17 pages of activity today. We guess the rain inspired some crime

EPD Activity Report April 27 2011

Today the Gallup Organization and Healthways released the findings of a 2010 study of the shape of the 188 official Metropolitan Areas in the United States. The study found that in 174 of the 188 MSA’s that over 20% of the population is considered obese. The Evansville/IN-KY MSA was fingered as being the most obese MSA in America with a whopping 37.8% obesity rate. The top 10 MSA’s for obesity are as follows:

1. Evansville, IN-KY 37.8%
2. Hagerstown MD-WV 36.5%
3. Huntington-Ashland WV-KY-OH 34.6%
4. McAllen, TX 34.5%
5. Reading, PA 33.8%
6. Montgomery, AL 33.4%
7. Harrisburg, PA 33.0%
8. Cedar Rapids, IA 32.9%
9. Shreveport, LA 32.5%
10. Beaumont, TX 32.4%

On the other end of the scale (no pun intended) the leanest 10 MSA’s are as follows:

1. Boulder, CO 12.9%
2. Fort Collins, CO 16.5%
3. Provo, UT 17.0%
4. Honolulu, HA 17.6%
5. Thousand Oaks, CA 17.8%
6. Bradenton, FL 18.0%
7. Naples, FL 18.1%
8. San Francisco, CA 18.2%
9. Santa Barbara, CA 18.6%
10. Bridgeport, CT 19.3%

Some other findings in the report are that diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are significantly higher in obese states, that healthy lifestyles are less prevalent in obese states, that healthcare costs are higher, workplace productivity is lower, and that the population is less happy.

The entire report is available on the following link.

Obesity Study

IS IT TRUE that mercifully the rain seems to have stopped for a day of sunshine and cleanup after one of the most persistence deluges that this area has ever seen?…that the Ohio River in Evansville is this morning at 46 feet and 1 inch?…that at approximately a level of 48 feet real problems start to happen?…that the level has risen exactly 6 inches in the last 18 hours?…that at that rate of rising that we are just under 72 hours from being at 48 feet?…that the projection of the crest is that the rate of rise will decrease and that the river at Evansville will crest at slightly under 47 feet sometime on Saturday?…that examining the other stations on the Ohio River both upstream and downstream of Evansville that every station within 100 miles is either a red or purple (moderate flood or major flood)?…that 48 feet is when classification goes to moderate flood and that 52 feet means a major flood?…that the good design and flow regulation of the Army Corps of Engineers is essentially regulating the river to keep the populated area Evansville below 48 feet?…that the Corps of Engineers is to be honored and thanked for this service?

IS IT TRUE that the Corps of Engineers can do a very good job of calculating and regulating water once it gets into the river but that it has no ability to deal with the runoff from creeks and streams?…that the real danger to Evansville is Pigeon Creek swelling further from runoff water or from additional rain?…that is the Corps can keep the river in check and the rains do not return that we will in all likelihood avoid a crest above 48 feet?

IS IT TRUE that there has yet to be any of the flood gates that are installed into the levee positioned for installation?…that the CCO has gotten some conflicting information regarding the locations of these essential gates?…that one source says that the gates have been misplaced and that there is a keystone cops scenario going on trying to locate them?…that another source says some gates have been found but that the connecting mechanisms that are required for the gates to function are missing?…that a very well placed and competent Mole #113 tells us that irrespective of what is missing and what is not that the hardware has not been maintained or tested in several years and that there may be problems with it?…that a shiny new car that is mothballed for many years will probably not start after that long a period of dormancy?…that no public official has come forward to reassure the people of Evansville through a public statement that the gates, the connectors, and the expertise is standing by poised to install the gates if needed?…that we also hear that the job of installing all of the gates is an all hands on deck job that will take a full day without glitches?

