First, a glance at a big campaign donor from 2017. Aaron leads it off:

September 7, 2017: The News and Tribune report that Denton-Floyd Development received a $2.5 million state tax credit that was matched by the City of New Albany to begin construction on an estimated $15 million "new senior living facility going into the former M. Fine & Sons shirt factory in New Albany."

September 14, 2017: Mayor Jeff Gahan received $3,000 from Denton-Floyd Development more than two years before the next mayoral election.

This is what it looks like when your tax dollars at work are spent buying an election without your consent.

Right here it is.

About a month later, Denton Floyd treated former redevelopment chieftain David Duggins to a relaxing day at Keeneland and the Louisville City soccer match.

ON THE AVENUES: Could that be David Duggins paddling across Jeff Gahan's putrid cesspool? On second thought, I'll take the blindfold.

By then, Denton Floyd was engaged in top secret, cloak and dagger negotiations to transform a "neglected" building into a luxury city hall. Now that it's on the verge of approval, the 2018 campaign finance report should be a dilly.

Throwing Reisz: The Jeff M. Gahan Luxury Government Center keeps the emphasis on buildings, as opposed to people.

Yesterday, the Green Mouse was told that during an earlier conversation about the Reisz conversion, David Barksdale was asked if there was a point beyond which saving the building would no longer be financially feasible.

How much is too much?

"Whatever it takes," was Barksdale's reply.

As historic preservation wagged the dog last Monday night, one of the Indy suits in attendance was Beau Zoeller of the Frost Brown Todd legal firm.

Frost Brown and Todd look to be big donors every year.

Earlier today, it was noted that Clark Dietz's entry couldn't be found. That's because it's the CD PAC listed above.

Just for amusement, I went back to 2015 for a look at CD PAC's tithe to Gahan's re-election campaign: $5k.

Look ahead a year at the other side of the ledger -- where Clark Dietz's beneficiaries donate into the pool of funds, and there's this from local CD workhorse Wes Christmas.

Exactly $5k; surely a coincidence.

Going back to the 2015 CD Pak report, you'll have noticed that in the address column, the $5,000 donation from Clark Dietz was listed as going to Gahan at Eastridge Drive, the mayor's home.

Oddly, though perhaps not oddly at all, an entirely different $400 donation was made to Jeff Gahan at 210 Lynnwood in Clarksville (the suits misspelled it), which is the address for Public Finance Management LLC, Duggins' own personal tiller.

Freudian skip? The state's info on Public Finance Management is here. An RIP is in order.

If I'm reading correctly, it looks like Duggins dissolved PFM just four days after cutting a check to Applegate.

Man, this is tiring. Don't forget another golden oldie from the Bookseller, circa 2015:

"Show Me the Money" (video): Jeff Gahan's campaign contributors provide a who's who list of buying and selling a city.

The Bud Lighting of Jeff Speck (2): Silver to Vincennes, as we survey the Rosenbarger Automotive Enhancement Plan for Spring Street.

Previously: Part 1: The Bud Lighting of Jeff Speck (1): The Rosenbarger Automotive Enhancement Plan for Spring, from Beharrel to Silver.

Above is the Clark Dietz rendering of the changes in store for Spring Street (between Silver and Vincennes), looking west at the intersection of Spring and Thomas. Below is what Jeff Speck proposed in his study for this corridor.

As noted in Part 1, Tuesday's (February 2) Board of Works conversation represented the first (and to date only) public airing of the details of this latest Spring Street "improvement" plan as it pertains to the Beharrel to Vincennes corridor. It came up in the newspaper last Friday.

Because this "safety for cars" planning began in 2010, and the Speck study was not finished until very late in 2014, Wes Christmas of Clark Dietz could only acknowledge to me his firm's awareness of Speck's general research, while maintaining the overall objective of phrasing the work currently proposed in purely auto-centric terms -- since, after all, the 90-10 federal match depends on using the right language.

Lane widths: Although four lanes shrink to three with turn lanes at Thomas, City Hall cannot bring itself to cut the flab all the way down to ten feet. The lanes will be eleven feet.

