We always believe that voting is important, but the City Election this Tuesday, November 3 may be one of the most important ones we have held in years. Evansville is at a crossroads and what happens in the next four years may dictate whether or not we remain a functioning and financially solvent entity. For that reason, the City-County Observer is offering our observations about the candidates you will choose from in a pivotal election for our great city.
In the City Council-At-Large race, we can vote for three candidates out of the six who are listed on the ballot. The first is Democrat Dr. H. Dan Adams, who we expect to cruise to reelection. Dr. Adams is the current President of City Council and was instrumental in bringing the IU Medical School to Old Downtown. He has done a credible job in representing our interests and is worth your consideration.
The second name to appear on the At-Large ballot is that of another Democrat, Alex Burton. Mr. Burton has run an energetic campaign and is a breath of fresh air as a candidate for the City Council. For someone so young, he brings more experience to the job than many candidates twice his age. He has worked on the staff of two (2) United States Congressmen and was intern for Mayor Jonathan Winezapfel and understands the nuances of the job of being an elected official. Mr. Burton’s educational background is extremely impressive,  he has Bachelor degree in Public Relations and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Alex has publicly made a firm commitment to building consensus and finding compromise with other members of council. If elected, we predict that Alex will be a positive force on City Council.
Republican Michelle Mercer is the third name on the At-Large ballot. No newcomer to politics, she has unsuccessfully sought public office several times before.  She has stated publicly that she is committed to the tax and spend agenda of our current Mayor.  She has ran an aggressive but positive campaign.  She is likable and If elected we hope she will be her own person.
We wish we had seen more of the Libertarian candidate, Robert Myers. While third-party candidates have a tough battle most of the time to be elected, we wonder if his presence on City Council might make more of the community feel as if they have a independent thinking representative in the Civic Center.
When it was revealed that Republican Jack Schriber has admitted engaging in a 2 year sexual relationship with an underaged male student during his years as a teacher, he withdrew his candidacy. However, it’s too late to remove his name from the ballot, so if he is one of the top three vote-getters, it will be up to the Republican caucus to elect a replacement for him.  We highly recommend that you bypass his name on the ballot.
The final name on the At-Large ballot is Democrat Jonathan Weaver. During his first four-year term, Mr. Weaver has conducted his personal life in such a way that causes us to doubt that he’s worthy of being re-elected to Council.  Councilman Weaver has also stated that he would vote to increase the Local Option Income Tax if re-elected to Council. The Republicans chose not to run a third At-Large candidate, as Mr. Weaver is totally dedicated (rubber stamp) to the current Mayor’s tax and spend agenda for the City.
The First Ward is a contested race, and we again wish we had seen more of the Libertarian candidate, Bart Gadau. He is challenging incumbent and liberal Republican, Dan McGinn. Traditionally the First Ward has been strongly Republican, and the Democrats often fail to field a challenger there. We believe that the newly-drawn boundaries make the First Ward winnable for a conservative Democrat, but one is not running. We wouldn’t be upset if Mr. Gadau was elected  to this seat simply because we believe McGinn’s condescension to constituents is not good for the First Ward or the City in general. Also McGinn has publicly stated if elected to a second term he is going to propose to increase our local Option Income Tax which causes us major concern because too many Evansvillians are already struggling to get by.
There is no contest in the Second Ward because of a back room political deal between the Democrats and Republicans. Democrat Missy Mosby will retain the seat she now holds after barely squeaking past Steve Davis in the primary by fifteen votes. It’s obvious that if Ms. Mosby had an anti-tax and spend Republican running against her she would have been in bone fide re-election battle of her political career.  Like her close friend and business associate (both work at Tucker Realty),  Jonathan Weaver,  she has been “on board†with Lloyd Winnecke’s tax and spend agenda from day one.
In the Third Ward, the Republican Anna Hargis-CPA  has waged a very energetic campaign.  She is smart and personable.  However, we are concerned that she is totally committed to the Winnecke future tax and spend vision for Evansville. We hope this doesn’t mean that Hargis will be a rubber stamp for the Mayors tax and spend agenda . The 3rd Ward boundaries have been redrawn in such a way that it has added some traditionally Republican areas. The Democrat in the race is Mrs. Anna Melcher, who is a very independent, intelligent and extremely outspoken candidate. We will be interested to see if changes in the 3rd Ward boundaries will have an effect on the traditionally Democrat ward’s election outcomes. We believe that either of the “two Annas†would do a fine job in representing the concerns that are brought to them by constituents.
The Fourth Ward’s four term Democratic incumbent, Connie Robinson, is being challenged by Independent Henrietta Jenkins. We believe the hardworking and effective Central City advocate Connie Robinson will have no difficulty soundly defeating her challenger. Ms. Jenkins has waged a non-issue campaign based on bitter personal attacks about Mrs. Robinson’s hard-earned financial success in life, and we have no reason to believe that Ms. Jenkins has any potential to do a job for the Fourth Ward that compares to the one Connie continually does for her constituents.
The Fifth Ward is shaping up to be a close contest, although it is a heavily Republican area. Democrat Tom Shoulders and Republican Justin Elpers both have strong backing among members of their parties. Mr. Shoulders is a firefighter at the airport and Mr. Elpers is a teacher at Harrison. Either of the men, in our opinion, will do a good job on City Council.
The Democrat in the Sixth Ward, James Brinkmeyer, is unopposed as the result of the same behind-the-scenes deal making between the parties that gave Missy Mosby an uncontested race. We hope that the untested Mr. Brinkmeyer will represent the Sixth Ward well.
We believe that the voters are being shortchanged by back room deals between the parties that allow so many “uncontested” seats. We also want to remind those who would ordinarily vote a “single punch” straight Republican ticket, that unless they want to vote for Jack Schriber, they must go through the ballot and punch individual candidates’ names.
FOOTNOTE: We have shared our thoughts with you, Â we are inviting you to take part in our unscientific poll but trendy “Readers Poll” Â tell us who do you “endorse” as the next Mayor of Evansville.
