Kudos to congressional candidate Rob Chatlos for his direct and honest support of public housing residents threatened by Jeff Gahan's putsch.

9th district congressional hopeful Rob Chatlos (D) has provided a strong statement about public housing to We Are New Albany, but first, let's clarify a portion of District 72 House of Representatives candidate Chris FitzGerald's testimony from yesterday evening's post.

FitzGerald wrote:

For those not aware, NAHA currently operates 1,200 housing units. With underinvestment from the Federal government going back decades, we have a price tag of nearly $140,000,000 in deferred maintenance costs. This is a situation that cannot continue as is. Continued deterioration will only harm NAHA residents.

I asked FitzGerald to refer me to the source of the $140,000,000 figure. Thus far he has not, but Mike Bainbridge, former financial director of the New Albany Housing Authority, picked up the ball on social media.

The $140,000,000 of maintenance needs is taken out of context every time Gahan & Co. use it. That was the estimated total cost to bring all 1,000 units to a like new condition. It included all costs of rehabbing units/complexes that could be salvaged, and tearing down and rebuilding all units/complexes that couldn't. That was NOT an estimate of "deferred maintenance" costs. That's just what Gahan & Co. have morphed it into. Obviously tearing down and rebuilding 500+ units goes far beyond deferred maintenance costs.

Further, Bob Lane had a viable plan that did make one-for-one placement feasible even with the $140,000,000 estimate (which was the highest-end estimate). As the former finance guy I can assure you it's not a lack of funding that makes one-for-one replacement unfeasible. It's the agenda and desires of the current administration ... masked as a lack of funding.

It may be true that Chatlos has little chance of winning the primary. However, as Aaron Fairbanks of We Are New Albany reveals, Chatlos addresses the crux of the public housing putsch directly, with passion, force and logic.

I commend him.

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We have yet another huge public statement. This is our second statement by a congressional candidate, and we really appreciate his strong show of public support for the residents of the New Albany Housing Authority and We Are New Albany.

Public Statement of 9th District Congressional Candidate, Rob Chatlos (D)

rob@chatlosforcongress.com

We Are New Albany has asked me to weigh in regarding the public housing issue that will displace current residents in low income housing. Politics is a dirty business, and in the absence of truthful factual information I question the credibility and authenticity of any public servant unwilling to be completely transparent on issues that clearly require complete disclosure to the public.

The expectation of full disclosure has been rendered to a halt encompassing this issue and I for one side with the citizens of We Are New Albany until it is clear what the sincere intentions and motives are of those pushing for the demolition of these public housing units. The reason this is so important is that it has been established that there are not enough affordable housing options to compensate residents that will be displaced throughout the city or adjacent communities using housing voucher programs.

It really boils down to simple logic. You don’t pick something up to move it unless you already have a new place to set it down. Right now that standard of logic has been largely unheeded and I encourage the citizens of We Are New Albany to continue fighting for full disclosure until an acceptable and fair outcome has been reached. I will be happy to assist in this matter in any capacity that I can as I have not always had a roof over my head. Housing first.

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Previously: 

Read Dan Canon's statement about the issue of public housing in New Albany.

Three more candidates have provided statements to We Are New Albany about their positions on Jeff Gahan's public housing demolition fetish.

Grooms, Murray join Clere in addressing public housing concerns during NAHA candidate forum.

We Are New Albany press release, Part Two: "We Are New Albany endorses Republican candidate Ed Clere of Indiana State House of Representatives, District 72."

Democratic State Senate candidate Anna Murray replies to our question about the New Albany Housing Authority.

Councilman Al Knable: "I haven't given a formal public statement on NAHA but I'm happy to respond here."

9th district primary opponents Dan Canon and Liz Watson raised lots of money in the 3rd quarter. We know Canon, so let's have a look at Watson.

According to Ballotpedia, five Democrats have declared for the primary in May, 2018. The winner will contest incumbent Trey Hollingsworth's 9th district congressional seat.

Dan Canon

Rob Chatlos

Jason Leineweber

Tom Pappas

Liz Watson

Note that Ballotpedia lists Chatlos twice, as a Democrat and as an Independent.

Yesterday Dan Canon's team took to social media to reveal his 3rd quarter fundraising proceeds.

