Muncie Mayor's Court Battle Ends

Well, maybe. The law lacks clarity and so an appeal ought to follow. The Democrats' lawyer hints as much in the Muncie Star Press articles, Special election lawsuit dismissed:

A special judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Muncie Democrats seeking a special election in Precinct 46.

Judge Joel Roberts ruled that the Democrats missed a deadline to file for the special election.

Indiana law says that the losing candidate in an election must file a petition for special election within 14 days of the original election.

Democrats did not file for a special election in Muncie until Dec. 27, seven weeks after the November general election.

Democrats had argued that the statutory deadline did not apply to the Muncie election because Democrat candidate Jim Mansfield was not declared the loser until the end of recount proceedings Dec. 20.

No word on the legal fight over Anderson's mayors.

Follow Up on Anderson and Muncie Mayoral Races

The Muncie Star Press printed the AP story on our lawsuit to stop Ockomon, . Looks like the AP picked up on the Herald-Bulletin's story that wrote about in WTF? Now they sue to keep Ockomon out of office. The more I see the quote from Kevin Smith, the more I do not like it:

“I think the issue of residency is vitally important to all parties concerned,” Smith said. “I think that, as an issue, it is one that needs to be put to rest one way or the other for the sake of the citizens of the city.”

The Indiana Law Blog also mentions this lawsuit, Ind. Courts - And another mayorial election contest?.

As for the debacle that is Muncie's mayoral election, the courts are not done with it, yet: Mansfield camp seeks new judge in bid for recount. For those not following this, the Democratic candidate wants a special election:

Mansfield, however, announced Thursday that he was seeking a special election in Precinct 46, where the recount commission disqualified 19 absentee ballots, in effect costing Mansfield the mayor's race.

Muncie marches to its own drummer and this case is too much of a muddle for anyone outside to discuss sensibly.

Muncie/Delaware County election and some thoughts on voter turnout

Some interesting bits from the Muncie Star-Press' Inaccurate voter rolls skew turnout numbers:

"Inside city limits, that number amounts to 90 percent, compared to 94 percent for the entire county, based on numbers provided by the Delaware County Voter Registration office and the U.S. Census."

***

Voter turnout in Tuesday's Muncie election, was around 27 percent -- as was cumulative turnout figures for all four municipalities. (Daleville and Albany also held town elections Tuesday, but did so without the involvement of county election officials or vote-counting equipment.)

But once again, that number was based in part on the fact that 45,601 people in Muncie -- or 90 percent of the estimated adult population -- was registered to vote.

Simmons said a real registration rate between 70 to 80 percent is more likely, and even that number would require a very civic-minded population.

Based on Simmons' estimations, turnout of registered voters in Muncie might have been somewhere between 30 and 34 percent.

I wonder if Madison County's rolls are likewise inflated and our turnout also somewhat higher? Still too low by any sane measure when more than fifty percent of the electorate does not vote.

Indianapolis Star on why Peterson lost

Here is the lowdown from How Ballard won:

The two-term mayor was defeated by Ballard just about everywhere else voters went to the polls. Peterson lost in:

• Townships he had won handily in past elections, especially those where voters appeared to want to punish him for tax increases.

• Outer precincts, especially south, where his opponent took two-thirds of the vote or more.

• Even the precinct where he lives.

Anger over property as well as income taxes, more than anything, cost Peterson his job, the data indicate.

Washington Township resident Bill Getz, whose area saw tax increases among the highest in the county, had voted for Peterson in the past but said he couldn't do it again.

"My sole issue, where Bart lost me, was the income tax increase. We had just gotten shellacked with the property tax deal, and they came right back with the income tax hike," said Getz, 44. "It just showed that he couldn't possibly understand what people were going through."

The backlash over taxes, however, didn't drive more voters to the polls. Turnout was virtually the same as in the 2003 election, 26.2 percent.

I must say that Anderson's turnout was higher.

Sorry about today's silence

Suffering today from a nasty sinus headache. I hoped to write a bit about the elections but just a bit too pain is making me a bit mush headed. At this point, I do want to congratulate Kris Ockomon for winning the mayor's race in Anderson. More tomorrow, I promise.

New Castle mayor's race

From today's Muncie STar Press:

Some are supporting Democrat Sherman Boles, the former mayor who served 12 straight years before he was beat in the 2003 primary by current Mayor Tom Nipp. Boles returned the favor and beat Nipp this past May.

But Nipp supporters wouldn't dare vote for Boles, so many have switched sides since the spring primary. A faction of Democrats have formed Democrats for Jim Small, the Republican who wants to become the city's first Republican mayor in more than 50 years.

According to voter registration records, 40 percent of New Castle voters cast ballots in the fall of 2003.

There has been no shortage of attacks between the two men. Small has referred to Boles' previous years in office as ones where the budget was "almost out of control" and where everything from taxes to drug abuse increased. Small, who is working as a special projects officer for the New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp., said his experience in that office proves he's helping the city move forward.

