IS IT TRUE APRIL 27, 2015

1. IIT that Mr. Faultner has not a “Wayne Parkes” by endorsing certain candidates over others in this primary?

2. Evansville politics: or – how low can you go? …

3. What ?! So everyone stay on the CCO topic today !! Please don’t make our creative EDITOR censor your comments. THIS is so interesting and will inspire responders to praise Gail and condemn the Mayor and fall into a pothole and result in a budget busting spending mistake and not praise the Mccurdy as the savior of the city.,

   WOW !!!! Thanks Editor, Chears !!!!

   • This was posted last friday, removed, and posted today.
     Editor cut and paste ?

   • “Chears”?, is that a bar in Boonville where everyone knows your wife’s name?

     And cheers to you too!

     • It is right next to “Tears” 🙂 Touche 🙂

4. Are they so desperate for Votes that they have to call up the older and disabled people or those that are out of town traveling to Europe or other places and can’t vote in person so that they can get one or two more votes in the Primary. Ah….. it’s the American Way.

   But why would Mr. Faultner give voter names to Mosby and Weaver. IIT I thought that was the Mayor’s Wife’s job?

5. Does the cco charge for their political adds for candidates. If so, should those cost be on the candidates financial reports. If the cco doesn’t charge wouldn’t that be a in-kind contribution that should be reported. Found only one candidate reported paying $250 to the cco.

   • Hey Steve Schafer! How many screen names do you have?

     • If you are asking waitamin, I’m Jack Waldroup.

   • Jack if you let someone running for office put a political yard sign in your front yard do you charge them by the day or week for that spot in your front yard? And do they disclose that money or in kind service on their candidate’s financial reports?

     I think that they have to report income when running for office but maybe they have to report on expenditures as well. But what is the minimum limit of money received or paid out that has to be reported. If someone gave them a newspaper to read about an article would they have to record that present and report the $2.00 as income? What if someone purchased a drink for them at the bar? Is that a reportable income when running for political office? Surely there must be some sort of rules for what has to be reported or not.

     • Move
       I think your trying to stretch things a bit.
       Any donation of $100 and above must be listed, cash ,check or in -kind. All expenditures should bee reported the same way. Some candidates are sending mailers with no postage reported. The question is who is paying for that. My mistake on earlier post. Two candidates payed CCO

       • Wait, I thought the reportable limit for donations was $200.

         • Unless it’s changed its $100. If I’m
           wrong sorry

     • I once ran for county council, in 1992, when my wife and I still owned Rounders Pizza.

       One of my handouts was a little business card size coupon for a free order of bread sticks printed on one side and my appeal to vote for me as county councilman on the other side.

       The handout was brought to the attention of the local election board, and a couple of stories were printed in the local paper regarding the issue and the election board’s determination.

       The election board directed me to print my campaign committee info on the bottom of the handout, and to keep track of all coupons surrendered at the pizza shop for bread sticks, and to reimburse the pizza shop from my campaign account the exact value in dollars for each and every order of bread sticks.

       Essentially, there can be no “free advertising” in a political election. Advertising has a value, and that value must be accounted for as a direct donation or an in kind donation with a dollar amount assigned.

       I think what Waitamin is saying is that certain written materials may translate as promotional political materials that require the customary authorization by the candidate, and the inclusion of the name of a principle officer in the candidate’s financial committee, and if the material represents an advertisement, the inclusion in the campaign finance report of the value of the donation.

       The yard sign issue is an interesting twist on the matter. Never seen that one pondered before. Interesting.

       • Thank you Bill
         Jack

         • No problem, Jack. Interesting side notes: Mark Owen was county chairman when I ran for county council in 1992, and the Hon. Les Shively was the Rep. lawyer on the county election board. Laurie Frary Harrison ran for county council on the Rep. ticket that same year. I’m not going to reveal who reported me to the election board (it ironically involved the Dem. and Rep. floats at the Fall Festival – LOL), because she is still around and very influential in local politics. No hard feelings there, and I admire her yet to this day. Oh, and Jack was Dem. county chairman the first time I ran for county surveyor in 2000.

   • Ask Moveon, he should know. Right publisher?

