Campaign Diary, Vol. 8: My answers in the News and Tribune questionnaire.

I've submitted my answers to the News and Tribune candidate questionnaire, and here they are.

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NAME

Roger Baylor

OFFICE YOU ARE SEEKING

Mayor of New Albany

AGE

55

POLITICAL PARTY

Independent

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE

None, although I refuse to hold the political experience of my opponents against them.

FAMILY

My wife is Diana Baylor, a native of Maine, who is a social worker at Seven Counties Services in Louisville. Seeing as we have no children, most of my cousins live elsewhere, and my mother is retired, you needn’t fear nepotism from a Baylor administration.

OCCUPATION

Since 1990, I’ve been engaged in the craft brewing and restaurant business. I’m co-owner of the New Albanian Brewing Company (Pizzeria & Public House) and Bank Street Brewhouse, and also have been published as a free-lance writer. My interests include reading, cooking, walking, bicycling and music.

RELATED PERTINENT EXPERIENCE

I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Brewers of Indiana Guild and am secretary of the New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association. Previous positions include the boards of the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association and Develop New Albany.

YOUR WEBSITE (IF APPLICABLE) [IF NONE, ANSWER N/A]

baylorformayor.com
www.cityofnewalbany.blogspot.com

PLEASE PROVIDE AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR CONFIRMATION PURPOSES

mayorbaylor@gmail.com

NEW ALBANY MAYOR

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR THIS OFFICE?

New Albany has come a long way in recent years, and as an independent local businessman right in the middle of this revitalization, I’ve seen the inexhaustible willingness of local entrepreneurs to work hard and invest, as well as the support and enthusiasm of New Albany’s residents, who really want to see improvement in the quality of their lives.

I’ve also seen how little of this progress is driven by our political culture, and that’s why I’m running for mayor. We need a different pair of eyes to see what’s coming next.

Currently the city of New Albany is controlled by the Democratic Party, and while I’ve been left-leaning my whole life, the Gahan administration simply doesn‘t have what it takes to prioritize and innovate for the city’s future. On the other hand, Floyd County is run by the Republican Party, and the county is starved, financially as well as intellectually. One party has a stranglehold on the city, and the other on the county.

Where’s the choice in that?

Why run as an independent? A better question would be, why not?

The usual suspects are NO LONGER AN OPTION. Two major parties may share power, but they don’t have a monopoly of ideas. In fact, the best ideas don’t even come from political parties. They come from real people, and deserve a fair hearing.

The two-party system here is broken, and it’s not going to get any better on its own. And for most of us, governance isn’t about party affiliation, anyway. It’s about managing competently, planning rationally and producing results every single day – right here in New Albany -- where we live and work and play.

WHAT MAKES YOU THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR THIS OFFICE?

I’m not a politician, but 25 years as a local independent business owner has equipped me with a useful tool box. Local independent business owners strive to maintain a level playing field for consumers. We listen, accommodate, troubleshoot, manage employees and solve problems as they arise. We create tangible value from scratch, as with the American craft beer industry.

I’ve also traveled through America and Europe, paying attention to life and learning how things work. I’ve probably attended more council meetings than some elected council persons, and maintained a public affairs blog (NA Confidential) for the past 11 years.

I’m uniquely placed to break the two-party stalemate in New Albany and Floyd County, and to be a bridge to the next generation of leaders. I have no political party to serve, only the people of New Albany, and I won’t ever forget that. As your mayor, neither my name nor the names of elected officials will appear on plaques. “The City of New Albany” means all the people, not just a privileged few. My team will manage your investment in this community, and to provide an equitable return. It’s going to be about us, not me.

WHAT IS THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE FACING THIS OFFICE AND HOW WOULD YOU PROPOSE HANDLING IT?

TIF bonds do not a civic mission statement make. It’s time to stop thinking about New Albany in terms of past glories and how we can borrow to restore them, and begin viewing this city in a future context. What’s our specific place in metro Louisville? What kind of municipality do we intend to be?

Long-term thinking begins with deep analysis – how are we going to pay for Jeff Gahan’s spending spree for WANTS, and return the focus to fundamental NEEDS. It won’t be easy. There is no single pressing issue, but rather a laundry list of interconnected challenges:

• Transparency, and the need for more sunlight and fewer decisions by appointed boards
• Infrastructure: Streets, sewers, storm water and communications
• Empowerment, and taking care of our own people first
• Localism in economic development
• Affordable housing and homelessness
• Rental property registration and inspection
• Economic inequality and sub-par wages
• The effect of bridge tolls
• Human rights and civil liberties

The list goes on, but in the end, quality of life isn’t measured by flower beds planted along just one street, a water park useful for only for a few months a year, or musical concerts funded by taxpayer money. A mayor isn’t supposed to be a combination of Elvis, PT Barnum and Walt Disney.

The mayor must administer and manage the city’s infrastructure every day, not every now and then, striving to improve quality of life by means of a level daily playing field for all citizens, not only the privileged few. City government’s job is to keep public services working, maintain public safety, and set the table for private enterprise to invest, provide jobs and multiply choices.

These actions must occur transparently, without prejudice, and with as much public participation as can reasonably be provided. Because few of these mandates are being pursued at present, perhaps the most pressing issue facing New Albany is restoring a sense of shared purpose to City Hall, and to do so fairly and openly.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS THE CITY CAN TAKE TO ATTRACT GOOD JOBS TO NEW ALBANY?

It would help to ask the right questions about what good jobs really mean in this day and age. We’re at a crossroads in terms of economic development. In the past, having industrial park acreage was sufficient for deploying the usual “boilerplate” economic development tools like subsidies, incentives and tax abatements, but we’re being hit with a double whammy.

First, modern economies require modern infrastructure, which we’re lagging behind in offering, as in fiber optic communications.

Second, the advent of River Ridge Commerce Center in Clark County – the state’s chosen regional winner – means that henceforth, someone else can always do “boilerplate” far better than us.

Therefore, we need to do economic development differently than before. There’ll likely be no more Pillsbury plants, but there can be a greater number of small companies to spread risks and rewards. We must shift our economic development strategies to meet these challenges, by focusing on localism, start-ups, entrepreneurs and grassroots economic initiatives.

Localism is vital. As the American Independent Business Alliance says:

“Multiple studies show locally-owned independent restaurants return twice as much per dollar of revenue to our local economy than chain restaurants. And independent retailers return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales than chain competitors.”

Consequently, New Albany’s economic development strategies must be directed toward greater recognition of the key role played by independent local businesses. We need genuine infrastructure enhancement, spread throughout the city rather than concentrated in one place, including fiber optic, multi-modal two-way streets and incubation/pollination incentives.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST WAY TO ADDRESS NEW ALBANY’S DOWNTOWN STREET GRID, IF AT ALL?

Two ways are better than one. Period. The evidence is in, and the verdict is returned.

I am the city’s foremost advocate for traffic calming, complete streets and the prompt and comprehensive restoration of the city’s original two-way street grid. We’ve paid Jeff Speck, the nation’s foremost engineering expert to explain exactly how and why two-way streets work. Now we must take Speck’s study off the dusty shelf and implement it.

Immediately.

One-way streets were a 1960-era suburban solution to urban problems that no longer exist, and nowadays they act as invasive high-speed interstate highways slicing dangerously through densely populated urban neighborhoods. As such, a preponderance of research shows that maintaining these wide-lane, high-speed, pass-through arterial streets reduce neighborhood and core business district property values.

They also make walking and biking unsafe. Speed kills, and any city genuinely concerned with public safety for people, not just their cars, recognize a responsibility to promote safety by design.

While one-way streets work against other revitalization efforts, research proves that two-way streets encourage a number of positive outcomes, ranging from increased quality of life in neighborhoods to a more level playing field for local independent business, and including the enhancement of property values and reduced crime.

