Plaid Friday 1: Speaking of localism, remember when that paving guy launched his boycott of toll opponents?

Last week, an unexpected e-mail landed in my box.

Alas, when I followed the link, the request had disappeared. To be honest, it had been a very long time since I thought about Mr. Coe and his boycott. Let's revisit it. It was July, 2011, and the text of the original posting at NA Confidential appears in its entirety. There was a follow-up with Coe's reply: "If you’re going to argue 'no tolls' be fair and honest."

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At long last, an oligarch's toady who is honest in his vituperation.


All the digging credit goes to Curt Morrison and his Louisville Courant blog for uncovering these delicious gems of wisdom from Spencer Coe, Vice President at Gohmann "We Fought the Guvmint, and the Guvmint Won" Asphalt, which of course stands to reap vast and mind-boggling profits from various components of the bridges boondoggle.

Indiana businesses boycotted by VP of crooked contractor

Spencer B. Coe, the Vice President of Gohmann Asphalt, through comments on a Business First poll on the Bridges Project, has launched a boycott against toll opponents. Specifically, he's named businesses like Buckhead's, Rocky's, Clark County Auto Auction, that he believes he can do without.

Here's a Coe defense of his kneejerk boycott notion, which appeared as a comment at Louisville Courant.

I stand by my position, those who support the ORBP should not support the businesses of those who do not. I can choose where to spend my money and it will not be with businesses that actively oppose investment in the future of our region, I suggest the same for all ORBP supporters.

In the same comment thread, NA Confidential's Jeff Gillenwater answered.

If that's how Coe wants to play, then play.

What that means, of course, is that an overwhelming majority of people in the region would not do business with Gohmann Asphalt, including hundreds of area businesses and all the local governments who have issued statements, signed petitions, and/or passed resolutions against current ORBP plans.

Gohmann competes for local contracts worth hundreds of thousands in New Albany alone. Removing them from the bid list, though, is no problem if that's how their VP wants to handle it.

In an earlier comment at Facebook, Coe widened the geographic scope to include our own charming New Albany.

Please someone tell me how this will adversely affect Southern Indiana? Smooth flowing traffic on I 65 will adversely impact downtown New Albany and Grant Line Road businesses? The inability of some in Southern Indiana to see outside their "back yard" is frightening!

Impact? I'm glad he brought up that word, which has become a favorite of mine. I took a slightly softer approach in answering.

Spencer, what you might do is stand in my shoes for just a moment. As operator of a small independent retail business that does not derive governmental income for massive construction projects, but rather must convince diners/drinkers/shoppers to come to Indiana from Louisville to spend their discretionary income, I know how very hard it is to do just that. They don't have to come here; I must convince them. Charge them a fee to do it, and for many, game over. Until you and other toll proponents truly GET this reality, we'll continue being at odds.

Which reminds me, it is now 205 days since Jerry Finn of the Bridges Authority, in a conversation with me at the Muhammad Ali Center, conceded that no economic impact study on the effects of tolling on Southern Indiana small businesses had been done or even contemplated, but that he would henceforth urge such a study: Tolling Authority "input" session utterly without the redeeming presence of strong liquor.

Has he?

Have they?

Has anyone?

As for Spencer Coe, I'm sure he well understands the potential economic impact on Gohmann Asphalt if the company were to be frozen out of the bidding process for those huge infrastructure projects that constitute its bottom-line bread and butter. Alas, his boycott threat is hollow; Coe suggests "the same for all ORBP supporters," but since statistically, there are a few dozen such supporters at most scattered throughout the metro area, I'm not exactly set aquiver at the prospect of self-immolation on the Public House lawn.

Sadly and predictably, what Coe and other Ohio River Bridges Project proponents cannot seem to fathom, dazzled as they are by Ayn Rand's erotic attraction to steel, concrete, asphalt, and moreover, the velvety feel of crisp green slices paper pressed into one's hand in a One Southern Indiana conference room toilet stall, is that those of us down here in muddy bottom lands, rooting around for stray trickle-backs from the oligarchs, clearly see the economic impact of tolling because we live it, every single day.

We know that an economic impact study would amply illustrate tolling's obvious harm to small business in Southern Indiana, to our working commuters who must travel to Louisville and back, and to those Hoosiers least able to afford tolls, period.

At the same December meeting as my chat with Finn, David Nicklies wagged his finger at me and said that everyone must sacrifice to make possible the saving grace of the ORBP. What I asked him, and what I've continued to ask, is this: Why must residents of Southern Indiana sacrifice far more for less benefit?

It is a question that remains unanswered by Hoosier bridges fetishists, Spencer Coe now prominent among them.

Coe: "If you’re going to argue 'no tolls' be fair and honest."

Blogger is glitching (imagine that), and Spencer Coe has made three stabs without success at posting this as a comment. He agrees to have it lifted to the marquee, and so here goes. Let the discussion begin!

Spencer Coe has left a new comment on your post "Fetter: "Clere should represent the will of the people, business, and local government entities (as to) how tolling will negatively affect them."

Vocalizing support for actually building the bridges project with alternative financing, whether it be tolls (which I support), public private partnerships (which I support) or any other means is immediately countered by a plethora of comments about oligarchs and insinuations that supporting infrastructure and creating jobs is some how evil. This is immediately followed by flowery comments about “local business owner” Paul Fetter, “ Clark County Business” and their dedication to the poor and oppressed.

