IS IT TRUE APRIL 29, 2015

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IS IT TRUE that since the execution of the Johnson Control contract there has been over 13 change orders totaling over $2,000,000 and this does not include the overtime that has been required in the replacement of the meters. . .

IS IT TRUE due to the strange times we live in where our leading Republican in the City is more fiscally and socially liberal than the last three Democrats that held the office of Mayor? …the Democrats in office who have championed Mayor Winnecke’s liberal political agenda, however misguided, are unlikely to have any real opposition in the General Election? …this means that demographics and the lack of a clear political message will most likely will leave the Democrats left standing after the May 5th Primary in the Second, Fourth and Sixth Wards with a clear path to victory in the General Election?

IS IT TRUE the At-Large Democratic Primary, which has four Democrats vying for three seats, is also likely to put the three winners in a great position for victory in November, despite having two qualified opponents on the Republican ticket? …the At-Large race has largely tracked the Mayor’s race, meaning that if a Democrat wins the Mayor’s office, Gail Riecken is likely to take the three At-Large Democrats with her? …in 2011, we saw the Democrat City Clerk pull the most votes city-wide and lead the three Democrats to At-Large victories even though the Mayor’s race was lost.? …political reality is that most Wards in the City are largely Democratic, and city-wide races tend to bring them out? …all the name recognition in the world will not help a Republican At-Large candidate if Democrats have a reason to come out and vote? …it look like this year they will have a reason to come out?

IS IT TRUE like the Mayor and At-Large races, the City Clerk largely attracts Democratic turn-out.?. ..there’s a reason Alberta Matlock ruled that office from 1992 to 2012? …despite the occasional weak Democratic Mayoral candidate, the Democrats can easily rule city-wide races with the will to vote? … in fact, Democrats typically have to turn on their Mayoral candidate for a Republican to take that office, which has happened twice in fairly recent history? …however, it has been some time since Republicans have held the City Clerk or At-Large jobs? …whether it’s an issue that these candidates don’t typically get enough press to turn off Democrats or Democrats feel bad about occasionally voting for a Republican Mayor, the winners of the City Clerk and At-Large primaries are likely to take an oath on January 1, 2016?

IS IT TRUE you need to take time and go to our Tri-State Voices TV Show posted in todays City County Observer video section? This weeks program features City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley giving us an extremely investing presentation a the looming city debt facing the taxpayers of this community? … we agree with Brinkerhoff-Riley statement that professional services contracts should be bid out? …if this happens the taxpayers would save millions of dollars every year?

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58 COMMENTS

  1. Could it be true that this 2015 city election is perfect timing, no matter which party you favor, to make your voice heard on the fact that there is more to Evansville then those few hundred acres known as Downtown?

    IIT that if you don’t vote, you lose your legitimate right to complain about the elected and all of the appointed
    positions that those elected people bring in?

    IIT that with democrats being the majority of voters in the city of Evansville, those that are normally too lazy to
    vote, need to get off their lazy a** and vote for your party? Keep in mind that your non-voting attitude has led to the super majority that the Republicans currently enjoy at the state level? One’s non-voting at state level has allowed the wealthy to fill their pockets, while yours has been lighten/ I’m reminded of one poster on this site that mention that if you don’t have at least $5 million, your a fool to vote Republican!

    • Stretch
      This non-partisan reader early-voted Monday afternoon – thereby renewing my right to complain for the near future. LOL
      May the best win. …

  2. It’s often been said that in Evansville the true Republicans are Democrats and the true Democrats are Republicans, at least when it comes to city and county office elections.

    • We have Rich and Poor people in the Democratic Party. I’m sure that the GOP has some poor but dumb people that don’t know that their bread is better buttered in the Democratic Party. I wish that those dumb GOP guys would stay home once in a while and that the poor dems would get a ride to the pools so that they can vote for Gail.

