IS IT TRUE May 28, 2013

1. The Cronies,Clowns and Conmen still see a big payday!! So let the taxpayers feel the burden and not a private investor!!!!!!!!!!!!! Weinzapfel light = Weinekee= Derr and Derp!!!!!!!!!!!

2. It appears that the City still isn’t reconciled. It has been since December 31, 2010! Why isn’t someone trying to actively send Jenny to prison or revoke Rumplebeancounter’s CPA license? The State Board isn’t much better. They kicked off the CPAs that they had on the audit and replaced them with buffoons, one of which is known as Airhead.

3. CCO:

   Have a reporter do an FOIA to get a copy of the “alternate financing” which Johnson Controls has provided in the event of a City Council ‘NO’ vote on the Bond Issue. It carries a 5.5 % interest rate.

   Then juxtapose that with the Amortization Schedule provided by Umbaugh to the IURC, which shows about a 3 % average interest rate for a Bond Issue.

   Interesting Reading if you can get it !

4. Chairman Parke will continue to apologize for Mayor Winnecke, chipping away at his own trustworthiness and credibility in the process. How sad. He could have taken the high road.

   I call upon all self respecting PCs to open their eyes and make the necessary arrangements to have him removed. Doing nothing will only make you all culpable. We can’t pretend to denigrate spendthrift Democrats while emulating them.

   • Agreed. Last week I asked Mr. Parke his opinion on how the task force was handled. I also asked him if the postings on this site about Dan McGinn’s comments/views about the cemetery issue where indeed true. A simple yes or no if he said these comments is really all I’m going to ask for at this point.

     He was posting pretty steadily in that thread until I asked him those simple questions. Then he quit cold turkey and moved onto another topic on this site. My questions still remain and I am in complete shock that the local Republican Party leaders would go quiet on these two important issues much less think they can simply ignore them.

     • I can’t speak to the cemeteries issue. You know we disagree on that, but it’s a shame Chairman Parke can’t at least distance himself from Roberts Park and Johnson Controls. A simple “no comment” could suffice. He doesn’t have to butt heads with Winnecke, just stop pretending the Titanic isn’t sinking and his own Mayor didn’t say “full speed ahead” before impact.

       There is no need for Chairman Parke to go down with the Winnecke ship. He is an amicable fellow in person and I do not doubt his sincerity, I just question his judgment and leadership. His apologies for Winnecke are tarring our local Party.

       I wonder if Chairman Parke has ever heard the Bible verse about plucking out the eye that offends, and I wonder if he understands what that means…

       • A troubling C & P Editorial this past weekend, with Etheridge now playing the ” don’t we (Evansville) deserve the best (hotel) ?” gambit. Couple that with Mr. Parke’s stance on the Johnson Controls transaction, and here’s what I am seeing:

         The Johnson Controls deal will get thrown under the proverbial bus in a backroom deal in which the Hotel gets anointed at the full $ 37 Million subsidy. Mayor gets to claim fiscal toughness with weeding out the wasteful Johnson Controls contract, all the while touting himself as a job creator and economic development heavyweight re: the Hotel which has failed twice before.

         Comments ?

       • It appears now everyone is on board with the cemetery neglect issue. Todd Roberson had called it a “long standing problem” back when it came to light. If you looked at the C&P last weekend, it featured Chris Cooke with photos of him pointing out the massive amounts of problem.

         The question now becomes what to do about it. Like I have requested with the building commission, I would just like a simple report on what the hell they plan on doing to fix the problem entirely, specially what they did with the council funds I went and lobbied for. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.

         With that aside, let’s be honest about why Parke won’t answer my questions about Roberts and McGinn- He knows there is no defending those actions. How do you justify a mayor assembling a task force and then not even spending one minute sitting down with the subcommittees and investigating the leads? And Parke cannot even say yay or nay if McGinn made the comments about Roberts and grave sites? That is completely unacceptable for a party to be run like that.

         With Parke ignoring the McGinn questions as well as the Roberts Stadium Task Force debacle questions, I think it now goes to show you just how bad this mayor and his party have screwed up. If what they are doing is so right, why do they keep running from it.

         • I agree with almost all of that. The only thing I’d differ on is the extent of the disrepair of the cemeteries. I’ll admit their are some issues, but every cemetery has them. I think your crusade surrounding them is your prerogative and more power to you for it. I do, however, share your passion for pointing out the flaws in the Roberts Stadium deal, but in quite the opposite way. Where we definitely agree is Wayne Parke has soiled himself by standing up for Winnecke, and done damage to the Party in so doing.