Parking: Apart from the Thomas intersection, there will be on-street parking for this segment.

Walkers: As the Clark Dietz drawing illustrates, no crosswalk access is projected for these blocks between Silver and Vincennes. Recalling that the speed limit is to remain unchanged, with city engineer Larry Summers suggesting that design will lower speeds so as to make life better for pedestrians, it remains that no specific point was made on Tuesday to offer an engineering solution for people wishing to cross Spring Street, from one side to the other, from Beharrel to Vincennes, except at Silver -- and City Hall insists this plan is a boon for walkers.

Bicycle lanes: With regard to bicycle lanes, we now understand what councilman Greg Phipps and ESNA president Greg Roberts were referring to when, on Sunday during a Fb conversation, Roberts wrote these words:

After reviewing the Speck plan again, this project is following his recommendations almost to the letter, except for having both bike plans on one side. the unveiled plan shows one bike lane on each side. I think Greg is fighting for his district with a new rental registration proposed ordinance, two way streets project, getting street lamps fixed, housing, etc... In my opinion, some of Speck's study was over kill on the bike lanes!!

Yes, it appears that City Hall was spooked by Speck; specifically, Speck's proposal of an innovative and integrity-laced two-way cycle facility on one side of the street, buffered by parked cars, as opposed to the more conventional integrated lane approach (see below for Speck's explanations of both).

A digression: During public speaking time at Tuesday's BOW meeting, I requested an explanation of the "environmental study" letter being circulated to property owners on Market, Spring and Elm.

RQAW's letter to property owners: The "street improvements" project that dare not speak its name.

John Rosenbarger, wizard of all planning, was called to explain. He publicly agreed with my assertion that it stands to confuse people to refer to a project (New Albany Downtown Street Improvements) that as yet remains in mysterious backroom planning stages, cannot be researched on-line, and which city officials tend to refer to only in vague terms of double-speak.

Rosenbarger said something else publicly, which is cataclysmic by New Gahania's down-low standards: The New Albany Downtown Street Improvements euphemism does refer to one- to two-way street reversions. 

It's on the record ... unless it's already been erased, and we've always been at war with Oceania. I felt like I'd cracked the code. Do I get a medal ... or a plaque?

If I am misinterpreting anything herein, please, someone, correct me.

Prognosis: It's better than the de facto interstate that will, as yet, be maintained from Beharrel to Silver. It is impossible to predict what will happen on those streets now one-way, when (if) they're reverted to two-way traffic. My guess would be the least innovative bastardization of Speck possible, if that. It's how New Gahania rolls.

The quoted cost of the auto-centric project from Beharrel to Vincennes is somewhere around $650,000 (90-10 split, with the feds bearing the 90). To restore the remainder of the street grid to ruddy two-way health, and once the inevitable campaign contributions are factored into the mix ... folks, we're looking at millions.

Best hope that water slide makes lots of money this summer. Trust me: They'll find a way to screw this up.

Following is what Speck says (page 62-64 of his study):

---

Current Condition
This next segment of Spring Street also consists of four lanes in a roadway that is over 50 feet wide. This segment carries considerably less traffic, with daily counts in the 16,000 to 18,000 range. It also presents less motivation for left-hand turns, with only Thomas Street serving a significant network (grid) function. Cars often travel at excessive speeds along this segment’s wide driving lanes.

Analysis
The same 3-lane road-diet section can be provided here, but the small demand for left-hand turn motions suggests that the center lane need only be provided at Silver, Thomas, and Vincennes Streets, and can be eliminated elsewhere. Eliminating this facility where it is not needed provides additional space in the roadway that can be dedicated to other use, and here it makes sense to introduce a cycle facility that reaches into downtown.

The roadway’s 50-foot width can amply hold two travel lanes, two parking lanes, and a two-way cycle facility. At the intersections noted above, one parking lane would drop away in order to provide space for a center turn lane. It is essential that this turn lane not be any longer than needed. It is anticipated that a combined storage area and lane chamfer of 80 feet will be sufficient.