      • Although I might add that I’m disappointed in that Gail is sponsoring or pushing for State Legislation that would make the SBOA audit process more SECRET. I don’t like that one bit. It appears to me that both the Dems and the GOP want NO ONE to know where the money goes and they both want to make the Audit Process more Secretive. What are they BOTH trying to Hide? This money does not personally belong to anyone doing the Audits or being Audited. This is not the Mayor’s Personal Money tree. It’s the Public tax tree money and anything dealing with the Publics’ Tax Money should be Transparent and open to anyone that’s interested in where they money is going.

        • Moveon, help me understand this.

          Gail Riecken, in her capacity as state legislator, has introduced statutory language to make it illegal to electronically record all or part of the State Board of Accounts’ audit exit conference, as Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley did, right?

          Gail’s proposed language also will make it illegal to release any of the SBOA exit conference audit information, as Stephanie also did via emails and a public grandstanding event, prior to the public release of the information by the SBOA, right?

          And Gail has said that she feels this amendment to the state statute was made necessary to “clear things up” following Stephanie’s electronic recording of a SBOA audit exit conference and the emailing to and publishing of unreleased audit information by the City County Observer, right?

          So how do the CCO, Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley, and all the supporters of SBR’s brave actions, and supporters of Gail’s campaign to save Evansville from SNEGALITY feel about this political turn of events?

        • Move, Ms. Riecken’s proposal doesn’t make the audit process more secret. It clarifies who can attend the exit conference and when the information is released. The results of the audit is still public an is released when it is “finished”.

          • Cowboy, Riecken’s proposed legislation would make what Brinkerhoff-Riley did a violation of state law.

            It would prohibit the electronic recording and transmittal of information presented at the SBOA exit conference.

            Publicly released versions of SBOA audits often are scrubbed or doctored a bit compared to the draft presented at the exit conference,

            Where’s the outrage and freedom of info drum beating we heard when certain folks criticized SBR violation of understood confidentiality?

            Seems now that Riecken is calling SBR’s actions to task, it’s all okay with the local “freedom makers.”

      • I think the only reason you’re a democrat is because the party butters your bread. If you made your living by your own wit and skills on the open market you’d probably be a republican and an extreme right wing one at that. Union workers know that the open market would destroy them, they couldn’t compete, unions are the only force that forces companies to reward laziness and incompetence. I have to admit that during this primary I voted democrat as I hope most republicans did. Not much of a democrat turnout this time, the party is not getting a lot of donations so they can’t buy a lot of bottles and baggies to entice their voters to the polls.

  3. With a 2 to 1 Majority of registered Democrat voters locally, and over 40+yrs of Machine Politics running the election/selection of Candidates they back/support, — the reason Evansville has lost 50,000 people, and marching relentlessly toward fiscal chaos is: ?

    • I KNOW, I KNOW! The Evansville voters vote Democrat, thus insuring the slow, agonizing decline of the little muddy town on the big river, while all around there is prosperity.

    • While it may be true that the majority of the voters in Evansville are Democrat that doesn’t mean that’s the reason for the cities demise. Not all those who are registered actually vote. Only about 30+ % of registered voters actually voted in the last Mayoral Election. That means that the GOP gained control of the Mayor’s Office. And I remember when the GOP Mayor Russel G. Lloyd spend a lot of money for building public infrastructure over the heated objections of the Dems. So both parties are as responsible as the others for the demise of the jobs in this town.

      Who caused Chrystler to leave town?
      Who caused Zeneth to leave town?
      Who caused Sterling Brewery to close down?
      Who caused Arkla to leave town?
      Who caused Whirlpool to shut down TWO Major Factores in town?

      This is what’s going on all across America not just in Evansville. Who’s responsible for sending our jobs overseas to INDIA, CHINA and MEXICO? You can’t blame the Democrat Mayor’s for those loss of jobs and thus the decreasing population. Maybe we should all move over to Mexico and start up unions and demand higher wages and better working conditions in Mexico. The same could be done with China and India. And while we are at it lets give them an EPA so that they have to spend money to clean up the air, land and water surrounding all those new factories that are polluting the planet with Green House Gases.

      While we are at it why don’t all American’s stop buying foreign made products at their local Wal-marts!

