We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUE” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?

IS IT TRUE that if long-time Republican leader and elected official Cheryl Musgrave could become a spoiler of Rick Davis proportion in the primary if the citizens of registered Republicans of Evansville have an opportunity to choose substance and infrastructure over fun, games, and chicken fat dances? …Mayor Winnecke is a shoo-in if he survives the Republican primary and that is only as sure as a decision by Commissioner Musgrave not to run?

IS IT TRUE that 2019 is a brand new year and it is a year for the citizens of Evansville to have an opportunity to decide how much they like the status quo or if they would like to get that new broom out and sweep the civic center clean? …Mayor Winnecke and the entire cast of council members are up for election and each will get to make the case to keep their jobs? …some will have strong opponents and others will either run unopposed or face the politician’s dream of an unelectable strawman with no money?…the City-County Observer hopes that all nine council seats and the Mayor face strong opponents that offer a different set of ideas so the townsfolk can have an opportunity to think things through?

IS IT TRUE the last thing we want to see is a repeat of the city mayoral election of 2007 when a strawman of epic proportion won the Republican primary and proceeded to hand Jonathan Weinzapfel an 85–15 victory that blew his head up so big that we wondered how he could fit it in a car?…that election cycle even had the late great Democrat strongman Larry Aitken on the evening news expressing his belief that Weinzapfel would be the President of the United States someday?…the next four years were marred with arrogance and refusal to ask for the voters opinions at the ballot box on whether or not to borrow $127 million to construct the downtown arena now called the Ford Center?…four years later the chickens of hubris and arrogance came home to roost when Rick Davis single-handedly ended the political career of Jonathan Weinzapfel and handily defeated Troy Tornatta in a Democrat primary that was just plain ugly?…the Vanderburgh Democrat Party has never been the same since and we truly hope they can muster some decent candidates in 2019?

IS IT TRUE since we posted that Ben Trockman is considering running for the 1st Ward City Council seat we have received several phone calls and e-mails encouraging him to run for this position? …we are also hearing that several Republicans are strongly encouraging him not to run for this position?

IS IT TRUE that the buzz around the Civic Center is if Ben Trockman decides to run for the 1st Ward City Council seat he would win by a comfortable margin?

IS IT TRUE we are told that many people are still upset that a couple of the current members of City Council wasted $200,000 of our tax dollars on the defunct Earthcare Energy project several years ago? …we are told that several candidates running against current City Council members will make the Earthcare vote a campaign issue?

IS IT TRUE we wonder if you are aware that over the years that our City and County elected officials have discreetly increased our property tax assessments which in turn have increased our property taxes?  

IS IT TRUE the buzz around the Civic Center is that the political strategy to run four (4) people for City Council that is currently working for the same business will backfire?

IS IT TRUE don’t be surprised that the current and projected water and sewer rates will become a major campaign issue?  …we are told that several candidates running for the Evansville City Council are going to take to task member of the Water and Sewer Board for their exorbitant spending habits?

IS IT TRUE if our water and sewer rates keeping going up the cost of a gallon of water will cost more than a gallon of Jack Daniels?

IS IT TRUE when the people fear the Government we have Tyranny!  When the Government fears the people we have Liberty!

Todays“Readers Poll” question is: How many new members do you think will be on the 2019 City Council?

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This move helped Republicans maintain control of the Senate even gaining GOP support in November. That kicks off around noon eastern time with a reenactment following shortly after.

The 2018 Senate race in Indiana was a contentious battle between Donnelly and Braun and one of the most closely watched races around the nation as the balance of power shifted on Capitol Hill.

As Democrats take control of the House, Republicans are maintaining control of the Senate even gaining support during the 2018 election with Republican wins including candidates like Braun.

With all eyes on Capitol Hill, this week newly-elected lawmakers like Braun will be getting right to work right way in hopes of reopening the government.

Celebrating the holidays with friends and family the past few weeks was great, but I m tired, bloated and crabby.

The New Year is upon us! What a great opportunity to start fresh and resolve to do great things in 2019.

How about I share some resolutions I hope our political leaders will keep. Here s one: Federal government, please stop spending so much!

Spending is certainly out of control. Federal debt is up nearly $1.4 trillion the past year. That’s nearly $11,000 in debt per American household – nearly $4,200 per person. And as interest rates rise, the payments on our debt are skyrocketing.

I’ll tell you what else is skyrocketing: my family s health insurance premiums. My deductibles are so high, we’ll end up in the poorhouse if any of us gets sick. Hey, Democrats and Republicans, can you resolve to come up with a bipartisan solution for the massive cost of health insurance?

Regrettably, such reforms are not likely to occur. There is a growing chasm between Republicans and Democrats. As Republicans hope to undo Obamacare in the courts, more Democrats are supporting a single-payer government program. As more families suffer from high premiums and high deductibles, more Americans, according to Bloomberg, are warming to a Medicare for All concept.

They are?

