IS IT TRUE that the first of the campaign finance reports were filed yesterday and that of the four candidates for Mayor of Evansville three filed their reports properly and on time while the fourth Douglas DeGroot has always contended that he has no budget and raises no funds?…that the City County Observer is proud to see that all of the reports were filed right on schedule and having examined them there appears to be no pattern of sneakiness?

IS IT TRUE that if money raised is the leading indicator for the upcoming general election that the presumed Republican nominee Lloyd Winnecke has a very large early lead?…that Commissioner Winnecke has garnered the financial support of many of the movers and shakers of Evansville to the tune of $147,413 and is sitting on a growing cash pile of $156,908 to buffer his general election campaign?…that while there are some big names with donations to match on Commissioner Winnecke’s finance report that there were no surprises on either the contribution or expense side of the report?…that Winnecke gets the FIRST PLACE GOLD MEDAL for raising the most money in the first reporting period?

IS IT TRUE that in the hotly contested Democratic primary that it is a surprise to many that early announcer and Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis out fund raised perennial candidate Troy Tornatta?…that many people were astonished at that?…that Mr. Davis’s campaign did not garner a list of well to do contributors but was dominated by small donations from lots of people?…that of the three reports Davis’s would win the gold medal for number of pages because of the sheer number of donors that had to be listed?…that Rick’s campaign fund raising operation is quite reminiscent of the mass appeal that now President of the United States Barack Obama put together in his drive to the White House?…that one notable large donation ($9,000) to the Davis campaign came from the Firefighters Local #357?…that one surprise contributor listed by the Davis campaign was former Democratic candidate for Indiana Secretary of State Vop Osili who made an online donation to Davis?…that Rick Davis gets the Second Place Silver Medal for raising $75,423 but only has $752.87 on hand to fuel the final two weeks of the campaign?

IS IT TRUE that the recently defeated but highly recognized former Vanderburgh County Commissioner Troy Tornatta gets the Third Place Bronze Medal for fund raising during this reporting period in what was essentially a three man race?…that Mr. Tornatta raised a total of $42,896 but has a lead on Davis with cash on hand heading down the home stretch with $33,797 remaining?…that the Tornatta campaign was successful at tapping into some traditional Democratic donors in the Indianapolis area while also getting some financial support from the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party?…that the law offices of Jones & Wallace and David Jones as an individual donated a total of $5,500 to the Tornatta campaign?…that this law firm currently represents the Office of the Mayor of Evansville and does a substantial amount of business with the City of Evansville?…that the list of Indianapolis and outside Evansville based donors that are familiar to recent financial disclosures contributed a total of $14,600 (34%) of the total raised by the Tornatta campaign?…that the biggest surprise in Mr. Tornatta’s filing was not who is contributors are but who they are not?…that there was no contribution at all listed from the Weinzapfel for Mayor fund?…that there was much speculation that the Weinzapfel for Mayor fund would be Mr. Tornatta’s Ace in the Hole?

IS IT TRUE that the expenses for Winnecke and Davis yielded no surprises?…that the expense report for the Tornatta campaign had two expenditures that went to the Washington DC area?…that $15,000 went for “RESEARCH” and another $1,961 went for literature that totaled $16,961 or 36% of all spending reported?…that this research was in all likelihood to run a POLL to learn how the race is stacking up?…that the recent debate challenge may very well reflect the results from the $15,000 poll?…that getting over a third of one’s contributions from “other places” and spending an even higher percentage in “other places” does not seem like a grass roots operation?

IS IT TRUE that campaigns with so much cash flowing to and from the area should deserve the title FOPTOP Campaigns?…that FOPTOP stands for FROM OTHER PLACES – TO OTHER PLACES?

IS IT TRUE that the actual reports filed exceed the file size restriction for posting but that the City County Observer is working to compress the files and will post the reports for our readers to examine in detail?

When the Talking and Writing is Over, IT IS TIME TO DO SOMETHING!

