EDITORIAL: ITS TIME FOR THE MAYORAL RACE TO BEGIN

1. Mayor Reicken! 🙂

   • +1

     • Yes!

2. Just heard that the Mayor’s American Express card is full, actually our….heard he now has the CITI card is out, now…

   • Can’t afford oil changes for police cards and now paying minimums on credit cards ?

     Damn the torpedos, let’s build something so the Mayor can get more campaign contributions.

     • My Dear Cheese,

       Highly on point.

3. You forgot the Fraudit , the McGladrey Audit, and the secretive nature of LW’s administration, but other than those three a very good synopsis of the last three years.

   Mayor Riecken in a landslide.

4. To spend more money than what your bringing in should not be viewed as a Republican and or Democrat platform. It is just a simple principle of economics that we are taught at a very young age and many of us decide not to follow. Mayor Winnecke problem is the fact that he wants the taxpayers to pay for his dreams.

   Speaking of dreaming the Union bosses no longer have the power that they have had in the past. In fact the hardworking union members and their families use better judgment in determining what is best for their future than what the union bosses are telling them. This fall when I was running for Congress a number of the Unions stated that before they would contribute to my campaign I needed to spend money to do a poll. The cost of a poll for the 19 counties of our district was $40,000! My response back to the “bosses”, why should I spend $40,000 just to have the possibility of receiving from you a $10,000 maximum campaign donation ? “This is what the US Congress does…no thanks”.

   You go Gail and form strong relationships with “We the People” of both parties. The political winds are changing. Our vote will be based on the person running instead of the party ideology.

5. Good editorial.

   ‘ … anticipating an interesting challenge ahead for the mainstream media to fairly cover the 2015 Mayoral election in Evansville … ‘.

   I don’t forsee any challenge at all for the CP to deal with. They have not ‘fairly covered’ the Winnecke administration since its inception. They are pretty transparently in the tank, apparently unable to feel shame, I don’t see any reason for them to change now.

   Could Winnie the Poop be holding the official pulling of the plug on the hotel debacle for when the campaign heats up, belatedly trying to color himself as fiscally prudent? I can’t see anything to recommend the guy.

   • I think you’re right about the Poopish behavior that our mayor will exhibit when his friendly neighborhood hotel flushes into the antique sewers. The local news-rag won’t have any problem covering his actions in a positive light, either. I feel so sorry for the interns who staff the rag. No reputable news organization will ever want to hire a reporter that was trained by Ethridge and Co.
     As for the “union boss” support, it makes less impact with every passing election. The truth is that they will donate to both campaigns, and they no longer turn out the unified voting bloc that they did in the last century. We saw the influence they exerted in the school board races this year, didn’t we? I’m betting that Mayor Riecken will not respond to Mr. Green’s requests for lunch with “What time, and where?”, though.
     The Wayne Parke organization believed that they had killed any unity in the county Democratic party for years to come. Of course, Mr. Parke believes the Poop has an approval rate in the 80% range, too.

     • If she runs it could be the beginning of a real transformation in local politics. I don’t agree with some of her votes but she’s head and shoulders above the improvident Poop. Tom Spangler had a good comment on the union influence. What we must watch is when any group or person sees their clout start to wane they double down and pretend change isn’t happening. It can beget some nasty actions. Best to ignore them completely when it gets to that point.

       • I don’t agree with everything Gail has done, either, but I’m not going to amplify our points of disagreement and use it as an excuse to support the person who is clearly going to bankrupt Evansville if the voters don’t stop him. It isn’t necessary to agree 100% with a candidate in order to support her/him 100%.

         • What’s a girl like me to do?

           I basically feel like at the CC meeting where I spoke,Winnecke essentially lied to me/everyone about this last minute deal. I was played for a fool, and I don’t like that. But Gail running away to escape the reach of the constitution is huge deal for me also. The constitution is what enable us to play nicely together. Stepping over the state line crossed a line with me.

           Unless a libertarian runs, I may not be able to vote. I am afraid while trying to decide I would freeze up like a DMV computer. They would have to two wheeler me out of the poll like a statue with one finger stuck in a button pressing mode.

           You’re just going to have to be nice to me for a while until I can find a way out of this quagmire. 🙂

         • (Enoch),
           Probably shouldn’t judge Gail on that one act. Regardless of what anyone thinks of her, she’s done quite a bit for many people in the way of constituent services. If you’d ask her she just might tell you she’s a stong supporter of the constitution(s), and mean it. What her and those other legislators did was just a protest, albeit sort of an extreme example. She paid whatever the penalty was. It isn’t a bar to holding office.

           As simple as it sounds, and is, I’m for whoever runs against Winnecke. That said, I’m glad to have Gail Riecken to vote for if she runs.

