Interstate Commerce Connector and Messer - something fishy in Shelby County

I did not see this post from Taking Down Words till today. I mentioned an IBJ article about Luke Messer forming a Shelby County group promoting the Governor's Interstate Commerce Connector. The TDW post provided a link to this article in the Shelbyville News. WEll, seems that Messer and his group have attracted attention for some funky avoidance of Indiana's Open Door Law. Some of the local officials were thinking that they violated the Open Door Law but Mr. Messer asserted a different point of view. The Open Door Law exists to keep the public informed of what the elected officials are doing by giving the public notice of a meeting and having the ability to attend the meeting. So this meeting was a private meeting between the lobbyists and a whole bunch of Shelby County officials. To me, that seems a pretty bad way to start a lobbying campaign.

Another bad way to start off a campaign - do not invite any farmers. As somebody says in the article, they are ones whose land is going to be taken for this venture.

Maybe the promoters know that they got popular opposition and want to get the officials on board before the public opinion gets too hot for the officials.

Tony Newton, president of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, said that he wants to learn more about the proposed public-private tollway that could be built through Shelby County and five other central Indiana counties.

"I don't see how we can endorse a road if we don't know where it's going," Newton said. "I don't think the county should come out and endorse a project like that unless we have the support of the people in the county, and I don't think that has happened."

Seems Shelby County finds the ICC as good an idea as anybody else not beholden to our Governor.