IS IT TRUE that our IndyMole tells us that former Vanderburgh County Sheriff, United States Congressman, and current Vectren President of Something Brad Ellsworth was overheard making a statement about two Evansville politicians?…that Ellsworth was overheard saying that “there is a guy down in Evansville by the name of Friend that is giving me heartburn”?…that we assume that former Congressman Ellsworth was speaking of Evansville City Councilman John Friend, CPA?…that the IndyMole says that the name of Indiana House of Representatives member Gail Riecken was mentioned in the heartburn conversation too?…that the Republican 2nd Ward candidate for Evansville City Council E. Lon Walters must not be making Ellsworth’s heart burn?…that even though he was not mentioned in the conversation that Walters really was the first candidate to start collecting signatures on a petition to reign in future rate increases by Vectren?

IS IT TRUE that as heartburn and Lon Walters goes we hear from reliable people on the ground that his door knocking efforts are giving his opponent Democratic incumbent City Councilwoman from the 2nd Ward some serious heartburn and sleepless nights?…that after word of a Democratic poll leaked out last week that Mosby was only hanging on to a 2 point lead and that this traditionally Democrat seat was actually in play followed by Walters win in the CCO online poll that both heartburn and anxiety became motivating factors for Councilwoman Mosby?…that we know Missy will keep her game face up and will not show the pressure though, because game on is just the way she is?…that it is positive to see a real contest for the 2nd Ward seat and that the contest will make the winner stronger?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to congratulate the 3rd Ward Candidates for running what has appeared to be one of the cleanest and most competent pairs of campaigns in Evansville’s history?…that we are confident that either Stephanie Brinkerhoff- Riley or Alan Leibundguth will meet our hope for all members of the Evansville City Council of conducting OUR BUSINESS in a transparent, honest, deliberative manner?…that both seem to have the depth and diversity of thought to do an admirable job?…that the campaign for the 3rd Ward was conducted as all should be?

IS IT TRUE that the 5th Ward campaign that finished the CCO poll in an exact tie is also expected to be down to the wire?…that things got a little nasty on both sides at the end with negative mailers hitting the mailboxes of the northside on behalf of both Brent Grafton and John Friend?…that one of the mailers for John Friend according to Councilman Friend was done without his knowledge or authority by the Vanderburgh County Democrat Central Committee?…that this particular mailer was cited by CCO Publisher Joe Wallace for using a picture that HE OWNS without paying for the rights to do so?…that Mr. Wallace has been legally advised that his case is rock solid but that his $3,500 bill is too high?…that today he will be sending a bill of $350 that reflects what other such pictures have brought for political uses in Vanderburgh County Indiana?…that another mailer being done on behalf of Councilman Friend of an even more negative nature was aborted on Friday after wise counsel advised the printer and the Vanderburgh County Democrat Central Committee that some things are just off limits?

IS IT TRUE that the 6th Ward campaigns must have set a record for low budget politics and for never saying a bad word about each other?…that even in the debates that Shaun Short and Al Lindsey treated each other with the respect of a couple of Reitz fans at a football game?…that we would not be surprised if these two voted for each other as there is really mutual respect between them?…that while Shaun Short is a person that appears to be a rising star in Evansville politics, Mr. Lindsey would not have even made it to the ballot without the courage that he exhibited to take on the Royal Family of West Evansville politics and prevail in lawsuit after lawsuit that challenged his residence?…that it seems as though the 6th Ward seat on the Evansville City Council will be in good hands whichever way it goes in today’s election?

IS IT TRUE that the weather this morning is the most favorable that any of us here at the CCO can remember for an election day in Evansville?…that Mother Nature wants you all to vote but that the CCO wants you all to THINK BEFORE VOTING and DO AS MUCH DAMAGE TO THE MACHINE AS YOU CAN?

IS IT TRUE? November 7, 2011 Breaking the Machine

IS IT TRUE that regardless of the outcome at the top of the ticket tomorrow that the City County Observer wishes to be the first to congratulate the winner and to cross our fingers for four years of getting the City of Evansville on track for a 50 year run toward prosperity and relevance?…that whether we are governed by a Mayor Davis or a Mayor Winnecke that we know that this is a difficult job and that the more people that are pulling in the right directions the better our probability for success will be?…that regardless of who wins the Office of Mayor we hope very much that by the time that the oath of office is administered that every last vestige of the old boy network that has been derided by both candidates for mayor as “the machine” is rendered incapable of keeping the new mayor and council from doing positive things?

IS IT TRUE that as many articles have stated this year there is something very wrong with local government and there has been for many years?…that by many years we mean longer than many people who are on the ballot this year have been alive?…that “the machine” is so much a part of Evansville that people who are affected by it are unaware because they have never known life in any other way?…that for the first time ever in the words of one local attorney this election and the lame duck period from tomorrow to New Year’s Day has the potential to reset the clock and to remove the machine from power?…that the last thing our next Mayor needs is to have the albatross of a political machine around his neck from day one?

