ON THE AVENUES: Apathy or allergy?

ON THE AVENUES: Apathy or allergy?

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

It’s a question asked oft times before, but what if we had an election -- and no one came?

Floyd Countians collectively endeavored to bring us closer to an ultimate answer on Tuesday, when only 13% of registered voters went to the trouble to learn where their usual voting place had been relocated, there being an acute shortage of Internet memes available to act as signposts in the absence of Walter Cronkite and various other, more comfortable educational materials.

For the first time in recent memory, I took my place among the 87%, an abstention sure to be maligned as hypocritical in some quarters, and yet one originally conceived only as an indignant protest against the shattering of a decade-old tradition of walking two blocks, coffee in hand, to do my democratic duty.

However, the more I explored the inner depths of my threadbare conscience, it became increasingly evident that lofting a middle finger on Tuesday against politics as usual in this sullen, stunted, centipede of a city held a certain, almost indefinable charm.

Perhaps I’m a punk rocker at heart, after all.

I can’t point to any single occurrence that soured me about this election, as opposed to all the other equally repugnant ones coming before it. Both muscle memory and mental training made it difficult to refrain from the selection habit of a lifetime.

It was hard, but I managed.

There is no animus toward those suggesting that my failure to cast a ballot should render me mute or impotent in any larger, civic sense. After all, I’ve said much the same before, about others, when positions were reversed. What’s more, I might as well be honest about my reasoning, not wishing to hand the hypocrisy fetishists their public orgasms on a silver (or any other) platter.

Part of my mood undoubtedly accrues from a cycle of personal and professional stress. While manageable and in the process of resolution, my world has been sufficiently intense that becoming overly agitated over a generally uncontested, forgettable primary simply isn’t part of my coping arsenal at present.

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Consequently, given a considerable esteem and honest affection for victorious judicial candidate Matt Lorch, it pains me to confess that a simple photograph of Matt with former mayor Doug England taken at a fundraiser did as much as anything to induce nausea at the mere thought of my sauntering into a polling place, whether around the corner or across town.

England is perhaps the greatest living symbol of the local Democratic Party’s perennial, lock-step, dunderheaded grip on the levers of municipal power. Standing next to him is Matt, and while the latter’s personal viewpoint of the disturbing symbolism on display obviously remains unknown to me, what undoubtedly would be clear to the most disinterested visiting space alien is that in a single-party-dominated system like ours, youth still must be immersed in a numbing, basic training-style crucible of “that’s the way we always do it, son.”

Make no mistake: I'm happy for Matt Lorch; really, I am. He has my support in November, and if he wins then, he’ll make a fine judge. But the fact that so few local Democrats truly are Democratic in any coherent real-world sense made it impossible for me to overcome my revulsion and vote. This may or may not change come fall.

Then there are the Republicans; now my appetite’s gone completely. The good news Tuesday is that Steve Bush did not win the party’s nomination for sheriff. The bad news is that he remains a county commissioner.

YEE-hah. Ain't we the lucky ones.

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Speaking of Republicans in (bleep’s) clothing, Ted Heavrin’s latest audition for the lead role in “The Comeback Kid” was rejected by 57% of the county’s District 2 voters, who opted for Barbara Sillings over the longtime county council kingpin.

Of all the outcomes in Tuesday’s primary, this is the hardest to grasp. How could Heavrin lose? By his own admission, he was tanned, rested and ready, having continued attending council meetings amid victory, defeat, re-appointment and renewed defeat – evidently it helps to know where the bodies are buried, and if not, to produce dulcet tones from a waterboard as he glowers from the peanut gallery – as well as having secured the endorsement of not one, but both political parties, who begged him to run as a sort of unity candidate capable of uniting fascists, and fascists.

Someone find Sgt. Harris from the old Barney Miller television show, because it looks as though we have another customer for the enchanted kingdom.

On the other hand, as the one person in Floyd County who legitimately believes service and servitude are synonyms, Heavrin might be forgiven for thinking that all the politicos adore him. After all, he consistently displayed unmistakably Republican governing proclivities, all the while remaining in the good graces of the reigning Dixiecrats. If those pesky voters displayed a stubborn willingness to hold Heavrin accountable, the local good-old-boy party system did not, exalting him as a selfless leader.

Spare me.

Like his longtime professional political partner, the late Larry McAllister, Heavrin never actually “led” anything, or anybody. Rather, not unlike a soldier on trial for war crimes, he merely copped the plea of doing his self-defined duty and following orders, which in this instance obliged him to eschew any semblance of revenue enhancement, and out-Grover Norquist by starving local government. These orders came to Heavrin, a supposed Democrat, straight from the decoder room at the Indiana GOP. He shrugged, and obeyed.

