IS IT TRUE? May 12, 2011

IS IT TRUE that Republican candidate for Mayor Lloyd Winnecke got 6 months in front of election day in recommending that a series of three debates be staged between himself and Democratic candidate Rick Davis?…that Mr. Winnecke’s letter was complimentary of Mr. Davis’s victory over Troy Tornatta in the Democratic primary and that it was respectful in tone?…that respectfulness is Lloyd Winnecke’s nature and that if this letter is a taste of things to comes his collaborative style will been in high gear in the campaign?…that as Mr. Winnecke’s challenge was more suggestive than challenging and that we expect that if Mr. Davis asks for slight modifications to Mr. Winnecke’s suggested format that an acceptable compromise will be reached quickly?

IS IT TRUE that it is quite refreshing to see advanced planning and respect for one’s opponent in the beginning of the campaign?…that there are plenty of substantive issues facing the City of Evansville and that either Mr. Winnecke or Mr. Davis will be our next Mayor?…that we get the feeling that these two guys would willingly work together to correct some of our problems and furthermore expect that they will regardless of who is the Mayor?…that if there are to be debates lets cross our fingers that the format, the moderator, and the questions are intense enough not to inspire disinterest and apathy?…that last year’s debates for Vanderburgh County offices were remarkably boring?…that even some of the candidates were frustrated by the failure of the moderators to force them to mix it up a bit with depth and substance?…that there are plenty of gotchas to be brought up and plenty of legitimate issues to captivate an audience for a good long time?…that we hope that the debates help people make informed choices about our governance and that the Pied Piper is silenced in the voting booth?

IS IT TRUE that “CCO MOLE 2 #” received private phone calls from several City/County employees and elected officials that share the same opinion as the City County Observer concerning the City Water and Sewer Department forcing one to give their Social Security number when they have water turned on? …that we wonder if the City Water and Sewer computer software have safe guards that protect our Social Security numbers?…that we wonder why the State of Indiana took off the requirement that forced us to put our Social Security numbers on our driver licenses? …that they felt that one wayward public employee could have taken ones social security and birthday dates to possibility steal one’s identity? …that it would take only one public employee to misuse personal information of a taxpayer that would expose the City of Evansville to a major law suit? …that we wonder why the City of Evansville Water and Sewer Department can’t just ask us for a copy of our driver’s license and past address we had our water and sewer services?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Water and Sewer Department is known around town for being oppressively unfriendly to landlords? …that the water department charges you for trash pickup even if you do not use it?…that if you have a dumpster on your property you still pay the trash fees?…that the water department only charges a person a $15 deposit to turn water in your name?…that when they run up the water bill, which can be several months before it is turned off, and moves out the landlord is responsible for the sewer portion of the bill?…that they can put a lien your property if it is not paid?…that this costs landlords thousands of dollars per year in Evansville?…that the offending the tenant goes to another rental, pays another $15 and they get water again?…that Vectren now requires new customers to provide a form that is notarized proving their identity before they will provide services to them?

IS IT TRUE that in a shrinking city that is burdened with SEVERAL BILLION DOLLARS of blighted homes many of which are abandoned having a City of Evansville department enforcing arcane and oppressive rules onto the residents and landlords is just counterproductive?…that if there were ever a place that responsibilities need to be decoupled it is between landlords and tenants when it comes to public service providers?…that this stone age policy and other City of Evansville legacy problems might just make an excellent debate topic or better yet an opportunity to publish position papers that our citizens can examine at will?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer will publish all position papers written by or sanctioned by the candidates for Mayor of Evansville and the candidates for City Council?

IS IT TRUE that you should never vote to the words of this song?