IS IT TRUE that the upcoming murder trial of Jeffrey Weisheit is budgeted to cost Vanderburgh County a total of $250,000?…that the cost of justice has gone up since the days of Wyatt Earp?…that justice, healthcare, gasoline, energy, food, etc. seem to be escalating greatly during the last days of this recession?…that even Vectren is getting a raise as the IURC granted Vectren and increase yesterday of about 9% which will add just over $10 to an average monthly bill?…that now Evansville will have electric rates that are 214% higher than Henderson’s up from the 188% premium we had to pay before this increase?…that electricity is the only thing we can think of that cannot be purchased remotely?…that Indiana needs a competitive landscape for electrical rates to be competitive for JOBS?...that we wonder if the Easter Parrots (candidates for office) would like to opine on how it makes any sense for a commodity to be sold at a 214% premium by crossing a bridge to another state?…that only borders between countries are typically used to milk people with protectionist schemes?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer encourages all of our readers to enjoy a day of sunshine, to help a neighbor, and the silver lining is that maybe this flood will spur the people of Evansville into a cleaning mode that will speed up the eradication of litter?

EPD Activity Report April 27 2011 Supplement

IS IT TRUE that Mole #3 predicts that the Vanderburgh County Commissioners will approve a Declaration of a State of Emergency for all of Vanderburgh County tonight?…that Mole #113 states that the gates to the entrances to the city have not been tested for nearly 10 years?

IS IT TRUE that the water level at the intersection of Pigeon Creek and First Avenue is only 22 inches below the road just after the bridge and next to Kleymeyer Park?…that the combination of the water level, today’s rains, the even heavier rains upstream from Evansville, and the blockages at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi could make for a rapidly rising situation for our water levels?…that we are sure that the Army Corps of Engineers will do their best to make sure that urban areas with low populations are used to hold water to the fullest extent before allowing the levels to really get out of hand in populated areas like Evansville?…that the people of Evansville may just owe a debt of gratitude to Newburgh and Shawneetown where flood levels are over 10 feet above flood stage?

IS IT TRUE that the place where the flood gates are to be inserted if needed do not appear to be poised for use as the brand spanking new gate supports down by Casino Aztar are?…that the gates that need to be located and tested are not the brand new gates down by Aztar?…that the gates that need to be tested and poised for deployment are the 1942 gates that were designed and built as a result of the 1937 flood that our questions are regarding?…that there are over 20 such sets of gates at the entrances to the City of Evansville where floodwall breaches were needed for transportation purposes?…that a tour of a good number of these levee breach locations did not yield even one single location where any apparent gate deployment has been done?…that we have been warned that the Ohio River at Evansville could rise as much as 6 additional feet?…that this is a lot more than 22 inches and that the gates will most certainly be needed if this occurs?…that we had all best hope that the river does not rise any more and that the gates will be located and placed in a maintenance program for future needs?

IS IT TRUE that Memphis Minnie and Joe McCoy wrote a song called “When the Levee Breaks” that was the inspiration for the Led Zeppelin classic by the same name?…that you can hear the original version by Memphis Minnie below?

IS IT TRUE that the version most of you have familiarity with is below:

EPD Activity Report April 26 2011

City County Observer Readers Respond

As part of our December reflection period, we at the City County Observer solicited our readers opinions on the 10 most significant things that we need to get right in 2011 and how those things will impact day to day life for the people of Evansville. Our readers have nominated a list of 18 items that they hope to see come out favorable for the people of Evansville in the next year. The top 10 were chosen based on the frequency in which our readers suggested each item and on how realistic the probability is that this will be able to be done well.

THE TOP TEN

The 2011 City Elections: The entire City of Evansville slate of elected officials is up for election next year. It is expected that unlike the election of 2007 when Team Weinzapfel dominated the ballots that nearly every office will have serious contestants vying for office. The public’s discontentment with government’s performance of the past four years in many ways reflects the illusion of an 85% mandate that having weak opposition created in 2007.

For the first time in 30 years the elections for the governance of the City of Evansville appears uncertain in most offices. Only Dan McGinn and Connie Robinson seem invincible on the City Council and the race for Mayor of Evansville is really turning into a race that anyone can win. Will 2011 be the year that Republicans take back the Mayor’s office and control of the City Council? For the first time in a long time that is a possibility.

What constitutes getting it right? From a City Council perspective right is a council of nine independent thinkers who have both the curiosity and awareness of what it takes to get Evansville on track to perform minimally at national averages in all economic categories. Party affiliation is not important and should not be a yardstick when choosing who to vote for. The best City Council will be a smart principled City Council with a 5 – 4 party make-up. Which party? It does not matter as long as the partisan block of 5 who seem to vote in unison is stopped.

