BREAKING NEWS: Riecken Accuses Winnecke’s Waffling Points To Lack Of Leadership

20

Winnecke’s Waffling Points To Lack of Leadership

Evansville, IN – Gail Riecken released a statement regarding the 2016 Evansville Municipal Budget. Leadership begins and ends with action.

When it comes to the 2016 City Budget, Mayor Winnecke did not act.
If anyone is to blame for the budgetary cuts the City Council made, it’s Mayor Winnecke.

I spoke about our city finances and the difficulties the city faces quite a bit over the last 9 months. We have more money going out than coming in, rising debt, and a Mayor who thinks neither of those things are a problem.

At the same time, Mayor Winnecke was told about how the 2016 Budget needed to be both cut and balanced. He knew the budget process would be a difficult one. He could have spent the time finding ways to trim the budget in a way the City Council would approve, ensuring that his priorities were included.

Instead, the Mayor punted.

Mayor Winnecke refused to make the cuts necessary, and made a deeply political decision. He let the City Council make the budgetary cuts for him, refusing to be the leader Evansville deserves and make the budgetary cuts himself.

He did so in order to blame someone else for the cuts he knows must be made. Anyone who looks at the budgets, looks at the city finances, and understands how government can and should function, can easily see that budgetary cuts must be made.

Mayor Winnecke wants to let someone else do his dirty work so he can keep his hands clean, and avoid having to take any responsibility for the budgetary cuts other leaders MUST now make to keep our city financially solvent.

Mayor Winnecke refused to act, so other leaders had a duty to do so.

Its unfortunate the Mayor would not make the hard choices. I do not agree with all the budgetary cuts that were made, but what is most disappointing is that the Finance Chair of the City Council, and not the Mayor, had to be the one proposing the cuts to the budget.

At his 3pm press conference today, Mayor Winnecke said “Politics has gotten in the way of good public policy”.

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more.

Winnecke has refused to put forth a realistic budget, playing politics and pushing the hard choices off to other leaders. His choice to play politics is the budget we now have for 2016.

A city without leadership is a ship without a captain.

As Mayor, I will take the leadership role, with open meetings and discussion about budget issues longer before the eleventh hour.

Together, we can make Evansville better.

Sincerely,

Gail Riecken

Candidate For Mayor of Evansville

Gail Riecken is running for Mayor of Evansville and is a former Evansville City Council-woman, Evansville Parks Director, and a current member of the Indiana State House of Representatives. She is a lifelong Evansville resident, has been married for 47 years, and has 2 children and 3 grandchildren.

###

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

20 COMMENTS

  1. And when the going got tough, Gail got going. To Illinois. To hide out, if I remember correctly. Not fit to be mayor. Not fit to be a legislator. Been at the public for far too long.
    Winnecke wins in a big, big way.

    • I don’t have a dog in this fight but your prediction reminded me of my mentor, al-sharpie aka tommyromo’s prediction last election and even though you know way more about this race than I do, I’m going to keep your post so I can brag on my ole buddy loonpilot if you are correct.

      August 24, 2012
      4:01 p.m.
      Suggest removal
      Reply to this post
      Written on Romney: “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate”:
      that mitt smart successful great family and a sense of humor to top it off…..no doubt romney ryan in a landslide…….take it to the bank…

      My confidence in tommy cost me a bundle at my bookie so I’m doubling up on you to get it back.

      Cancun, watch out cause here me and loonpilot come…..

    • Me thinks a “Pound of Flesh” from Riecken is all that would satisfy you BP, —Get Real–
      Winnecke is a RINO, and a Creep Deluxe.

  2. THAT’S what you have to say? Winnecke sent his whipping boy to beg for 8M just to pay the payroll and bills. No one’s bills are getting paid, and it’s someone else’s fault? Three audits, playing the shell game with funky finances to keep the SBOA from hauling the whole bunch off to jail, and NO one gets that we have LONG BEEN in financial trouble?
    And the budget cuts are a temporary bandaid, when you are unable to pay the city’s payroll, the city’s employees wont work for free.
    Yeah, Winnecke sure is a winner. After the nasty business with his pal, the serial child molester. there is NO depravity of which he is not now capable. YOU vote for him, I sure won’t-and if he gets his way you’ll get what you deserve, sadly so will everyone else who has to live in Evansville.