      And I guess the big increase in the population of Ohio Township in Warrick County Indiana could be coming from those big city population losses. IE They have to go somewhere. And Ohio Township in Warrick County is one of the fastest growing areas of IN.

      • Chrysler, Zenith, Sterling, and Arkla all left Evansville for other USA locations more than 20 years before NAFTA was passed by the Clinton Administration. Whirlpool reached its peak in the early 80’s over 10 years ahead of NAFTA. There are other companies that left too including Faultless and Servel. It was not the siren’s song of cheap Mexican labor that hastened these departures. These companies all left Evansville over tortured relationships with local labor unions.

        NAFTA has indeed been the fast track to Mexico since it passed I. The mid 1990’s but Evansville’s manufacturing base was hollowed out well before NAFTA. Let’s not blame NAFTA and Mexico for problems that were made in Evansville.

        • Zenith actually moved to Mexico from what I hear back in the 1970’s. I’m not sure where all the other’s did but I have some stories I can tell about those older factories that were in this town.

        • Why is it always the working man who has to take a pay cut and not ownership? Kind of like the hostess union employees who’d taken pay cuts 12 years in a row while the board gave themselves bonuses. The workers finally said enough is enough and they’re the ones to blame? Typical right wing drivel.

          • Why did the company go out of business. Change is constant. Currently healthy eating is in, twinkies are great but not healthy. Hostess had a choice go healthy or go out business, they didn’t change and went out of business, everyone lost. I’ve been up and down the economic ladder, had to take some pay cuts, that’s life. I listen to people on this site, mostly democrats complain and laugh about those $10-15 an hour jobs, they’re better than zero and you can always work yourself back up and at a low paying job you don’t lose everything. Once a union job is gone union workers learn a valuable lesson, what you think you’re worth and what the employer is willing to pay is not the same. To top it off you have to negotiate your salary and benefits. Another valuable lesson, it’s not what you think you’re worth, it’s what the job is worth when completed. I read a little about Hostess and what they were going through with unions, I think they were dealing with over 40 different union contracts in a lot of different states, can you imagine the overhead cost associated with contract compliance. Unions and businesses except in rare cases have an adversarial relationship which is counter productive. The Ford Fiesta is built in Mexico because of that relationship.

          • I’m surprised that Cowboy actually understood it and took the time to read it. But Cowboy who pays you to follow me around in here? Surely you don’t take time off work just to do that for free! 🙂

          • POV when you say this:
            ” I listen to people on this site, mostly democrats complain and laugh about those $10-15 an hour jobs, they’re better than zero and you can always work yourself back up and at a low paying job you don’t lose everything. ”

            I have to follow up and say this:

            Yea, well those with the money are just lucky that the vast majority of the poor workers don’t rise up and just take what they want from those with the money. They call that a revolution. Let them eat cake is basically what you just said above and that’s exactly what got the King of France’s head chopped off at the neck. You should read about the French Revolution and what happened to the stupid Aristocrats that got smart mouthed and forgot that they were OUTNUMBERED and OUTGUNNED Big time. I’m just telling you what history has shown us and why it’s not cool to disk the people on the bottom. Yea I see what Joe was saying. Peanuts are better than nothing. Pfffffttttt….. Starving people are dangerous people is all I’m saying. I’ll cite two American Cities.

            Ferguson and Baltimore. I don’t think I need to say more. What if the poor start doing the rioting in other major cities at the same time. Some times it pays to throw them a little more than just Cake Crumbs to appease the poor and working poor people. You should already know this. I’d hate to be in a postion to have to work for someone with your attitude POV.

            Have a nice day sir.

          • Ghost. They will never get it man. They remind me of the Sprint TV or was it AT&T’s TV commercial with the three Rich SOBs flying into the airport in their private jet, each getting into their three different golf carts and driving just 20 ft before stopping, getting out of the carts and into three new cars and then driving another 10 ft before they stop, get out and walk up the stairs into another different private jet to go to a basketball game.