6. IIT that Eric Williams does not carry much weight after his “throwing county government under the bus” when he “buddy up” with the current mayor on eliminating the very government entity that employed him?

   IIT it may be interesting to know the amount paid for that former property (which is public record)?
   IIT that the CCO is “leading into” that the property of a former trade union may have received a favorable price that is beyond what all of the mover and shakers received in downtown land shenanigans?
   IIT that CCO needs to investigate this if it is above that $400,000 profit for several months of holding the title, strike of the pen deal that occurred for that piece of property down by the Hadi?
   IIT there would be no more action into this?

   • Arm, $400,000 ? That profit was for Mr.Dunn, he’s special. I notice he is a Riecken backer. Must be time to try to go to the trough again.

7. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING AN ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION OF THE CITY OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA, REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

   May 8, 2015 at 9:00am local time in room 307 of the Civic Center

   Refinancing of bonded debt. (1) to refinance various local public improvements in or serving the Evansville Downtown Redevelopment Area Allocation Area by refunding various outstanding city of Evansville bonds.

   * * * * * * * * *

   In other words they are borrowing to make the payments on debt already owed, thereby increasing the cost to the taxpayers of these projects. It is a safe bet that they knew in advance that this might take place down the road when the project was initiated, but not a word was said about that possibility at the time.

   Banks and lawyers getting fatter all the time. Working class having to do with less all the time.

   • Press, Could it be they are paying off higher rate bonds with lower rate bonds ? Refinancing ?

     • BS

       • Press, Your post said “refinancing of bonded debt”. What does it really mean ?

     • Perhaps, but highly doubtful. . .if you noticed. . .bond rate are inching higher demonstrated by the current drop in bond values thanks to Ms. Yellen’s speeches. . .

8. Mega dittos Bubbageek, poster of the week.

9. In defense of Laura Windhorsts’ management of the Rental Registry, it was thrust on her the Monday night the ordinance was passed. Scant information about the hastily (and poorly) written ordinance was published in the C&P on Tuesday. By Wednesday the City Clerk’s Office was flooded with property owners asking question for which there were no clear answers. Laura had to act quickly to put this thing together and with the deluge through the door and on the phones there was no time for a bidding process. The blame can be laid at the feet of SBR for the fiasco that was the ordinance itself and then President Robinson for pushing it on to Laura without warning or direction.

   • That is not true. Ordinances cycle through on a 2 to 4 week basis. No one but a City Clerk employee who failed to read any of the materials for weeks or the local newspaper would have been surprised at the Ordinance being passed. The ordinance was written to be administered by the City Clerk without objection. The ordinance was apparently well publicized as it was a large meeting with landlord associations both for and against in attendance.
     The only edits to the ordinance going forward were a couple of small changes on how we described what information we were asking for, such as work number changed to emergency contact, and to realign it in the DMD for administration.
     As to her office being flooded with questions she couldn’t answer, I don’t know what her explanation is for not knowing how to answer questions. The attorneys who drafted the ordinance were not contacted with any questions. I suspect the real story is that there were calls that had to be answered and the ordinance explained. That’s called doing one’s job.

     • Editor, Why didn’t your ITT cover Ms. Hart and the controversy about her military service. If that had been her opponent you would have daily coverage for a week.

       • Seconded. Where is the equal coverage over such an egregious situation.

         I saw some half-wit response on Brinkerhoff – Riley’s “Evansville Post” … putting words in the incumbents mouth and accusing her of accusing this near-case-of-stolen-valor phoney of nothing she alleged.

         Here’s the skinny. Nobody cares about this race. Al “get me another Mt. Dew” Lindsey wants to get his daughter elected. They will mislead as much as they have to (See M. Hart) and their terrible explanation as to why they are doing that, and then proclaiming yourself as an Iraqi War vet, even though you never left Indiana. What a bleeping joke.

         • The government claims I am a vietnam vet and I never left texas. I have never made such a claim, I only say that I am a veteran.

         • Stone, What does your dd-214 say ? Have you asked the local VFW if you qualify for their organization ? Would you post what the “government” says about you being a Vietnam Vet.

