Mailer Wars '15: Speaking of $$$, Gahan will spend more $$$ on mailers alone than you'll earn in a year.

This one cried out for doctoring. Here's the original, which constitutes invasive surgery on the truth.

Except for the parts of town that aren't safer, aren't cleaner, and aren't better.

Maybe he's saving those for another mailer?

Mailer Wars '15: Gahan's card stock grows in inverse proportion to the shrinkage of his ideas.

Because the ultimate in "family-friendly" is when your grandchildren continue to pay for their childhood delights, even when they're grown and have kids of their own.

Mailer Wars '15: Barksdale dares to mention the "d" word.

You have to admire David Barksdale for leading off with a vow to "take downtown revitalization to the next level," not because it provides sufficient substance to inform us which level downtown occupies at present (seemingly fundamental if one seeks to go "next"), but because of the widely reported phenomenon of Don't Talk Downtown.

A. Contrary to old voters' tales, downtown does NOT receive disproportionate financial attention from City Hall. In fact, as I've often noted, revitalization has occurred in SPITE of City Hall, not because of it.

B. When City Hall HAS invested public money downtown, it has tended to be wrong (Doug's Bicentennial Park, Jeff's Main Street beautification), BUT even these boneheaded moves have not represented expenditures equal to the long-term costs of suburbanization.

C. AND New Albany's inner ring suburbs generally are four or less miles from the core, meaning that much of the discussion is moot, anyway.

Barksdale follows with the necessarily italicized "healthy" neighborhoods in all part of the city, and further notes the importance of business friendliness.

One wonders how Barksdale contextualizes business-friendly attitudes with Padgett, Inc., the GOP's chief downtown benefactor, and an entity than both gives and takes away: It's been "friendly" toward some of Barksdale's favored historic preservation causes, while profoundly unfriendly as it  pertains to other helpful measures -- read: street grid reform.

All in all, this mailer is above average for the genre. It's an apt introduction, and the candidate's willingness to lead with downtown revitalization stands out from the pack.

If you're a progressive, who gets the nod: David Barksdale, Shirley Baird ... or none of the above?

Mailer Wars '15: Let's take a closer look at KZ's four platitudes.

Let's look at each in turn.

Better Management: Localism does not factor into it; instead, it's the very same incentive-laden "attract and retain" boilerplate that's written on the back of David Duggins's business cards. You'd think that at some point, the GOP would realize that Beach Mold & Tool and Padgett actually are local businesses. How will KZ compete against the superior incentives available at River Ridge?

Better Neighborhoods: "Enforcing existing codes" is a code phrase itself, meaning "no rental property registration or inspection" -- and yet rental properties remain the crux of so many neighborhood issues. Also, there's nothing to stop neighborhood associations from being created and strengthened now. The truth is there's no grassroots pressure for this to occur. If KZ intends to create these entities, isn't that top-down thinking of the sort we're trying to purge?

Better City: In my estimation, KZ's vow to run City Hall transparently is sincere. He's surely seen how it works from the other side of the wall, being the only Republican on a council dominated by Democrats.

Better Life: Reading the words "an exceptional place to raise our children" reminds me of a weekend discussion about sporting opportunities for young people. Whenever the topic of team sports is raised, the discussion inevitably turns to a collective responsibility on the part of suburbanites to provide "opportunity" to low-income, inner-city children who can't afford team sports. Curiously, it seldom turns to a chat about what we might do to provide economic opportunity overall, period, rather than continuing to regard the one-in-a-million, lottery-winning inner city future NBA star as constituting equitable opportunity.

I'm not grading these mailers, but KZ's second mass communication manages to narrow his platform to four basic points, even if they are vague and generalized. It's probably where he needs to be in terms of agitprop.

For greater substance, I believe you know where to look. Just search "Baylor Mayor" at NAC, make some coffee, and settle in.

Mailer Wars '15: KZ plays it safe and sticks to the platitudes.

Kevin Zurschmiede's opening statement is very safe. It's the small talk with the father of your date while you're waiting for her to come downstairs.

In large measure, the mayoral campaign to date has consisted of the two major party candidates repeating basic mantras.

Jeff Gahan: Look at these photos of the nice gifts I bought for you with YOUR credit card.

Kevin Zurschmiede: I'm not him ... I'm not him ... I'm not him.