5. We’ve got a 5th grader running the City Police Department. Billy Bolin. He’s got a TANK and brand new jeeps – that’s how he plans on fighting crime in this town. WITH TOYS.

   Hey Billy – there’s a grandma with her door open. Lob in a grenade – never mind the screen door is open and the grandma is innocent. Doesn’t matter – just as long as the whole neighborhood got to hear the fireworks display and Billy got to shoot off his grenade toy.

   Folks, it’s only going to get worse from here on out. With the mayor and with the police chief. Worse I tell you.

6. It should come as no surprise that the C&P would blindly support a local gov’t initiative. I think the real question that needs to be asked is when have they NOT blindly supported the gov’t?

   No matter if it’s a failed consolidation plan, a multi billion dollar boondoggle sprawling interstate, a wasteful and highly unpopular destruction of roberts, a VOICE program that only drew a mere 17 people drawing stick figures by their own count, a CVB ball fields plan that has never been popular with the general public at any time, and a “Top 20 under 40” featuring a good percentage of yes men to gov’t leaders are just a small fraction of the support they have given the local machine. I do think whoever makes the editorials should put their name, not the C&P’s name on it. Several C&P staff members have told me that editorial doesn’t reflect their views and opinions.

7. Mayor Weinzapfel did give Mayor Winnecke his job. Always remember that.

8. “The LOVE of Money is the Root of Evil”.

   Evil permeates Evansville, and not always subtly.

   So very glad I have escaped,—-E-ville.

9. This is my opinion about the Johnson Control issue. 45 days before leaving office, Mayor Weinzapel unfortunately entered into an agreement with Johnson Controls that bounds the Mayor’s office to certain things regarding our Water and Sewer Utilities. This original Sewer and Water agreement in my judgment was not in the best interest of the City even though there are some good things in the agreement. Please note I said it obligates the Mayor’s office. It does not matter what person is now Mayor. Within reason, when there is a legal agreement between parties, both parties are obligated to act in good faith to resolve any issues that stand in the way of fulfilling the intent of the agreement. When either party does not act in good faith, they are subject to being sued and lawsuits are very expensive. Winnecke is Mayor and he is obligated to act in good faith in caring out Weinzapel agreement no matter what he personally thinks about it. Certain terms/provisions of the original agreement are being reviewed. A revised document may be acceptable or it may not be. Time will tell. I believe the Mayor’s Office cannot commit the the City to pay for something, the City Council does not support. The City Council has passed a resolution appealing the latest IURC ruling on this issue. The Mayor’s office and the City Council are working on the issue. The last chapter has not been written on this subject.

   Wayne Parke
   Republican County Chairman

   • The real disturbing thing about Winnecke is that the IURC handed him the perfect exit plan and the lunatic appealed it. Winnecke used every legal avenue available to keep this POS in play including making threats to get it financed elsewhere. Say what you will Mr. Parke but Winnecke is Weinzapfel’s puppet and always has been. He is just doing as his master tells him like any good dog. Please find us some real republicans next election cycle. This clown is a RINO and is way left of even that Obama loving shmoozer Weinzapfel.

     • Yoda is dead on here, just as Joe Wallace has been in his analysis. I perhaps could have bought into Chairman Parke’s characterization of events had it not been for the IURC appeal. That totally blows that line out of the water. It shows more than just a “good faith” effort on the part of Winnecke to carry out some contract he was unwillingly glued to; it shows that he was 100% on board, no matter what he or his apologists say on the matter.

10. If you read the original agreement, you would see under certain circumstances Weinzapel agreed to allow Johnson Control have the ability to arrange financing for this project if the City Council did not arrange financing. Winnecke did not come up with that concept.

    I do not believe Winnecke is Weinzapel puppet. What Weinzapel did was to legally obligate the Mayor’s office to something’s that Winnecke must make the best he can of the situation.

    • I’m sorry, Wayne. Again, I like you as a person, I think you have a passion to make a difference in your community, but your approach is deeply flawed and antithetical to the fundamental tenants of conservatism. Furthermore, your excuses for lending this disastrous Mayor your continued support are just not flying with anyone here, least of all me.

      Mayor Winnecke’s true colors have been on permanent display for all to see. The real conservative solution to Roberts was to sell. That was the no-brainer, free market, Ronald Reagan Republican answer, not to mention the libertarian answer, but he chose to spend, spend, spend, and you gave him your blessing. That wasn’t the former Mayor that did that, it was he and you.

      The IURC gave him a perfect out on Johnson Controls, but again he has shown he is disinterested in the prudent, thrifty, rational approach to governance and is more interested in purchasing bells and whistles, spending other people’s money.