The cycle facility could take two different forms. As already discussed, protected cycle tracks have been demonstrated to provide the greatest safety and encouragement to cyclists while also improving the driving experience. Because of their success and popularity in the dozens of states in which they have been tested, it is recommended that one significant-length cycle track be introduced to New Albany, and Spring Street provides the ideal corridor.

Such a cycle track earns its “protected status by being located principally between the curb and parked cars. One flank of curb parking is pulled off the curb, in order to create this corridor, and a small striped buffer separates bicyclists from opening car doors. At corners, the parked cars drop away in order to improve cyclists’ visibility.

However, if there is community resistance to this facility, a more conventional solution of two integrated cycle lanes, similar to the current condition west of Vincennes, could be applied instead to this two-way segment. To welcome bikes and encourage slower driving speeds, driving lanes should be 10 feet wide rather than 12, so that bike lanes may be 6 feet wide rather than 5. This extra foot is important to cyclists, who are squeezed between moving traffic on one side and car doors on the other.

Recommendation
From Silver to Vincennes, restripe Spring Street to one of the following configurations:

Cycle Track Solution:Place an 8-foot two-way cycle track against the south curb, with a 6-foot striped buffer separating it from a 36-foot roadway containing two 10-foot travel lanes flanked by two 8-foot parking lanes (striped). At Silver, Thomas, and Vincennes, provide 10-foot left-hand turn lanes by eliminating one flank of parallel parking and narrowing the buffer to 4 feet. The left-hand turn lane facility should be no longer than needed, ideally 80 feet or less total, including chamfer.

Integrated Lane Solution: Reconfigure the roadway to include two 11-foot driving lanes flanked by two 6-foot cycle lanes and two 8-foot parking lanes. At Silver, Thomas, and Vincennes, provide 10-foot left-hand turn lanes by eliminating one flank of parallel parking and narrowing the travel lanes to 10 feet. The left-hand turn lane facility should be no longer than needed, ideally 80 feet or less total, including chamfer.

The Bud Lighting of Jeff Speck (1): The Rosenbarger Automotive Enhancement Plan for Spring, from Beharrel to Silver.

Above is the Clark Dietz rendering of the primarily auto-centric changes in store for Spring Street, looking east at the Silver Street intersection. Below is what Jeff Speck proposed in his study. 

See also: The Bud Lighting of Jeff Speck (2): Silver to Vincennes, as we survey the Rosenbarger Automotive Enhancement Plan for Spring Street.

I'm going to tackle an overview of the Clark Dietz plan for Spring Street between Beharrel and Vincennes, as mentioned in the newspaper last Friday. These "improvements" have been in the works since 2010, and were revealed for the first time publicly at Tuesday's (February 2) Board of Works meeting.

With all in attendance hiding in terror from Jeff Speck, as is their conspicuous habit, afterward I spoke with Wes Christmas of Clark Dietz. He told me that while his firm has been aware of Jeff Speck's recommendations, the specific mandate for "improvements" along this stretch derives from the reduction of automobile accident rates; specifically, adding left-hand turn lanes for cars.

He conceded vague compatibility with certain aspects of Speck's recommendations, but said it hardly could be termed a blueprint. Again, the talking point: This is about cars. There will be no change in speed limits. The Beharrel to Silver segment's lane widths appear to be narrowing only at the intersection with Silver, although this was not made clear. If I misinterpret anything, I hope to receive corrections and will amend this account accordingly.

Beharrel to Silver.

Speck says:

So much for that.

Because city officials reckon Providence Way must remain connected with Spring Street, in large measure there will be no changes to the street between Beharrel and Silver.

Speck had proposed the introduction of a 3-lane configuration for this segment with parking on both sides, and the addition of some crosswalks. In the Clark Dietz plan, there will be no on-street parking here, no crosswalks, and no bike lanes.

About those bike lanes: Presumably city officials (John Rosenbarger, Larry Summers) always have excluded the possibility of bicycle lanes from the Beharrel-Silver segment, and even Speck did not include them. Neither does Clark Dietz. Rather, city planners want to connect bicyclists to Spring Street via currently incomplete (and occasionally laughable) "bike lanes" on Silver, both north and south of Spring.