Considering Dave Matthews’s congenital inability to find candidates with a discernible pulse, why would the Republican chairman bother seriously challenging a pretend-Democrat who was eternally pliable and willing to parrot the official GOP line? The only surprising thing about any of this is that actual county residents have now voted against Heavrin three times in a row. Someone deserves a medal of valor, and it isn’t him.

In the hands of a gifted dramatist, this story might read as tragedy, or at least boast a tragi-comic twist or two. Unfortunately, people hereabouts seldom read, and Shakespeare did not live long enough to contemplate the script for Groundhog Day, the cinematic milestone that best describes the legacy of Heavrin-Think in Floyd County.

I didn’t vote on Tuesday, and I’m still bitching. Odds are in favor of my returning to the fold in the general election; with Mark Seabrook and Ron Grooms on the ballot, how can I resist voting “no” to both?

Area political IQ dips below the Mendoza Line as election draws near.

As arranged to provide for a candidate to purchase front page ad space, thus appearing almost as an editorial endorsement of Frank Loop for sheriff, thus dooming us to a Steve Bush victory, here is the News and Tribune's Voters' Guide, which includes multitudinous gems of self-serving wisdom, like this one from Ted Heavrin:

"I have been asked by both parties to run for the position."

Really, Dave Matthews? Not that it doesn't make some measure of sense, given that Heavrin is as much a "Democrat" as Vladimir Putin is a member of Pussy Riot; and stranger things have happened in this cavernous intellectual vacuum.

Another memorable snippet comes from Ron Grooms, who makes a forceful case for his political experience, whenever it comes to watching other folks do all the heavy lifting:

"Salaries need to be increased," purrs Grooms, who proceeds to spout vapid platitudes about education and training, sans the first original idea as to how someone in his position actually might affect such matters, short of being re-elected and repeating the platitudes next time around.

At least the voters' guide is not surrounded with Hanson Eye Activated Remuneration Tentacles (see, the newspaper really does have a HEART).

Meanwhile, guest columnist Matt Nash, who as yet has managed to avoid the wrath of 'Bama pensioner surrogates and retains his bully pulpit, sadly points to the obvious: You'll all be bitching, and about three of you will vote OR bother to be involved in any sensible way with local affairs.

Hell, you might as well be Ron Grooms. What's his salary, anyway?

NASH: It’s time to make some decisions

May has arrived and brought with it another primary election day. If I had to guess, I would say that newspaper opinion page readers are more prone to vote than members of the general public at large, but still the number of people that will be voting next week is going to be low.

Many people act like they are concerned at everything that is going on around them, but this primary election will likely still not generate much interest at all.

Are you concerned at the direction the state of Indiana is going? Do the bridge tolls or other highway problems concern you? Do you feel that Indiana is moving in the right direction as it pertains to the “gay marriage amendment?” Do you think that our schools are being funded properly, and do you agree with the direction of the state as it pertains to education?

Nearly everyone has an opinion on each of these matters, but very few will take the time to vote next week.

The Danse Macabre, rim shots, hayseed Dixiecrats and Ted Heavrin's county council candidacy.

Ted Heavrin's county council celebrates after slashing remaining fat from the 2011 budget.

I see that Ted Heavrin is running for Floyd County Council.

Again.

It's only been two years since Floyd County was doomed to ruin when Heavrin, sole possessor of the ATM password, was deposed in the primary. His loss prompted the News and Tribune's Chris Morris to break out his shoeshine kit, but then Heavrin staged a dramatic comeback and returned to vetoing budgets as a member of the board of the Floyd County Parks Department, pausing only to secede from the county and establish his own island kingdom -- which failed when Ricardo Montalban finally died.

Heavrin's 2014 yard signs have been appropriately doctored to block weird traces of previous campaign use, such as the "re-" in "re-elect." Given his legislative background, we can posit that he didn't buy new signs because the county couldn't afford them.

But seriously, I wouldn't vote for Heavrin for dog catcher. I've no doubt he would catch the dogs, but he'd also starve them like he did the county all those years.

Starving poor animals plainly would be cruel ... almost as cruel as Heavrin being elected to council.

Again.

Looks like Barbara Sillings is the choice in District 2. I don't know here, but we all know him.

Ouch.

"What will it take for the Floyd County Council" ... whoa, just stop there. Divine intervention, maybe?

In the corridors of Floyd County elected government, satire and reality are so closely intertwined that's it's forever challenging to tell the difference between a unassuming whopper and sage legislative abdication. After all, it's the legacy of Heavrinism amongst the cowardly.

Heavrin "leaves big shoes to fill," and Morris rushes to shine them.

More of the same: Republicans gather to praise a departing "conservative Democrat" whose congenital obstinacy was to creativity what Bud Light is to pet shampoo.

More power to employees without a cost of living increase since Bill Clinton stalked White House closets, but of course they (and we) know that this county council's sole aim is to regulate the rate of starvation, not act in any pro-active way to defy the likes of Dave Matthews' tea party junta out in the walled compounds of Greater Greenville.