Calmed two-way streets do not exclude large commercial vehicles, which must drive more slowly via narrower lanes, which in turn help redefine the terms of engagement by promoting multi-modal use. Better still, two-way streets and infrastructure designed to promote walking and biking are the New Albany equivalent of Jeffersonville’s Big Four Bridge, because our up and coming generations demand these options.

Walkability and bikeability are realities capable of being harnessed to connect neighborhoods with the central business district, and link the same neighborhoods to outlying “thinking” destinations like IU Southeast and the Purdue Center. We have transportation corridors, and they need to be capable of being used by everyone.

Two-way completed streets made suitable for all persons, not just those piloting motorized vehicles, should be the stated, above-board, publicly advanced and ultimate goal. I’ll begin working toward this goal on January 1, 2016.

HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THE CITY’S DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS AND UNSIGHTLY PROPERTIES?

The logical first step is consistent ordinance enforcement, because if we continue to demolish properties while remaining passive as to their systematic neglect, we’ll someday run out of buildings to tear down. That would be a shame, and not just because the demolition kickbacks would cease.

It’s because (a) the greenest building there can be is the one already standing, and (b) historic preservation adds inestimable value to the urban core.

For the past 12 years, Democrats have held the mayor’s chair and a huge majority of council seats, and there has been almost no progress toward ordinance enforcement or an accompanying program to incentivize infill construction in those instances (far fewer than you might think) when demolition is the only choice. At the same time, we’re throwing millions (including sewer tap-in waivers) at an Indianapolis developer to build “luxury” apartments at the Coyle site.

What if a fraction of this amount went to encourage affordable infill housing? It’s an idea worth pursuing.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE APPROPRIATE USES FOR TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING FUNDS?

As an economic development tool, TIF should be safe, legal and rare.

TIF is intended as government’s tithe toward basic infrastructure as a spur for private investment and development – not to take the place of private investment and development by funding 100% of top-down, government-inspired capital projects, which have become little more than bright shiny objects to propel re-election campaigns.

The Gahan administration’s funding of park expansion with TIF puts the cart before the horse. The debt thus incurred to achieve one man’s questionable vision will handicap future municipal governments, while failing to produce the economic progress we need now to raise the tax base. TIF abuse forces us to pay a higher price for “wants,” because in addition to the price of bright shiny objects, there is an opportunity cost in the form of what we might have done instead.

TIF also obscures the budgetary process. Mayor Gahan’s presumably balanced budget does not take into consideration these bonded capital “improvement” projects, which add up to somewhere around $100 million in bonded debt, payable with interest over decades.

It’s a good thing your grandchildren like the water park. They’ll still be paying for it after you’re gone, when they have children of their own.

WOULD YOU SUPPORT NEW ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS WEARING BODY CAMERAS?

There is a case to be made for police body-worn cameras, which can boost accountability and the delivery of justice, but we must be careful not to see these as some sort of perfect solution to the evolution of better policing.

We’re early in the game when it comes to camera programs. There are issues yet to be resolved, among them procedural. When do the cameras roll, and when do they stop? What about privacy and public records requests?

These issues eventually will be resolved, and so I generally favor police-worn cameras, though not in a policy vacuum. The fundamental role of police in the community must be clearly defined and constantly reinforced through community-oriented policing and ongoing training in areas like crisis intervention.

Plainly, the more our police know, the better they can reply to a constantly changing scene. Cameras are part of this program, though not the only component. In this area, as with the other mentioned previously, better communication always is a fundamental step.

As mayor, I’ll begin by meeting with the entire police department – something the current mayor hasn’t found time to do in four whole years.

ON THE AVENUES ENCORE: The Adamite Chronicles: Have muzzle, will drivel.

ON THE AVENUES: The Adamite Chronicles: Have muzzle, will drivel.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

This column was published on December 4, 2014, and in recent days, it has once again become topical, so let's have a second look. 

Our local Democrats are having a free speech problem, aren't they? And yet it doesn't prevent their pompous piety as it pertains to "human rights," requiring frequent recourse to the irony sickness bag.   

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Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality.
― Hannah Arendt

One month ago, the Floyd County Democratic Party suffered an epochal beating in county (midterm) elections. In the aftermath of the electoral carnage, the party’s relatively youthful and web-savvy "reformist" core paused to take stock of future options. Surveying the rapidly shifting political terrain with a collective eye trained on the future, these characteristically near-sighted operatives took a bold and innovative step to reboot the tottering, leaky and spluttering local party machine.

They gazed into the mirror, and blocked me on the Democratic Party’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

On that very day, as the untrammeled heavy truck traffic thundered past my Spring Street residence on a one-way arterial street the very existence of which contradicts the party’s incessant claims to care about topics like revitalization, quality of life, public safety and other nagging reminders of its perennial impotence, I conducted my own survey of the political landscape … threw back my head … and laughed, loud and long.

Surely this bit of childishness represents the acme, the pinnacle -- the very highlight -- of my career as a pestiferous gadfly.

I haven’t stopped laughing since then. At precisely this pivotal moment of inexorably changing mathematics, when the Floyd County Democratic Party might have initiated an honest dialogue with its long-neglected left wing – as inhabited by genuine non-Dixiecratic Democrats and a formerly reliable but rapidly disillusioned cohort of left-leaning fellow travelers – for succor, it has chosen instead to espouse censorship and express its abiding hostility to ideas.

We hardly need Adam Dickey as chairman for that, do we? After all, while Ted Heavrin may be out of office, it isn’t like he’s dead or anything.

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Granted, social media is only one aspect of the local political scene, but censoring Facebook and Twitter suggests delicious irony given the party’s recent giddiness over its generational shift. Instead, it’s “meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” though arguably worse. The upper echelons of the party, as seamlessly interwoven with its last, fading bastions of strength in City Hall, now openly offers themselves to the world as New Albany’s native version of The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

In the movie, (Robert) De Niro plays Mario Trantino, an Italian bicycle racer that gets involved in a Brooklyn gang war. Kid Sally Palumbo (Jerry Orbach) operates his gang under the auspices of mob boss Baccala (Lionel Stander). Trying to get out from under the boss' thumb means killing Baccala, but Kid Sally's gang proves unequal to the task and backfiring schemes make funerals an everyday occurrence. When Kid Sally's sister (Leigh Taylor-Young) starts dating Mario, who is then in the middle of pulling a scam on Baccala, Kid Sally sees his chance at last.

However, even an inept, cartoonish mafia is by no means the best comparison. Rather, what we have here is a willful failure to communicate, as embraced by functionaries who see their bland bureaucratic banality as a symbol of new age organizational prowess.

Here, reprinted in its excruciatingly mundane entirety, is my correspondence with Adam.

Roger
I'm going to ask you a direct question: Is the Floyd County Democratic Party acting to censor me on social media, and if so, what is the reason for it? I will publish the answer or non-answer at the blog no one reads. Thanks.

Adam
Roger, thank you for your inquiry. FCDP encourages public activism as part of the Democratic process and strongly supports an individual's first amendment rights to express their political viewpoint.

In regard to the administration of our social media sites, we invite thoughtful, respectful and constructive dialogue on those sites. We strive to manage a positive online space where individuals can feel free to express themselves. Accordingly, when we created the social media sites, we also established a social media policy. For reference, that policy is posted on our Facebook site under "Notes."

FCDP Social Media Policy

Floyd County Democratic Party – Indiana invites thoughtful, respectful and constructive dialogue on our Facebook page. We strive to manage a positive online space where our constituents can feel free to express themselves. We understand that some conversations around articles, blog posts, events, videos, organizational initiatives and other content on this page or linked to this page can create strong opinions which can lead to debates and passionate responses.