An Evansville for the next Decade Plan: Other cities had plans for the decade that just ended and Evansville did not follow any plan whatsoever. The most recent Downtown Master Plan still shows a baseball stadium where “the District” is and shows no Arena. The time for planning is now and the time for winging it must end. It is also time to engage in comprehensive planning with attention paid to economics, lifestyle, attractiveness, and competitiveness of the entire city not just the downtown.

Evansville has many plans going back to the 1960’s that seem to provide nice fat checks for out of town consulting firms and become dust gathering paperweights afterward. Is it possible for our current City of Evansville leadership to put together a plan for the decade that is both achievable and desirable? 2011 will tell us that answer.

Civic Beautification: Will 2011 be the year that Evansville finally embarks on a program that instills enough civic pride in our citizens that they will stop littering and start cleaning? This has been a problem for half a century with no solution in sight. The solution is for every person to stop littering and pick up 3 pieces of litter each day for all of 2011. If this simple plan happens at the end of the year the problem will be solved and it will be FREE.

Come on Evansville, LET’S GET PRETTY!

The Hiring of a new Executive Director for the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau: Let us all cross our fingers that everything that needs to be done to hire someone to this position can happen in 2011. We continue to tout our attractiveness, our favorable, weather, and our facilities as things that are great for tourists. Let 2011 be the year that the board of directors of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau figures out who to hire and convinces their funding entities to allow them to do so.

CSO Plan for EPA: Through most of 2010 Evansville was suffering through daily fines from the EPA for consolidated sewer discharges into the Ohio River. Near the end of the year the Weinzapfel Administration reached an agreement with the EPA to abate the fines for a period of two years with the condition that a plan is in place to solve the problem by the fall of 2012.

This is a difficult and expensive plan to develop. We are not able to find even a penny in the 2011 budget to work on this plan. This is not the kind of task that can just be pushed off to the next administration. It is quite important that 2011 is the year in which much of the planning to solve the legacy problem of CSO’s needs to be completed. It can also be used as on chapter of the decade plan referred to above.

The MLK Entertainment Complex: Simple tasks here. First finish the Arena on time and on budget and have a knock the ball out of the park opening act and a sellout for the UE vs. IU game which UE will win. Secondly the convention hotel must be authorized, permitted, and well on the way to completion by the end of 2011.

Mental Health Services Improved: Evansville and Vanderburgh County continue to be among the leaders of the nation and even the world in suicide. This is not an outlier as this troubling statistic has haunted us now for more than 5 years. Coroner Annie Groves has done a great job of promoting awareness during 2010 and it seems to have sunk in to the collective psyche of the people that we have spoken with. After over five years we finally seem to accept that this is a real problem. Let’s make 2011 a year that the awareness continues and some solutions start being formulated and implemented.

Improving the mental health services may even lead to a reversal in the arson rate which has soared during the last several years and to beginning to reverse the acceleration of drug arrests, particularly meth which our region is seen as having a particular problem with.

Pay Scales: 2010 was defined and will be remembered to a very large extent as the year that the scheme to pay Tom Barnett a competitive wage was discovered and corrected. From a government perspective this problem of non-competitive wage scales needs to be corrected. The governance of the region and even the business base of the region need to get a handle on what national competitiveness means and adjust the pay schedules accordingly.

This effort should be led by the City of Evansville since it was the city that was exposed for having to circumvent the pay scales to be competitive. It says something about a place when it can’t compete nationally. It says something much worse when a place like Evansville can’t compete with small southern towns like Paducah, KY and Eustis, FL.

2011 needs to be the year that the pay scales of the City of Evansville, Vanderburgh County, and even some of our local businesses are updated from the 1980’s to 2011.

Consolidated Government: What constitutes getting this right? We are not sure what will make this right but we are sure that unless the people of the City of Evansville and the unincorporated parts of Vanderburgh County think that their opinion has some importance, consolidation is heading for defeat.