            That about sums it up!!!

            That’s how the Marketing People think that the poor visualize the ultra rich sissies.

            They (Ultra Rich) don’t dare get their hands dirty and need two jets, three golf carts and three cars to travel to a basketball game!!!!!!. I wonder if they pay someone to wipe their back sides? And then you have AH”S like POV telling you that you’re lucky to get some kitchen scraps out the back door of the kitchen. Man he has some nerve to say that in public. What a pompous A**. IMHO

            Have a nice day!

        • Don’t worry Cowboy my reading comprehension is both faster and better than yours any day. To try to imply that I can’t read what Joe said or understand what he said is PATHETIC and even a low blow for the likes of you. On the contrary I understand exactly what Joe is saying. I don’t agree with all of what Joe says and I hardly never agree with anything that Cowboy says. Cowboy =troll.

          Have a nice day Boy who plays with cows. Ha Ha.

          • Move, You shouldn’t be so defensive. My hope was you would read it. So many posters on here want to rant about the companies that have relocated. They name all kind of reasons except the labor problems they faced. Most respect respect Joe’s opinion. Ket’s see if it sticks.

          • By the way, I did not assign blame for the departure of all of those jobs. I merely stated the historical fact that it was bad labor relations that caused them to decide to leave Evansville. In retrospect, I believe that the winning situation would have been for the unions and the companies to have worked together to reach an agreement that worked for both. The losers in each of these situations have been the workers of Evansville who lost their jobs to St. Louis, Fort Smith, or even Monterrey.

            The bottom line was that the situations were not working for the owners and the workers representatives did not come to terms that were agreeable. These jobs may have gone away in the 90’s when Clinton signed off on NAFTA, but another 20 – 30 years of a higher wage would have been positive for the region.

        • Joe, I believe you are mistaken about the Zenith plants. I believe the Fulton Ave. plant closed in early 1986 and the Lynch Rd. plant closed in 1987. I had an acquaintance who worked for Zenith and oversaw the construction of the plant in Mexico. He then came back to Evansville and worked for Escalade and guess what they went to Mexico also.

          • So ten years before NAFTA for Zenith is what you are saying. I will take your word for it and yes Escalade did move their manufacturing to Mexico a few years ago well after NAFTA.

        • Just picked this tidbit up from MSNBC.

          MSNBC’s Chris Matthews identified another major contributing factor in Baltimore’s downfall and Monday’s violence: joblessness. And why have the jobs left Baltimore? In Matthews’ words:

          “I wish the jobs hadn’t first gone south…because that’s where they went first. And they went to right-to-work states, you know where they went, where the unions didn’t have any power.”

          That’s quite an indictment against Maryland big labor from the liberal talk show host.

          So, it is correct that this is a nationwide phenomena. It is also correct that businesses relocate to seek an overall situation that is better for their businesses. Sometimes that is in the USA and other times it is not. Labor intensive industries will naturally migrate to where labor provides the highest value for their processes. That does not always mean the cheapest place. That does always mean the best place for continuity, wages that are competitive that enable them to make a profit, and a workforce that is not hostile.

          • “Right to work” is just another repulican BS Orwellian phrase made up by BS artists like Frank Luntz to flim flam the little man.

            Yes of course, free market take it or leave it shit sandwiches for the peasants, oligarchies, monopolies, deregulation and rigged capitalism for the 1%.

            BTW 3-4 years after springing RTW legislation on unsuspecting Indiana citizens our unemployment rate is 3/10ths of pct higher than the national average. According to you, Sue Ellspermann, and all the RTW salespeople new companies and jobs opportunities would be popping up like dandelions in springtime.

            What gives Hoss?

            And how long before those jobs in the land of the confederacy go to Costa Rica, or Vietnam or before long Cuba?

            Also Champion Labs(Albion) and Red Spot Paints(Evansville) have both brought back jobs from Mexico back here to the US because of shoddy workmanship. Anecdotal evidence I know but shipping jobs overseas is not a guarantee of future economic success.