Meanwhile, I've tried my hardest to offer substance: On neighborhoods , and localism, and health and safety, and human rights and free speech -- and yes, also on calmed and completed two-way streets.

Consequently, Kevin's challenge is moving beyond the character references and delving into specifics.

For instance, the mayor has had absolutely nothing to say about economic development or jobs during his reign. This is easy to explain: What development the local economy has undertaken has been in spite of Gahan, not because of him -- and jobs comprise a category defined primarily by persistent hemorrhaging, as with Pillsbury, StemWood and Indatus.  

Yes, Jeff, I know: Beach Mold & Tool is expanding -- and the company thinks so highly of your contribution to this expansion that it is hosting the GOP chili cook-off next week.

When there's nothing to say, you tend to change the subject, hence Gahan's "Elvis meets PT Barnum at Walt Disney's penthouse suite" persona.

I've campaigned on a platform of de-emphasizing economic development boilerplate in a time of River Ridge envy, turning attention to the localization of the economy, and devoting our economic development efforts to useful infrastructure improvements toward this end, as with fiber optic communications and two-way streets.

Kevin has not offered specifics, and worse still, he possesses his own 800-lb gorilla: Padgett, an old-school industrial entity which does not comprehend new-school economic development, and in fact has advocated actively against measures to achieve it (those pesky two-way streets, again).

As a candidate, I'm delighted to be the only one of three to so much as mention economic development as a civic priority, and to both articulate and define a future agenda.

As a voter, I find it curious that both major parties are playing prevent defense, but please, be my guest.

In closing, as with the DemoDixieDisneycrats, the GOP appears to be willing to embrace the attack, although even with this, the Republicans are being reactive to Gahan's ludicrous claims.

Where's the beef?

Mailer Wars '15: An unbalanced Gahan leads off with budgetary tall tales.

Jeff Gahan's first mailer is out, and it isn't balanced.

More tellingly, the DemoDixieDisneycratic Party's opening broadside is an attack on the Republican. It's likely to be the ongoing pattern, with Gahan aiming for the warm and fuzzy, while Adam Dickey brandishes the stiletto.

Just remember that Party Politics 101 is the primary reason for considering alternatives.

Previously we recalled Jeff Gahan's many promises from 2011. Curiously, among them was NOT a vow to fund $30 million in "quality of life" projects with TIF-backed bonds.

Shattered 2011 Gahan campaign promises, Part 1: The "good jobs" mayor!

Shattered 2011 Gahan campaign promises, Part 2: The "good education" mayor!

Shattered 2011 Gahan campaign promises, Part 3: The "let's work together" mayor!

NAC's Jeff Gillenwater explains.

Jeff Gahan likes to say that he has balanced the budget because it makes it sound as though he's somehow managed to run the city more efficiently. He's not as keen to put real numbers to that claim, though, for good reason.

As provided by the Department of Local Government Finance, the state agency that oversees local budgets, here are those actual numbers-- New Albany's annual budgets from each of the past few years. Gahan took office in 2012.

2011 - $14,665,386
2012 - $18,738,682
2013 - $20,084,675
2014 - $22,600,514
2015 - $24,300,565
2016 - Gahan is currently asking the City Council for another increase

Understandably given the large annual spending increases, the district tax rate has increased under Gahan each year as well.

Even with city government spending approximately $10,000,000 more per year now than it did before Gahan took over, those tax increases did not cover his tens of millions of dollars of additional spending on special and often seasonal projects like the aquatics center. Several of those projects, over $30 million, were financed with Tax Increment backed bonds, borrowed at interest against projected future tax revenues for the next 20 years. Many New Albanians 45 or older will likely be retired or perhaps even deceased before taxpayers manage to pay off just a single Gahan term as mayor.

And, as Gahan himself says, he's not done yet.

There's little reason to believe a second term would be differently focused, more efficient and practical, or more open and inclusive. As Roger Baylor says, transparency should not be a last resort. We shouldn't be reading about million dollar golf course deals months after the fact but we are. If, like many New Albanians, you're not comfortable with a mayor who tells you he's "balanced" the budget when he's substantially increased it or that he's paid off debt from previous administrations when he's taken on much more for comparatively frivolous projects and corporate subsidies, please vote accordingly.

Quality of life begins with honest communication, something that just doesn't figure in Jeff Gahan's accounting.