         • These seems to answer the Veteran questions:

           ‘What is a Veteran?

           A veteran is defined by federal law, moral code and military service as “Any, Any, Any”… A military veteran is Any person who served for Any length of time in Any military service branch. [See #1 and #2, below]

           What is a War Veteran?

           A war veteran is any GI (Government Issue) ordered to foreign soil or waters to participate in direct or support activity against an enemy. The operant condition: Any GI sent in harm’s way.

           What is a Combat Veteran?

           A combat veteran is any GI who experiences any level of hostility for any duration resulting from offensive, defensive or friendly fire military action involving a real or perceived enemy in any foreign theater. [See #3, below]
           …
           http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/whatvet.htm

       • Third vote for what Cowboy posted. I have not formed an opinion yet, but I have seen several veterans who actually served “in theater” write some very focused concerns on this topic.

         I agree that this should have been a major CCO topic, and the comment by Cowboy that “If that had been her opponent you would have daily coverage for a week” is so accurate it is frightening.

         Editor(s), what say you?

       • If she qualified for the campaign ribbon, and that appears on her form DD-214, then she is correct and there is no controversy. Not on her DD-214, then she should not be making the claim. End of story.

         • Press, If i remember the article she didn’t want to release the 214 because of personal info (that could be blacked out).

     • If everything was so planned out and methodical, why was the vote held in Special Session on a Wednesday night? (I was wrong in thinking it was a Monday – a little research proved otherwise).

       From your own mouth: “I really…the last four days have been a whirlwind of communication between the different stakeholders in this ordinance. I cannot thank enough Mr. Ziemer for putting this together initially and then allowing it to take on a life of its own as was required by the different stakeholders that took a look at it and asked for change.”

       Councilman O’Daniel: I think those guys all know that…those guys, the police officers…I was…I’ve been very skeptical of this all along, I just have. I think that I wanted to see a comprehensive thing. I know there is going to be something coming and the time crunch, you know, wasn’t their fault or really anybody in this room’s fault. But on Friday when I got the email about 4:30 that, “Oh by the way, we are going to have an ordinance that is going to be voted on. We are going to suspend the rules as of Monday”. I got on the phone, I called Stephanie, and I said no we’re not. I said it takes nine and I’m not going to suspend the rules to run something through that I don’t feel completely comfortable with. And I’m glad that we did that because ultimately over those four days or five days, we’ve run through a number of amendments.”

       • Think back. First Reading was on Monday night. This didn’t have the 2 to 4 week cycle.

         Councilman Friend had something to say about the way this went as well:

         Councilman Friend: “Yes, I want to say that when I walked into the chambers this evening with the original amendment, I mean before we got into the amendments of the amendments, I was really against the ordinance and the fact that I don’t like mandate.”

         I guess you don’t remember the flurry of activity and urgency surrounding the passing of this ordinance but you would try to have everyone believe that you had of your ducks in a row “for weeks” and somehow Laura wasn’t doing her job. You didn’t even have the thing together until meeting time and yet you think everyone was supposed to be well versed the next day.

         President Robinson: “Someone asked why I was so quiet today…was because Stephanie and I started talking about 2:00 and we didn’t stop until after 4:30 (Inaudible) to 5:00 to get here, working with Mr. Wilhite, trying to find the ordinance that we thought the Council members would all vote for.”

         Ms. Brinkerhoff-Riley, your memory of this process did not serve you well at all.

         • The original ordinance was filed weeks in advance. 3rd reading may have been moved. The edits that night didn’t include moving it to the Clerk. They did include input from the major apartment and rental associations. The ordinance was edited to facilitate compromise and was the right thing to do. It didn’t take effect for months, so the idea that somehow the Clerk had to immediately act is not the case.

         • Wrong Ms. Riley. That ordinance was filed on February 25, 2013. It was heard at First Reading that very night. (The Clerk’s Office’s long standing policy of not accepting filings for the next meeting after 12:00 noon on the Wednesday before was waived for this urgent filing) A special session was called for Wednesday the 27th, the night it was passed. It was mid-way through the committee meeting for Ordinance G-2013-3 Amended that Ms. Robinson said it should be administered through the Clerk’s Office rather than the Controller’s office and that was that. The onslaught of the Clerk’s Office and the non-stop ringing of it’s phones began the next morning (Thursday) following the article in that mornings’ C&P.