         • Bandana,

           I know this election is hanging on my support of Gail, and if there was even a hint of she “went to far” in her demeanour it would go a long way with me, but I don’t see it. And I don’t see how she is going to be real change. What has she done that would persuade me that she is not part of the machine?

           I was hoping for better, but it is Evansville. You’re just going to have to be kind to me until I reacclimate to the political climate.

           Maybe the solution is that the Studebaker and I run to Urbana?

       • Mrs. Riecken’s trip to Illinois was a principled protest against being blindsided by a thoroughly Republican state government. I doubt if she was ever under any illusion that it would change the eventual outcome of a vote. Good for her. We need more principled people representing us. Non-violent protest is good, it is the American Way. It worked, it sure got people’s attention. Some still obsess over it. If she runs Winnecke will try to craft a campaign around it, further underscoring his vacuity.

         The constant bleating about those virtuous legislators going to Illinois in protest and the siting of the LST show just how little the Winnecke supporters have. There is a mighty trembling in the Poophood. Maybe it’s the shredders working overtime.

         • Protesting is standing one the steps holding a sign. Fleeing to Urbana is escaping the reach of the constitution she swore to uphold. To see it any other way is to be one of Gruber’s valued voters.

         • Nope, protest takes many forms.

           Gail Riecken didn’t flee anywhere to escape any constitution. She left for a limited time as a principled protest. Your last line seems to indicate you think anyone who doesn’t see things as you do is stupid. I think saying the same thing over and over, something that was and is false on its face, is … stupid.

           I realize you think you’re safe hiding behind a constitution. Any constitution. Doesn’t work that way. Your argument, when seen in context of the actual facts, makes no sense. The Indiana Constitution sits there just like it was. Waiting for you to try to use it to buttress another specious argument.

         • If she was not fleeing the constitution, then why Urbana? The constitution defines the procedure to deal with absentee legislators. She fled it like a Dillinger fled Crown Point.

6. Leading up to the last mayoral election there was much consensus among the public and the Winnecke campaign that what Evansville needed most was jobs, jobs, and more jobs.

   What we have gotten has been spending, spending, and more spending. Which translates to taxes, taxes, and more taxes.

   The current administration has been an extension of Jonathan Weinzapfel’s tax and spend politics. Party does not matter one whit. Only what the puppet masters have on THEIR agenda matters.

   • It seems that the few new permanent jobs that the Winnecke administration is pursuing are primarily of the minimum and sub-minimum wage variety. Now, it looks like the failure to deliver on all of the temporary construction jobs that had the unions salivating will hurt him with his union cronies. That failure will open the door for them to support Gail, even though their support is not as important as they try to say it is.

   • We get pre-announcement announcements when Casey’s makes a new hire, and news blackouts when Karges moves out.

7. I’m still trying to find the link between electing a decades old member of the Democrat machine and real political upheaval that benefits the citizens of Evansville. Ms. Reicken was an appointed official in Mayor Weinzapfel’s administration, yet oddly has escaped the tarnish associated with it.
   Also, the oft referred to sweetheart deal involving her marina and a large payment from the city coffers seems to not exist any longer.

   It appears intellectual integrity has also moved out of the city.

8. I used to come here thinking I would get unbiased information, but sadly, that has changed dramatically. I realize that Champaign Gail buys advertising here, but to shamelessly pimp her as the great hope of our city is pathetic.

   How much property taxes does her family business pay? Why is the LST parked there? If course, running out on her constituents to have her winter pool party at the Champaign Holidome proves her true character.

   If you want change from the recycled political hacks, then fine, let’s have change…but we need real change with a real outsider who thinks, not takes barking orders from a lifetime state senator like that buffoon Patrick Bauer.

   • Where has Gail been fiscally conservative? What is her pathway to the future for Evansville?

     • Gail stayed at a Comfort Suites Inn in Urbana, Il for several weeks. The suite was only $99 per night, probably with a large group discount rate. A suite for $99 per night is a good bargain. It shows she can be fiscally conservative. I bet Obama, John Kerry or Nancy Pelosi have not stayed at a Comfort Suites Inn. Not sure about Mayor Winnecke. He seems more like a Embassy Suites guy.

       http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/dems-stay-put-for-weekend

       http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/indiana-legislators-report-small-positive-steps

9. bankrate.com

   bankruptcy
   What if your city files for bankruptcy?
   By Michael Estrin • Bankrate.com

   Municipal bankruptcies are nothing new, but several filings over the past year — punctuated by the July 2013 bankruptcy in Detroit — have transformed Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code for municipal reorganization from a relatively obscure body of law into a hot topic. Residents of struggling cities are wondering what the possibility of bankruptcy means for them.

