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Rick Davis Statement on Public Discussion Regarding the Fate of Lloyd Pool

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Rick Davis

OCT. 20, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EVANSVILLE, IN — Democratic Party Mayoral Candidate Rick Davis blasted Republican Lloyd Winnecke on Thursday for continuing a theme of avoiding public discussion regarding decisions affecting Evansville taxpayers.

“My opponent continues to make important decisions concerning taxpayers without asking for any public input whatsoever,” said Davis, who is the current Vanderburgh County Treasurer. “Additionally, he also continues to distort the truth about my plans for important community facilities such as Lloyd Pool and Roberts Stadium.

“I have said all along on both of these important community facilities that we need to have a community discussion to decide the ultimate fate of both Lloyd Pool and Roberts Stadium,” Davis added. “Today, my opponent has made it clear that he has already decided what’s best for all of us, without asking for any public input. That is not how the Davis administration will conduct business.”

Davis said Winnecke has a history of making decisions without any public input, including the April 1, 2008, homestead credit meeting when a bi-partisan decision was made to raise 46,000 Vanderburgh County homeowners’ property taxes by $5.1 million.

Winnecke Releases Campaign Finance Report

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Lloyd Winnecke

Winnecke Releases Campaign Finance Report

Lloyd Winnecke released his pre-election campaign finance report today showing he had raised $658,118.70 since beginning his campaign. Winnecke said that with well over 674 individual donors, he is pleased with the grassroot support.

“I remain extremely grateful for the outpouring of support my campaign has received from families in Evansville,” said Winnecke. “It’s not the total raised that’s gratifying to me, but the number of individuals who are willing to support our effort. It’s clear that residents are responding to our message of job creation and positive change.”

Other key highlights of the report:

Number of individual donors: 674
Number of donations from entities or political committees: 125
Percentage of total raised from individuals: 72.4%
Winnecke immediately put all of the final campaign finance report on his website at www.WinneckeForMayor.com. “It’s important that voters see where candidates draw their support and I call upon my opponent to also make his reports available for public inspection,” he said.

Winnecke is the first Evansville municipal candidate to make his campaign finance reports publicly available online.

The full report is available on the following link:

Winnecke Campaign Pre-Election-Report-Oct-14-2011

The top 10 donors in the report are as follows:

Ziemer, Ted C. Jr: $17,622.47
Helfert, John & Sue: $15,000.00
Olbank Pac: $13,000.00
Schroeder, John C.: $11,000.00
McCarthy, Burkley F & Sharon R: $11,000.00
Bootz, Genevieve E: $11,000.00
Hinton, Michael: $11,000.00
Jones, Steven: $10,600.00
Lochmueller, Keith: $10,500.00
Koch, Robert L II: $8,500.00

Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, ‘You’re Headed For A One-Term Presidency’

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The much anticipated biography of Steve Jobs is not yet available for purchase but the author Walter Isaacson is beginning to give a few hints about what will be included. Isaacson shared in a recent interview some of the interactions between Mr. Jobs and President Obama on the subjects of business and education along with American competitiveness.

Jobs, was known for his prickly, stubborn personality, almost missed meeting President Obama in the fall of 2010 because he insisted that the president personally ask him for a meeting. Though his wife told him that Obama “was really psyched to meet with you,” Jobs insisted on the personal invitation, and the standoff lasted for five days. When he finally relented and they met at the Westin San Francisco Airport, Jobs was characteristically blunt. He seemed to have transformed from a liberal into a conservative.

“You’re headed for a one-term presidency,” he told Obama at the start of their meeting, insisting that the administration needed to be more business-friendly. As an example, Jobs described the ease with which companies can build factories in China compared to the United States, where “regulations and unnecessary costs” make it difficult for them.

Jobs also criticized America’s education system, saying it was “crippled by union work rules,” noted Isaacson. “Until the teachers’ unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform.” Jobs proposed allowing principals to hire and fire teachers based on merit, that schools stay open until 6 p.m. and that they be open 11 months a year.

Aiding Obama’s Reelection Campaign

Jobs suggested that Obama meet six or seven other CEOs who could express the needs of innovative businesses — but when White House aides added more names to the list, Jobs insisted that it was growing too big and that “he had no intention of coming.” In preparation for the dinner, Jobs exhibited his notorious attention to detail, telling venture capitalist John Doerr that the menu of shrimp, cod and lentil salad was “far too fancy” and objecting to a chocolate truffle dessert. But he was overruled by the White House, which cited the president’s fondness for cream pie.