In fact, I can hear Ted's longtime right-hand lube man Larry McAllister now: "I love helping people, so long as they're not working for me. So can't you just shut up and get a part-time job at Wally World? Thank Allah they're both gone, but their successors ... sheesh.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Sept. 28-29, 2013

— Floyd County employees plead for raises

Once again, the employees of Floyd County must sit back and watch another year go by without a raise.

For the past 14 years, the employees of Floyd County have not gotten so much as a cost-of-living increase in wages or salaries, all while watching as offices are remodeled and jobs created. What will it take for the Floyd County Council to recognize the employees who have been passed over time and time again? What can we do to stand up and be counted?

This is the question that the employees and servants of Floyd County ask daily ...

Floyd famine fetishists cheer as fiscal starvation advocate presumably appointed to county parks board.

The URL is the same, but the web site's content has changed to match new realities.

Last week, the Green Mouse was told that there'd been an appointment to the new stand-alone Floyd County Park Board: None other than Ted Heavrin, recently ousted county council member.

Hit it, Slash.

If this rumor is true, Heavrin will be the only parks board member with his own island ...

 ... as well as a long-standing, cherished plan to reform Community Park's scandalously wasted space.

Before filing this notice under "Fox, Meet Chicken Coop," enjoy the board's statement on leadership.

PARKS LEADERSHIP

With the recent abolishment of the New Albany Floyd County Department of Parks and Recreation separated into two entities a newly appointed Floyd County Park Board will be appointed in 2013. The appointments will be acquired through the County Commissioners, Council and Circuit Judge. We will inform you of these appointments in 2013.

http://www.nafcparks.org/

When there's a shine on your shoes, there's a melody in your heart.

Earlier today, we observed that Heavrin "leaves big shoes to fill" and Morris rushes to shine them.

Then I thought of a song. Unfortunately, I cannot find Chick Bullock's immortal version (with Bunny Berigan on trumpet, if memory serves). Jerry Lewis will have to do.

Heavrin "leaves big shoes to fill," and Morris rushes to shine them.

Roughly what the paper's worth, too.

More of the same: Republicans gather to praise a departing "conservative Democrat" whose congenital obstinacy was to creativity what Bud Light is to pet shampoo.

Meanwhile, forever pining for the sports desk, editor Morris never once detects the irony, never asks a hard question, and never doubts his elders -- and he's regarded as the information conduit to detached, sequestered newspaper management in Jeffersonville, itself yearning for hipster redemption in The Ville.

The first paragraph alone might be the most insipid collection of words I've ever seen in this organ -- and Eddie Laduke wrote there.

Well, let's look at the bright side: Heavrin's out. Maybe the Democrats can find a Democrat next time. Insofar as the Alabama pensioners are concerned, this might just be the time to cry uncle.

Heavrin leaves big shoes to fill; Veteran Floyd County councilman’s last day in office is Dec. 31, by Chris Morris ('Bama Fluffer Digest)

NEW ALBANY — Maybe Ted Heavrin should be involved with the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington, D.C. With his no-nonsense style and bipartisan approach, he could probably get things kick-started in our nation’s capital.

That's no ordinary piece of abandoned concrete.

The Green Mouse has learned that soon-to-be-former Floyd County Council kingpin Ted Heavrin, who was ousted from office in the 2012 Quasi-Democratic primary, plans to secede from the county and establish a new administrative unit called the Union of Fiscally Responsible Public Officials (UFrpO), to be located on this concrete platform in the middle of Sam Peden Community Park’s fowl lake.

Heavrin’s inspiration is said to be a photo he saw on the Internet.

It’s the Principality of Sealand, located off the coast of the United Kingdom.

Because the new unit has absolutely no revenue, the budget is non-existent, and this is fine with the founder and sole occupant.

“During my entire council career as a pretend Democrat, I never wavered from the belief that revenue is impossible,” Heavrin observed in a freshly mimeographed press release.

“We’re always better off starving than aspiring, I always say.”

But where there is an iron will, there is a way.

“I’m considering entering the UFrpO into next year’s Bicentennial Art contest," writes Heavrin, "because of course I’ll win, and I hear they pay a few bucks to the winners. After all, I need a rowboat to get out there, and a shovel for all that duck shit. Of course, I’ll be buying something third-hand.”

NA Confidential would like to be the first to formally recognize the UFrpO, and we look forward to hearing the national anthem while we're walking on the beltway.

Floyd County doomed to ruin as sole possessor of the ATM password is deposed.

Yesterday's Floyd County election results tell us that perennial county council kingpin Ted Heavrin was rejected by Democratic voters.

Again.

The first time was in 2006, when Heavrin was defeated in the primary by Tom Pickett for the party's nod to contest the county council 1st district seat. Pickett won in the fall.