Race for New Castle mayor has split Democratic party

Why Anderson's Mayoral Race is so important

Anderson is the largest city with an incumbent Republican who is not in meltdown mode. The Republicans have no chance in beating Peterson down in Indianapolis. The Evansville and Fort Wayne Republican candidates seem headed for implosion and certainly have muddied the waters with their self-imposed embarrassments. Muncie and Kokomo have open races that could go either way but might tip towards Republicans more for reasons of local Democratic organization problems than Republican virtues.

Anderson has a strong local party organization. How strong and how organized will be tested this Fall. That makes the 2007 mayoral race important for us Democrats in Anderson.

Second what makes the race important for Indiana Democrats: a Democratic loss here will be used as Mitch Daniels as a sign that his agenda has a future in Indiana.

Kokomo's Mayoral Tax Wackiness

From today's Kokomo Perspective:

That year, the city of Kokomo asked for a $5 million hike in the city's levy to correct a fiscal error. Most officials agreed with that decision. But McKillip also asked for and received an additional $8 million.

"That $8 million is still in there," said Center Township assessor Sheila Pullen.

"Everyone seems to gloss over that," added Howard County councilman Dick Miller.

Now, as the McKillip campaign puts forth a carefully-crafted image of McKillip as a conservative crusader for lower taxes, many city and county officials - as well as McKillip's election opponents -- are calling foul.

What gives in Kokomo? Will this be an issue that a Democrat can ride into the Mayor's office? Hard to tell with Kokomo but we can hope.

Something slightly different

But politics all the same. I mention in a post below that Kokomo has a new mayoral candidate. here is his website. Then I found this article on The Thicket.

The mayoral candidate site is great but I cannot tell if the guy is a Democrat or not. Maybe I overlooked a reference on a page. Our mayoral candidates should seriously think about a site like this.

The other thing may be a bit more esoteric unless you know something about wikis. I know a little and think it is a great idea and one that ought to have a wider use. On the other hand, the City website does not have the city ordinances or archive the city council meetings.

Oh, one thing I did learn at last Friday's county meeting is that we have a county Democratic party web page here. Pretty cool site and congratulations for whoever designed it. When can we expect a blog?

Last Friday's county Democrat meeting

Ok, I took way to long to report on this but it was a pitch-in dinner. The candidates all were given a chance to give a short speech. I need to take a notebook with me. I really cannot remember people's names.

What I really want to report is this: unity. There is a unified purpose to the county party to move forward. The Anderson mayoral candidates and the Anderson City Council candidates are united in removing Smith as mayor. Having eyeballed both mayoral candidates, I think it is safe to say that there will be no infighting amongst them.

I am going to suggest here that the Anderson mayoral race is the most important race for Democrats in Indiana. The big cities are pretty much a cinch (does anyone seriously think we can lose Indianapolis or Evansville? Ok, maybe if Peterson is found with a goat in a Chicago Bears uniform). Muncie is an open race this year. Kokomo is the only of the manufacturing cities that is even prospering right now, so that one might be a close one to call as being more important than Anderson (besides things have been a bit weird up there). I have no idea what is going on in Terre Haute or Columbus. So with all these caveats and qualifications, I say Anderson will be the test for us this year.

It will be a test because Smith has come to adopt Daniels' ICC and he is an incumbent Republican mayor. It will be a test of the Governor's appeal as well as Smith's economic development. The city employees have gripes, some known and some only hinted at, but the fight for those outside of city employment will be economic development. That is, jobs.

It will not be an easy test, either. Kevin Smith can scrap. We need to develop cogent ideas, a vision (yes, I know I wrote that I would write more on this and I will) for the city that is a Democratic vision. Then we need to support whoever wins the primary. Full tilt support.

Another Democrat running for mayor of Kokomo?

Got this from the Muncie Free Press today. At least, I think he is a Democrat.

Kokomo's Democratic mayoral candidates

From the Kokomo Tribune, Tony Taflinger made his unofficial announcement to run for mayor of Kokomo.

In a surprise announcement during the public comment period at the Kokomo Common Council meeting, Taflinger quietly said he intends to run for mayor as a Democrat.

“Like most of the community, I have concerns,” he said. “I have concerns about high taxes. I have concerns that city employees who have political statements on their vehicles are told they can’t park on city property.”

An employee of the Kokomo Police Department for the past 10 years, Taflinger also has a cleaning contract with the city through his company, TAF Cleaning Services.

Despite the fact Taflinger makes his living with the city, he said he felt compelled to run against current Mayor Matt McKillip, at least partially because of his own views on the atmosphere at City Hall.

“I work for the city, and in this administration, if your thoughts are different than what this administration is, you’re against them,” Taflinger said. “That’s not the attitude I have, and it’s time for a change.

Taflinger, 44, is a Kokomo High School graduate who has worked previously in security with St. Joseph Hospital, and has volunteered for the Howard County Emergency Agency.

Although he said he will officially file for candidacy today, and hasn’t raised any money yet, Taflinger said he hopes to have a positive effect on the municipal election.

Andy Castner, who ran in 2003, also has said he is running.