Implementation is vital to progress and planning without doing is futile. Of course Evansville first needs to do a Evansville for the Next Decade Plan, but then we have to do something.

We have a very good parks plan from an award winning city. The file is too large to post on WordPress but if you email us and ask nicely we will forward a 10 MB parks plan to you no questions asked.

Ann Arbor chapter_11_master_plan Implementation

A Fine Example of a Written Jobs Plan from a Progressive and Prosperous City

The City of Seattle, Washington has been transparent enough to post their JOBS PLAN that was developed to respond to the recent recession online for all to see. The City County Observer has reviewed this plan and is pleased to make it easily available to our readers.

As a reminder back in the day when Evansville was growing it was larger than Seattle. In the 1890 census Evansville was the 56th largest city in America with 50,700 residents while Seattle ranked 70th with a population of 42,800 souls. Flash forward to the 2010 census and Seattle has risen to be the home of 608,000 people and experienced 8% population growth during the first decade of the new century. The Seattle Metropolitan area is now home to 3.7 Million people.

This is a real JOBS PLAN from a growing progressive city that has a high number of manufacturing jobs but that has also been successful in attracting, growing, and nurturing a private high technology industry. We realize that all cities are different and do not advocate that Evansville just change the name at the top of the page and call it a JOBS PLAN. We do however hope that the candidates for Mayor of Evansville and the current powers that be take the time to read this document and adopt any elements that are applicable to this economy.

Seattle Jobs Plan

IS IT TRUE that the campaign of Troy Tornatta issued a debate challenge to Rick Davis through the media yesterday with a bravado sounding “anytime and anyplace” challenge?…that Mr. Davis citing the fact that only a little over two weeks remain in the primary season and that it is a little late for a debate has declined to accept Tornatta’s challenge?…that as late as it is in the game that a public display of the candidates command of the issues and their proposals to solve the City of Evansville’s problems and manage the day to day operation would aid the voters in making their decisions on whom to vote for?…that in the spirit of seeking good public policy that the City County Observer encourages the Davis campaign and the Tornatta campaign to find a way to match wits in a constructive manner?…that there are many ways to do that and that a head to head verbal debate with controlled questions is only one of them?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer will offer our the pages of our sister publication to host an e-debate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Evansville?…that the format of the e-debate will be exactly the same as in the past with ONE CAVEAT?…that in addition to the five questions that we will formulate about issues and policy that we will allow each candidate to ask two questions of their own choice of the other candidate?…that time is of the essence?…that the voters will need time to ponder the answers so the e-debate will be published on Tuesday April 26th, 2011 with or without responses from both candidates?…that we will publish our 5 questions today with the rules of engagement?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. Davis and Mr. Tornatta can call or email the City County Observer by any means they choose to accept or reject this e-debate challenge?…they both have our private emails and phone numbers and have used them many times?…that The City County Observer sincerely hopes that both candidates will participate and make the most of this opportunity to get their view before the public?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer received a complaint from a well wisher of Mr. Tornatta that we published Mr. Davis’s response but not Mr. Tornatta’s challenge?…that Mr. Tornatta’s campaign did not send us the challenge?…that if we received it that we would have posted it immediately in unedited form?…that we want the supporters of Mr. Tornatta to know that we can only publish what we receive and that we do want to be on his media distribution list?…that the Office of Jonathan Weinzapfel, Mayor of Evansville also refuses to send press releases to the City County Observer?…that this is a good opportunity for Mr. Tornatta to amend one of Mayor Weinzapfel’s personally influences practices to his own benefit?