         • The ordinance was filed by the City attorney, Ted Ziemer. If the Clerk let him file it the same day as first reading, that’s news to me. She doesn’t allow City Council to file anything for a Monday night meeting after the previous Wednesday. That was her choice if so. She could have just as easily enforced the rules.
           We heard it in a special meeting to allow for an entire meeting just for comments related to the ordinance.
           There’s no denying that our work made the ordinance palatable to everyone involved and was a much better version of what was originally filed by the Administration.
           I’m not sure of your point here other than looking for any basis to fault me personally. I reviewed my emails. Laura was involved in the emails that finalized the ordinance the day after the meeting. She also had every opportunity during the meeting to say she didn’t understand something or to say that her office couldn’t handle the work.
           The ordinance was not in effect until three months later and only after the IT department for the City created the software. She was also involved in that process. The problems with the ordinance thereafter were primarily related to the software build which included the opportunity for input error and the inability to allow for renewals.

         • Seriously? You wanted it filed on Monday and read in all three readings on Monday night, or so you said in your email to Councilman O’Daniel on Friday. Laura was being accommodating in response to urgency with which the ordinance was filed. The public did know the timeline. Per the amended ordinance, all rental property owners would have to file by May 31, 2013 or pay $100.00 for each violation and “Each day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate violation”. That was printed the C&P article printed on the 28th of March so you can understand the property owner’s rush to register.

           My point is that this was dumped in Laura’s lap on February 27, 2013 and the office and phones were flooded on February 28th. She did the quickest thing she could do to create a website. Given what she was told to do, I think she did a good job of getting it together.

           And Ms. Riley, it is a common occurrence for imagination to usurp actual memory but the paper trail tells it all.

         • Correction, the article regarding the rental registration was printed on February 28th.

         • I didn’t want or file anything related to this ordinance. It wasn’t me that came up with it. In fact, your entire tirade today is based on the changes that were abruptly made. If it was my ordinance, why was it changed to removed the fee and requirement for a license?
           The reality of what you don’t understand is that House Enrolled Act 1313 which imposed a moratorium on rental registries was set to take effect March 1, 2013. That’s why this happened so quickly, however it was not initiated by City Council.
           We worked with the Administration’s ordinance to make it passable. I’m proud of the final product.

         • It is curious then that you emailed Councilman O’Daniel on Friday with your intention to suspend the rules on Monday night so that it would be heard in all three Readings. I understand the urgency in light of the House Act 1313. What I don’t understand is your statement of today that there were just a few minor amendments…work number changed to emergency when there were a number of more intensive amendments made.
           I don’t understand why you skewed the timeline for filing this ordinance. I do not understand why you stated the ordinance was written to be administered by the City Clerk. That came up in the Committee meeting on the 27th. It was thought to be administered by the Controller’s Office prior to that. If it was not your baby, why does the ordinance, in it’s original and amended form, state: INTRODUCED BY: Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley?

         • Thank you for revealing the utter dishonesty of this person, who is unfit to hold public office or any position of public trust for that matter. Please take care, since this individual has been known to make violent threats, and local law enforcement / judiciary is not willing to apply the same standards that they would against nearly anyone else.

   • yea right. it’s the door knobs fault that someone ran into it and got a black eye. Come on man, you can do better than that excuse. She needs to follow the law as the city clerk and if not then she has no business being in there. Maybe if she was closer to SBR and the other city council people she would have gotten a heads up in time to go get some bids. But now that the council is forcing a bidding procedure she finally has time to do it?

     I’ve seen nepotism in the city before and it’s not a very pretty sight. But if your Boss is the one hiring his own family members there is not much one can do except to report it and lose one’s job. Luckily in my case another coworker reported this to the press and the Boss took a big fall. Sometimes it’s smarter to not try to take the lead in the Indy 500 and to hang back a way and let the leaders fight each other and wipe out doing so and then sneak into the finish in first place.