IS IT TRUE that we want to reiterate what we wrote yesterday that when each person is considering who to vote for to please make it a point to think about whether either candidate is a tool or a puppet for “the machine”?…that when there is a machine candidate against a candidate with no machine history we encourage you to choose the candidate that seems to be the least likely to succumb to the temptations that “the machine” offers?…that if both candidates in your mind are machine tools please consider leaving that contest with no vote to send a solid message that the candidates are not acceptable?…that we see no contests that fit that description but your vote is your vote?

IS IT TRUE that “Breaking the Machine” really just starts with tomorrow’s election?…that during the period leading up to the inauguration there will be transition teams formed and that much of the core principles of the next administration will be put in place during that time?…that the best people to be on any transition team or to be brought into senior positions is even somewhat dependent on the outcome of the City Council elections?…that there are four potential partisan make-ups that can happen with the Mayor-Council relationships and each combination will carry with it a different optimization criteria?…that the key will be for the new Mayor and Council to be the best that they can for the people of Evansville as opposed to the best for themselves?…that this has not seemed to have been the case for many years now?

IS IT TRUE that with Mole #7 replacing Mole #3 and with a new administration that will be more transparent by virtue of both candidates campaign promises we do not expect there to be nearly as many “closed door eruptions” as there have been with the Weinzapfel Administration, especially in the 2nd term?…that we understand that the next mayor will be in clean up mode both figuratively and literally for at least the first year?…that the CCO will continue to be diligent in calling out things in need of improvement and holding our new government’s nose to the grindstone?…that most of all we hope for wisdom, knowledge, honesty, fidelity, and positive action from the next administration?

IS IT TRUE that with that positive message that we urge all of our readers to do their part tomorrow to help our next Mayor launch from as solid of a platform as possible by making the personal choice to do as much damage to “the machine” as you can possibly do within the confines of the voting booth?…that if we do not do so, there may not be another chance for another 50 years?…that this would be a good memory to tell our grandchildren about the day “when all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not put the machine back together again”?

IS IT TRUE? November 7, 2011

IS IT TRUE that against the wishes of the City County Observer that Mole #3 very firmly requested that the comments be turned off on his farewell letter to Evansville and the readers of the CCO?…that without Mole #3 that much secrecy in the government of the City of Evansville would probably never have been discovered?…that without the CCO that even if the secrets, the malfeasance, and the outright bumbling were discovered and leaked to news sources that they would not have had the courage to report the stories?…that the stars aligned four years ago when Mole #3 and the CCO hooked up to heighten the sense of awareness of the people of Evansville?…that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for all that it has brought to us in hopes of making Evansville a better place?…that few people really have the presence that the first action in making a house full of rats habitable is to find and eradicate every last rat but that Mole #3 understands this?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for coming to the CCO with the information that exposed the secret meeting that resulted in the lapsing of the HOMESTEAD TAX CREDIT?…that exposing this egregious disregard for local homeowners lead to Governor Mitch Daniels overruling the Weinzapfel Administrations actions AND saved the homeowners of Vanderburgh County over $5 Million per year?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for the tip that lead to the discovery that the Weinzapfel Administration hatched a scheme to deceive the Evansville City Council about the compensation of Director of DMD, Mr. Tom Barnett?…that this information was leaked to the mainstream media who CHOSE NOT TO REPORT IT until the CCO took the lead?…that today GAGE is no longer paying Mr. Barnett and that his salary is paid by the City of Evansville as it should have been all along?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for the information that the Executive Inn Parking Garage and the Executive Inn itself were seismically not up to modern standards?…that prior to this leak that the powers that be were either completely oblivious to such things or were concealing this information so as not to anger the public about the cost of the beginning of the hotel project?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for all of the information regarding the joke of a downtown Convention Hotel project and for the insider tips on just how much of a financial disaster the McCurdy is?…that Mole #3 as his last act has provided the CCO with a couple of other bombshells that will be reported when the time is right to do so?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO would like to thank Mole #3 for the courage to risk a career to expose insider deals that if allowed to continue would perpetuate the mediocrity that has kept the City of Evansville bouncing off the bottom for years?…that without Mole #3 that many of the issues in this year’s campaign for Mayor of Evansville would still be secrets?…that every town in America needs a Mole #3 and a CCO or something like them as Evansville does not have the market cornered on SNEGAL actions, insider deals, backroom meeting, and self serving elected officials?…that even though Mole #3 has expressed an intention to move to Florida that we are sure that there is a need for Mole #3 in Indianapolis or Washington D. C.

IS IT TRUE that the CCO will miss the midday phone calls and the anonymous emails?…that Evansville is the real loser but that Mole #3 has chosen its successor?…that Mole #3’s successor shall be called Mole #7 and that Mole #7 is younger, faster, and maybe a bit bolder than Mole #3?…that Mole #3 liked to work in the shadows but Mole #7 could care less?…that if Mole #3 could be characterized as a keeper of the peace and an exposer of that which is bad, Mole #7 wants to see the bad destroyed as well as exposed?

IS IT TRUE that we shall raise a glass to Mole #3 tomorrow night and hope that many of our readers do too?…that Mole #3 thinks that the Infinity Mole must have been drinking when all of those picks were made for tomorrow’s elections?