At the BOW meeting, Summers referred to connecting Spring via Silver with "bike lanes on Charlestown Road," these being periodic segments connected to nothing. When I mentioned this, Larry insisted that the only way for New Albany to proceed is to build isolated biking segments when possible, and hope to connect them later. If I am exaggerating his statement, I hope he corrects me.

Stray note: BOW president Warren Nash asked Christmas to explain the westbound turn lane set-back (see photo). Christmas explained that it is there for trucks coming from Silver Street, and going eastbound on Spring, to have sufficient room to maneuver. Or, reassurance to the instigators of the lawsuit.

Prognosis: On the Beharrel to Silver stretch, it will remain all about cars. Pity the poor people living along this expanse of Spring Street. They get ... nothing, and their property values -- well, we needn't be gratuitous. The outlook is somewhat better in the second area of "improvement," from Silver to Vincennes, coming in the second part.

Following is what Speck says (page 60-61 of his study):

--

Current Condition
The two-way eastern segment of Spring Street consists of four lanes in a roadway that is over 50 feet wide. This segment carries significant traffic volumes, with daily counts just below 23,000 cars between Silver and Beharrel.

Transitioning to highway conditions to and from the Ohio River Scenic Byway, cars often travel at excessive speeds along this segment’s wide driving lanes, and crossing the street feels treacherous.
In this four-block stretch, only one crosswalk is present, at Beharrel Avenue.

Analysis
In this configuration, Spring Street corresponds exactly with the “before” image of what has become known as the “Classic 4-to-3 Road Diet.” Already described under The Proper Number of Driving Lanes, the road diet replaces two driving lanes with one center turn lane, dramatically improving safety while having no negative impact on traffic volume.

Eliminating a driving lane and narrowing the remaining lanes allows for 8-foot parking lanes to be striped on both sides of the street. Whether or not the enfronting houses make regular use of this parking, the introduction of a 3-lane configuration will result in a street that is considerably safer, with no sacrifice in capacity. Left-hand turns into businesses will be able to be made without the fear of being hit from behind in the fast lane.

On a street section such as this, where the on-street parking may be little used during parts of the day, the actual striping (rather than simply signing) of the parking spaces becomes an important delineator of the appropriate travel lane. The transition from four lanes to three can be accomplished by having the righthand westbound lane become right-only approaching Woodrow Avenue.

Additional danger can be removed by eliminating the intersection of Providence Way and Spring Street, instead requiring westbound traffic on Providence to turn north onto Beharrel.

While the introduction of a crosswalk in this segment, without a corresponding signal, might encourage unsafe behavior, pedestrian safety can be enhanced by inserting a refuge island in the center lane about midway between Beharrel and Silver, at Cost Avenue.

(Incidentally, and not addressed elsewhere in this report, the short segment of Cost Avenue north of Spring Street should be considered for two-way reversion once Spring Street is calmed by the road diet recommended here.)

Please see the Appendix for an analysis of the Spring/Silver intersection. While a right-hand turn lane is not encouraged at the westbound approach to Silver—and produces only marginal improvement to flow—such a facility can be introduced by slightly narrowing the driving lanes and eliminating the north-flank parking lane. If introduced, this turn lane should be limited in length, since it encourages speeding.

Recommendation
From Beharrel to Silver, restripe Spring Street to two 10-foot driving lanes surrounding a 12-foot center turn lane and flanked by two striped 9-foot parking lanes. (Require the northern westbound lane to turn right onto Woodrow.) If right-hand turns cause congestion at Silver Street, insert a short westbound right-hand turn lane by eliminating the northern flank of parking and restriping the driving lanes slightly narrower, while maintaining the parking on the south flank. (The resulting street section will approximate: 11 turn – 10 drive – 11 turn – 10 drive – 9 park.) Insert a pedestrian refuge in the center lane at Cost Avenue.

The art of redistributive campaign finance: 1st class passengers in the Gravy Train kick the juice right back to Jeff Gahan.

Cartoon credit is in the cartoon.

