By: Rick Davis
From the beginning I have said my campaign is about changing politics-as-usual in Evansville. Curt John’s endorsement of my opponent is about protecting the status quo. They both have a history of secret, backdoor meetings, including the one my opponent called in order to raise Vanderburgh County property taxes by $5.1 million. Winnecke and John served in silence after deciding to raise our property taxes without any public discussion or public input. It is further proof that the political insiders are circling the wagons to try to make sure one of their own succeeds the incumbent mayor and that the open government I have pledged never sees the light of day. But I believe voters recognize that the time has come for real change at City Hall.
After this story broke, instead of making changes in state law to ensure no other community in the state will ever go through this situation again, our local politicians responded by pointing fingers and passing blame. I am the only person who has proposed a solution to ensure this scenario NEVER happens to any Hoosier community again. I have sent a letter to my state representative, my state senator, and our governor, asking that the local homestead credit become an automatic credit unless it is voted down in public. As your mayor, I will drive to Indianapolis in 2012 to ensure the proposed change in law passes in order to protect our homeowners from this type of secret, backdoor government.