For that reason, when comments or posts descend into derogatory remarks, personal attacks, inappropriate content or confusing streams of irrelevant content, we reserve the right to remove comments on our pages and potentially move the conversations offline (either onto e-mail or discussions via phone). We want to see your comments and posts that:

• Are "on topic" and that respond to the content in our posts
• Are responses to comments left by other readers
• Are reasonably brief and to the point
• Have a positive/constructive tone
• Are open to being contradicted by other readers
• Might disagree with the content in the article or post, but never insult the writer of the article or blog post, or other commenters

We will immediately delete, without notice, comments and posts, that:

• Are unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful, or contain racially, ethnically or similarly objectionable content
• Are personal attacks, including name-calling or celebrations of another person's misfortune
• Are injurious to the reputations or privacy of the Floyd County Democratic Party’s officers, volunteers, candidates and elected officials
• Are false statements or unrelated to the Floyd County Democratic Party’s programs and mission
• Contain advertising or spam
• Are incomprehensible or do not contribute to reasonable dialogue
• Are disruptive, including personal conversations better suited for private messaging
• Violate any of Facebook's Terms of Use and Code of Conduct

Violations of Floyd County Democratic Party – Indiana’s Facebook community rules will cause a commenter to be blocked from making future posts or comments on the Facebook page.

I hope this addresses your concern. Thank you again for your inquiry. Please let me know if you have trouble accessing the social media policy.

Roger
Impressive. Can you clarify the human element of the policy, i.e., has it been applied by committee, or is there a sole social media arbiter?

Adam
There is a committee that manages the site.

Roger
Final question: Can you specify my offense? Thanks.

Adam
The decision was reflective on a pattern of violations that covered most of the examples listed under the second set of bullets.

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It matters little whether the terms of use comprise cribbed boilerplate, or were written by the “committee” itself, although when I inquired of another party insider, the reply I received speaks volumes:

There isn't a social media committee.

Damn. Mr. Disney really has it in for me, eh?

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Following the midterm election, William Greider appraised the Democratic Party as a whole, nationwide.

How the Democratic Party Lost Its Soul, by William Greider (The Nation)

... The tattered authenticity of the party matters more now because both the country and the world face dangers and disorders that demand a fundamental reordering of the global economic system. This requires bold action, at a time when neither party is confronting the threatening situation. The Republicans are a wholly owned subsidiary of the business-finance machine; the Democrats are rented.

What we need is a rump formation of dissenters who will break free of the Democratic Party’s confines and set a new agenda that will build the good society rather than feed bloated wealth, disloyal corporations and absurd foreign wars. This is the politics the country needs: purposeful insurrection inside and outside party bounds, and a willingness to disrupt the regular order. And we need it now, to inject reality into the postelection spin war within the party.

I’ve been a fellow traveler for a very long time, always examining the bill of ballot fare as presented by both local political parties. With a recurring feeling of nausea, I’ve held my nose and voted mostly Democratic. Occasionally I’ve expressed active support for a Democratic aspirant, and almost without exception, the outcome has been disgust, disappointment, self-flagellation and yet another evening of commode hugging.

No more.

I cannot and will not support censors, and you should not, either.

Censorship as practiced by the likes of Chairman Adam plainly reveals a fundamental intolerance, and it intolerance is the local goal, I might as well follow the sage advice of Abraham Lincoln and opt for the unalloyed variety as practiced by the Republicans.

Or, conversely, we all might choose to approach politics in New Albany as principled, progressive independents, because in the end, it isn’t the word “progressive” that sets us apart from this planet’s petty Chairman Adams -- although our local Dixiecratic backsliders most assuredly are not progressive in any remotely coherent sense.

Rather, it’s the word “principled.”

Censors aren’t.

Hash it #gahanhypocrisy: A mayor who doesn't bother attending council meetings criticizes KZ for poor attendance.

Jeff Gahan's first "attack meme" comes to us from the Democratic Party's page at Fb, which is well on its way to purging all dissenters by prohibiting their comments. It's a repugnant twist emulated at the mayor's campaign page, and in some recent instances the city's social media feed.

That's right: Taxpayer dollars not only are spent to tout Gahan's re-election campaign, but to prevent comments. Those of Gahan's supporters with a passing interest in human rights might consider this quote.

Meanwhile, as Mark Cassidy asks ...

Inquiring minds want to know:

Why does Jeff Gahan not attend city council meetings? He was so mad at Doug England for not attending, that he, as council president, would not allow anyone to speak in the Mayor's slot on the agenda but the Mayor. Now, as Mayor, he attends even less frequently that England did and routinely sends someone to speak in the Mayor's slot. Hypocrite or not?

Far less frequently, in fact. As for me, I intend to attend as many council meetings as I can once elected mayor. Hell, I already do. I will answer questions, throw rhetorical punches, and do so for as long as they wish. It should be like question time in the House of Commons.

A discussion followed Mark's post about Gahan's chronic non-attendance.

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Clint: It depends on what the meaning of attending is.

Stephen: I was told by the current Council president that there was no reason for him to be there just to get "attacked" by the council members. This was at least two years ago, maybe three, when I raised the issue of his absence. That was when my disillusionment began.

Mark: Takes one to know one, I guess. At least England was man enough to show up considerably more often than Gahan has. Not to mention that he told many of us, when he ran four years ago, that he would be a regular attendee at meetings. Pshaw.

Steven: Mayor Garner almost always showed up and was almost always attacked by the Council.

Mark: True. I started attending on a regular basis during his last year.

Roger: But Gahan completely controls this council. Last night was vivid proof. It was as though their teleprompters went blank, and in the absence of instructions, flailing was the order of the day: "We'd tell you what we think as soon as Gahan tells us."

Stephen: From my perspective, being there is part of the job. No one else can answer for you, but you. Be a man, Gahan.

Roger: Only if manhood pertains to monetizing or propaganda. Cults of personality mean never having to be yourself. The fear needs to stop.

Clint: "Ve half vays of making you think."

Roger: Even in New Albany?

Clint: I didn't specify useful or logical thinking.

R.I.P. Ralph Griggs. It is belated, but heartfelt.

And then you get sidetracked.

30-odd years ago, when I was working nights at Scoreboard Liquors (razed in 1988), we'd rope off the parking lot during Harvest Homecoming and charge people $5 to park -- unless they were paying customers.

The idea eventually arose among my friends to just leave our cars parked there, purchase some Stoli, Rose's Lime Juice and plastic cups, and stroll the festival at our leisure.

Thus was born the concept of Vodka-Thon, and one of those years, Ralph came along.

Ralph was a regular customer. He was a few years older than me, short of stature and heavily bearded, and if memory serves, he'd been in the army in Vietnam. He was smart, soft-spoken, and a tad eccentric -- he actually read books, regretted not being an undertaker, and once gave me a textbook about mortuary science. I still have it somewhere.

How did I know these things?

Because Ralph came in a lot, at all hours of the day, and what I didn't know -- what I chose not to know -- was that he was an alcoholic. Functional, perhaps, but still.

Vodka-Thon was a lark for us. It was everyday reality for him.

Later in the 1980s, after the liquor store had moved to the corner of Spring and Beharell, we lost touch. I heard from a mutual acquaintance that things had gotten bad for Ralph in every respect. Evidently I did nothing with this information. He had become one of those faces lost in the huge crowd of past lives.

This morning Vodka-Thon occurred to me, and Ralph's face popped into view. I did some googling, and it appears he's been dead for 15 years. This doesn't surprise me. I believe he had children, and they may still be around, grown now. If so, and if they read this, please know that none of these ruminations are intended as flippant or disrespectful.

In fact, I feel awful. I didn't know then what I know now, but that's hardly an excuse for doing nothing when it was obvious something was wrong. Ralph seemed like a good fellow, tormented by demons, at least one of which was the disease of alcoholism.

Ralph, I'll always remember our chats about book and life. I'm sorry I was oblivious to the other part of it.

Rest in peace, sir.