You likely won't see either mainstream party or their candidates address it but a politician receiving significant campaign contributions from companies who are awarded large public contracts is an obvious conflict of interest, ethically stunted if not outright graft -- Bluegill

If you're still wondering why street grid reform is taking so long, or why rental property registrations once again are being swept under the rug -- by folks who fancy themselves as Democrats, no less -- then sharpen Occam's Razor, put civic affairs into proper focus ... and follow the money.

If it cannot be readily monetized into campaign finance, as with a walkable city, then it isn't a priority. Conversely, if campaign finance is monetized from it, as with slumlord empowerment, it must be left as is.

ON THE AVENUES: It's just like when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

ON THE AVENUES SPECIAL EDITION: Adam's rib tips.

Over a period of years, Mayor Gahan consistently has bypassed the elected city council to spend millions on plaque-ready infrastructure projects approved by appointed boards, primarily the Redevelopment Commission* -- upon which his DemoDisneyDixiecratic Party chairman (and de facto campaign chief) sits.

Many millions of dollars have been spent, and subsequently, many thousands of dollars have found their way from design, engineering and construction beneficiaries, straight into the mayor's re-election fund. After all, when you're planning future political careers, nationally recognized telephone voter contact services don't come cheap**.

The mayoral hologram now is booted up (thanks to Walt Disney Animation Studios, the stress and strain of unscripted public appearances is kept to a bare minimum), and we're told that fat cats, big wheels and special interests needn't be the exclusive domain of tried and true practitioners like Kerry Stemler.

“I think it shows we have some broad support from a lot of local firms as well some firms that have helped us in the various projects that we’ve begun and will soon be completing,” (Gahan) he said.

“Generally speaking, I feel like we’re equipped and we’re prepared to begin our campaign, and go out and talk to people about how promising a future New Albany has.”

But if holograms are good enough for Jeff Gahan, surely George Orwell can be reanimated, too. We need him here to help explain concepts like bellyfeel, duckspeak and minitrue, which are alive and well in New Albany's DemoDisneyDixiecratic hermetic state.

Gahan holds campaign funding lead in New Albany Dem mayoral race, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune)

NEW ALBANY — Incumbent Jeff Gahan held a sizable fundraising advantage at the end of 2014 over challenger David White in the race for the Democratic nod for New Albany mayor.

The Committee to Elect Gahan — who is seeking his second term after being elected in 2011 — had more than $89,000 on-hand at the end of 2014, according to an annual fundraising report filed in January. Gahan entered last year with about $36,000 on-hand, and raised about $58,000 in 2014 for his re-election campaign ...

... White’s fundraising campaign differed from Gahan’s in that most of his contributions came from individual donors. Some of Gahan’s biggest contributions came from Political Action Committees, engineering firms and contractors.

Wayne Estopinal, owner of The Estopinal Group, gave Gahan’s committee $4,000 last year. Jorge Lanz, co-owner of Jacobi, Toombs and Lanz pitched-in $5,000 in 2014 to Gahan’s election campaign, and Clark Dietz Inc. donated $2,000.

Each of the three companies have held various contracts with the city in recent years for professional services. Multiple other companies that have received city funds for services also contributed to Gahan’s campaign last year.

Three Indianapolis PACs — Frost Brown PAC, Citizens for Excellence in Government and CD PAC — donated $8,500 to Gahan’s campaign in 2014.

Are you disgusted yet?

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* From the city's web site:

New Albany Redevelopment Commission

Irving Joshua, President
Adam Dickey, Vice-President
Edward Hancock, Secretary
Dan Coffey
John Gonder

Mr. Dickey, Mr. Hancock and Mr. Joshua were appointed by Mayor Jeff Gahan; Mr. Coffey and Mr. Gonder were appointed by Common Council.

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** The client list at InFocus Campaigns includes relatively few mayors and council persons, most of whom are from cities like Los Angeles, San Antonio and Houston. One client is from New Albany, Indiana. You get three guesses who ... and the first two don't count.

InFocus Campaigns is dedicated to delivering the highest quality telephone voter contact service for Democratic, progressive and non-partisan clients. Since our founding in 2011, InFocus Campaigns has worked for over one hundred clients in thirty states in the U.S., and for international clients in the U.K. and Canada.