Consolidation votes have faced difficulty in every case when the population of the city and county is one sided in favor of the city. Evansville currently has a 2 to 1 population ratio advantage over the county. Other cities that have approved consolidation at the ballot box have typically had a 2 to 1 population ratio in favor of the county. Why is this the case? Typically, prior to consolidation the “city” is not doing so well and has experienced population losses and economic decline while the “county” is doing fine. When the population of the “county” is sufficiently large and to have both the economic capacity to absorb the “city” problems, then and only then does consolidation pass.

The case of a city in decline and a county on the rise are mirrored in Evansville and Vanderburgh County. If the consolidation committee does not produce a plan that convinces the county residents that consolidation will benefit them, this is headed for defeat. 2011 will be the year that definition is either done right or not.

Smoking Ordinance Revisited: 2010 saw a deadlock at the Evansville City Council on strengthening the smoking ordinance for the City of Evansville. That was one vote short of passage. The Vanderburgh County Commissioners lead by recently defeated Commissioner Troy Tornatta made this one of the first places in America with over 100,000 people to reverse a smoking ordinance.

Recent polls show that only 27% of the adult population of Evansville smokes and that only 19% oppose a strong ordinance to eliminate smoking in the workplace. Several City Council members asserted that their constituents overwhelmingly opposed a smoking ordinance in last year’s tie vote. Polls show that they were mistaken in their assertions.

The Vanderburgh County Commissioners are on record that they will pass a comprehensive smoking ordinance in early 2011. Some City Council members used the excuse that both the city and the county should be the same to justify not passing a smoking ordinance.

This will be an election issue in 2011. With numbers like only 27% smoke and only 19% oppose smoking ordinances the 2011 Evansville City Council members who wish to keep their jobs had better read those numbers closely when considering how to vote when this comes up again. Our prediction is that either the 2011 City Council will pass a stricter smoking ordinance or a new City Council will do so in early 2012.

HONORABLE MENTION

Vectren Rate Increase: Would have been top ten if it were something that local government could do something about. Paying 188% extra for a commodity on this side of the river defies reason. It is up to our state legislators and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to level this playing field.

The First Street Dilemma: Will the McCurdy and the Riverhouse continue to just sit there? This dilemma is interesting but not worthy of making the top ten. If we can live for 42 months with only words we can live for 12 more. Eventually the developer will either perform or the Evansville Redevelopment Commission will have to find another one.

Roberts Stadium: 2012 is the year to deal with Roberts.

Evansville Arena: Part of the entertainment complex referenced above. The Arena is not a stand-alone project as hopefully was learned in 2010 in what became the Executive Inn fiasco.

Evansville Housing Authority: Expect some fireworks there. Some think that the EHA in 2011 will join the ECVB of 2010, and GAGE of 2009 as non-profits that were plagued by political decisions from outside of the entity.

Kicking off the Arts District TIF: Still formative. Not yet a top 10 issue.

Front Door Pride: If the banks ever start acting like banks again we will find out if this is a viable program. Financially, it is certainly not viable to buy for $200,000 and sell for $100,000.

Downtown Parking: The spaces as have been asserted are within walking distance of the Arena. The test for convenience, clarity, and tolerance of the public begins when the Arena opens.

Gateways to Evansville: All of the gateways to the city are considered to be ugly by many readers. This did not make the top 10 list because it does not seem to be a problem that the City of Evansville has the vision or the financial capacity to repair.

IS IT TRUE that with four days remaining in April that the City County Observer has already set a new record for internet site traffic for any month since publishing began?…that the Community Observer may just double its previous best month?

IS IT TRUE that farmers are very industrious and hard working people?…that the government of the City of Darmstadt voted to take every measure to prevent Darmstadt from being annexed by Evansville through consolidation?…that Darmstadt is an incorporated farm community and reflects the views of farmers?…that farmers are not only industrious and hard working but that they basically invented consolidation?…that to have a co-op whether it is for chemical purchase and storage, grain storage, expensive equipment, raising a barn, or in selling contracts on agricultural products are all based on the same principle as consolidation of government?…that farmers enter into cooperative agreements many times on a handshake because they realize the IMMEDIATE TANGIBLE BENEFITS that cooperation brings?