Bobbing back to the surface in 2008, Heavrin filed for the primary election as an at-large candidate (numbered seats and at-large seats alternate years on the ballot) and scraped through to the general election with a third place finish, just barely ahead of Brad Striegel.

The top vote-getter in the 2008 Democratic at-large primary race was was Randy Stumler. However, later that summer, Stumler departed for a teaching position overseas, and so prior to the general election, a Democratic party caucus over-ruled the wishes of its own primary voters and re-affirmed the good-old-boy network by appointing Heavrin to Stumler's seat. Striegel was placed on the general election ballot, and both he and Heavrin won (along with Carol Shope), with Striegel's vote total being the highest, and Heavrin's second highest.

Yesterday, for the second time in six years, Democratic voters de-selected Heavrin, and maybe this time the party's elders will pay due attention to the results. Seemingly since time immemorial, both Heavrin and the now-retired Larry McCallister have been reminding us that after them, the deluge; only they would be capable of fathoming the mysteries of the county budget process, and of heroically shouldering the responsibilities of that burden.

Heavrin went so far (see below) as to assure voters that he would quit his law enforcement job of 36 years before relinquishing his executive role on the council.  I imagine we can expect to see him run again, but in the interim, the county council surely could use some fresh, contemporary air -- by subtraction, if not necessarily by addition. Democratic voters have opened the window. Let's hope that no opportunity for mischief is presented for the party's fossilized leadership cadre to slam the window shut.

Again.

New conflict-of-interest bill affects local office holders; Ted Heavrin said he wants to continue to serve the public, by Maureen Hayden (CNHI)

INDIANAPOLIS — Floyd County Council President Ted Heavrin said he would retire as Floyd County Sheriff’s Department chief before stepping down from elected office if a new state law ultimately forbids him from continuing in both capacities.

Last week, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill into law that bars government workers from serving in an elected office that sets budgets, laws or policies that could benefit that employee. That same legislation prohibits many — but not all — local officeholders from directly overseeing their relatives.

Heavrin can still seek re-election in November and serve out the four-year term if he wins, as the law doesn’t go into effect until 2013. With more than 36 years on the job, Heavrin is the longest-standing officer in the history of the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, but he said his duty to residents as an elected official is equally important.

“The county council now reviews all county budgets, including the city’s,” Heavrin said. “You have to know what’s going on.”

And state officials really don’t know what’s going on in local communities, he continued. Heavrin said he disagrees with taking the decision on who serves at the municipal and county levels out of the hands of local residents.

“It should be up to the voters,” he said.

Daniels called the legislation a “good government” bill that was long overdue.

County council's Schellenberger finds someone else to blame for his own body's proclivities.

Earth to John Schellenberger: There's no need to blame the newspaper and/or the parks board for "misinformation" in the case of Community Park, not when Ted Heavrin (and Larry McAllister before him -- they were the Martin and Lewis of the County Council, remember?) -- spent the past decade making hints about sell-offs, strip malls and "our way or the highway through it."

John, if you want your furniture shredded, get a cat, and if you want 1940's-era thinking, keeping letting the same two dudes run your council. It's that simple.

Meanwhile, the reporter Morris does his job well and locates the best quote of the night, from council youngster Brad Striegel:

“This is a quality of life issue. Funding will be tough on both sides, but we have an obligation to meet. I’m tired of hearing how the [David] Camm trial is going to hijack quality of life in this area.”

Me, too. Someone buy that man a cigar.

Floyd County OKs parks deal; City Council will take final vote on measure April 19, by Chris Morris (Pop-Up Reproduction Laboratory)

... However, before the final vote, county Councilman John Schellenberger had several questions for NA-FC Parks Board President Scott Klink and Director Roger Jeffers. After those questions were answered, Schellenberger said he didn’t think it was fair to make threats in the newspaper about closing a particular facility or trying to make the county council look like the “bad guy” during the process.

“Why would you say you would close Community Park and not other parks. That misinformation gets people stirred up,” Schellenberger said. “I feel like we are being used as a pawn in all this when it’s a bigger issue. It bothers me that something lands in the Tribune and gets people all stirred up. People read it and think we are going to close Community Park.”

Lucky he isn't sleeping with the fishes.

The 11th commandment in the Book of Troglodyte foresees a settling of scores, otherwise known as the Heavenly AW-dit, and finally the audit has been performed, but unfortunately, it was not conducted at the city of New Albany.

It’s hard to believe that someone would dare to misappropriate Floyd County funds during Ted Heavrin’s watch on the County Council.



Heavrin could have been using those greenbacks to run real estate ads in the Wall Street Journal: “Useless Grant Line Road parkland frontage for sale. Ideal for plasticized strip mall. Make offer to Cool Papa.”

Geez, with all this thievery going on, small wonder we can’t afford another Camm trial.