     IMHO she blatantly tried to pull a fast one and hired her own brother to give him the only chance to do the work without looking at any other company or people to do that job for the city. Shame Shame Shame. She got caught and need to just apologize and try to recover from her mistake. Restitution would be appropriate and maybe a fine or some time in the slammer would show others’ that crime does not pay.

   • Mega, The ITT isn’t really about Ms. Windhorst and the bridal registry. They are attacking her because the C&P ran an article Sunday about her opponent (Ms. Hart) misleading people about her military service. They think if they throw up enough smoke people will forget about it.

     • Thanks Cowboy. They need to get the facts straight then.

     • Man, Cowboy is on a roll this morning.

       I think he might just “break” this horse of a story

     • Very true! It’s a fact that Stephanie (SBR) is a known supporter of M Hart, oops Misty Lindsey Hart. Was any of this misunderstanding in the time line related to the time that SBR was off the wagon. Are we so sure she is clear on lots of things happening at that time?????

   • MD and cowboy defending windhorst, weaver, and mosby is proof they’re all republicans. You’re a hypocrite MD.

     • The truth is, Mr. Ghost, I don’t care what you think of me or what names you call me. You are a little, bitter person and I will simply consider the source. If your soul could be seen, it would be to hideous to look upon. Everyone would turn away, gasping in horror.

       • Why don’t you get back to work Laura? You’ve outed yourself with knowing the filing date of the rental registry ordinance and seeing emails amongst council members. That’s not publicized anywhere. Another reason you should be replaced- blogging while the taxpayers pay you a grossly too high salary.

         • I’m not Laura. These documents are public record. All one need do is ask. I just can’t stand someone making comments that fly in the face of the reality of what actually happened.

       • +1

         • to Cowboy’s response to Ghost.

     • Ghost, I don’t get excited about parties in local elections. When it gets to the Federal level then yes i go to the Conservative (usually Republican) side.

10. Freudian Slip

11. Waitamin- Is this the same Jack Waldrup that is on Missy Mosby’s Campaign Committee? Are you the same person that used to be the Democratic Chairman? Do you currently work for an Out of City Company that does non-contractual bidding work for City-County Governments?

    • That explains what he’s all about in here. Can’t Missy do her own dirty work in here? She should have appeared on the TV show and answered the questions for the voters. I would not vote for her just due to the fact that she refused to get out in front of the voters on TV and answer questions. What was she trying to hide? Is she afraid of the questions or the questioners? If she was fearful of the TV show then maybe she’s not able to stand up on her own two feet and therefore was afraid she would screw up in front of the pubic and lose the election. If she was smart she would have showed up and been able to answer any question thrown at her and shown that she is running for city council to better the city for the citizens she represents instead of for the Mayor’s GOP Winnicky agenda.

      • Move
        I ask my own questions. How does Punkys
        questions explain what I’m all about. They were wrong about me being on Missy’s Committee. Yes I was the party chair many years ago.
        Only thing I ever ask the CCO is to treat everyone the same. I don’t think I mentioned any candidates name on my post

      • Are you serious MoveOn? Geesh you’re the publisher of the CCO! I don’t blame Missy Mosby for not coming on YOUR show. You have bad mouthed her and taken money from her opponent to advertise his political ads. You are a joke.

    • Punky
      No
      Yes
      Yes. Same company for 25 years. Professional
      engineering service bidding not required but
      some ask for bids The correct spelling of my
      name is Waldroup.

      • Over those 25 years this City has awarded millions and millions to organizations like you are associated without one bid . . . and the public wonders why the largest donors are like the one you are associated . . .BTW. . . . if I may speak freely . . and you do not mind indicating . . exactly what Engineering School did you attend and receive your degree?

        • Never said I was a engineer. The company has about 60.

          • Thanks for the clarification . .

12. Wasn’t there a rental registry already passed last year? !?!?!

    • February 27, 2013

      • So is this a new one then? The first didn’t cost anything?

        • Correct. The first one was just a registration so law enforcement or the fire department could notify the owner/manager of rental property in the event of some sort of problem on their property. The fee is a registration fee in order to fund the administration of it, which has a employee dedicated to administering it. It’s quite a massive project.