Though Jobs was not that impressed by Obama, later telling Isaacson that his focus on the reasons that things can’t get done “infuriates” him, they kept in touch and talked by phone a few more times. Jobs even offered to help create Obama’s political ads for the 2012 campaign. “He had made the same offer in 2008, but he’d become annoyed when Obama’s strategist David Axelrod wasn’t totally deferential,” writes Isaacson. Jobs later told the author that he wanted to do for Obama what the legendary “morning in America” ads did for Ronald Reagan.

FUNNY FRIDAY: “Penguin Thief”

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Motivational speaker Dr. Samuel Betances to lecture October 24 @ USI

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Motivational speaker Dr. Samuel Betances will present “The Manifestation of Dreams” at 7 p.m. Monday, October 24, in Carter Hall in University Center West. The hour-long lecture will be followed by a question and answer period and a meet and greet session and poster signing. Betances’s lecture is free and open to the public.

As a biracial, bicultural, and bilingual citizen of the world, Betances has worked in all 50 states, all six U.S. territories, and in various countries including Japan, Korea, Germany and Mexico. He inspires willing learners to aim high, reject rejection, and embrace themselves and each other as powerful team members working toward a more prosperous future.

Read more about Dr. Samuel Betances here.

Betance’s visit to USI is sponsored by Latinos Unidos (the Hispanic Student Union) and the Multicultural Center with additional funding from a Provost Programming Grant and a Student Government Association Programming Grant.

IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Special Evening Edition

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Long May this Wave

IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011

IS IT TRUE that today is a good day to be a citizen of the United States of America, a nation of laws and a nation the people can at least can agree the words “liberty and justice for all” are sacred and worth pursuing even when we don’t get it perfect?…that we elect our leaders and have never had a leader rise to the Presidency by the use of force?…that there are shenanigans with ballots, a dead person or two may cast a vote, and a chad may hang, but overall our constitution is designed very well?…that when we depart from our constitution that it usually is exposed and the pendulum swings back toward the ideals on which our nation was founded?

IS IT TRUE that the reason this is on the CCO’s mind today is because Moarmar Khadafi was finally found today and was disposed of as regimes that are born from oppression often are by the violent spilling of more blood?…that Khadafi rose to power with an iron fist and bloodshed and he fell from power the same way?…that between iPhones with cameras and the internet anyone who has been curious has already seen the last minutes of Khadafi?…that the public humiliation of a dead body is something that can only happen in a place where “liberty and justice for all” is neither the law nor the spirit of the land?…that Khadafi has now joined Saddam Hussein, and Mussolini as people who learned the hard way what can happen when your own people turn on you?…that we wish the Libyan people a rapid transition to a desired and stable form of government and a quick recovery from years of oppression?

IS IT TRUE that today we are thankful for our Republic and for the privilege to change our governing officials at the ballot box as opposed to at the end of a rope or the muzzle of a gun?…that as long as we take the time to think about our choices at the ballot box, to commit our Bill of Rights to memory, and maintain our ability and willingness to defend our freedoms we shall never see the day when the United States of America is reduced to barbarism to change leaders?

IS IT TRUE that Libya is a very rich country when it comes to natural resources?…that we and the other powers of the western world would be well served to cooperate to establish trade with the nation of Libya in a mutually beneficial way as rapidly as the provisional government of Libya will allow us to?

IS IT TRUE that speaking of establishing trade we have had several messages today from people who are of the opinion that there are no bids available to bid on with respect to the Ford Center?…that we actually believe that there is a process by which companies can bid for any remaining work that is needed for the Ford Center or any other City of Evansville project?…available projects are published frequently and that we encourage whomever sent that message to give it a shot?…that if this person runs into obstacles that we are as always interested in hearing about these obstacles?…that we know of several members of the Evansville City Council who are very passionate about doing whatever is possible so that small local firms are able to not only bid but to win and prosper from being a part of the public works process?

Board of Zoning Meeting for today Cancelled: No Quorum

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THE FOLLOWING MEETING IS CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF A QUORUM

Time 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Subject BOARD OF ZONING
Location 301
Recurrence Occurs the third Thursday of every 1 month effective 10/20/2011 until 10/20/2011 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Reminder 15 minutes
KATHIE @ 5228
Categories ROOM 301

Winnecke Pledges not to close Lloyd Pool

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Lloyd Winnecke

In a statement to the media Republican candidate for Mayor of Evansville, Lloyd Winnecke has pledged not to close the Lloyd Pool on the north side and to go ahead with the nearly $200,000 in repairs that were recently approved in the City of Evansville’s 2012 budget.