  4. Medical School: 25 Million of the 50 Million requested was funded by State. What are the public policy implications of the City taking on $ 57 Million in debt to infrastructure a 50 % funded deal ?

    • As it appears, the taxpayers will now be subsidizing 75% of this project that benefits the people of the entire State of Indiana . . .of course. . this is the only way Evansville can obtain a state project. . .we pay 75% . . .Republican Mayor. . . Republican Commissioners. . .Republican County Council. . . Republican Governor. . . Super Majority Republican State House and Senate. . .and this Republican Mayor comes up snake eyes. . .the last Republican Governor that ever worked for Evansville was Gov Robert Orr. . .he worked with a Democrat Mayor and we received the Lloyd Expressway. . .USI. . . and I-164. . .looks like maybe a Dem Mayor might be more effective???

      • @Danceswithwolves,

        Leaving political affiliation out of it for a moment, what SIZE of a facility for the Med School are we now talking about if Ivy Tech is out ? Do you build it at the originally-intended size and use a Field of Dreams ” If you build it, they will come” approach ? Or, do you skinny the facility down (ala that famous Round 5 Wide Motel Downtown) to save money now and match your funding ? Or, option 3: do you just wait until we are fully funded, and do it right the first time ?

        • My bet is that they will do it like they did the Lloyd Expressway (Cough Cough) and put in a lot of stop lights that they will turn back into full clover leafs (HWY41/Lloyd) some day later as more funding becomes available from the State Legislature.

          Because if they wait for it to be done right the first time that time will never come. But I personally wish that they would do it right the first time and fully fund it right now instead of waiting to build the add-ons.

        • I say they should do things right, as in the whole project as opposed to piece meal, by moving to a different location where more financial help is available by virtue of that location. USI, east side etc where support exists without the taxpayer being strained so hard. Where is the common sense here????

  5. CCO Editor: please post the Johnson Controls change orders and a tally of OT paid by City on the project. That would make an interesting article. Question: why wouldn’t the City back charge Johnson Controls for the overtime (i.e., they get Change Orders/ we don’t ) ?

  6. IS IT TRUE that since the execution of the Johnson Control contract there has been over 13 change orders totaling over $2,000,000 and this does not include the overtime that has been required in the replacement of the meters. . .
    They left the worst and oldest part of the city to the employees. Probably a good thing. The employees appreciate the overtime and do not tear up services. I do wonder what the cost per meter put in by the city versus the cost johnson was charging us. The city did this the last two times in the eighties and late nineties. Water employees are expected to change 15 to 20 a day.

  7. Perhaps the only reason that Wayne Parke has not been frog kicked to the curb of the local Republican Party is the obvious fact that, to the people who really run Evansville, party is insignificant. After all, they are the people who set the agenda and select the politicians who will carry it to fruition. The results of their agenda is a city on the verge of bankruptcy, but what do they care? No one is going to ask THEM give any of that money back. Their share of any “solution” to meet future local debt service will be the same as yours.

    There is mention of “Civic Virtue” on CCO today. I believe that most people, not all, but most people, strive to be virtuous. Where the process seem to generate the most discussion is the question of whether one can maintain civic virtue as a politician if you were basically put in office by wealthy individuals who have a less than virtuous agenda planned for you.

    There is no virtue in running the city into bankruptcy for capital projects of questionable worth to the community.

    • And if things go bad here they can just take their money and run off to live in Florida as Millionairs. Reference the guys who owned Evansville Plating Works and also the guy that Owned the other Plating Company (Spindler) who also moved out of town taking his money with him and leaving us a Superfund Site to clean up with our tax money. And to make it even worse he was on the Evansville Environmental Protection Agency board of directors. So he was sitting in a position to OVERSEA the local EPA office/Director and should have known what the EPA rules are. The late Mayor Russle. G Lloyd appointed Daryle Spindler to the City local EPA board.

      http://indianaeconomicdigest.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=76&ArticleID=77899
      http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=evvplating