Bloomberg says a Kaiser Family Foundation survey found last March that 59 percent of Americans favor the Medicare for All concept. Even when it was defined as a single-payer, federal program, 53 percent favored it. Some 75 percent favor a Medicare for All option if it lets people who have coverage keep their plans.

The way Obamacare allowed people to keep their plans? OK, if it’s unrealistic for our political leaders to spend less and improve health care, can they at least resolve to improve our public discourse?

Everyone has been hoping for that. Trump s supporters wish he would cool it with some of his tweets and his opponents are throwing around some heated language, too. With divided government in 2019, it appears discourse is going to get worse, not better.

Look, so much is at stake. We want our political leaders to work with each other to address our problems. We want them to end this silly government shutdown. Don t all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, want them to knock off the nasty politics and address our spending, health care, infrastructure, and immigration reform challenges?

I wish that were the case. USA Today reports that the only thing all Americans can agree upon is that our country is incredibly divided. Our politicians reflect our division. Again, look at health care. Republicans want market-based reforms that they hope will drive insurance premiums down. Democrats want the polar opposite: more government control. Or look at the Trump investigations. A majority of Republicans want them to end, but a majority of Democrats want the incoming House-majority Democrats to investigate more! Government gridlock, here we come!

For goodness’ sake!

It’s a bit odd that so many Americans are so unhappy about so many things when a lot of things are going very well for our country. The economy is doing well. Wages are rising. Sure, we’ve got challenges, but its too bad we can t count some of our blessings as we address them.

Sure, were blessed, but after chatting with you I feel even more tired, bloated and crabby.

FOOTNOTE: TThis article was posted by the City-County Observer without bias, opinion or editing.

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Commentary: 2018: It Never Occurred To Me To Leave, And Decide What Can Be Left Behind

January 2, 2019

By Michael Leppert

I write about the New Year every year. It’s easy for me. I often write about making changes of some kind, that is when I’m not simply issuing some sort of complaint.

But 2018 served up far too much material for guys who write what I write. Maybe it’s a good thing the year is ending. Endings can often be viewed as beginnings too, though. If you try.

 

“Speed Trap Town” is a new favorite song of mine by Jason Isbell. It tells a story about a small town man whose father is dying, and how that ending enables him to think about living the rest of his life differently. Until his dad’s death appeared imminent, the son had assumed he would always live and die, in the same small town his father had.

Isbell sings: “It never did occur to me to leave.”  I heard that simple sentence the first time at his show this summer at White River State Park, and it has been on my mind since.

What things exist in each of our lives that we should seriously consider leaving?  Whether they are places, jobs, habits, relationships, etc., we all have some.  Too often, it seems we live our lives burdened by these make-believe rules and routines, never realizing we don’t have to be. The happiest people I know do this the least. While breaking this cycle may sound monumentally difficult, think about it. It is often a simple choice.

The song sums up the dilemma with this simple action: “…decide…if there’s anything that can’t be left behind.”

I have spent the holiday season in Hawaii. In the islands, there are grocery stores that are “bag free” and restaurants that are “straw free.” You know, to reduce plastic and garbage. I was in a car with a native Hawaiian who talked about climate change with an almost angry tone, saying “that crap is bleaching our precious coral.”

It’s easier for me to fall in line with the local environmental sentiment while spending time in an island paradise. But I’m also a homer. I see the beauty in Indiana. The way bags, straws and other plastics are polluting our planet matters in the heartland too. Though for many, it never did occur to us to leave our apparent dependence on those things behind. It could. And it should.

Our federal government is in the midst of a partial shutdown over a budget impasse rooted in our different views related to our southern border. It’s purely a political disagreement. It saddens me. Our president lacks the humanity necessary to see the situation clearly. His followers are prone to follow that lead. And folks like me are so baffled by their view that we are having trouble communicating.

I vividly recall the meanest, angriest things I have done in my life. I regret all of them. Our nation will as well. I refuse to be quiet about this one. The border debate is about people. People who matter to me as much as any others.

The notion that America, and therefore Americans, should separate from the rest of the world because of some perceived inflated value in the “worth” of our individual citizens, is a concept more foreign to me than just about anything. I am convinced that people who actually believe they are worth more than people from the other side of a line are those who need to get out more.

My first impression of the value of anyone fighting for their lives to get here is high.

I travel more than most do and I have arrived in other countries by car, plane, and boat. Whether I was a “Yankee” when I arrived in Europe, or a “hole” (pronounced Holly) in Hawaii, I have been an outsider many times. Yes, even in America, like Hawaii. All people are different from one another, but none are worth more than any other. Period.

Thinking otherwise occurred to me as something that we should collectively leave. It is definitely something that can be left behind.

I can’t find who said it, but the definition of Hell has been described this way: “On your last day on Earth, the person you became will see the person you could have become.”

In 2018, it became clear that what America is becoming is a far cry from what it could become. It was founded so we could leave behind a past that needed leaving, and an optimism for what we should strive to be.

Let’s spend 2019 on that.

Michael Leppert is a public and governmental affairs consultant in Indianapolis and writes his thoughts about politics, government and anything else that strikes him.