Alex Burton Comments on the Controversy About His Replacement

Johnny Kincaid

November 19, 2024

When an elected position is vacated, the party that the elected official is a member of gets to select another party member to fill the vacancy. The party convenes a meeting of the Precinct Committee-persons for the district that the exiting official represented. About 20 percent of Hoosier lawmakers are not elected for their first term but are placed in the position by a caucus.

This means a tiny handful of political party faithful act as proxies for the citizens. When Alex Burton vacated his 4th Ward City Council seat to become State Representative, 16 Precinct Committee members, many of whom were appointed by the Democratic party chair, were eligible to vote for the next 4th Ward representative on the city council.

Three candidates, Tanisha Carothers, Angie Bullock, and Jaimie Sheth, announced interest in running for the City Council seat. Bullock filed challenges to the candidacy of the other two, claiming that neither met the residency requirement. The challenges included residency details and voting records. Carothers’s CEB 5 form to qualify to run stated that she lived and voted in the 4th Ward, but voter registration records show that she was registered to vote in the 3rd Ward.

Bullock presented her evidence and challenge forms to Vanderburgh County Democratic Party Chair Cheryl Schultz but was informed that short of a lawsuit, there is no avenue for challenging a caucus.

Burton addressed his choice to replace him on the City Council in a letter to Our Times Newspaper, resoundingly endorsing Tanisha Carothers. The letter named the 16 precinct committee members, pointing out that they will make the final determination about representing the 4th Ward.

Sheth withdrew her candidacy before the caucus, and after votes were cast, Schultz announced that Carothers won over Bullock. According to Bullock, the number of votes was never announced.

Bullock believes that Burton may have pressured Schultz regarding the outcome. “It was a conspiracy to put in someone who committed a crime by lying on a form,” She said.

Burton dismisses her claims, saying, “I have not communicated with the Vanderburgh Co. Democratic Party leadership, nor did I give them any instruction regarding the vote for my successor. My open letter to Our Times Newspaper and the 4th Ward Precinct Committee persons represents my thoughts on the matter.”

When asked whether Carothers is eligible for the 4th Ward seat, Burton said, “I’m not sure about any disqualification accusations or anything in question. It is my hope that Angie can move beyond the caucus results. The 4th Ward Precinct Commitee-persons chose who we wanted to represent us on Council. “

As global leaders gather in Baku for COP29, EPA delivers latest action under President Biden’s Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan

WASHINGTON — Today, Nov. 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The rule facilitates implementation of Congress’s directive in the Inflation Reduction Act to collect a Waste Emissions Charge to better ensure valuable natural gas reaches the market rather than polluting the air. Congress established the charge on large emitters of methane if their emissions exceed specific performance levels and directed EPA to collect the charge and implement other features of the program, including providing appropriate exemptions for actions that reduce methane releases. Today’s final rule delivers on this directive and incentivizes companies to take near-term action to conserve valuable energy resources for American consumers and reduce methane emissions – a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for approximately one-third of the global warming we are experiencing today.

“The final Waste Emissions Charge is the latest in a series of actions under President Biden’s methane strategy to improve efficiency in the oil and gas sector, support American jobs, protect clean air, and reinforce U.S. leadership on the global stage,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “EPA has been engaging with industry, states, and communities to reduce methane emissions so that natural gas ultimately makes it to consumers as usable fuel — instead of as a harmful greenhouse gas. Along with EPA’s complementary set of technology standards and historic financial and technical resources under the Inflation Reduction Act, today’s action ensures that America continues to lead in deploying technologies and innovations that lower our emissions.”

EPA estimates that this rule alone will result in cumulative emissions reductions of 1.2 million metric tons of methane (34 million metric tons CO2-equivalent) through 2035 — the equivalent of taking nearly 8 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year — and will have cumulative climate benefits of up to $2 billion.

As directed by Congress, the Waste Emissions Charge applies only to waste emissions from high-emitting oil and gas facilities. The Inflation Reduction Act provides that the Waste Emissions Charge applies to methane from certain oil and gas facilities that report emissions of more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, beginning with methane emissions reported in calendar year 2024. Also, as directed by Congress, the Waste Emissions Charge starts at $900 per metric ton of wasteful emissions in CY 2024, increasing to $1,200 for CY 2025, and $1,500 for CY 2026 and beyond, and only applies to emissions that exceed statutorily specified methane intensity levels.

EPA’s final rule details how the charge will be implemented, including the calculation of the charge and how exemptions from the charge will be applied. Facilities in compliance with the recently finalized Clean Air Act standards for oil and gas operations would be exempt from the charge after certain criteria set by Congress are met. The agency expects that over time, fewer facilities will face the charge as they reduce their emissions and become eligible for this regulatory compliance exemption.

In keeping with the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Waste Emissions Charge works in concert both with Clean Air Act standards issued in March 2024 to limit methane from new and existing oil and gas operations, and with over $1 billion in financial and technical assistance that EPA has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to provide under the Inflation Reduction Act to support monitoring and mitigation of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Combined, these actions will help position the United States as the most efficient producer of oil and natural gas in the world and ensure that the industry remains competitive in overseas markets that require a minimum level of emissions performance.

In the final rule, EPA made changes in response to public comments that will provide owners and operators of oil and natural gas facilities with greater flexibility to achieve emission reductions and thereby avoid the charge. States now have a stronger incentive to submit satisfactory plans for limiting methane from existing oil and gas operations in a timely manner. Additionally, the Waste Emissions Charge will apply until oil and gas operators achieve full compliance with state plans, helping to incentivize better performance. The final rule also provides additional clarity on exemptions and other provisions of the rule.