  3. Leadership is obviously not a strong suit of Lloyd Winnecke. Where was he during the Council Meeting?

    Why does he consistently send his Chief of Staff or Controller to answer questions each Council meeting?

    Even an important meeting as this was, I mean, ITS THE BUDGET OF THE CITY YOU WANT TO KEEP RUNNING, and where is he?

    My username says it all. Where’s Winnecke?

    All flash, no substance, and no ideas.

  4. You Democrats ought to keep in mind that both Mayor Winnecke and Counselor-elect Jack Schriber are good Christians. Neither man has killed anybody.

    • You’re right! At least child molesters leave their victims alive, unlike the gun boosters.

  5. What goes around comes around. When doing research on Roberts stadium and the ball park issue in 2011 or so, I learned that the Victory has never made its expenses. But that Roberts stadium had always made money and its extra dollars paid for the Victory losses. Evansville’s problems have been compounded over many years and the city will need years to dig itself out.
    There are many nonprofits in town that do not receive tax money and they survive because there are citizens that believe in what they stand for. Pick what you believe in and start working for your cause. The system is changing thank goodness. Bottom line is that everyone in town will have to work toward the goal of helping Evansville survive. Period. Amen. I may not live that long. But I hope the process is at least starting. Please vote for Gail to help move it along.

    • So you admit to supporting a weak mayor Gail? Leadership is the essence of what this election is about!

        • So which is LKB? You missed me telling you that I am not voting for Winnecke, or you like to lie when it suits you? You’re so narrow minded your eyes cross.

          Furthermore, just because Gail recognizes bad leadership like most others does not equate to her being a good leader.

  8. Winnecke has $20M, OF YOUR MONEY, for a dinosaur Hotel, cuz Jack McNeely and Paul Green need to be paid off, but Winnecke can show up to the CC meeting, at the last minute, to whine about cuts to non-profits.

    Missy, McNeely and Green are on FB this morning moaning about how horrible the cuts are, of course THEY”RE not going to take a cut.

    Winnecke has $59M OF YOUR MONEY to put the Med school downtown when it could have been put on the East side for next to nothing but can accuse Gail of “playing politics” for attending a CC meeting while he plays politics 24/7/365.

    Winnecke gave $100,000 to the Pence campaign but hey he picks up some trash every spring so that makes him a “progressive” Don’t worry Dems Lloyd will be out next year giving even more money to Pence and telling us all that good ‘ol Mike and his christian conservative minions didn’t really mean it when they passed RFRA.

    Winnecke had to borrow $8M make payroll but hey Evansville is fiscally sound.

    You can bet your ass that Winnecke’s patronage jobs didn’t take a cut!

    Winnecke lied his ass off in front of the whole City Council and the whole City about the REIT money being ready and available to build the Hotel and then lied more about the Hotel being ready to start any day, even parking and renting a bulldozer to set there for 18 MONTHS. But hey Ron Riecken cut down some Winnecke yard signs on his own property!

    I could have a lot more to say but I’m disgusted

  9. Alright about time I see a post from Brains Benton that has hit it on the head! Who cares if we cut things more important? We Are getting a New Winky Motel Downtown!!!How about cutting the mayors pay and others on his patronage list? Did Al say we have outdated Fire trucks or did I hear wrong? We need more important things than that hotel. This is not Detroit but Winky took a trip there for the Blight problem.Bet he did not stay in a cheap motel. He went to Grand Rapids to see the downtown which has medical school but had the doctors and medical fields there first so then the medical school should be by the gateway on the eastside in that sense. Hey Winky got to Gary Indian and see that 5 year old Hotel that is now closed. You will say this is Not Gary but then again this is not DETROIT OR GRAND RAPIDS.

Comments are closed.