Kingpin for a Week, Part 2: This week's 1Si CEO is ...

Jody Wassmer's gone back to Owensboro with his cell phone on his knee, and One Southern Indiana has the frayed "help wanted" sign hanging on the front door, so we've decided to provide weekly headhunting assistance.

Who'll be the next hot seat occupant to issue this statement?

I would like to announce that I have accepted the post of CEO of One Southern Indiana. I regret that I have to step down on Monday. I treasure our time that we have worked together.

Last week's winner was Benny Breeze, but he's put in his seven days. Today’s choice as 1Si CEO for the week of March 2 - March 8, 2012 ...

 .. is Benny's conceptual father, Vaughan Scott, who is quite experienced at multi-tasking and will wear numerous hats these next seven days: CEO, Oligarchy Board chairman, improvement agent of the region's bottom-feeder line, and because Benny's contract has expired, chief Goebbelsian "fact"-finder for the bloated monstrosity known as the Ohio River Bridges Project.

But his tenure clock's already ticking. Who will One Southern Indiana's kingpin be next week? Tune in, and we'll tell you.

Sans editorial comment, Vaughan Scott now presents to you, "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze."

Quick link, followed below by Vaughan Scott's introduction.

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I have been asked numerous times over the last several months why I decided to ask three talented young artists in their mid-twenties to make a film about the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) and why they chose to use a less traditional, less conventional approach to disseminate factual information. As we release the short film today, I hope this email will be helpful in answering many of these questions.

On April 15, 2011 when I had the first meeting with the Writer/Directors of this film, I felt that there was an incredible void of credible information on the ORBP. In my opinion, nothing of real value had made its way to Boardrooms or onto the streets, yet the discussions were swirling and frustrations were rising. I believed that, regardless of where people stood on this issue, facts about the ORBP were needed to insure that productive public discourse could ensue and these facts were needed quickly – too many discussions everywhere seemed to revolve around rumors, speculation and innuendo.

Some of the reasons I called these particular artists include:

· I knew they were incredibly talented film makers

· I knew they would take the time to do their homework and they would responsibly convey facts as they saw them in their own way

· Because they had an unconventional style, I believed they would reach a completely different audience than other more traditional “Pro Project” voices and methods would.

· They were good people who I believed would really want to help our Region move forward together

· They would not put anything into the film that they did not believe in whole-heartedly

· They would inject humor into a debate that has not been much fun at all for anyone

Important new audiences for ORBP information included:

1. People who don’t watch TV or read the newspaper

2. People who don’t participate in “Board Meetings” of any kind regularly

3. People too busy to dig into the reams of data that now exist on the ORBP

4. People like me who never considered themselves a politico and who had not weighed in on important issues publicly

5. Young people of all socio-economic levels who have a real stake in the future of this Region

Ironically, due to the unconventional approach and the desire to reach a new audience, the rumors, speculation and innuendos that swirled around the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) seemed to find their way to discussions about the film. The FACT is that, with the exception of Gabe Bullard at WFPL, not a single author of any story, article or blog post had actually seen the film before writing about it. Needless to say, any perceptions I had about the lack of credibility in “fair and balanced reporting” on the part of some media outlets today have only been confirmed.

I believe that anyone who attended the Public Meeting at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne last Tuesday and heard Chris Saunders aka “Benny Breeze” and Kyle Crews, Writer/Director speak, heard something completely different than the media had reported and that their detractors had espoused to be the gospel. I believe everyone in the room heard bright, articulate, young people who are passionate about making films and who are passionate about seeing the shovels hit the dirt on the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) because they want a brighter future for themselves and for others.

Many Thanks!

I do want to say thank you so very much to my good friend Robert Eichenberger and the other members of his team at Middleton Reutlinger who have been incredibly generous and gracious with their valuable time in helping these fine young men dot their i’s and cross their t’s.

Many thanks also to Chief Rick Sanders and Major Ken Hatmaker with the Jeffersontown Police Department for their presence in and around our tent outside the Public Meeting that took place at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne on June 28th.

Many thanks to all who came out to see the film at the BIP Sessions at Spalding University and Ivy Tech and to our tents at the Public Meetings on June 27th and 28th – your feedback was invaluable in making the film what it is today.

Most importantly, I want to say thank you to everyone who worked on this short film and to many others who have helped to make sure that anything that I published personally was vetted properly. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to so many of you who have showed unwavering support to the filmmakers and to me, even in the face of adversity and harsh criticisms, I will never forget it and I will always appreciate it!