Civil action taken against former Floyd highway department head; Audit forwarded to prosecutor’s office for review, by Matt Thacker (OSIN Pop-Up Generator)

NEW ALBANY — Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit Thursday in Floyd County Circuit Court seeking to recover missing highway funds.

The suit names Ronald Quakenbush, who recently retired as Floyd County Highway Department superintendent, and Western Surety Co., which wrote a $15,000 surety bond covering county government employees.

The state is seeking $17,745.34 to reimburse the public treasury for funds the attorney general alleges were misappropriated, plus the costs incurred by the State Board of Accounts in conducting the audit.

JAY-sus, can we please have leadership for 2011, not 1961?

Here's Floyd County Council retro pasha Ted Heavrin on the best future of the Annex, sidestepping yet again the possibility he most desires, that of chewing up and spitting out 18 acres of Community Park at the behest of the Philistines, because after all, why not let planner Don Lopp speak for the Council instead of the ones who for some unknown reason were elected to office?

"I’ve always talked about (how) that would make a great place for senior housing” or student housing because the site is directly across the street from Walmart and near movie theaters and other commercial development, Heavrin said.

Is it any wonder that local Republicans and Democrats are indistinguishable? Go and get your cleanest dirty barf bags, and read more of Harold Adams's article here.

Community Park, North Annex, development and the fog of political obfuscation.

OSIN's Chris Morris braves the eternal glower of the county council's prez-for-life to report this story:

No decision yet on North Annex future; NA-FC Parks Department wants Community Park to remain intact

... Ted Heavrin, president of the county council, said no decision has been made about the property’s future. He said the layout of the area will limit development.

“You can’t build under power lines ... they should know that,” Heavrin said of the parks board.

Heavrin said before anything is decided, all parties involved will have a meeting.

Sound familiar? That's because we were discussing it on July 15: Is Floyd County seeking to develop up to 18 acres of Community Park? The discussion rather prematurely ended with this comment from Jeff Gillenwater.

I appreciate your time, Don (Lopp), but that really doesn't answer my question. You mentioned that the original thought was to make 4-6 acres available but that preservationists requested an expansion to 18 acres.

Why? What is someone going to do with 18 acres that they couldn't do with 4-6? Is there an entity proposing something specific that requires more land? What thinking led to the expanded offering?

Given their abysmal communication record lately, it would be helpful for the public to know what's happening on the preservation front *before* any governmental commitments are made.

So, what's really happening? Give that wheel a spin, will ya?

Look to the county, not Community Park, for Little League needs.

I'm a fervent baseball fan, as diehard as they come, and I played Little League myself, but notions of draining the lake at Community Park to build ball fields smack of sheer desperation at this point.

Yes, I feel the pain of the Little League proponents, but the economic climate is not favorable, and the money -- if it existed at all -- surely would be better spent on outdoor recreational opportunities suitable for all residents, not just the ones playing and watching baseball. Community Park is a commons, and should remain one.

New Albany Little League eyes new home; Idea has been discussed, but move to Community Park is unlikely, by Chris Morris.

... “We don’t have a master plan yet. We are just trying to see what will work,” (Troy) Striegel said. “Maybe we can come up with a couple of options” ...

... Floyd County Council President Ted Heavrin said he understands the need, but said it would be difficult to build a Little League complex at Community Park.

“It would take a lot of the park to build that kind of complex. And you can’t build under those power lines out there,” he said. Heavrin also said there are better options in the county, “but nobody is going to give it [land] to them.”

I'll hand this one to Heavrin, because he's right. A county solution, while not free, makes the most sense to me. It's where the land is.

At the same time, today's article is another wake up call for the city of New Albany. All of us need to begin the mental re-education process of identifying Community Park as an iconic green asset that stands to grow in value as the years pass, not just as a remaining collection of land suitable for better use as something else when the mood strikes.

One last brief consideration, and I'm off to Indy for my guild meeting.

Seeing as my business lies just around the corner from the current Mt. Tabor Road baseball complex, I've had many years to observe the Little League phenomenon of parking cars on the street to be as near to the field as possible.

Road widening evidently would "squeeze" the diamonds and cost a few parking spaces used by parents and followers, and yet within a few hundred yards, there are parking lots aplenty -- at K-Mart and Kroger, among others.

If I'm reading this correctly, the fields already there are usable, if not state of the art (some of the places I played growing up resembled glacial moraines more than ballfields), and to require folks to walk a hundred yards does not seem out of the question. It's a sport, after all, so walk.

County solutions, anyone?

In which a rogue Democrat helps Republicans trash Nash.

Meet your elected officials in action, rigidly non-transparent to the final gulp, with key assistance by a leading local Republican functionary who pretends to be legally neutral, a commissioner who imperially dismisses public input and a cop who issues "directives" while on the clock.

Charming, isn't it?