ON THE AVENUES: There’s an indie twist to this curmudgeon’s annual Harvest Homecoming column.

ON THE AVENUES: There’s an indie twist to this curmudgeon’s annual Harvest Homecoming column.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

You may have noticed that in 2015, I’ve consciously soft-pedaled blog references to Harvest Homecoming.

In completely unrelated news, there is an amazing concept called “pragmatism.” It has taken me 55 years to be introduced to it, and I thought I’d give it a whirl. Being pragmatic actually has little to do with running for mayor. It’s about reformatting for the future, and getting something important accomplished.

Those detailed annual critiques of Harvest Homecoming, as regularly offered here since 2005, remain far more applicable than not. They’re objective, factual and easily searchable. You are invited to indulge, read and learn.

Apart from impeccable reasoning of the sort I’ve offered in this space previously, I have three primary reasons for taking a break in 2015.

First, there is escalating personal exhaustion.

Numerous metaphorical 800-lb. gorillas roam the mean streets of New Albany, and without occasional exercises in triage, energy conservation and gin, wrestling with them all at once can be quite tiring. It’s better to pick selected battles and topple the behemoths each in turn – or, failing that, drink more gin.

Second, I’m experiencing mounting personal changes, many of them delightful.

My decision to uncouple from NABC has been liberating in several ways. Among them is a boomerang of sorts with regard to my terms of engagement with Harvest Homecoming.

The advent of downtown New Albany’s first wave of indies (i.e. Bistro New Albany, circa 2006), and then later Bank Street Brewhouse (2009), brought me into annual downtown contact with Harvest Homecoming for the first time in decades. BSB’s concurrent Fringe Fest was and is a direct response to the myriad challenges of happy harvesting for local independent businesses.

Dependent on my future job status, perhaps now I’ll be free to revert to that halcyon pre-2006 default condition of avoiding upcloseandpersonal contact with Harvest Homecoming, especially as it is manifested in its enduringly invasive “booth days.”

Frankly, it’s never been my kind of event, and there’s not much of substance in it for folks like me. So be it, and it takes all sorts to fill a planet.

As such, I envision a future family custom of departing for vacation on the Monday following the parade, because parade day has taken on a renewed significance for me, which brings us to Reason Number Three.

There’s a new tradition called Biers on Parade.

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This year the New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association “popped up” a beer garden at the Farmers Market, intended to coincide with the parade. The weather didn’t cooperate, but we got it done with the active help of the New Albany Farmers Market and Harvest Homecoming. Even the captive Board of Public Works and Safety gave prompt and courteous approval.

See, various entities actually can row in the same direction. Kudos to them all.

We’re eager to build on this year’s Biers on Parade experiment as the capstone to an entirely different and yet complementary concept for the week preceding Harvest Homecoming’s downtown takeover.

This is the cause of heightened economic localism, and a week-long spotlight placed directly on local independent businesses.

Let it be known that enhanced localism should be the basis for the city of New Albany’s overall economic development strategy, and if I’m elected mayor, it will be. The American Independent Business Alliance offers one reason why.

“Multiple studies show locally-owned independent restaurants return twice as much per dollar of revenue to our local economy than chain restaurants. And independent retailers return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales than chain competitors.”

As we continue working toward this goal, pragmatic adjustments to the fall calendar are in order. Harvest Homecoming’s parade always takes place on the first Saturday in October. Henceforth, we’re hoping that the last Sunday in September provides a handy annual localism kickoff with Indie Fest, followed by New Albany Restaurant & Bar Week, concluding with Biers on Parade.

Taken together, it’s a ready-made Indie Week to bookend Harvest Homecoming. It extends festive times over two full weeks, not just one. It provides the opportunity to trumpet the merits of “we’re here all year” alongside those of “come to Harvest Homecoming once a year.” It can be adapted to all downtown stakeholders, not just food and drink businesses.

It restores balance, and takes a necessary step toward democratizing downtown.

What it cannot do is completely relieve the stress points created by Harvest Homecoming’s “booth days” presence in an evolving, working, beating heart of a city. In years to come, dozens of people will be living upstairs in previously vacant buildings. Festive noise and clutter are one thing, and access to living space something very different. Something’s got to give.

However, I’ve become convinced that a younger generation of Harvest Homecoming movers and doers understands the need for evolution. We worked together to stage Biers on Parade. This year’s official Harvest Homecoming program contains a centerfold map of downtown, highlighting local independent businesses. It isn’t perfect, but reformers need encouragement.

Better communication helps. If I’m elected mayor, transparency is a guarantee, and we’ll move along the process. If not, irrespective of my new life, I intend to remain involved with independent local business activities preceding Harvest Homecoming.

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A final word about my parade non-participation in 2015.

This year, I couldn’t bend the parade committee to the notion of common sense, which to me implies an acceptance of walking as the simplest, most basic form of human transportation.

There was a surreal, 1960s-era quality to the conversation (paraphrasing): “You’re the candidate of walkability, and walkability is the future of our downtown? That’s nice, but don’t you want a shiny car for that? After all, it’s Hot Rod Harvest.”

No thanks. I’d just like to walk the parade.

Yes, bureaucracies usually evolve accordingly. Rule books cease being living documents, and become immutable commandments for facilitating control. But if there is any single thing I’ve learned in the craft beer business, it’s that creativity freshens stale orthodoxy – and creativity is best inspired by letting loose, as opposed to tightening up.

I believe the parade is redeemable, and should be multi-modal – just like the streets it uses each year.

We’ll get to THAT, too.

If you venture into the weekend's Harvest Homecoming scrum, remember the buildings behind the booths. The businesses inside them -- and the people living above them -- are here all year.

---

Recent columns:

October 1: ON THE AVENUES: No more fear, Jeff.

September 24: ON THE AVENUES: Almost two years later, Mr. Gahan has yet to plug in this clock, and so it's time for him to clock out.

September 17: ON THE AVENUES: Dear Neighbor: If you’re tired of the same old story, turn some pages.

September 10: ON THE AVENUES: Lanesville Heritage Weekend comes around again.

September 3: ON THE AVENUES: When even Mitt Romney can run to the left of New Albany’s Democrats, it's a very big problem.

August 27: ON THE AVENUES: Whips, chains and economic development (2010).

August 20: ON THE AVENUES: In the groove.

Can anyone volunteer a few hours to cover at the New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association booth at Harvest Homecoming?

(Sorry about the faulty header -- I intended it as draft, not for publication)

The New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association has all shifts covered in its Harvest Homecoming booth save for one: Saturday morning from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (noon).

The booth is informational only -- just spreading the word about NARBA. If you're connected with the NA food and drink scene and would be able to volunteer to cover these hours, please let me know. 

Thanks!

Bringing back Portland?

An interesting photo essay about Portland: Bringing Back Portland at Lending My Lens

As noted in the past, the natural configuration of Vincennes Street is as a portal to Portland, via the K & I Bridge, which remains closed to traffic of any kind apart from trains. The railroad closed the bridge more than 35 years ago, and Uptown began dying when it did.

Reopening the bridge for walkers and bikers would re-energize the Vincennes corridor overnight, and reconnect us to the Portland neighborhood ... assuming it wants to be linked. There's the rub. People in New Albany are fond of saying they don't want Louisville's West Enders to have access to the bridge.

Louisville's West Enders say precisely the same about us.

It flummoxes me, this party politics Kool-Aid drinking thing.

The Horizon (IU Southeast) reporter does very well with one side of the story.

The problem for longtime observers of the local scene remains the perennial disconnect between what is viewed in the bathroom mirror, and what exists in reality, out beyond the front door of one's home.

I know that both Cliff and Greg are being sincere in their pronouncements. What I'll never understand is how one can accurately diagnose pressing issues, express favor for various cures, and then remain a loyalist of a political party (our Democrats) holding an absolute, unassailable majority of municipal government seats for the past 12 years, but failing to act on either.