    • Those people you talk about are the same one’s that owned Evansville Plating and Miller Electro Plating and skipped out of town leaving behind a big environmental mess while they kept all their money and moved to Arizona and Florida.

      http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=evvplating Daryl Spindler past Board Member on the Evansville EPA board of Directors was one of the men who ran this company and skipped out of town for a while. His wife still lives in a big house out on the East Side near Cross Point.

      http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=evvplating Don Stocks moved to Florida leaving a mess behind him.
      http://www.epa.gov/oerrpage/superfund/sites/npl/nar1711.htm

      http://www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/jacobsville/
      Other’s also moved out of town leaving behind their environmental contamination. Lead Smelting Companies from the past shut down and moved out of town. Leaving lead spewed all over the area we now call Jacobsville in Evansville, IN.

      This has been the History of old factories moving out of town and leaving environmental messes behind. This is why we have the Brown fields Corp now. Headed by a lady who use to be the Environmental Person for Peabody Coal Company.

    • Don’t forget the guy who skipped while owing big bucks on the old Budlock Refrigeration building (Industrial Liquidators) and left the City responsible for securing a hazardous building. This after going belly-side up in 6 other financial ventures. I mean, how do these fly-by-night flim-flam shysters ever get financing?

  8. DO check out the latest episode of TRI-STATE-VOICES. The truth that abides there is refreshing – even if it is dismal truth.
    Big Day! Gotta go. …

  9. Evansville loses either way. Winnie and Gail are both turds. At least Winnie doesn’t run to Henderson when the council won’t go his way.

    • To bad you all can’t find a viable third party candidate for mayor. Someone should run. I’d write in Forest Gump if I voted in that cities location. ” Everybody knows” at least he could run, listened to his momma as well as knew when to quit on a worthless project and move on. Yea, life’s like a block of low valuation condos In old downtown Evansville infrastructure, open the doors and you never know what your gonna get.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKmzmeU5-0

      • V I’ll tell you want I just tried (TWICE) to tell others about this town. The people with big money run both canidates and all the other political people in this town and other towns though out the USA.

        Just as the Bilderberg group runs the rest of the planet.

        I had a very long post (two times) and both times while I was opening up other tabs to grab some links the posts got deleted somehow. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t shut down the tab with my post on it but it vanished some how. But I went into details about how money people run the Mayor’s and other political people. Money talks and BS walks. It’s been that way for a long long time

        Gail has people that she has to answer too as does the Mayor.

        But I’m very disappointed in Gail filing that SBOA secrecy legislation. She should be opening up the process for everyone to see and be more TRANSPARENT! IMHO.

        IMHO Both Mayoral Candidates don’t want the public to see what the SBOA audit finds until it can be adjusted. Maybe it’s so that the people don’t find any evidence of corruption going on?

    • No he just files a law suit and trys to over come the veto override and cost the city thousands of extra law billing dollars that goes to bill ted.

    • He doesn’t have too, he(Winnecke) just calls them names and has the local media do a hatchet/smear job on them.

  10. The peasants can only handle so many “let them eat cake” obtuse moments from the oligarchs. A simple history lesson will show you this. They’re more prepared this time, though, than any other in history. Why do you think they’ve equipped our police force with tanks and rocket launchers?

  11. The tropicana in lv has been sold to penn gaming. Was Evv part of it too? Or is this trops only property now?

  12. Let’s not forget who voted for the Johnson Controls project. Another blind and uneducated vote. Who else bid on this?

    • The mainstream reports that controversial ex mayor just got defunded on the IU med school deal out.
      Flat bushed zippolea we think a real good move by the Indiana Legislators, kind of surprised us, considering the recent list of boners they’ve tossed into the mix.

      Now if they move the site where it can actually thrive, and grow, southwestern Indiana will finally get an gem from the diamond in the rough project. Re-issue the RFP’s cut the downtown location crap and go for some real valuation per square foot for the money. It needs to be blended into the access at those medical features at gateway and the I-69 corridor, even the USI campus would kick up the actual valuation per student cost dailies. Any place but downtown and its unacceptable infrastructures.

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