Let’s set the record straight, if there is an Oligarch it is Mr. Fetter. Manheim, Inc., his employer/partner (whatever the arrangement) has over 26,000 employees, over 100 locations in more than 15 countries and sold more than 10 million vehicles last year representing sales of over 50 billion dollars in 2010. Its headquarters is not in Clark County or in Indiana it’s in Atlanta Georgia and it is against tolls, the Bridges project, and moving our community forward. Manheim is about one thing, selling cars and they oppose tolls for one reason, they feel tolls will have a negative effect on their business. Obviously, Manheim/Fetter feels that if there are tolls fewer people will drive to Indiana and buy vehicles at his facility which will adversely affect his profitability. It’s not about driving to Louisville, or Indiana paying a disproportionate share of tolls. It’s about money. The “no tolls” group fears that a toll will adversely affect them financially.

On the opposite side of the argument there are those of us which support the Bridges Project. There are several reasons I support this project. These are the points that the “no tolls” folks over look or refuse to admit. The first and foremost being the economic development the project will bring to the area. This project will create jobs. The project will allow companies, including the one I work for and hundreds more in the region, to keep and hire workers. The project will stimulate home sales, commercial sales and encourage investment in our region. It has been consistently estimated that the construction alone will provide in excess of 4000 new jobs to the area during the 8-10 years of construction. These are good, skilled labor jobs paying, $25-$40 per hour federal wage rate jobs with benefits. These are jobs with which people can raise families, not minimum wage service industry jobs. Moreover, after construction the economic development benefit will be thousands more.

Contrary to the “no tolls” folks contentions, this project can not be built without some source of funding other than normal transportation funds. It is disingenuous to suggest that an additional one billion dollars can be cut from the project and no one can specify where these additional cuts will occur.

If you’re going to argue “no tolls” be fair and honest. If you’re against tolls you are against the bridges project, against new high paying jobs for our community, against economic development and against progress.

At long last, an oligarch's toady who is honest in his vituperation.

All the digging credit goes to Curt Morrison and his Louisville Courant blog for uncovering these delicious gems of wisdom from Spencer Coe, Vice President at Gohmann "We Fought the Guvmint, and the Guvmint Won" Asphalt, which of course stands to reap vast and mind-boggling profits from various components of the bridges boondoggle.

Indiana businesses boycotted by VP of crooked contractor

Spencer B. Coe, the Vice President of Gohmann Asphalt, through comments on a Business First poll on the Bridges Project, has launched a boycott against toll opponents. Specifically, he's named businesses like Buckhead's, Rocky's, Clark County Auto Auction, that he believes he can do without.

Here's a Coe defense of his kneejerk boycott notion, which appeared as a comment at Louisville Courant.

I stand by my position, those who support the ORBP should not support the businesses of those who do not. I can choose where to spend my money and it will not be with businesses that actively oppose investment in the future of our region, I suggest the same for all ORBP supporters.

In the same comment thread, NA Confidential's Jeff Gillenwater answered.

If that's how Coe wants to play, then play.

What that means, of course, is that an overwhelming majority of people in the region would not do business with Gohmann Asphalt, including hundreds of area businesses and all the local governments who have issued statements, signed petitions, and/or passed resolutions against current ORBP plans.

Gohmann competes for local contracts worth hundreds of thousands in New Albany alone. Removing them from the bid list, though, is no problem if that's how their VP wants to handle it.

In an earlier comment at Facebook, Coe widened the geographic scope to include our own charming New Albany.

Please someone tell me how this will adversely affect Southern Indiana? Smooth flowing traffic on I 65 will adversely impact downtown New Albany and Grant Line Road businesses? The inability of some in Southern Indiana to see outside their "back yard" is frightening!

Impact? I'm glad he brought up that word, which has become a favorite of mine. I took a slightly softer approach in answering.

Spencer, what you might do is stand in my shoes for just a moment. As operator of a small independent retail business that does not derive governmental income for massive construction projects, but rather must convince diners/drinkers/shoppers to come to Indiana from Louisville to spend their discretionary income, I know how very hard it is to do just that. They don't have to come here; I must convince them. Charge them a fee to do it, and for many, game over. Until you and other toll proponents truly GET this reality, we'll continue being at odds.

Which reminds me, it is now 205 days since Jerry Finn of the Bridges Authority, in a conversation with me at the Muhammad Ali Center, conceded that no economic impact study on the effects of tolling on Southern Indiana small businesses had been done or even contemplated, but that he would henceforth urge such a study: Tolling Authority "input" session utterly without the redeeming presence of strong liquor.

Has he?

Have they?

Has anyone?

As for Spencer Coe, I'm sure he well understands the potential economic impact on Gohmann Asphalt if the company were to be frozen out of the bidding process for those huge infrastructure projects that constitute its bottom-line bread and butter. Alas, his boycott threat is hollow; Coe suggests "the same for all ORBP supporters," but since statistically, there are a few dozen such supporters at most scattered throughout the metro area, I'm not exactly set aquiver at the prospect of self-immolation on the Public House lawn.

Sadly and predictably, what Coe and other Ohio River Bridges Project proponents cannot seem to fathom, dazzled as they are by Ayn Rand's erotic attraction to steel, concrete, asphalt, and moreover, the velvety feel of crisp green slices paper pressed into one's hand in a One Southern Indiana conference room toilet stall, is that those of us down here in muddy bottom lands, rooting around for stray trickle-backs from the oligarchs, clearly see the economic impact of tolling because we live it, every single day.

We know that an economic impact study would amply illustrate tolling's obvious harm to small business in Southern Indiana, to our working commuters who must travel to Louisville and back, and to those Hoosiers least able to afford tolls, period.

At the same December meeting as my chat with Finn, David Nicklies wagged his finger at me and said that everyone must sacrifice to make possible the saving grace of the ORBP. What I asked him, and what I've continued to ask, is this: Why must residents of Southern Indiana sacrifice far more for less benefit?

It is a question that remains unanswered by Hoosier bridges fetishists, Spencer Coe now prominent among them.