It flummoxes me, this party politics Kool-Aid drinking thing.

How can they publicly support a mayor, Jeff Gahan, who has failed to address their issues apart from vacuous private expressions of support hinging on his re-election, and has made prospects for their cures even more remote owing to massive spending for wants, rather than needs?

What am I missing?

Is it cognitive dissonance?

The Stockholm Syndrome?

The insidiousness of group think?

IU Southeast faculty run for New Albany City Council, by Jordan Williams

 ... For Phipps, the interest in city council started in a way similar to Staten’s.

The desire to make a change came about in response to his 2001 move to downtown New Albany.
“I didn’t have a lot of involvement in politics when I lived in the suburbs. I was out of touch with what was going on,” said Phipps.

“I moved downtown and started to see the urban problems that I didn’t see while living in the suburbs.”
Phipps began his crusade for change by going to city council meetings and bringing attention to the variety of concerns being neglected in the surrounding city.

Bike commuting is on the rise, except in New Albany, where Jeff Gahan cowers in terror.

A headline like that is reason enough to read the article, isn't it?

Yes, the cities cited are far larger than New Albany. The point: As Gahan dithers and delays on street grid reform, we sacrifice opportunities to re-position ourselves as a metro Louisville option.

Time and again, Gahan's "thought" process exalts suburban by-the-numbers rectitude at the expense of what actually works in urban areas -- and biking and walking work in a way that Padgett's cranes cannot.

Bike Commuting: Still on the Rise, by Laura Bliss (City Lab)

... More Americans are biking to work, as cities roll out necessary infrastructure and road-safety policies. Nationwide, from 2000 to 2014, bicycle commuting has grown 62 percent. Yes, it’s easy to grow fast when you start with small numbers. But that doesn’t take away from the larger point: If you build the lanes, cyclists will come.

Must read: Drew Curtis explains exactly how an independent (like me) can win the New Albany mayoral race.

Kentucky gubernatorial independent candidate Drew Curtis actually was at the Public House just a few weeks ago when my old friend Mark Kocher came into town to represent at a Stone Brewing Company tap takeover.

AND I MISSED IT, AND DREW.

And Mark, for that matter.

Damn.

I'm sure Drew and I would have been discussing the points he makes in this amazing essay. Ostensibly, it's about his race in Kentucky, but the gist is applicable here in New Albany.

Op-Ed: Taking Parties Out of Politics

In the 1800s, political parties were candidates' social networks. Drew Curtis, founder of social networking news site Fark.com and Kentucky gubernatorial candidate, now asks if we still need parties in 2015.

 ... I believe a disruption is coming to electoral politics. If I don’t manage to pull off a disruption this November, it’s clear to me that someone else will manage it very soon. We’re seeing cracks appearing already within the parties themselves—nontraditional candidates are faring far better than traditional ones even within the parties on both sides of the aisle, with Donald Trump wreaking havoc among Republicans and Bernie Sanders steadily disrupting what seemed like a preordained win for Hillary.

Counting the ways -- that stop signs can be used as storm water grates?

If we've spent $6 million to prevent flooding, and flooding still occurs, is the price of admission to the water park higher on weekdays for out-of-state guests, or less on weekends during the blue light special?

What if you drink five Bud Light Limes first?

Then what?

How many additional alco-pops does it take before we reach "fundamentally better"?

Sewers are one side of the coin, and stormwater the other. Thanks to pro-active sewer rate increases during the third England term, which were opposed by then-councilman Gahan, the now-mayor Gahan takes credit for progress in the sewer utility -- which means it's time to give back to the ratepayers with a reduction in sewer rates, even if only a symbolic one.

However, it makes little sense to declare sewer "victory" when stormwater is in shambles and getting worse. As Bluegill recently noted:

It's a system that many around the city, who still experience regularly flooded streets and homes, can tell you is failing and not being adequately addressed. Given it's riverside location, New Albany is part of a massive drainage basin for the region, so I'd immediately start with cleaning up and maintaining our much neglected natural waterways, including putting a check on development patterns that block and otherwise obstruct them. Once they're properly functioning again, we can address the man made portions of the system that are still an obvious problem.

Plainly, the original stormwater master plan has been cut, pasted and abridged numerous times for short-term political motivations, as when then-councilman Gahan jumped the master plan's prioritization queue to have massive engineering work done in his own 6th district.

It's long past time to revisit the stormwater master plan, and conduct an audit of what's being done and what isn't.

As currently constituted, New Albany's stormwater control regime is a top-down, fee-based and expensive ongoing engineering project that utterly lacks citizen input. In fact, nothing at all is expected of residents, some of whom might be motivated to some degree by carrots and sticks with respect to the installation of rain barrels, or matching grants for restoring permeable surfaces.

There are many examples nationwide of small efforts over a larger area combining to help alleviate drainage problems. These begin with city government's willingness to engage with ordinary people, and to make all of us part of the solution, which of course includes engineering according to a science-based plan -- not a politically-based one.

Either that, or it's more of those $6 million stop sign plugs.

Transformational vs transactional, and why Gregg Popovich invited John Carlos to speak but Mayor Gahan never would.

Dave Zirin is one of the few sports writers who matters, and this brief essay pertains to John Carlos' recent visit with the Spurs.

But it's more than that.

Zirin also provides a priceless insight by means of a brief reference to being transformational as opposed to transactional in player development (or similar situations; passage underlined below).

In short, never would Gregg Popovich "present" the San Antonio Spurs, and never has he built a cult of personality around himself. It's been about developing humans, not stoking egos.

Then there's Carlos himself.

"It felt great to spread the message that it has to be about more than just the game, the check, the fortune and fame. It’s imperative for me to let them know they can do so much more and just how they can make nonviolent change in such a violent world. I’m just blessed I had the opportunity to be here."

These are selfless men, and I live in a selfish city. JeffG finds the center of the target.

Legit question: How many hundreds of thousands of public dollars could we save in New Albany if we just stopped making plaques, banners, billboards, signs, videos, and electronic ads that prominently feature Jeff Gahan? I've never seen that much spent on self-promotion. Boy, egos are expensive.

There's simply so much to learn, and you never know where the next lesson will originate.

John Carlos Meets the Spurs, by Dave Zirin (The Nation)

This past weekend, I traveled to Texas with 1968 Olympic Sprinter and medal stand protester John Carlos to speak to the San Antonio Spurs. At the request of their head coach, Gregg Popovich, Dr. Carlos addressed the team and then we attended a practice. I delivered an intro about the social context of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and then turned it over to Dr. Carlos for a brief talk and Q&A ...

The main reason I am not going to write about any of this is that if I learned one thing about Gregg Popovich this weekend, it’s that praise legitimately makes him uncomfortable. Pop is cool as hell ... even though he wouldn’t want to hear it, 

Popovich embodies what InSide Out Coaching author Joe Ehrmann means when he writes that coaches need to be “transformational” instead of “transactional”; in other words, caring about developing players as human beings as opposed to using them to gratify their own egos.

"The Reign of Recycling": Environmental necessity or religious ritual?

The topic of recycling was discussed at the recent annual meeting of Trash Force, making Tierney's essay timely. It is well-reasoned and provocative.

Would partial recycling of certain valuable items accompanied by a carbon tax on garbage be better calculated to help the environment?

The Reign of Recycling, by John Tierney (New York Times)

IF you live in the United States, you probably do some form of recycling. It’s likely that you separate paper from plastic and glass and metal. You rinse the bottles and cans, and you might put food scraps in a container destined for a composting facility. As you sort everything into the right bins, you probably assume that recycling is helping your community and protecting the environment. But is it? Are you in fact wasting your time?

In 1996, I wrote a long article for The New York Times Magazine arguing that the recycling process as we carried it out was wasteful. I presented plenty of evidence that recycling was costly and ineffectual, but its defenders said that it was unfair to rush to judgment. Noting that the modern recycling movement had really just begun just a few years earlier, they predicted it would flourish as the industry matured and the public learned how to recycle properly.