Congressional Candidate Dan Canon has record-setting quarter

New Albany, Indiana— Dan Canon, Congressional candidate in Indiana’s 9th district, today reported raising over $208k, the most ever by a Democratic Challenger in the 9th District in the 3rd quarter of a non-election year.

Canon’s fundraising came overwhelmingly from small-dollar donors, with over 1600 individual donations including donations from all thirteen counties in the district. These amounted to a median donation of $27. 86% of donations were $100 or less. In addition, the campaign is building an unprecedented field operation to engage constituents across the district.

So did Watson, who barely trailed Canon on the tote board.

Liz Watson, Candidate in IN-09, Raises More Than $200,000 in Third Quarter

Watson out-raised Republican incumbent Trey Hollingsworth

Liz Watson, candidate for Congress in IN-09, raised more than $200,000 by the September 30th fundraising deadline. In doing so, Watson has out-raised Republican incumbent Trey Hollingsworth and nearly every candidate running for Congress in Indiana.

USA Today had a look at these early fundraising returns.

The most noteworthy numbers for third quarter fundraising were put up in southcentral Indiana where both New Albany attorney Dan Canon and Bloomington attorney Liz Watson each raised more than $200,000. That’s not only more than the $127,400 raised in the past three months by freshman Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-New Albany. But it’s also more than the recent amounts raised by any other House candidate in the state except Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Jimtown.

It occurs to me that while Canon is well known in New Albany and metro Louisville, readers might not be familiar with Watson, who rode the Democratic Party's Harvest Homecoming parade float with Canon.

I'm not sure if any of the other candidates did, although it's possible. Later Watson posted this at Fb:

I posted a comment asking the candidate about Tenille's housing status and costs, given the state of affordable housing in New Albany amid Jeff Gahan's putsch and subsequent hostile takeover of public housing. She replied via Messenger that she'd like to learn more about these topics.

Accordingly, I was happy to provide the candidate with a list of NA Confidential links on the putsch, and I hope to speak with her about it very soon.

In the meantime, via Watson's web site, here's her pitch.

Meet Liz Watson

Liz Watson is running for Congress because she wants to bring good jobs, affordable health care, and high-quality public education to Indiana’s working families. Liz has fought for Hoosiers in the nation’s capitol, and she has seen the dysfunction in Washington up close. Liz believes it’s unacceptable that working people are being left behind by politicians who would rather stand up for special interests than for Hoosiers.

Liz has led and won important fights throughout her legal career to help hardworking people get high-quality, good-paying jobs. As a working mom, Liz understands that today's families need affordable health care, high-quality child care, predictable schedules, paid sick days and family leave, and fair pay. She has written policies to raise the minimum wage, protect working people from being cheated out of their pay, and to create pathways to the middle class.

Liz learned the values of hard work and fair play the old-fashioned way. She worked the cash register at Fazoli’s, waitressed at Steak ‘n’ Shake, and sold clothing at L.S. Ayres. Through these experiences, she learned the value of a dollar while saving for college.

Liz’s roots in Indiana date back to the Civil War, when her great-great grandfather fought for the Union from Huntington, Indiana. She comes from generations of hardworking Hoosiers: a postal inspector, carpenter, refrigerator and electrical repairman, teachers, and the owner of the Feed and Grain Store in Shoals.

It’s wrong that today Indiana families who work hard and play by the rules struggle to keep their heads above water. Liz believes we should invest in workforce training and in the future of our young people, especially in proven models like apprenticeship, make community college and universities more affordable, and support our small business job-creators.

Liz gets results. When she learned that pregnant women working in retail jobs were being told they couldn’t make simple changes at work like carrying a water bottle or being able to sit down during a long shift, despite doctors’ orders, she filed a complaint and got the policy changed. Fighting for working people and the right to organize has been the hallmark of Liz’s career and continues to motivate her to serve her community.

For too long, Congress has done everything to help special interest billionaires and little to help Main Street. Liz will work to get hardworking Hoosiers a long overdue raise, fight against trade deals that threaten Hoosier manufacturing, support small businesses, help people juggle work and family life, and protect public education and affordable health insurance–including for those fighting the grips of opioid addiction.

Liz and her husband Craig are both teaching at Indiana University. Their two young children are attending the same elementary school that Liz attended as a child, and they love spending time with Liz’s parents who live a few miles away.

Liz brings the experience and drive that we need to win for Hoosiers in Congress, and she will never stop fighting for Indiana’s families.