Democratic Chairman Contends Bosma and Winnecke  Ignore Students Who Need IU Med Center Most

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    Vanderburgh County Democratic Chairman Rob Faulkner today challenged the Republican Speaker of the Indiana House and his fellow Republican in the Mayor’s office to stop posturing and be forthcoming with Evansville residents about the IU Med Center project.

    Dear CCO Readers:

    “House Speaker Brian Bosma is back in Evansville this week, and we can expect him to continue bragging about supposed accomplishments of the Republican-led legislature this year, when their most prominent accomplishment was to trash the state’s image. But it’s also a good bet that he will heap praise on Republican Mayor Lloyd Winnecke for leading the IU Med Center project,” Faulkner said.

    The Democratic leader points out that Bosma and Winnecke have yet to fully explain the downsizing of this important project through the exclusion of Ivy Tech Community College and the extensive student population it serves. “It’s clear that it’s about politics and weak leadership,” he said.

    Winnecke views the approved IU Med Center plan as adequate, but he doesn’t admit that by cutting Ivy Tech out of the project, Republicans are denying a life-changing opportunity to many who need it the most, Faulkner said.

    “Working adults needing training to get better jobs in medical fields and students graduating high school without the financial resources to attend Indiana University, University of Evansville or even University of Southern Indiana will be left out,” the Democratic chairman charged.

    Faulkner said Bosma and Winnecke should be forthcoming about why Evansville is now facing such limited benefits from this transformational project, and why so many individuals will be deprived of a chance to improve their lives by getting training at this innovative facility.

    Sincerely,

    Rob Faulkner

    Vanderburgh County Democratic  Party Chairman

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    5 COMMENTS

    1. Yes, I think that Lloyd Winnecke must answer these questions. At the same time, Gail Riecken, an actual member of the legislature, should explain why she had no influence at all on funding levels. It is almost as though her fellow legislators, even the Democrats, do not take her seriously. Meanwhile, one of the main advocates of this expansion, former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, now the head of the local Ivy Tech, seems to have done an extraordinarily poor job of explaining the necessity of this expansion, other than appealing to the “let’s move everything downtown” meme that he and his successor substitute for actual reasons. I really hope that Rob Faulkner will demand explanations from Gail Riecken and Jonathan Weinzapfel for their failures. Accountability starts at home after all.

      • I call BS when the GOP rules the IN Senate and House. You can’t really expect Gail to tell those idiots up North what to do and make them do what we want down here. The Governor has more sway over those GOP dummies than Gail has and YOU KNOW THIS dummy.

        Backfire you are a joke.

    2. Whomever is the real author of this article, please get the facts correct before making comments. Mayor Winnecke, Dr. Becker and others worked very hard in successfully getting the IU Med Center located in Evansville IN. This is a great accomplishment and will result in many good long term benefits for SW Indiana.

      Ivy Tech Community College has a major credibility problem with the Senate State Legislature Leadership. Because of this credibility problem, Ivy Tech Community College received “0” dollars for capital projects in this State Budget. Read today’s C/P to get Bosma’s explanation as to why Ivy Tech Community College request to be a part of the IU Med Center was not funded.

      Democrat Gale Riecken voted against the IU Med Center funding. If the Republicans had not overrode her vote, there would not be an IU Med Center in Evansville period.

      Hopefully Ivy Tech Community College leadership can re-establish their credibility with the State Legislature, whereby funding will be a part of the next budget cycle.

      Wayne Parke

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