In the words of Winston Churchill, “This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And, without further delay, you can see the film and judge for yourself…Please visit www.b4bridges.com. There are links on the website that make it easy for you to share the film with friends and family members and don’t forget to find Benny Breeze on Facebook.com and become a Friend of Benny’s.

Many, many thanks and best regards!

Vaughan

P.S. As a further testament to the character of these young men and in spite of the abuse these fine young artists have endured at the hands of several members of the local media, here is the message Kyle Crews has been sending to every local media outlet in this Region this morning:

I've been attacking the media outlets, emailing everyone at the CJ, WDRB, WAVE3, and a few select people at WLKY and WHAS. Here is the general template I've been sending:

Good members of the press, I would like to personally invite you to watch our short film "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze." There has been much controversy and speculation about this movie and most of it couldn't be further from the truth. This is a movie based in fact and in favor of the proposed Ohio River Bridges Project. Our team is in support of the two proposed bridges mainly because of traffic and safety concerns but if you hold different viewpoints we respect them as well. Our main intentions were to further public discussion and educate people who would normally be absent from the debate. If you disagree with us we hope you at least find our film entertaining. Our approach may turn some away because it is unconventional but we believe public discourse can be entertaining and informative at the same time.

Without further ado....I now present to you, "Buildin' Bridges with Benny Breeze"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb1w3RqfHJY&feature=channel_video_title

Trust, verification and whether we'll see an economic impact study on tolling.

Yes, it's true: I was prodding. Curt seems always to notice such behavior ...

Several of us were briefly acquainted with Vaughan Scott some years ago, when he did a productive turn as Bluegrass Brewing Company's general manager. A few lifetimes later, he's the new 1Si chair, I'm a habitual provocateur, and we're trying to work through what might politely be termed habitat issues (his and mine are not exactly the same, although not completely different, either) as part of a conversation about Russian and Soviet history, leadership, reform and the topic of mobility solutions.

Mayor Fischer lobbying River Fields? /Economic impact study on tolling?, at Louisville Courant.

... And the 2nd drama I noticed unfolding today, on twitter no less, is also Ohio River Bridges Project-related. The incoming One Southern Indiana Chair, Vaughan Scott has expressed, at Roger Baylor's (@newalbanian) prodding, that he's calling for an "economic impact study" on how tolls will effect our regional economy. This study, if commissioned soon, would not hold up the project, but could be completed while we await the results of the environmental study currently underway:

Absent content, and people, looks like it needed craft beer, after all.

From Louisville Courant: More on "Benny Breeze" and the backtrackin' Vaughan Scott.

It didn't require Hercule Poirot to sniff a connection between Vaughan "1Si Values" Scott, the fictional "Benny Breeze", and Greater Louisville Inc.'s Joe Reagan. If you believe in following the money all the way back to the oligarchs, then keep an eye on Kerry Stemler, too. Just wait for it; it'll come.

Thanks to Curt Morrison for keeping this ball in the air.

Benny Backtrackin' Breeze

Earlier in the week, this blog highlighted two peculiar aspects of the bizarre "Benny Breeze" campaign.

(Fictional character, Benny Breeze created with undisclosed funding source, to manipulate public)

From LEO: "The bizarre ballad of Benny Breeze."

An excerpt from Jonathan Meador's report on Vaughan Scott's immaculate deception in the service of area pro-bridges project oligarchs.

The bizarre ballad of Benny Breeze; Astro-turfed pro-bridges campaign courts controversy, confusion, by Jonathan Meador.

Today, the ongoing saga of the Ohio River Bridges Project is going to get a lot weirder.

At 1:30 p.m. at the Kentucky African-American Heritage Center, the public will be introduced to Benny Breeze, the main character of a short film whose purpose is to “educate and entertain” the community about the $2.9 billion public works project in what amounts to a bizarre media campaign and bus tour bankrolled by pro-bridges project financiers that some members of the anti-toll activist community are calling an “astro-turfing” effort designed to distract, mislead and — at worst — offend.

Although Scott says he became involved in the project on behalf of the future of his three daughters and the future of the community, there appears to be more motivation behind his senses of familial concern and civic duty.

Scott is a board member of Southern Indiana’s pro-bridges project chamber of commerce, One Southern Indiana, and is the vice president of Wells Fargo subsidiary Axiom Financial Strategies Group, a well-to-do position allowing him to spend (along with other anonymous donors) an undisclosed sum to finance the Benny Breeze campaign.

