Dear City County Observer Editor, 
Dr. Dan Adams and Attorney Conor O’Daniel have proven their value to our city government as the most educated, respected and experienced law makers on City Council and in the field for the At-Large positions in the Democratic Primary on May 5, 2015
Dr. Adams has served for almost eight years and demonstrated time and again his pragmatic, compassionate and honest leadership. He currently holds the positon of City Council President and brings both a medical degree from Harvard University and Master of Business Administration from Washington University to the table. His consistent leadership and ability to work across the aisle with the current administration has been essential to the City winning the IU Medical Center for its downtown. His work with others to develop a team training concept brought the University of Evansville, the University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College into the project and will ultimately lead to 2,000 students learning and potentially living in Evansville’s downtown.
Dr. Adams’ career as a heart surgeon taught him the value of a learned approach to his decisions. His quiet and encouraging leadership took a City Council reeling from internal conflict and brought back its integrity as a body. He has demonstrated his ability to work with each member of City Council with a hands-off approach to their projects and has supported bringing each and every initiative to a vote whether he ultimately agreed with the measure. His leadership, education and experience are essential to the body functioning to its fullest potential going forward. He embodies the role of the At-Large Representative and is widely respected within all sects and demographics of the Evansville community. He must be re-elected on May 5, 2015.
Conor O’Daniel has served for nearly four years, and is in his second year as the City Council Finance Chairman. His thoughtful and policy driven approach to issues has proven essential to the effectiveness of the legislative body. He brings with him the experience of being a small business owner and is the managing partner of the law firm that bears his name. He has been licensed to practice law in Indiana for more than 15 years, and holds a Doctorate of Law degree from the top tier law school, Indiana University.Â
Attorney O’Daniel has also demonstrated his ability to work with Republicans and Democrats alike both on City Council and with the current City Administration. His bravery and honesty was most notably shown when he was the first City Councilmember to question the size of the downtown hotel subsidy. He was the first one to say that he could not support a $38.5 million bond and played a critical role during the weekend negotiations when the Administration and City Council agreed to reduce the City’s debt to $20 million. He has been the first Finance Chairman in the recent past to truly stand up for budget cuts and outline where the City was overspending. When threatened with an opponent or reduced support from special interest groups, he held his ground and persisted in the need to do the right thing for the taxpayers.Â
There is no other member of City Council now or in the running that could adequately replace Mr. O’Daniel as the Finance Chairman. It is essential that he be re-elected to continue the work of bringing the City’s spending more in line with its revenue.Â
These men range in age from early 40s to early 70s, but age is not necessarily an indicator of drive or energy. They have what it takes to lead this City. It has been demonstrated by these two truly professional gentlemen, time and time again.Â
Voters on May 5, 2015 may vote for three At-Large Candidates but only two truly matter to the ability of this community to move forward. Please join me in sending these two leaders back to City Council. Your vote is critical to our progress as a community.
Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley
3rd Ward City Councilwoman
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