Nash fired as Floyd County Solid Waste director;Board director did not give reason for termination, by Chris Morris (Tribune)

After seven years, Warren Nash is out as director of the Floyd County Solid Waste District.

It took less than five minutes for the solid waste board to vote 4-3 in favor of relieving Nash of his duties. Republicans Mark Seabrook, Steve Bush and Patti Hayes, along with Democrat Ted Heavrin, voted in favor of terminating Nash, while Democrats Chuck Freiberger, Doug England and John Gonder voted to keep Nash.

Seabrook, the Solid Waste District board director, did not give any reason for Nash’s termination, only saying the board wanted to go in a different direction. Since the matter was discussed and resolved in executive session, and since it involved a personnel issue, there was no public discussion allowed, Seabrook said ...

... Nash said he was also asked to resign his position Jan. 27 by Solid Waste Board attorney Rick Fox but refused ...

... Nash said Heavrin, who is president of the Floyd County Council and Floyd County police chief, has always had it in for him. He said when he was hired seven years ago, Heavrin was the only board member to vote against his selection.

“He wanted someone else. He told me then [in uniform] he would get me one of these days,” Nash said.

Heavrin said that statement was “all lies” ...

As he removed his truncheon?

One less to vote against.

Floyd County Councilman McAllister won’t seek re-election, by Chris Morris (News and Tribune)

Larry McAllister is calling it a political career.

McAllister, who has one year remaining on his fourth term, has decided not to run for re-election to the Floyd County Council. McAllister, a Democrat, represents District 2.

Three candidates - Jim Freiberger, Dana Fendley, and Daniel Short - have thus far publicly expressed interest in the seat.

One can only hope that Ted Heavrin decides to follow McAllister's lead.

North Annex: Either a strip mine or pawn shop mentality on the part of Floyd County's officialdom.

Interconnectivity in today's Tribune:

Sekula pushing for local historic preservation group (Daniel Suddeath)

Appraisals for North Annex lowered (Chris Morris)

While Greg Sekula rallies the preservationists, elected officials like Larry McAllister and Ted Heavrin (both county councilmen, and evidently registered as "Democrat" in that peculiar local "well, not really" sort of way) rarely make it through a news cycle without providing more evidence for the need to rally the preservationists.

So, how much is the North Annex (as a historic structure) and the open land around it really worth?

Heavrin and his ilk say that greenbacks are the only determining factor, but of course they lack the simple courage to fairly consider, much less implement, a LOIT tax, one that might relieve the immediate need to sell off what few assets remain available to them before it can be determined whether the building and property might be worth even more as an adaptive reuse that incorporates the surrounding green space in some fashion that approximates 2009, not their preferred milieu of 1947.

Sekula's troops obviously disagree, and I tend to side with them. Some people see a tree as something to be felled and sold, while others view the woods as a place worth something in and of itself. Same goes for a building. The biggest considerations in the future of the North Annex site are how proposed development pertains to environmental matters (i.e., run-off from the asphalt twinkling in Heavrin's eyes) and the relationship of the site to Community Park.

Sell off the North Annex property and the money's gone. We'll be back to where we started, and still without a revenue stream for future needs. Use it to enhance the quality of life, and it may provide what amounts to an annuity. Accordingly, Morris quotes Heavrin: “But like everything it comes down to money.”

Wrong.

There are times when it comes down to creativity and thinking outside the box, and Heavrin stands as a prime example of how our county council fails that test.

Open thread: Elections for County Council (at-large) ... and is it relevant for us to know who the candidates support for President?

For the past few days, we’ve been considering local election matchups. Yesterday, readers even struck a nerve, but more about that in a moment.

NAC’s pants-down editorial board hasn’t been able to agree on a place and time to drink the amount of progressive beer necessary to reach firm election conclusions or make endorsements. We’ve been way too preoccupied poring over ancient texts by Marx and Engels looking for Barack Obama’s fingerprints.

Consequently, we're randomly tossing out local contests for discussion, and today, the races for County Council, at-large. The Tribune's hard work is more than sufficient to set the table. The newspaper’s questions and answers are extensive, and there’s much to be digested.

ELECTION Q&A 2008: Floyd County Council At-Large

Speaking personally, I’ll not be voting for Ted Heavrin even though the man ran one hell of a meeting during his previous tenure as council president. It’s because Heavrin was rejected by Democratic Party primary voters in 2006, then restored to power by being appointed by the party in 2008 to fill Randy Stumler’s vacated county council seat and the seek a new term. This blatant reversal of the electorate’s will was an indication that the party’s traditional Luddite instincts haven’t been purged entirely. See: Don't forget to cut the cards (August 12, 2008).

Also, neither Heavrin nor perennial candidate Harry Harbison (R) returned their Tribune questionnaires in time. That’s two down in a “vote for three” scenario, with the remaining hopefuls being Brad Striegel and Carol Shope (Democrats, with Shope an incumbent), and Larry Summers and Dana Fendley (Republicans, with Fendley the incumbent).