          • So how is this new registry not redundant?

          • Ghost – beats me.

          • The first registry was voluntary for the building commission and had nothing to do with police and fire.
            The registry passed in 2013 was for the registry to be mandatory and was specifically aimed at assisting police in dealing with properties where the owner could not be located, as well as the building commission.
            The update to the ordinance in 2014 was after the moratorium ended and a fee could be imposed to pay the designated contract employee whose work had expanded to touch nearly every department with the data collected.

        • Ghost, Buy a local paper, stay informed, you may even save a local job.

13. Too funny, On Evansville post facebook today—->

    https://www.facebook.com/1433435163624019/photos/a.1433437166957152.1073741828.1433435163624019/1434669853500550/?type=1&theater

    • Just keep pushing it man, eventually somebody will notice your page. Or the Evansville Post page. I would definitely say your making a difference and not completely wasting your time.

14. I would like a damn yearly update on how many times this rental registry actually served any useful purpose.

15. I predict that Mosby, Weaver, Brinkmeyer, and Windhorst will all betray Gail and support Winnecke this fall.

    I suspect many other Democrats will do the same.

    Can someone explain to me the popularity of Mosby and Weaver?
    I know that they are not very popular at all with CCO readers but they sure seem popular with Evansville voters. SMH

    • That’s today’s selfie society for you. They are popular on Facebook and at the bars. That trumps good governance any day of the week.

    • A lot of Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Winnecke the first time. That’s why he is our mayor.

      • You didn’t answer the question, you just said water is wet and the Declaration of Independence is celebrated on July 4th each year, but thanks for the history update.

        • You are certainly welcome.

      • And the moderate democrats will vote for him again. Citizens, real citizens are starting to be fearful of democrats and the direction they are taking the country. Baltimore is an example of what democrats do to a city and this story is repeated in every large democrat controlled city in this country. Indianapolis has called in the feds to help them fight their crime problem. The police in Indy are being reined in from doing their job because of fear of community activist waiting for an opportunity to incite a riot. The mayor is turning over his city to the feds out of fear. In the coming weeks gun sales will soar and ammunition will fly off the shelves. Democrats represent lawlessness, makes no difference if it is real, it’s the perception. Weaver and Missy are viewed as real people who are being attack by the democrat party, plus they do good grassroots politicking. All of the problems this city faces can be placed at the feet of the democrat party and their history cronyism.

        • Please test the product before use. . .the simple fact is this. . .republican do not win the Mayor’s office very often. . .when they do. . the City Reserves are raided. . . in 1980 when Lloyd Sr. left office Mike Vandeveer had to furloughed 360 police officers, firefighters and other personnel to make payrolls. . .over one half of the street lights were darkened . . . when Frank McDonald left office, Russ, Jr walked into the Mayor’s office with nearly 50 million in reserve . . .when he left four years later . . .Weinzapfel requested an emergency loan from the Utility to make ends meet . . . so, by and large City Republicans are National Democrats . . .and by and large, City Democrats are National Republicans . . . few exception on either side . . for the first time in the history of this City a sitting Mayor’s budget was voted down . . .and now we learn that over the past three years ending December 31, 2014 this mayor has spend more than he has received in the tune of 27 million . . .remember the advancement of the 2.5 million from the utility dept into 2014 and the delay in paying our bills by 5 million . . . BWT the only contribution Weaver and Mosby make to this process was their pictures with a large cardboard scissors saying “do not cut” . . . four more years of this nonsense and we will be seeing furloughs, increases in fees and taxes . . . the amazing thing about this? This mayor does not have a clue and when the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride up Walnut Street hell will follow. . . .

          • How much of a surplus did Winnecke start with?

        • Pov you’re insane.

    • Brains, The CCO commenters are a very small slice of the voting public.

      • Really??? I didn’t know. Knock me over with a feather!

        • Feathers, hell they’re the under ware and the last nights sheets are flapping in the breeze. Everybody knows what that defines. Puff, down they hit the dirt.
          Games up. Its, finished watch the scramble see who gets a tossed life ring, see who doesn’t .
          That place has earned its due, if we can help, yup we might.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dboXbr7O3Eo

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