10 years ago today, Barack Obama was in New Albany.

I hadn't yet joined Facebook, Bank Street Brewhouse didn't exist, and Doug England had only just started his third (and final) term as mayor of New Albany.

It was April 23, 2008, and presidential candidate Barack Obama was in New Albany, Indiana. Not only did Obama go on to become the first ever African-American president, but he even won the state of Indiana in the general election that November.

In short, it was a thousand years ago.

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Today in New Albany: Barack Obama and a full house.


Barack Obama was in New Albany today, appearing for a "town hall" meeting in the Activities Building at Indiana University Southeast. I took a few photos, few of which are presentable.


Progressive Pints were absent, but so was good ol' country cookin', so it was a wash in that department.


There's going to be an Obama event at the Public House on Saturday afternoon. Since the event is still being organized, I can't tell you any more at this point. Stay tuned.

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And a follow-up from April 24, 2008.

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Far better photos from yesterday's Obama visit to New Albany.


That's because I didn't take them. They're either by an anonymous donor or TS. First up is an excellent view of Floyd County party chairman Randy Stumler.


The remainder are of the guest Senator from Illinois. Pick Barack, or select Hillary, but one thing's crystal clear: The GOP catastrophe of eight years running bears immediate correction. Show trials, anyone?

Ed Clere's up for re-election. Here's a look at his first four District 72 races.

In 2016, Ed Clere is seeking a fifth term in the Indiana House of Representatives (District 72), and I thought it might be interesting to look back to his previous four races, courtesy of Ballotpedia.org.

First, here are the tallies of total votes cast, Clere's votes, and his percentage of the vote in these four contests.

2014: 16,040 ... 9,076 ... 57%
2012: 29,734 ... 16,177 ... 54%
2010: 22,215 ... 12,408 ... 56%
2008: 29,862 ... 14,985 ... 50.2%

2016 is a presidential election year, and a bizarre one. Total votes cast for District 72 can be expected to increase toward 2012 and 2008 levels, although it's certainly possible that many voters decide to stay home and the total falls below 29,000.

I doubt the presidential race will appreciably change voting behavior at the local level insofar as Clere and challenger Steve Bonifer are concerned, and with voter participation continuing to decline in the Democratic-heavy city precincts, it seems to me that Clere remains in the driver's seat.

Do you have an alternative scenario? Let me know.

2016

Elections for the Indiana House of Representatives will take place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 3, 2016, and the general election will be held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 5, 2016.
Steve Bonifer ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 72 Democratic primary. Incumbent Ed Clere ran unopposed in the Indiana House of Representatives District 72 Republican primary.

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2014

Elections for the office of Indiana House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Kevin Sue Bailey was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Edward D. "Ed" Clere was unopposed in the Republican primary. Clere defeated Bailey in the general election.

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2012

Clere won re-election in the 2012 election for Indiana House of Representatives District 72. Clere ran unopposed in the May 8 Republican primary and defeated Sharon Grabowski (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

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2010

Clere defeated Democratic candidate Shane Gibson by a margin of 12,408 to 9,087 to win re-election. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
In the May 4th primary, Clere ran unopposed and received 3,613 votes.

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2008

On November 4, 2008, Republican Edward Clere won election to the Indiana House of Representatives District 72 receiving 14,985 votes, ahead of Democrat William Cochran who received 14,877 votes.