Prompted by Bluegill, NAC’s ever insightful readership uncovered a suitable political vein during yesterday’s discussion of the County Commissioner, and it is one better pursued today. Here’s the unedited transcript of the exchange.

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bluegill said...
I wonder for whom each candidate is voting for President. The difference in the choices is striking and their choice could be very revealing in terms of their vision and judgment.

Were it not for just a couple of candidates in relatively benign positions, I'd seriously be considering voting straight ticket for the first time- something I usually caution against.

edward parish said...
I wonder for whom each candidate is voting for President. The difference in the choices is striking and their choice could be very revealing in terms of their vision and judgment.

Were it not for just a couple of candidates in relatively benign positions, I'd seriously be considering voting straight ticket for the first time- something I usually caution against."

I have never voted a straight pull. Why should it matter Jeff how a candidate for any office aligns themselves with the office of US President? It is all about local very small town politics that matters and hopefully nothing more. Word....

bluegill said...
Why should it matter Jeff how a candidate for any office aligns themselves with the office of US President?

It would tell me something about their worldview, Ed, and I would hope provide some insight into how they approach government and what they want the U.S., regardless of which slice, to look like.

Under current circumstances, a vote for McCain/Palin would show a lack of judgment that I'd have a difficult time overlooking in the polling booth.

ecology warrior said...
i disagree bluegill who you are voting for president sometimes is a vote against the other guy not a vote for who you are voting for, there will be clinton democrats voting McCain as a protest to obama

edward parish said...
Each person has his or her vote, not by party equality. When, will this area/nation see through old school ways of voting? I vote for the person, not the party. Many of "my(1950's)" age group does the same; get the drift dude?...Give some of us, a small bit of chance of thinking on our own, instead of thinking we are braindead on politics. Only so many of ones suggestions actually sink in.

Think.....For mega change.

The New Albanian said...
there will be clinton democrats voting McCain as a protest to obama

Which is precisely Bluegill's point. A "Clinton Democrat" voting for John McCain is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders. If that's not an indication of something ...

bluegill said...
As I mentioned, I generally agree that voting straight ticket equates to a lack of thinking. I'm not voting straight ticket.

But, with so little to separate most local candidates in terms of actual stated goals or ideology, I just keep getting the Palin question shoved through my head.

Do I really want to support anyone's ascendancy to power who would consciously put her in a position to be President? It's certainly not the judgment I'm looking for.

Bayernfan said...
Voting for person over party nationally doesn't make sense to me at all. A national candidate is going to help push a party's ideas through and will agree, most of the time, with those ideas. Party matters little in local elections, which is why there may be Republicans I will consider voting for. I understand Jeff's contention, the 'Palin Effect' works on me as well. I'll try to put that aside as I head into the voting booth on Tuesday next as I vote for local offices.

The New Albanian said...
Permit me to note that given the public utterances of Dana Fendley (for McCain) and the enormous McCain/Palin sign in Larry Summers's front yard, tomorrow's county councl thread might benefit from more discussion as to national ticket preferences.

Is Ted Heavrin going for Obama?

Larry M. Summers said...
I might add that that sign was stolen. I was going to wait until tomorrow when someone attacked my Presidential vote to defend myself; however, I must state that I am not voting for McCain because he is perfect.

I am voting for McCain because I believe he is less flawed than Obama. I am only supporting the least, I my humble opinion, flawed candidate.

Barrack Obama is the master of saying nothing and making it sound like he is masterfully changing the world. I have looked at his record and it does not match his rhetoric.

As for what I would like to do, my support for a Presidential candidate does not change the policies that I will work on during my term on the County Council. We need new leadership. We cannot recycle the ideas of the previous council and hope that we will get a new result.

Is that not the definition of insanity?

"Insanity: the belief that one can get different results by doing the same thing." -Albert Einstein.

bluegill said...
I keep reading all the conservative pundits' scenarios of what will happen if Obama is elected. My general response to their "what if" lists is "Boy, I hope so."

Larry obviously feels differently. That's fine. It just means that I need to find someone else to vote for on the local level because he apparently doesn't represent my views.

Larry M. Summers said...
There is nothing that I can do on the local level to implement the socialist agenda.

Whether I vote for Obama or McCain, I simply cannot institute socialism like a Democratic super majority in both houses of congress and the white house could.

bluegill said...
My point, proven.

Marcey said...
I am so sick of the "socialist" rhetoric. Obama is not a "socialist", he is a democrat.

Giving tax cuts to the middle class has been a democratic policy for many years. The reason for this is because the middle class has always been the majority in this country and when the majority has more money in their pockets the spend. When the majority of your population is spending it stimulates your economy. When you stimulate the economy then you have a strong economy. If we continue to over tax the working class of this country you will push them closer and closer to the poverty line and the economy will continue to tank. Now if you still think that is a socialist policy, lets talk about Sarah Palin giving every resident in Alaska dividends from the oil company.