So, what’s happened since then? While it’s true that the recycling message has reached more people than ever, when it comes to the bottom line, both economically and environmentally, not much has changed at all.

Baylor for Mayor announces Economical Prayer Service for Thursday, October 8.

This is too good of an idea to let pass. Thank you, LDP. You are a twisted and brilliant thinker.

I hereby propose that you and the other mayoral candidates hold an 'Economical Prayer Service' on Thursday following the Ecumenical Prayer Service for Harvest Homecoming. We can all pray that Jeff Gahan will learn about how an economy works* or that someone will be elected that actually knows what they are doing.

*Namely: how to support local business, how to bring jobs to your own city instead of neighboring ones, how infrastructure works, and how to actually help the needy/working class in your community instead of building puddles to splash in.

The only question is where to hold this vital service.

Seeing as Harvest Homecoming will be at full volume, I'm suggesting the corner of 5th and Spring, by the Coyle site, at 1:00 p.m. on the 8th -- flasks mandatory.

Yes, Jeff, we know you're The Luxury Mayor: "Working so hard, to keep you from the poverty."

Jeff Gahan and the local Democratic Party are really excited about subsidizing the construction of luxury apartments just a few blocks away from the city's most concentrated areas of poverty.

As New Albany Census Facts (2009-2013) readily attest:

NA median household income: $39,607 ($48,248 overall in Indiana)

Persons below poverty level in NA: 22.2% (15.4% overall in Indiana)

We all know the parts of town most affected by these numbers, so think about this.

Our Democrats are monetarily supporting Bocce ball, "Gigabit Internet access" and other upscale amenities for the few, as Gahan's campaign vows from 2011 (jobs and education) go entirely unmentioned. Even those whom we'd have expected to denounce such coded social engineering have fallen into line.

“When I came on the council, philosophically, I was opposed to ideas like this,” Phipps said. “I called it corporate welfare as well. For some of the naysayers out there that say this isn’t a thing for Democrats to do, I thought renewing urban environments, cleaning up blighted areas and bringing residents to the community so they can support locally owned business, is very much a Democrat thing to do.”
-- Greg Phipps (3rd district council) in supporting the Coyle site subsidies

But Greg: What about the message these subsidies send, not to just to the desperate and impoverished in our community, but also to working families just managing to get by, who are struggling with income inequality and low-wage jobs, and destined to be excluded by the ethos of privilege?

Can someone in the ruling elite explain to them how the "ripple effect" (Duggins' words) is going to lift them up?

What has Jeff Gahan, a supposed Democrat, done in four years for those most in need of hope, apart from hand them nicely suburbanized (and frightfully expensive) parks?

Now listen, I'm a proud man, not a beggar walking on the street

I'm working so hard, to keep you from the poverty

I'm working so hard to keep you in the luxury, oh yeah

I'm working so hard, I'm working so hard

Harder, harder, working, working, working

Insulating Democratic voters from the poverty isn't exactly what Mick and Keith had in mind, but that's how our governing clique rolls.

And that's why #gahanmustgo

Video: "Philly Without Cars."

Or, "subverting the parking-space-by-the-door suburban ideal for downtown."

Thanks, W.

Parade? What parade?

Thanks, everyone. You were reading and sharing yesterday, and I think the point was amply made.

Me? I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow.

What it comes down to is this: The parade committee's word is the eleventh commandment, and to be a politician aspiring to use nothing except his own two legs to traverse the parade route is to risk arrest.

And if I'm to be arrested, I prefer it occur as an act of principled civil disobedience in support of a cause slightly more important than a parade. One picks certain battles, retains a share of dry powder, and goes to the mattresses only when necessary.

Daily life in New Albany is provocation enough, isn't it?

Today I'll be at Biers on Parade, the New Albany Restaurant and Bar Associations's pop-up beer garden at the Farmers Market. It runs from 1 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The last known photograph of me in a suit.

It is an indescribable honor to be recognized by Freedom of Speech.

I believe TIF bonds should be safe, legal and rare.

As for the suit, this photo shows what mine looks like. The photo was taken the last time I wore it, in 2009.

With stylish Che wallet and glass of red wine. 

It needs alteration, given that I've lost about 40 lbs since then. But I know where to do that, right Cisa?

Fringe Fest 2015: For the 8th year, it will be refuge from harvest culture on the skids.

With numerical appropriateness, NABC’S 8th annual Fringe Fest at Bank Street Brewhouse begins next Thursday, October 8.

Once again, it will serve as shelter from both prevailing swill walk and periodic booth bloat during Harvest Homecoming. NABC strives to offer alternatives to harvest culture on the skids, with occasional marks of its own.

(Notice I'm beginning to learn how not to use words like "us" and "our")

My personal favorite is back: Wet Knobs Harvest Hop Ale, released on the 8th. It's an American Pale Ale brewed with “wet” (unprocessed) locally grown Floyds Knobs hops. Sadly, the Lloyd’s Landing Estate Grown hop program did not yield hops in 2015, but Josh Hill foresees a return to form next year. Meanwhile, the hops remain local, and the batch small. It usually doesn’t survive Fringe Fest, so get it while you can.

I can't imagine better campaign fuel.

Gahan the human rights mayor? Spare us, please.

It was never Jeff Gahan's idea to enable a human rights commission, but in the grand scheme of political maneuvering, there was sufficient support that he acquiesced, pausing only to be assured that he'd receive credit for the sham he at first opposed, and would extract payback chits from those duly assuaged, redeemable for bonded boondoggles down the road.

Consequently, New Albany was gifted with vintage Gahan intellectual infrastructure: An entity neutered and defanged at birth, suitable primarily for posturing and press releases. The sycophants were delighted, and so little of merit occurred (for once, actually by design) that a whole other entity (Southern Indiana Equality) was privately created.

If you can find anything in this story to suggest a vote to re-elect Jeff Gahan, please let me know. While you're pondering this, consider yet again the "human rights mayor's" abysmal record in matters such as ... well, human rights.

ON THE AVENUES: No more fear, Jeff.

Case studies: Street safety is vital ... unless an election cycle interrupts the equation.

Especially in densely populated urban areas, and even in England, speeders assuredly surely are criminals -- and it isn't unusual anywhere on the planet for politicians to be cowards.

We wouldn't want to disturb suburban Democratic commuters, would we Jeff?

Is that why the Speck study is up there on the shelf, collecting dust, even as you take credit for downtown revitalization you've done nothing to support?

The Benefits of Slower Traffic, Measured in Money and Lives, by Eric Jaffe (City Lab)

In May 2014, three school kids in New Brunswick, New Jersey, were hit by a car on Livingston Avenue while in the crosswalk. They were each injured—one seriously—and rushed to the hospital. A cell phone video taken at the scene is pierced with anonymous screams.

Fortunately, according to news reports, the kids recovered. Unfortunately, the trauma they and their families endured is all too common on the streets of U.S. cities. What makes the situation in New Brunswick so much more regrettable is that city leaders knew about the safety hazards on Livingston Avenue but hesitated to change traffic patterns for fear of offending drivers.

That’s the frustrating conclusion one gets from a new case study about implementing a road diet on Livingston. The analysis finds that the safety benefits of reducing automobile space and speeds on the street would far outweigh any losses from driver delay. But the report’s authors state that officials were concerned from the start about upsetting the car-centric status quo:

This was expressed in an early meeting with city staff. There was a desire to complete the work prior to the start of a mayoral election campaign, since the plan was seen as controversial and would likely be opposed by voters.

An earlier version of this same report was presented to the city back in March 2014. Officials praised its findings to the press and spoke of doing whatever it takes to make street safety a priority. But they didn’t take any urgent measures, and two months later the children were hit.