In 2003, he served as the vice president for wealth management at brokerage and investment firm Smith Barney and, according to his Axiom corporate profile page, founded the Smith Barney Investment Center at New Albany’s Your Community Bank, a commercial bank upon whose board sits none other than Kerry Stemler, finance subcommittee chairman and co-chair of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority (LSIBA).

Currently, Axiom is housed in the same building as Stemler’s bank, at 101 W. Spring Street in New Albany, Ind.

Benny Breeze proposes a pro-bridges pogram, but at least No2BridgeTolls is still fighting the idiocy.

Before turning to the meeting announcement from No2BridgeTolls, kindly take note of this story, as broken at Curt Morrison's blog, Louisville Courant.

Fictional character, Benny Breeze created with undisclosed funding source, to manipulate public

Curt's post details the Benny Breeze project, a surprisingly semi-literate effort given the artistic qualifications trumpeted by its creators, although as this passage amply illustrates, the theme behind Benny Breeze is just as anti-democratic and strong-armed as one might imagine simplistic propaganda from Stemlerites to be:

Our team respects and appreciates other people's opinion's; however, we believe that the risks given the current condition of the bridges too high at this juncture to discuss and debate alternatives, that cannot be incorporated swiftly and efficiently with the current plans. We believe that as a community we must work collectively and swiftly to eliminate this threat as promptly as possible. Along the way we would hope that other opinions and ideas would be considered so long as the overall process is not delayed by unnecessary debate.

Echoing Curt, clearly note that in this phrasing, opinions are just threats, which not unlike termites, need eliminating. Debate is unnecessary, especially in a state of emergency. Presumably, Constitutions and other restrictions are not relevant at such times.

If this isn't fascism, I don't know what is, and the relative youth of the project's progenitors surely cannot be cited as an excuse for displaying historical ignorance of this magnitude. What's next, Vaughan Scott? Perhaps a nice Kristallnacht for tolling opponents? We do have it coming, right? After all, we keep asking questions, and behaving like vermin.

Meanwhile, and fortunately given the passage above, No2BridgeTolls keeps on trucking.

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No2BridgeTolls Plans Strategic Public Meeting June 21, 2011

6 PM Buckhead Mountain Grill, Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville

No2bridgetolls.org founders and supporters are hosting a public meeting on June 21st at Buckhead Mountain Grill on Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville to inform supporters of strategic initiatives in advance of the upcoming June 27 and 28th Bridges Authority public meetings. The No2BridgeTolls.org meeting will start with networking at 5:30 and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

"We feel that we have made progress in our efforts to stop tolls on the I-65 Kennedy Corridor, but the fight is not over,” said No2BridgeTolls.org co-founder Paul Fetter. The purpose of this meeting is to bring supporters up to date on our efforts and to prepare the public for the Bridges Authority June 27th and 28th meetings which will be held on both sides of the river,” Fetter added.

“Tolls are bad for families and businesses and we are calling on elected and appointed leaders to continue efforts to pare down this project to a reasonable and affordable plan that does not require tolls. Specifically, we are asking Governors Daniels and Beshear, as well as Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer to find additional or alternative funding to take tolls off the table,” said Fetter.

“The logical answer would be to reduce the project cost,” said Co-Founder Wes Johnson, Jr. “We know that the project can be changed based on recent announcements, despite the original Record of Decision, and we urge elected officials to prioritize this issue and take a stand for the working people who have to cross the river daily,” said Johnson. "Our group formed because tolling our existing infrastructure and transportation routes would divide our river city, and we have thousands of people who support our position,” he added.

About No2BridgeTolls.org

We are a broad-based coalition of businesses, organizations and private individuals who are opposed to tolls on the I-65 Corridor/Kennedy Bridges System. We have formed under the entity of “Organization for a Better Southern Indiana, Inc.” (OBSI.) Our purpose is to educate the public of the true impact of the current proposed bridge toll on both sides of the river. We are a 501-C6 non-profit organization that has been formed for the purpose of disseminating information. We are not against the bridges—just tolls or user fees on the I-65 Corridor/Kennedy Bridges System, which will divide our community, be a regressive tax that our citizens and businesses cannot afford, and will adversely affect the local economy, disproportionately affecting Southern Indiana.

For more information, contact Paul Fetter (812) 283-5555, ext. 27 or Chris McCarty (502) 419-3135 ... No2BridgeTolls.org