What Is Mayoral Candidate Michael Daugherty’s Stance On Public Safety Issues In Evansville?

What Is Mayoral Candidate Michael Daugherty’s Stance On Public Safety Issues In Evansville?

by Jenna Johnson

AUGUST 7, 2023

QUESTION

Where does Evansville rate against other cities in Indiana when it comes to crime statistics?

Out of 97 cities in Indiana, Evansville ranks 91^st safest with a crime rate of 6.35 per 1000 residents.  You compare that to a national average of 4.69, Evansville is among the most violent cities in the USA  (Policearrests.com).

Public Safety in Evansville is a major issue.  With improved public safety, we can attract families and businesses to Evansville. The Police Department has been underfunded for many years.  What is extremely disappointing is the Evansville Police Department has close to 30 open positions.  Evansville is the 3^rd largest city in the state of Indiana, and EPD is ranked 34^th among municipalities for starting pay, excluding sheriff’s departments across the state of Indiana.  If elected Mayor of Evansville, I am going to bring the EPD salaries to the current level of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department.

It is important to point out, the local FOP held a “Vote of No Confidence” concerning our current Police Chief, Billy Bolin.  Approximately 84% of officers voted that they have “No Confidence” in Chief Billy Bolin’s leadership.

How do we prevent Evansville Police Officers from leaving and going to other jurisdictions?  The answer is to provide the EPD rank and file with better pay, improved benefits, and new leadership.   “I was shocked to hear that the  Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin received a 20.33% raise this year by increasing his salary to $128,514.00. Assistant Police Chief Phillip Smith received a substantial salary increase this year of 18.76% taking his salary up to $117,717.00. The rank-and-file employees of the EPD only received a 3% salary increase this year.

“If I’m fortunate to be elected as Evansville’s next mayor, I pledge to reenergize law enforcement in order that they can begin to reduce crime and drugs in Evansville”, said Michael.   We are told by reliable sources that Mayor Winnecke is thinking about giving the hard-working city employees a 1% pay raise for this coming year and proposing increasing the Mayor’s salary by $30,000.00.  “It makes business sense that the decision for the mayor’s  proposed salary increase of $30,000 should be deferred until next year for the new city council to vote on”

Former FOP President D J Thompson stated “The lack of manpower has resulted in slower response times and decreased safety of our citizens. Officers often cannot proactively patrol our neighborhoods because there are too few of them to do anything other than respond to calls.”  Michael responded: “If I am fortunate enough to be the next mayor of Evansville, you can expect me to make good public policy decisions and eliminate the practice of nepotism and political patronage.”

BIOGRAPHY OF MICHAEL DAUGHERTY MAYORAL LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF EVANSVILLE 

Michael Daugherty was born and raised in Evansville, Michael is no stranger to Evansville’s rich history. He graduated North High School with Academic Honors while playing multiple sports including four years of soccer and golf.  Michael attended Purdue University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

After graduation, he taught at Ivy Tech for several years.  When he left Ivy Tech he started an Information Technology Consulting Firm, Abstract Technology Group. Michael passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) to become a Licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Indiana. Michael returned to Purdue University receiving his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) while working full-time. As CEO, Michael created a talented staff to support businesses all across the world. With family health issues, he returned to Evansville in 2020 to assist his family. Selling his thriving IT business, he retired and purchased a 47-acre horse farm to ensure his mother could retire with her passion, horses.

Upon his return to his roots, he noticed Evansville was not the same.  He began to investigate what had happened to his hometown. Increased crime, drugs, crumbling roads, decrepit parks, political patronage, and fiscal irresponsibility pushed Michael to stand up and do something about his beloved hometown.

This is why Libertarian Michael Daugherty entered the race for Mayor.  “I’m proud to announce my campaign slogan, PEOPLE OVER POLITICS!” 

For more information, please visit www.PeopleOverPolitics.vote

FOOTNOTE:  The City-County Observer published this letter without opinion, bias, or editing. The City-County Observer will publish any letter from canidates  for Mayor of Evnsville or City Council canidates without opinion, bias or editing.