Top Ten posts at NA Confidential for September, 2015.

The September Top Ten is determined by numbers of unique hits, as reported by Blogger.

The list begins with five honorable mention posts, before concluding with the Top Ten, escalating to No. 1.

Thanks for reading.

Obviously, you are reading, even if some observers in City Hall are fond of pretending otherwise. Isn't it funny how they invariably reply publicly to what they haven't read on the down-low?

HONORABLE MENTION

183 (tie)

Green Mouse asks: Who knew the city "abated" almost $1 million in lease payments for Valley View Golf Course?

183 (tie)

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

191

Opportunity costs and fiber optic communications: A closer look at Jeff Gahan's luxurious incomprehension.

200

NAHA candidate forum: Adam gets all irate with opponents who won't play by his rules.

207

This is New Albany's economic development challenge: "Developing the Cure for Corporate Welfare."

211

Of cuisine, great and humble.

TOP TEN

216

Gahan's signature pettiness ensures we'll not see a mayoral debate with all three candidates present at once.

246

On the advent of Underground Station, rank political poseurs and a dangerous street without crosswalks or stop signs.

250

Jeff Gahan's "nothing positive" comment is an admission of malice as it pertains to local independent businesses.

253

Huzzahs all around as Mayor Gahan finally delivers jobs ... to Charlestown.

255

Rosenbarger's plaque, Gahan's yard sign, ethical quagmires, and the urgent need for deep cleansing in City Hall.

271

Birdseye, here we come: Is Vincennes Street to be the next victim of non-Speck "beautification"?

286

ON THE AVENUES: Dear Neighbor: If you’re tired of the same old story, turn some pages.

295

Baylor for Mayor: Consider walking with me in the Harvest Homecoming Parade.

340

ON THE AVENUES: When even Mitt Romney can run to the left of New Albany’s Democrats, it's a very big problem.

484

In letter, Gahan confirms intent to snub Leadership Southern Indiana and bypass LSI's mayoral debate (includes my return letter).

Me? I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow.

Me?

I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow, because that’s what walkability is all about.

It's about walking.

As of Friday morning, walking the parade route is an option being denied me. I hope this changes.

Before I explain this in greater detail, know that I’m sticking with my 2015 resolution not to re-ignite the annual controversy over Harvest Homecoming, New Albany’s annual autumnal civic festival, best known for its “booth days,” when downtown is given over to a temporary street festival format.

I can compromise on my own two feet, thank you.

I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow.

The usual arguments about Harvest Homecoming, pro and con, have been hashed and rehashed. Revolutions of rising expectations are never easy. In the absence of principled municipal governance, nothing’s going to substantively change any time soon, and yet I’m satisfied that a younger generation of Harvest Homecoming’s management truly grasps the need for evolution and accommodation.

Reform is a process, and while painfully slow, there is movement on some fronts. Let’s accept progress in this process, and celebrate this fact.

As for me, I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow.

I’m especially grateful to Art Niemeier, who joined the group effort planning tomorrow’s Biers on Parade at the Farmer Market, and has been invaluable. I don’t want to say or do anything that might compromise my gratitude to Art. We’re in possession of an idea (parade day festivities) with significant future promise, one uniting multiple entities. It's a good thing, indeed.

And me?

I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow, because walking is the basic form of human movement.

It comes down to this: As written, Harvest Homecoming’s parade rules do not explicitly acknowledge the possibility that an independent political candidate might participate.

There is a clause restricting the use of convertibles to current office holders, and another confining non-office-holding candidates to their political party’s respective floats.

I hold no office, and I have no party.

Given that I’m probably the foremost local proponent of walkability, I just want to walk the parade route tomorrow.

First I was asked by the committee if it could provide a vehicle, and I said thanks, but no thanks.

The walkability guy in a truck? It doesn’t make sense.

In the beginning, all I wanted to do is walk the parade route tomorrow with a group of supporters. Just walk down the street, nothing more, while making the point that it isn’t unusual to walk.

Because it isn’t.

Except when you’re told it cannot be allowed.

At some point during the past months, it was mentioned that perhaps bicycles could be included, though while it would be nice to have bikes represented, actually riding one in a slow-moving parade doesn't compute, although if the idea helped move the negotiation, I thought it acceptable to at least consider pushing a bike.

Although what I’d like to do is just walk the parade route.

As of yesterday, the committee is holding to its interpretation of rules that aren’t explicit in the first place, and has offered this ruling: I can’t walk, because candidates for office must use a wheeled vehicle, and if I choose to ride a bicycle, which is suitably wheeled, there can be only five bikes total.

Have I mentioned that nowhere in the committee’s rules is this wheeled clause mentioned?

Me?

I just want to walk the parade route.

I’ll walk alone, if that helps.

As the candidate of walkability, all I want to do is walk the Harvest Homecoming parade route.

Granted, irony never plays well here, but note that at a time when walkability is one of downtown’s best hopes for continued regeneration, the Harvest Homecoming theme in 2015 is Hot Rod Harvest.

Please, can I just walk the parade route and illustrate that life in this city can be about people, and not just their cars?

All I want to do is walk the parade route tomorrow, just me alone.

Surely this isn't an imposition.

Thanks for your consideration.

Biers on Parade at the Farmers Market tomorrow, parade day, starting at 1:00 p.m.

Biers on Parade is a go tomorrow. If you're downtown for the Harvest Homecoming parade, stop by and visit. It's a "pop-up" beer garden format and entirely casual.

The New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association (NARBA) is partnering with New Albany’s Farmers Market and Harvest Homecoming to stage Biers on Parade, a family-friendly food and drink showcase at the newly remodeled Farmers Market pavilion at the corner of Market and Bank on Saturday, October 3.

Biers on Parade coincides with the Harvest Homecoming Parade through downtown New Albany, and also will conclude New Albany Independent Restaurant Week.

NARBA member businesses will be selling food, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks from 1:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. on October 3. The Farmers Market will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. earlier that day.

Biers on Parade will offer beers from two out of three of our city’s breweries: New Albanian Brewing Company and Donum Dei Brewery. Having only recently opened for business, Floyd County Brewing Company isn't yet equipped for kegging, so it will be unable to send beer this year.

There’ll also be food prepared by Feast BBQ, The Exchange and Taco Steve, and wine from River City Winery.

Finding solutions to a region's heroin epidemic.

At last week's League of Women Voters debate, incumbent at-large council representative Shirley Baird made an earnest effort to address Southern Indiana's drug problem, but I'm not sure her reference came out as intended. She framed it as a law enforcement issue, and of course that's true, but as most of us realize, it's far more than that.

As this community action plan from Ohio illustrates ...

The Heroin and Opioid Epidemic -- Our Community’s Action Plan

Summary

On Nov. 21, 2013, many of Northern Ohio’s leading institutions gathered for a daylong summit in an effort to find solutions to the region’s heroin epidemic. A Community Action Plan was formulated over the course of several planning meetings and finalized during the summit. The purpose of this document is to serve as a guiding master plan as we move forward as a community. The Action Plan is divided into four specific areas: Prevention and Education, Healthcare Policy, Law Enforcement and Treatment. Inevitably, there is some overlap among each of these areas.

A few disclaimers: this document is a working draft and not written in stone. Some of these items are immediately actionable while others will take more time, research and effort. Some of these items have unanimous support among the planners, others do not. Although certain action items cannot be implemented without new legislation, some of the partnering agencies are forbidden from taking a position on pending or potential legislation. The hope is that this Action Plan will serve as a road map and tie together our various efforts toward the same goals – preventing people from using heroin, helping treat those who have become addicted, choking off both the supply of and demand for heroin in Northern Ohio, and working collaboratively to make our region healthier, safer and stronger ...

As Chico Marx might have said, "Gahan -- he no show up."