Citing an increase in admissions in 2011 and the importance of maintaining public swimming facilities Mr. Winnecke issued the following statement.

Winnecke_Lloyd_Pool_Release

IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Just What is Job Creation

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IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Just What is Job Creation

IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday that Berry Plastics will be closing down its facility in Madisonville, KY and that the 124 jobs in that plant will be either eliminated or transferred to other Berry locations?…that we are sure that the executive team at Berry Plastics has carefully considered what is best for their business model and that at the present time and based on future projections that this decision is right for Berry Plastics?…that about 20 jobs will be added at the former Rexam facility in Vanderburgh County that was acquired by Berry about 6 weeks ago?…that Madisonville, KY while not within the defined Evansville MSA is very much a part of the Evansville region of economic influence and that many of the dollars earned by those 124 people would have been destined for Evansville retail establishments, Evansville based entertainment, and Evansville health care facilities?…that the net employment in Vanderburgh County will soon be plus 20 yet the Evansville region will see a change of minus 104?…that Evansville’s small gain is at the expense of Madisonville’s large loss?

IS IT TRUE that if this restructuring would have occurred as a result of the closing of a facility that is more than 100 miles away that today we would be treated with smiling politicians and economic developers claiming to have created 20 jobs?…that if we are as a country all in this together that such celebrations should never take place and the disingenuous claims of “creating” jobs from conditions more conducive to economic cannibalism should be seen as just what it is, political posturing?…that a similar no gain situation occurs when a foot doctor from Newburgh moves his or her office to Evansville?…that unless that move results in additional business and hiring that the net change to the MSA is a great big zero?…that expansions from other places is fair game for celebration and that our gain is also a gain for the home office?…that we wonder just how many of the jobs that have ever been claimed as “created” were really just moved from one place to the other?…that we have been treated to this locally when the Ford Center is touted for jobs “created” when it really just moved those jobs from Roberts Stadium to the downtown?… that this is SNEGAL reporting and that even a kid can figure this one out?

IS IT TRUE that the Board of Zoning Committee that was scheduled to meet at 4 PM today will not be having a quorum?…that the possibility to pass something that will allow for a pole barn indoor tennis facility in Wesselman Park has just been punted until November 17, 2011?…that this is safely beyond election day so the threat of votes will not be able to be used by opponents of the indoor tennis facility this time around?…that we are still gathering information with regard to SNEGAL or even SNEILLEGAL shenanigans regarding the scheduling of meetings to discuss the requirements to even consider moving forward with the current proposal?

IS IT TRUE that the Bank of America is no longer the largest bank in America from an asset management perspective?…that all of the stunts that they have pulled including the recent $5 charge per month for debit cards is catching up to them?…that is what happens in the FREEMARKET where COMPETITION flourishes and consumers have a choice?…that we predict that the Bank of America will be backing off of the $5 per month fees soon?…that if the Bank of America had a monopoly that they would raise the fees to $10 and tell its fee payers to go pound salt?

Rick Davis Releases October 11th Letter to the IURC Regarding Vectren

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Rick Davis

Oct. 11, 2011

Dear Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission:

Recently Vectren Energy Delivery announced its intention to request a fee increase charged to its residential customers. The fee increase is proposed to pay for a $32 million project at its power plant in Posey County, which is designed to increase efficiency in the the coal-fired generating plant.

Vectren already has the highest rates in the state of Indiana and their demand for a guaranteed 7.3% return is unrealistic in today’s economy. Families are struggling to make ends meet. Many people simply cannot afford yet another fee hike. Vectren’s rates are significantly higher than the second-place Indiana utility.

I also question the “fairness” of the proposed fee hike. “Why should the person living in an apartment or small house be asked to assume the same burden as someone living in a mansion? It is simply not fair. The person in the mansion benefits more from the use of less coal than the person in an apartment.

I feel that Vectren’s high rates are undermining Evansville’s competitiveness as a place to live and do business. Vectren’s rates have been escalating for the past decade to the level that they are significantly higher than our neighboring cities. It is time to put the brakes on this alarming trend because it is undercutting our ability to attract new business to Evansville.

Please let me know when the IURC will hold hearings for Vectren’s proposed fee increase. I also ask that you hold any such fee or rate increase hearing in the City of Evansville so our residents can testify without having to drive more than 3 hours to Indianapolis.

You may phone me at (812) 598-7123 or email me at pickrickdavis@mac.com if you have any information concerning the proposed Vectren fee hike. I also submitted this request via email.

Sincerely,

Rick Davis
2233 Bismark Ave.
Evansville, IN 47720

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