   “We’ve had cities go bankrupt in the past, but usually those are isolated events that occur because the city lost a big lawsuit or had a local catastrophe,” says Franklin C. Adams, a bankruptcy lawyer in Riverside, Calif. “What’s different and quite troubling is that larger economic conditions seem to be the cause, and we haven’t seen that since the Great Depression.”

   Congress enacted federal bankruptcy legislation for municipalities in the 1930s. Between 1991 and 2012, there have been 217 muni bankruptcies, according to data from the U.S. court system. Of those, 20 were filed just last year. These are some of the more recent filings have been noteworthy:

   Detroit: The one-time auto capital of the world filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2013, citing more than $18 billion in debt. It marks the largest civic bankruptcy by amount of debt and by population. About 700,000 residents live in the Motor City.
   Jefferson County, Ala.: The county filed in November 2011, citing more than $4 billion in debt. Before Detroit’s filing this month, the filing was the largest civic bankruptcy in U.S. history in terms of dollar amount, according to Reuters.
   Stockton, Calif.: The city filed for bankruptcy in June 2012. At the time, it was the largest American city, in terms of population, to seek protection from creditors under Chapter 9. City officials estimate that Stockton, which has just fewer than 300,000 residents, could owe creditors as much as $1 billion, according to CBSNews.com.
   Harrisburg, Pa.: The city has more than $340 million in debt, but back in 2011 state Sen. Jeff Piccola banned “third-class cities” from filing bankruptcy, leading a judge to block the bankruptcy. According to Reuters, the ban was extended in 2012. Currently the city has been auctioning off Wild West artifacts in an effort to raise money.

   What is Chapter 9?

   In many ways, a Chapter 9 filing is akin to Chapters 11 and 13 of the bankruptcy code, which deal with business and personal reorganizations, respectively. Under all three scenarios, debtors get a reprieve for paying creditors while they propose and implement a restructuring plan. But unlike private citizens and companies, municipalities are sovereign entities, which present an unusual wrinkle, Adams says.

   “Realistically, the court doesn’t have as much power to force the city to do anything,” Adams says. “So, unlike other provisions of the bankruptcy code where the creditors have a vote on the reorganization plan, the city has a lot more latitude.”

   Once a municipality is bankrupt, it can cut costs, which usually means fewer services such as firefighting, garbage collection and library branches. Or it can increase revenue by raising taxes. Usually, it’s a combination of both, Adams says. But real change is often a matter of political will.
   What happens to services?

   “Municipal bankruptcies usually mean a reduction in the size, scope and quality of services because that’s where the biggest costs are,” says Adams.

   But the bad economy has forced many cities to cut services to the bone, says Luis Salazar, a bankruptcy lawyer in Coral Gables, Fla., who served as a city councilman in Leonia, N.J., when that town faced a budget crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

   “A lot of these cities have already made severe cuts, so it’s not clear how much worse services can get,” Salazar says. “You still need cops, and you still need to put out fires.”

   But there is a silver lining in bankruptcy, according to Salazar. The city gets breathing room from creditors.

   “Breathing room may not save services that are on the chopping block, but it makes it possible for the city to reset and eventually get back to a point where it can offer services at a lower cost,” Salazar says.

   What happens to taxes?

   While increased revenue would be a boon to any city facing bankruptcy, it’s unclear whether taxes would go up immediately. For one thing, “You’re asking people to pay more at a time when they are getting fewer services,” Salazar says.

   Even if a city can muster the political will to raise taxes, doing so may not help revenues, says Dennis Hoffman, an economics professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.

   “Increased taxes may come later on, but there’s often a stigma associated with municipal bankruptcies, and that can mean an erosion of the tax base if people leave,” Hoffman says.

   Adams says the buck stops with the bankrupt municipality. County and state taxpayers aren’t on the hook for a bankrupt municipality’s debts. But in dire cases, it’s possible for a city to dissolve.

   “When that happens, the burden of providing services falls to the county, and in some areas, the state may have to pick up the slack,” Adams says. “So, it’s possible that those costs may be passed on indirectly to taxpayers elsewhere.”
   Borrowing money again

   One big long-term consideration that can impact both services and taxes is how the municipal bond market treats a city that has filed for bankruptcy.

   “Municipal bond issuers have a long memory,” Hoffman says. “So it’s possible that a bankrupt city will pay more to borrow or won’t be able to borrow at all.”

   Salazar says that paying more to borrow or not being able to borrow at all can be a huge long-term blow to a city.