The Chico Marx reference comes from Duck Soup, the classic comedy film by the Marx Brothers. It's an excellent representation of the two-party system. At least that's my interpretation.

Meanwhile, the Louisville newspaper sent someone to cover Tuesday's debate.

New Albany candidates hit issues, criticize Gahan, by Lexy Gross (C-J)

Independent candidate Roger Baylor and Republican Kevin Zurschmiede answered questions from a four-person panel at New Albany High School. Incumbent Mayor Jeff Gahan was invited to the debate hosted by Leadership Southern Indiana, but his campaign chose not to participate.

Gahan's campaign committed to two debates during election season, but all three mayoral candidates won't debate on the same stage before Nov. 3.

I hope to return to this passage when there is time.

In one of the final questions of the night, the candidates explained their vision for New Albany.

"As mayor, I want to create a city where people want to live," Zurschmiede said.

Echoing previous notes about attracting millennials to New Albany, Baylor said he considers himself a "bridge to the next generation."

Kevin's actual sentiments might be better summarized as a desire to make New Albany a great city again, this being a common expression of political intent not only here, but among presidential hopefuls like Donald Trump.

I submit to you that this is a far more complex topic than it might seem. How far back do we go in finding periods of comparative greatness?

New Albany's last assumed period of epochal prosperity probably predated the civil rights movement and (attempted) desegregation.

And I don't want to go back to that. Do you?

ON THE AVENUES: No more fear, Jeff.

ON THE AVENUES: No more fear, Jeff. 

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

“I talked to a downtown business owner. He’d put a Zurschmiede sign in his window, and (a city employee) came in and said it was frowned on. He didn’t know what that meant, so he took it down”

“I was sitting there minding my own business, and here comes (a mayor-appointed board member). He looked at me and said, ‘Jeff Gahan is the best mayor we’ve ever had.’ What was I supposed to say?”

“(The council member) ran inside and started yelling at my employees about my Baylor yard sign. He said he was a city employee, but we wouldn’t identify himself.”

“So I called down there (city offices) to see if they planned on doing anything about the trash piling up in the alley behind my neighbor’s slum, and they patched me to (high-ranking official). The first thing he said to me was where do I get off asking for favors with a Zurschmiede sign on my property?”

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There was a novel feature of the Leadership Southern Indiana debate on Tuesday, which should have been a threesome, but was missing a sitting mayor.

Each of us was asked to provide a question to be asked of the others. With Jeff Gahan absent, this meant Kevin Zurschmiede and I questioned each other. He asked me about my depth of feeling about two-way streets, and I explained in detail.

I asked him whether he’d support local ordinances against human trafficking, and he fielded the question positively and flawlessly, indicating that he grasps important contemporary issues.

Leadership Southern Indiana might not have allowed the question I’d have asked to Gahan, had he bothered attending.

Jeff, why are so many ordinary people in our community afraid to differ openly with you?

I can almost hear the answer.

That’s a cheap shot, because every single person I’ve talked to in this city supports the water park – and if you’re not one of them, expect an angry phone call very late at night.

Yes, this is the state of New Albany’s ongoing degeneration.

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Seeing as it’s my lot in life to say aloud what others are thinking, here it is.

During the time I’ve been paying attention to the local scene, there simply has not been any point of comparison with the atmosphere today in terms of retribution, intimidation and implied vengeance.

For those in support of the opposition, the consistent message is there’ll be hell to pay if the incumbent loses his bid for re-election.

My calls for UN election monitors and assistance from the Jimmy Carter Center are only partly in jest, because the situation is getting increasingly tense as voting draws near.

Consider the experience of Indie Fest. Last Sunday’s fourth edition was a success, with over 2,000 attendees, but it almost didn’t happen.

Earlier this year, city officials approached Indie Fest organizer Marcey Wisman-Bennett and asked her to consider shifting Indie Fest to Labor Day weekend, so as to provide a September bookend (with Boomtown Ball in May) to the summer concert series at Bicentennial Park. She also was asked to move the event to the Riverfront Amphitheater. She agreed.

Shortly thereafter, I announced my intent to gather signatures for mayoral ballot access as an independent, and Marcey agreed to be my committee chairwoman. On the day the papers were filed, she and I decided to have a coffee at Quills, and by the time we walked there from the county clerk’s office, she’d already been texted by a city higher-up expressing disdain for my candidacy, and her involvement with it.

You have three guesses as to what happened after that – and the first two don’t count.

A City Hall once nominally supportive of independent local businesses completely disappeared from view. The mayor’s handpicked Board of Works fiddled and dithered with non-information about the amphitheater’s availability, before finally denying the Labor Day weekend date previously requested by City Hall itself … because someone already had booked it.

Marcey was left to dangle for weeks, and finally gave up trying. She turned briefly to the county, which characteristically was of no help. Almost at the last possible moment, the Carter brothers, developers of Underground Station, stepped forward and took it upon themselves to approach the city and tie Indie Fest to their own plans for a grand opening weekend.

Presumably the city, having done almost nothing to assist the Carters with their project, was in a giving mood.

The many delays and obfuscations crippled Marcey’s fundraising efforts, and several former donors hinted that behind-the-scenes pressure was being exerted on them to not be seen supporting Indie Fest this year.

The story I’m telling is no secret, and it isn’t supposed to be.

Politically motivated strong-arming is a public function, not a private one, because the object is for others to see it taking place, and to learn the "proper" lesson that their own independence will be greeted in similar, heavy-handed fashion.

It’s abhorrent, and yet it’s happening. Worse yet, more than a few Democratic Party stalwarts are abetting the ugliness by refusing to face it head on.

Somehow this reminds me that the first annual meeting of Southern Indiana Equality is tonight. In the context of this meeting, human rights and Team Gahan’s incessant bullying, here’s a quote of significance from the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

“Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth.”

That silence you hear?

It’s becoming deafening.

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Free speech seems a particular irritant to Gahan and the Democratic Party, especially as it pertains to social media. In the marketplace of ideas, they’ve almost never replied to questions by facilitating dialogue, as this would constitute two-way communications, and as such, veer uncomfortably close to an admission of intent to listen.

Rather, their chosen mode of communication most often involves systematically blocking it. On social media, I've been unfriended by several Democrats, and blocked by two Democratic agitprop groups, as well as by the mayor's campaign, his personal page and his wife's.

Consequently, I close today by concurring with this important point made on Facebook by my friend Mark Cassidy.

I just want to let the Floyd County Democratic Party, Jeff Gahan, and anyone else for that matter, know that you are more than welcome to post on my timeline, respond to any comment that I may make, engage in a discussion, etc., all without fear of being blocked by me. I have no fear of the free exchange of thoughts, ideas, plans, needs, wants, desires ...

I’ve been to places where fear was a daily consideration, but New Albany isn’t East Germany, and we can do better than this.

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Recent columns:

September 24: ON THE AVENUES: Almost two years later, Mr. Gahan has yet to plug in this clock, and so it's time for him to clock out.

September 17: ON THE AVENUES: Dear Neighbor: If you’re tired of the same old story, turn some pages.

September 10: ON THE AVENUES: Lanesville Heritage Weekend comes around again.

September 3: ON THE AVENUES: When even Mitt Romney can run to the left of New Albany’s Democrats, it's a very big problem.

August 27: ON THE AVENUES: Whips, chains and economic development (2010).

August 20: ON THE AVENUES: In the groove.

August 13: ON THE AVENUES: It’s time to purge two-party politics and tie the community together.

Here's the link to the Leadership Southern Indiana debate video.

Republican mayoral candidate Kevin Zurschmiede and I discuss the issues. It's an hour long, and worth your time.

Leadership Southern Indiana's New Albany Mayoral Debate

In the aftermath of the debate, much has been made about Mayor Jeff Gahan's absence -- and that's as it should be.

Baylor for Mayor: We're the "no excuses" team.