      He, and by extension you, have proven you are NOT fiscal conservatives. You are both spendthrift liberals who believe in using the power of government to push a predetermined agenda. Your approach is akin to backing up the Titanic and hitting the iceberg a second time. You rationalize that you must spend more money because the previous administration backed you into a corner, but you and I both know that’s a classic politician’s excuse.

      I know quite a few Republican PCs who have shared Tea Party and libertarian circles with me in the past, probably more than you know. I only hope they have the good sense to distance themselves from this nonsense and be prepared to sweep up the pieces of our Party moving forward.

      • The following is my opinion based upon what I think I know. To repeat—-there is an Agreement between former Mayor Weinzapel and Johnson Control where the current Mayor’s office is bound to carry out certain things. The IURC ruling did not give Mayor Winnecke a perfect out. In fact the IURC reversed their previous ruling on the appeal because certain changes were made.

        I believe there still are some big issues to be resolved and they are being worked on by the Mayor’s Office and the City Council.

        As for as the Republican Party is concerned, there are more Republicans currently holding office today in SW Indiana than there ever has been in the recent past. We are not perfect and have made some mistakes, but we are working to be the best we can be by looking after the best long term interest of the people who live here. The Republican PC’s recently re-elected me Chairman by a huge margin to serve a 4 year term.

        • @ Wayne Parke:

          1) When the Weinzapfel round was DENIED by IURC (savings < 10 % threshold), the City (Winnecke) filed an APPEAL, but not to IURC: this was an APPEAL to the IN COURT OF APPEALS. Please explain how that fits your scenario of Winnecke trying to wiggle out of a bad contract ?

          2) Next, the APPEAL with IN COURT OF APPEALS was withdrawn by City (Winnecke);

          3) Then, City (Winnecke) files a Petition for Reconsideration with the IURC (to reconsider the Weinzapfel filing) after making several Change Orders to reduce the size of the project. My mother always told me: a bad deal is a bad deal, regardless of its size ! The IURC denied the Petition, correctly stating that it was now a new case and they needed to start over;

          4) At that point, the entire Contract was renegotiated, with Ziemer's office doing the drafting. Ziemer had every opportunity to take out the offending language permitting 'alternative financing', but failed to do so;

          5) Bottom line, @ Wayne Parke, don't blame Weinzapfel for having inserted the alternative financing language–your team had every opportunity to strip it out but chose to not do so.

        • Again, I’m not buying the “his arm was twisted” explanation on Johnson Controls, and I certainly don’t follow you on Roberts, for which you have yet to offer any sound, conservative explanation.

          As for the number of Republicans we have in office, you may be correct there are marginally more today than in the recent past – if having only one Council seat is progress, I’ll take it – but there is more to politics than just winning elections for people with an (R) by their names. The winners then need to follow some sort of guiding code or principle and govern according not only to the will of the people who elected them but also to the dictates of prudence and with an eye to our economic situation.

          Any idiot with a phonebook and some volunteers can win an election, but governing according to a guiding principle is another thing. The “guiding principle” of this Mayor, and you apparently, are no different than the last clown we put in office.

          Not to take anything away from your successes, but perhaps the reason you are still Chairman is because no one else was inspired to put themselves forward. I doubt that will be true much longer at this rate, and you and I both know there are methods for removal of a Chairman midterm…

          Rule 3-42. A meeting of the County Committee may be convened at any other time upon call of the County Chairman, or upon written notice signed by not less than twenty-five per cent (25%) of the members of the County committee who have been members at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting date (whether elected or appointed). If a meeting is called by members of the committee, it must be called within twenty (20) days from the date the first signature is obtained. A written notice, signed by each member joining in the call, shall be given to every member and officer at least ten (10) days in advance of such meeting. The notice shall state the purpose for which the meeting is called.

          Rule 3-43. (a) At a meeting called under Rule 3-42, a member of the County Committee may make a motion to call for a special meeting to consider the removal of one or more officers of the County Committee, who must be specifically identified in the motion. This motion, if seconded, must be taken under consideration immediately by the County Committee.
          (b) If the motion is adopted by a majority of those present, the County Committee shall convene at a date, time, and location set under Rule 3-45(b). The County Secretary shall file a written notice of the need for a special meeting with the Secretary of the State Committee no later than seven (7) days after the adoption of this motion.
          (c) If the motion fails, the County Committee shall be prohibited from considering removal of the officer in question for at least one hundred and eighty (180) days or until the next reorganization, whichever comes first.

11. It might be time for a shake up in the local GOP and its leadership!!!!!!!11

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