IS IT TRUE that farmers in particular would be the first to recognize any IMMEDIATE TANGIBLE BENEFITS offered by consolidation of the governments of the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County?…that when some committee, someday innovates the long arm of government enough to show IMMEDIATE TANGIBLE GAINS to both the people of the City of Evansville and the people of Vanderburgh County, that this will be recognized and the farmers, their county neighbors, and the people of the city will approve consolidated government?…that until both sets of voters recognize the FINANCIAL BENEFITS of consolidation that there will be substantial resistance to moving forward?…that after over a year of tightly managed and non-risk taking crafting of a consolidation plan that there are no substantial benefits that have been identified to merit consolidation?…that three less elected officials and a clerk saves each and every resident of Vanderburgh County less than $1 and that $1 is not sufficient to assume the FINANCIAL RISKS associated with joining up with the debt laden and $500 Million sewer needing City of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau hired a law firm to advise them on the legality of their own policies and practices with respect to nominal gift cards, birthday lunches, and of course excessive Christmas parties?…that the that the law firm advised the ECVB had no guidelines in place and that they needed some guidelines?…that the law firm advised the ECVB to follow their codified mission according to state law?…that no policies were violated by anyone in the past?…that any thinking person over the age of 12 could have offered the ECVB the advice to craft some policies that are consistent with state law?…that the City County Observer is curious as to how much money the ECVB spent on legal advice that any lay person would have willingly offered for free?…that it would really be ironic if the legal fee to be told to “DO THE RIGHT THING” exceeded the cost of the Christmas Party that started the whole controversy in the first place?…that in 6th grade football practice a volunteer coach told us three things only about football and life?…his mantra was DO SOMETHING YOU LIKE, DO THE RIGHT THING, and DO YOUR BEST?…that we wonder where to send the bill for this simple but timeless advice that applies to everything that we do as a volunteer or for pay?

NEWS RELEASE

Type of Release: DNA leads to identity in 2004 Robbery
Date of Release: April 26, 2011
Approving Supervisor: Chief Brad Hill

Summary

In July of 2004 an armed robbery occurred at Indiana Downs 5480 E. Indiana St. The suspect is able to enter the business after it closes and detains the staff and night cleaning crew while he gains access to the money room. No one is present who can open the safe so they are forced at gunpoint to wait all night for the manager to arrive. In the morning the manager is forced to open the safe. The suspect flees with a significant amount of money. During the crime, the unknown B/M suspect asks for a drink and is given a glass of soda which he consumes (EPD offense 04-17290). This glass is later collected and swabbed for DNA by crime scene technicians. The DNA sample is entered into a national database with negative results.

In 2006 EPD was notified that the DNA that it submitted matched DNA that was submitted from a crime scene in Texas. Then in 2007 EPD was again notified about a match from a crime scene in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although we were aware of the matches, the identity of the suspect was still unknown.

Finally in April of 2011 EPD was notified that the DNA matched convicted offender sample belonging to Lloyd Eugene Rhodes. Rhodes is currently housed in a federal prison in Colorado.

The numerous crimes that Rhodes committed across the United States are detailed in a second attachment. Through the use of national databases and good investigative work, numerous robberies and burglaries were solved.

Timeline of Events:

Indiana Downs Robbery 04-17290

Time line for suspect Lloyd Eugene Rhodes:
06/?/03- An Armed robbery occurred at K.T.’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. A picture was obtained from a surveillance camera of the unknown B/M suspect.

07/26/04 – An armed robbery occurred at Indiana Downs 5480 E. Indiana St. Evansville, Indiana. The suspect is able to enter the business after it closes and detains the staff and night cleaning crew while he gains access to the money room. No one is present who can open the safe so they are forced at gunpoint to wait all night for the manager to arrive. In the morning the manager is forced to open the safe. The suspect flees with a significant amount of money. During the crime, the unknown B/M suspect asks for a drink and is given a glass of soda which he consumes (EPD offense 04-17290). This glass is later collected and swabbed for DNA by crime scene technicians. (04-17290 supp W. Schafer) Case assigned to Det. Kenny Taylor.

