My Fellow Conservatives and Republicans:
What a strange and entertaining election this is turning out to be for those of us who were born and raised here in Evansville!
In the last two weeks, our nominee for mayor has received endorsements from the self-proclaimed Queen of the 4th Ward, Connie Robinson, #1 Democrat Curt John, as well as our “friends†at the Evansville Courier & Press. We also read about behind-the-scenes support from Democrat leader Mark Owen as well as Mayor Weinzapfel, the entire Mosby clan, and a lineup of the usual suspects who have helped run Evansville’s economy into the ground over the last 30 years.
I suppose the only thing that could top it would be if President Obama himself flew into town to endorse Lloyd Winnecke!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Rick Davis is busy fighting the establishment in his own party and standing for many of the very principles we conservatives have always held dear: openness and transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability to the people. He has been the only one to defy the Weinzapfel Machine, while our own candidate cuts behind-the-scenes deals with them in the name of “collaboration.â€
I know firsthand what it is like to stand virtually alone in the line of fire like Rick Davis is doing now. Four years ago, I was part of a ragtag band of independent Republicans who said that Evansville could ill afford a $150+ million stadium at a time when our sewers and infrastructure were crumbling, our population was shrinking, and our job base was evaporating. The establishment went to war against us, cutting off our access to funding, working behind-the-scenes to discredit us, and even mailing out political hit pieces full of untruths.
The Machine won that battle, but the war is far from over. Evansville will be paying for their arrogance and fiscal irresponsibility for decades. The financial crisis of 2008 finally put the spotlight on how government spending and ballooning debt is crippling our economy. That crisis was an eye-opener for many conservatives. When establishment Republicans and liberal Democrats alike voted to bail out Wall Street and expand public debt at an unprecedented rate, we realized that you have to look beyond party label to see what a candidate really stands for.
The same holds true here in Evansville. Rick Davis is the only candidate who has consistently shown that he has the courage and conviction to stand up to the establishment—the Machine—and do what he believes is right for the people. The Republican nominee, on the other hand, has said that he wouldn’t have entered the race had Weinzapfel sought re-election because he agrees with so much of the Weinzapfel agenda!
Much has been written about the now infamous meeting at which Weinzapfel and Winnecke apparently planned to eliminate the homestead tax credit without informing taxpayers. I have nothing more to add to that topic except to point out that East- and North-siders—mainly Republicans—would have suffered disproportionately due the higher property values in those parts of town. Have you calculated how much losing your homestead exemption would have cost you, personally?
William F. Buckley famously described a conservative as “someone who stands athwart history, yelling ‘Stop,’ at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.†That sounds an awful like what Rick Davis is doing at the moment.
I realize that party loyalty is powerful and that many Republican voters relish thought of electing someone with an “R†next to their name as a symbolic victory. Likewise, many of you know and like Lloyd Winnecke; for that matter, so do I. Lloyd is a fine person. But as the Democrat endorsements keep piling in on Lloyd’s behalf, it becomes clearer and clearer that he is not the one to break with Evansville’s history of backroom dealings, Machine intrigues, and reckless arrogance among those in power. We have what may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change that history by electing an independent thinker like Rick Davis.
That is why I am urging all conservatives and independent Republicans to seize this opportunity and vote for Rick Davis for mayor. Like me, you may not agree with Rick on every issue, but there is no doubt about his character or his willingness to fight for the basic principles of fairness and transparency that have so long been missing in Evansville politics.
Sincerely,
Andrew G. Smith
Former Republican City Council Candidate
Founder, “Sewers Before Stadiumâ€
Native Eastsider
CCO Writer and Publisher Joe Wallace and wife Karen represented the CCO at the Bauerhaus chicken dinner which has recently made headlines. At this event, Joe and Karen enjoyed a meal that was assumed to have been paid by the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party. After receiving recent information about the unpaid bill and misrepresented debt, Joe Wallace and CCO owner Ron Cosby decided to take action.