   “Cities need to borrow to pay for infrastructure projects,” he says. “But they also need to borrow to finance their day-to-day budgets because bonds are how many cities manage cash flow. Remember, tax revenues don’t always come in when it’s time to pay police and fire.”

   Increased borrowing costs may just be a fact of life for some cities in the years to come. But what really worries Hoffman is how the municipal bond market responds to cities that didn’t file.

   “Municipal bonds used to be considered a fairly conservative, safe place to park money,” Hoffman says. “While that’s still largely true, it’s also possible that bond issuers will demand higher interest rates because a wave of big municipal bankruptcies may increase the perceived risk of lending to cities.”

   • Press, only thing I don’t understand is why/how Harrisburg, PA had ‘wild west artifacts’ to auction off ?

     • http://www.npr.org/2013/07/19/203295773/pa-city-tries-wild-west-auction-to-rope-in-cash

10. “If you want change from the recycled political hacks, then fine, let’s have change” Our social economic environmental consortiums normal observation from outside usually ends up with the same conclusion. That suggests what your asking for isn’t ever considered, or allowed, even offered for that county and towns revenue streaming citizen balance. The tipping point odds are preconceived for someone’s preselected revenue landings.

    What you are offered always seems to just be the same old career political people with some newly stolen ideation from outside their stagnated realm. That rip-off is brought in to sport the same surname reshuffle as its offered at the polls. More of the same worn corners of a somehow marked deck. “We’ve heard” they have called that the “Game ” for quite some time, “everybody knows that.”
    You are all expected to fund the purse, however, you may only watch the game proceed as an spectator. House rules , and, the houses deck. Those at the table either win big, or lose big, by house rules, and the dealers cut .
    The buy in ante-up at the game varies by house return balances, and number of seated players and those players ante-up sponsors. Same house, same table, same deck, for the last 60 years. The dealers and players change once in a while, the rubes in the gallery do not.

    ante up
    r/.1. in the game of poker it means to put more money or something with value on the table
    e/.2. someone may say it during a robbery meaning give up anything with value

    20 WORDS RELATED TO ANTE UP
    poker chip in gaf pony up texas hold ’em all in bets blinds calculate community cards conkulate double down gafed galf i’m all in poker night pot odds river bitch steal wsop

11. Show me a bill that asked for more spending at the state level that Gail did not support.

    She is a big spending mindless Democrat beholden to the unions and not qualified to run anything. The real question is who is going to be pulling her strings. Bauer got her to dance all the way to Illinois… you can be sure that someone will be pulling her strings if she runs for mayor.

    As far as winning, She has lost almost as many races as Richard Mourdock. She and he have a lot in common.

    • This!

    • Would you care to elaborate further on what they have in common?

12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Riecken

    • gail needs to make a few drunken threats and hand out 50 or maybe 100 grand loans that do not have to be paid back and she is a shoo in………………..liberalism is with out a doubt a mental disorder……..or liberalism is screwing the hard working taxpayer…….i say both………….

13. That Wiki….
    Riecken has consistently supported liberal fiscal and social policies throughout her political career. On education, she supported strong national control by opposing repeal of the Common Core educational standards.[1] In fiscal matters, Riecken supports raises to the federal minimum wage and increases on corporate taxes.[2] She also supports increased gun control, subsidies for U.S. farmers, and citizenship for illegal immigrants. With health care Riecken supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and government mandates requiring health insurance companies to provide free birth control.[3]

    ControversiesEdit

    Legislative walkout
    Riecken and thirty-six other Democratic representatives participated in a legislative walkout on February 22, 2011, in opposition to proposed legislation limiting union powers in Indiana. The Democratic departure left the House void of a quorum, leaving only 58 of the 67 representatives needed to establish a quorum.[4] The Democrats ended the standoff after 36 days, returning on March 28, 2011.

    Syngas controversy
    Riecken supported the state mandated purchase of syngas through coal gasification technology.[5] Developers of Leucadia National proposed a $2.6 billion syngas plant in Rockport, Indiana. Under the terms of the deal endorsed by Riecken, the state of Indiana would have bought syngas under a 30-year contract and then mandate that utilities within the state pass on any losses from the transaction on to Hoosier customers.[6] Gas from the plant would make up about 17 percent of the state’s supply. The deal received criticism due to government intrusion in the energy markets, and for forcing consumers to sign up for risky long-term gas purchases at prices substantially higher than market prices.[7][8] Questions were also raised due to Leucadia National hiring Mark Lubbers to promote the deal. Lubbers is a former aide and close friend of former Governor Mitch Daniels.[9] The project was ultimately panned by the state legislature in 2013.[10]

14. “…principles protest…”, hah! She was just doing what her handlers told her to do.

    And yet, Gail over Winnie, without question.

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