IS IT TRUE that it is now common knowledge that the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwestern Indiana is retiring at the end of 2023?…that Ms. Barney has done the heavy lifting during her time in office to consolidate all of the economic development entities in the Innovation Pointe Building at 318 Main Street under a single umbrella organization?…the immediate past CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana left for a better position in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has left that position for an even larger and better position in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?…that her predecessor affectionately known as “Teen Wolf†also left Evansville for a better position in Waco, Texas after a long term as CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana?
IS IT TRUE the revolving door on the CEO’s office on the 4th floor on Innovation Pointe is about to swing again and the Mole Nation is telling us that in spite of a highly publicized national search that the fix is in to appoint current Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to the quite lucrative position?…it is no wonder that Mayor Winnecke would want to be considered for the CEO position as it supposedly pays more than double what he ever earned as Mayor of Evansville?…the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana has always been very careful not to hire any CEO that is highly political in any way?…the Board of Directors of the organization has also been diligent about bringing people in from outside of Evansville who brought new ideas and a fresh face to the Tri-State?…this is typically the practice across the nation as Chambers of Commerce are advocates for business and that means getting into the face of governments at all levels when they instinctively do things from a tax and regulate perspective that are anti-business?
IS IT TRUE of all of the things that one can say about Mayor Winnecke who fashions himself as a great collaborator, is that he is not only political, he has a history of backroom deals going back to the Snegal (sneaky but legal) meeting to take away the Homestead Tax Credit like a tribunal of thieves in the night?…he was also only in office for a month before handing $200,000 to an energy business that had no patents, no products and no prospect for hiring any local people except for a couple of political patronage types who were poised to accept some “do nothing†jobs that were expected to pay over $100,000 per year?… Mole 3 tells the City-County Observer that Mayor Winnecke will be featured in some made-for-television political advertisements on behalf of one of the candidates to replace him as Mayor of Evansville?…it will be very interesting how the opposition candidate will choose to expose some of the things attributed to Winnecke’s golden candidate?
IS IT TRUE we also have it from several CCO Moles that Mayor Winnecke will be taking all of his favored patronage underlings with him if he is really sworn in as CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana?…the purge of positions to make a place for these patronage folks has already begun under the supervision of the retiring Tara Barney?…if the people of Evansville really want the Chamber to be turned into a political entity, the best way to do so is to hire Mayor Winnecke as CEO?