06/?/05 – An armed robbery occurred at Jillian’s Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. The B/M suspect was apprehended a short time later by responding patrol officers. He matched the photo of the 2003 restaurant robber. Suspect had no ID and gave the name Michael J. Dotson when arrested. $25,000 cash bond was posted before they were able to discover via fingerprints the suspect was actually Lloyd Eugene Rhodes. Suspect fled the state. Cases assigned to Det. Jerry Zehdner, Louisville Metro P.D.

08/22/05 – EPD notified DNA from drinking glass in Indiana Downs case was submitted to the Indiana DNA database with negative results.

08/22/05 – 12/05/05 – A series of six armed robberies occurred in Austin Texas at restaurants and bars. A B/M suspect gains entry either just before the business opens or just after they close. Cases assigned to Det. Miller, Austin Texas P.D.

10/14/05 – Austin Police assemble a suspect description, surveillance photo and an artist’s sketch on a flier that is sent to local bars/restaurants and media.

10/24/05 – An armed robbery occurred at a bar named The Pour House in Fort Worth, Texas. The B/M suspect gained entry to the business before they open and robbed the business and manager at gunpoint (Ft. Worth incident report 05-132505) Case assigned to Det. D. Darracq, Fort Worth Texas P.D.

12/06/05 – Austin Police update the restaurant robbery flier and redistribute it. The media picks up the story.

12/09/05 – Victim in Fort Worth from The Pour House robbery sees the flier from Austin P.D. about their restaurant/bar robberies. She identifies the photo and sketch as her assailant. She reports this to Det. Darracq.

12/09/05 – Detective Zehdner from Louisville Kentucky sees a news story about the Austin Texas restaurant robberies and recognizes Lloyd Rhodes aka: Michael Dotson and contacts Austin P.D. He supplies them with the suspect’s name, alias, other information and a mugshot.

12/09/05 – Det. Darracq contacts Austin P.D. inquiring about the flier his victim saw. He is supplied with the name and photo of Rhodes. Victim picks Lloyd Eugene Rhodes out of a photo line up. Darracq obtains a warrant for robbery. He finds out the suspect is wanted in Kentucky, Colorado and Kansas.

12/12/05 – Det. Darracq is contacted by Det. Acosta of Dallas P.D. She has two robberies from October 2005 with similar suspect description and similar M.O.

01/?/06 – U.S. Marshalls and F.B.I. become involved in the cases. Suspect is tracked via financial activity to a residence in Los Angeles, California.

01/13/06 – Lloyd Eugene Rhodes is arrested in Los Angles. Makes incriminating statements.

03/13/06 – EPD notified that DNA from drinking glass in Indiana Downs robbery was matched via National DNA database forensic index (CODIS) to a can of Red Bull energy drink collected from a crime scene in Texas. Suspect identity is unknown. (ISP lab report Certificate of Analysis, Michael J. Spence)

02/01/07 – EPD notified that DNA from drinking glass in Indiana Downs robbery was matched via National DNA database forensic index (CODIS) to a stain from a piece of broken window glass in a case from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Police Department. Suspect identity is unknown. (ISP lab report Certificate of Analysis, Michael J. Spence)

09/06/07 – Rhodes convicted of violation of Hobbs Act in Federal Court. Sentenced to 166 months.

10/27/08 – Rhodes convicted of Aggravated Robbery in San Antonio, Texas. Sentenced to 15 years.

11/01/10 – Rhodes convicted of Aggravated Robbery in Houston, Texas. Sentenced to 15 years.

01/21/11 – Rhodes convicted of Aggravated Robbery in Fort Worth, Texas. Sentenced to 12 years.

02/?/11 – Rhodes believed to be turned over to federal custody to begin sentence. Sent to a federal prison in Colorado.

04/13/11 – EPD notified that DNA from drinking glass in Indiana Downs robbery was matched via National DNA database convicted offender index (CODIS) to federal convicted offender sample belonging to Lloyd Eugene Rhodes. (ISP lab report Certificate of analysis, John W. Pritchett) Due to the retirement of Det. Kenny Taylor, case reassigned to Det. Greg Fleck.

Votes Are Powerful, Use Them Wisely

By: Janet Christy

“A government contract for every small business and a grant for every woman, minority and veteran owned business,” is the cry that could get any candidate elected to any office.