Ecology Warrior, I was a Clinton supporter in the Primary and if someone was supporting Sen. Clinton because of her positions on Health Care, the economy, the war, etc., etc. etc., there is no way in hell they can tell me that McCain is a better substitute for Sen. Clinton. McCain and Palin are the polar opposites of Hillary Clinton and in my mind the only reason they are supporting them is because of "sour grapes".

Larry M. Summers said...
Obama's policy of raising taxes on the wealthy to give money to individuals not currently paying taxes is income redistribution (i.e. Socialism). To say that that is not socialism is to stick ones head in the sand.

The Bookseller said...
Larry, I don't dismiss your doubts. To say you don't have doubts would be insane.

But if the difference between capitalism and socialism is the difference between a marginal tax rate of 35% and 39.6% for that portion of ordinary income above $250,000 a year is absurd.

As one who wishes you well, may I suggest that you already have 100% of the McCain voters. Oughtn't you be courting Obama voters now?

Bayernfan said...
Larry, your words are a bit disappointing to me. Not that I expected you to vote for Obama, we had that discussion. It's just that you've picked up the rhetoric of calling Obama a socialist which McCain/Palin and the RNC are using to try and scare people into voting Republican because it's become obvious their ideas aren't working, the constant references to Bill Ayers hasn't worked so now we move into the "Obama is a socialist/communist/Marxist" phase. I remember the Reps saying the same thing about Bill Clinton as well.I thought you were a little more level headed than that.

Larry M. Summers said...
I understand why people are voting for Obama. He seems to have the country's best interest at heart. I do not believe he is secretly trying to hurt this country.

I do not want people not to vote for Obama just because of something I said. I just wanted to give you a couple reasons I am not voting for Obama.

The main problem I have is that someone would dismiss me without regard to the changes that I have proposed just because I do not support the same Presidential candidate as them. That seems absurd.

Larry M. Summers said...
Throughout this election, I have done my best to seek out the people with whom other Republican candidates have not spoken. As far as I know, I have been the only candidate, Republican or Democratic, that has put his/her neck on the line just to discuss issues with you.

I have continued to come here even when I have been attacked for whom I am voting for President. If I were not the precinct committeeman for New Albany 5, I probably would only have my signs in front of my house; nevertheless, I offered my services, and I must not shirk my duties.

Is it difficult to discuss national issues with which we may not agree and that I will not be working on at a local level? Yes. Is it fair that other local candidates, Democratic ones included, do not discuss why they are voting for whom they are voting while I am required to defend my positions? I wouldn't say that it was unfair; however, I would hope that others would step up to the plate.

Alas, I have been pretty much the only one in the fray on a regular basis.

B.W. Smith said...
Here's a sweeping statement for Wednesday:

To say that Obama is a socialist is to say that our income tax system (pay in brackets according to income), the purpose of which is to theoretically keep too much wealth from concentrating at the top, is socialism. That's absurd and shows a fundamental misunderstandnig of American history and economic theory. If you listen to the ENTIRE Joe the Plumber clip, Obama's comments about redistributing wealth are in the context of comparing flat tax to progressive income tax, which makes complete sense.

But, as they sharply pointed out on SNL, you can't expect folks to understand nuance when plumbers make more than teachers.

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Here are the nuts and bolts:

ELECTION Q&A 2008: Floyd County Council At-Large

Dana Fendley (R)
Harry Harbison (R)
Larry Summers (R)

Ted Heavrin (D)
Brad Striegel (D)
Carol Shope (D)

Don't forget to cut the cards.

I’ve been away, so let me get the Demo reshuffle straight.

Marcey Wisman replaces the departing Randy Stumler as Floyd County Democratic Party chairman. That’s good … and even progressive.

Ted Heavrin is appointed to Stumler’s county council seat. That’s Neanderthal, and an indication that the party’s traditional Luddite instincts haven’t been purged entirely. In effect, the functionaries have reversed the will of the electorate in 2006.

The bummer in all this is that Suellen Wilkinson lost out, and with her loss, a chance to become something truly progressive is tossed out the party’s window in favor of the tried, true and unimaginative. A former high ranking state Demo chair in Wisconsin, or a previously rejected local lifer? Depressing, indeed.

And, finally, Brad Striegel will run for the at-large seat. He’s an unknown quantity, and so that one’s a wash.

In the end, the Demo’s game of musical chairs is an improvement over Dan Coffey’s platform of innuendo, fabrication and barbecued bologna. Now, all we need to be convinced is a stated party platform of progressive principles and ideals.

I’ll be hopeful, but not at all holding my breath. The local Democratic Party functions as Lucy Van Pelt, leading us to believe that we'll be kicking the football before yanking it away at the last moment.