But if you hear statements like this from a candidate the best advice is to question that candidate’s honesty and run in the other direction. Because, no matter how pleasing these promises might sound, they are not ones that any elected official can accomplish on their own. As a matter of fact there are many promises made by candidates for national, state and local offices in the heat of the campaign battle that they cannot keep.

Small Businesses, especially Woman, Minority and Veteran Owned Businesses, need to carefully investigate (or “vet”) campaign promises before they use them to make a voting decision. A candidate may have the best intentions in making a promise or they may simply be trying to get your vote. But “let the buyer beware.” It is up to you to determine if candidates can not only keep their promises, but if they can and will help and facilitate your business.

Here are 8 critical assessments that will help you evaluate a candidate’s ability and willingness to assist your business.

Beware of Lip Service

When you listen to or read what a candidate says, pay attention so that you are not deceived because you hear what you want to hear. Be certain that the candidate is not simply repeating phrases and words that are recognizable as “pro” for Small Businesses; for businesses owned by Women, Minorities or Veterans; or for businesses designated as Disadvantaged.

Watch for “I” statements

Since we do not live in kingdoms where one person has complete authority, there is very little that an elected official can accomplish on his/her own. So, if a candidate states that he/she will increase tax incentives and credits for Small Businesses realize that there will be other people involved in that decision. When a candidate pledges to decrease the number of bundled government contracts understand that not even the President or a Governor can do this alone.

Look for the details and the hows

Always ask how a candidate will bring a promise to fruition. If they claim that they will increase the access to capital for Minority Owned Businesses, ask for specifics. If they announce that they will ensure that affordable health care is made available to Small Businesses ask how. If you cannot ask them, then look for details in their speeches, interviews and websites. If you cannot find the details it may be because the candidate does not know how to accomplish the promise; or it may be that they do not truly understand the issue. If they do share details, be sure the plan makes sense. Be aware that “Robin Hood” strategies rarely work. A candidate simply stating they will tax large businesses and give incentives to small businesses is not a plan; it’s a sentiment – a feeling.

Do your homework

If an issue is important to you, then take the time to understand the issue. If you do not understand it, you leave yourself vulnerable to empty promises and campaign rhetoric. Your homework should include research and reading that will tell you who can really make decisions about the issue, how action can be taken and what the obstacles are. Then you can compare that information to what the candidates are saying. Knowledge is the best weapon for making sure your business issue actually gets real attention.

Notice the blanks

Take careful notice of the issues and questions that a candidate does not address or attempts to avoid when questioned. There are two reasons that a candidate might ignore or avoid something. 1) It does not matter to them; they do not think it is important. 2) They do not know or understand it enough to address it. Whatever the reason, if they avoid talking about it they will likely avoid taking any action.

Watch out for bounces

Do not be fooled if, when asked about a specific issue, a candidate talks about a different issue. This is a bounce or deflection. When they cannot or do not want to address an issue they bounce to another one they feel is safer or that they understand better. An example I have seen often is that when asked about Supplier/Vendor Diversity, the candidate talks about Workforce Diversity.

Statistics are in the eyes of the beholder

My grandfather used to say, “Figures lie and liars figure.” It was his way of saying you can use numbers and statistics to support whatever you want them to. Be cautious that when statistics are used by a candidate you understand where they come from, how they actually relate to the issue and if there are other statistics needed to get the whole picture.

Presence does not equal experience

Many times candidates will claim credit for an action, a law or an advancement when in reality they were only “present”. Present means they were part of the group that took the action, but were not actually responsible. It means they were part of the government body that enacted the law, but they didn’t introduce it. It means they merely participated in discussions on a development. Determine if your candidate can claim experience, which includes genuine involvement and not just simple presence.

Like anything else that is important, making choices in campaigns requires looking beyond a pretty face, the persuasive speeches and the pep rally excitement. Helping your business through your votes calls for work and examination.

Janet W. Christy is a marketing consultant and trainer to Small Businesses. She is also the author of “101 Winning Marketing Actions for Small Businesses” and “Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned.” More information on Janet, her firm and her books is available at http://www.leverageanddevelopment.com.

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