IS IT TRUE that Mole #3 was feeling a little feisty last night and has released some predictions?…that Mole #3 predicts that Pete Swain will join Michelle Mercer in the winner’s circle for the Republican nominations for at-large Evansville City Council seats?…that Mole #3 predicts that an endorsement from a “Mega Preacher” will push Patrick McBride into the winner’s circle in a tight race for the Democratic nomination from Ward 2 for the City Council?…that Mole #3 says that if the election were held today that Al Lindsey would defeat B. J. Watts for the Democratic nomination in the 6th Ward BUT that the day to day antics and discoveries in the 6th Ward are quite dynamic and that on any given day that a tight race can favor either candidate?…that Mole #3 is anticipating over 1,500 absentee ballots will have significant impact on this year’s Democratic primaries?

IS IT TRUE that we expect both Mr. Tornatta and Mr. Davis to accept our e-debate challenge today?…that there will be no softball questions and no limits on the number of words to craft an answer?…that the City County Observer will release the contents of our e-debate directly to all media outlets in the Evansville area so that the most people possible can make their own judgement on who to support in this primary?

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 April 15, 2011 TAX DAY

IS IT TRUE that today is the TRADITIONAL deadline for all of us to file our federal and state income tax forms?…that this year we have been given 3 extra days and that Monday is the drop dead date?…that the federal income tax was first enacted in 1862 to support the Union’s Civil War effort?…that it was eliminated in 1872, revived in 1894, then DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY THE SUPREME COURT the following year?…that in 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture in the U.S. tax system?…that the budget to run the IRS is now up to $12.6 Billion per year?…that the number of tax returns filed by individuals in the United States is at a record high approaching 150 Million returns per year?…that over 50 Million of these tax forms were filed by people who had no income tax liability at all?…that the unnecessary complexity and the plethora of credits, deductions, subsidies, selective treatments etc. make each citizens efforts to pay their fair share and no more mindboggling?…that not only is the tax a burden to some people but having to pay a professional preparer can take a good bite out of the budgets of both individuals and businesses?

IS IT TRUE that a very large majority of those forms are prepared by a paid third party?…that LAWYERS and ACCOUNTANTS have benefitted greatly from the inane complexity of the United States Tax Code?…that according to the National Taxpayers Union over $26 Billion was spent by individuals on tax preparation in 2007 was $26.5 Billion?…that in the same report stated that “in the most recent Fiscal Year (FY), the IRS estimated that individual and business taxpayers spent 6.65 billion hours complying with the tax laws. That is the equivalent of 3.2 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation. Counting time and money for individual taxpayers, the compliance burden would total an incredible $102 billion for individual taxpayers alone.”?

IS IT TRUE that when the IRS budget and the cost of the burden of compliance on taxpayers is added up that the total burden on American society just for compliance due to unnecessary complexity is now approaching $120 Million?…that this is triple the “historic” budget cut of $38 Billion that really turned out to be a paltry $352 Million and saved us from a government shut down just last Friday?…that corporate numbers while not available are probably even higher?…that the General Electric Corporation that paid ZERO TAXES filed a 24,000 page tax return?…that we really wonder what benefit that the IRS received from that exercise in mental gyration?…that at the wages that GE pays is professional staff that there is no telling how many tens of millions of dollars that GE spends per year just on compliance?…that it just seems like a simple system like a flat tax on both individuals and businesses would liberate an enormous amount of money for more constructive uses than compliance with arcane, unnecessary, and mostly without benefit to anyone rules?

IS IT TRUE that if you are really in the mood to be astonished at the size of the burden of compliance that a link to the National Taxpayer’s Union report is below?…that the unlearned people who assert that the City County Observer does not cite sources need to go back and look through our archives?…that they will prove themselves wrong if they have the courage to face their own prejudices?…that the City County Observer takes great pride in citing scholarly sources from universities and think tanks all over the world?

http://www.ntu.org/news-and-issues/taxes/income-tax/a-taxing-trend-the-rise-in-tax-complexity-2007.html

17 Pages of Activity Today, Maybe its the Taxes

EPD Activity Report April 14 2011

The Detroit News – 4/14/2011 –
by: Christine MacDonald

— Detroit — Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros is expected to come to Detroit today to headline a conference on saving struggling cities by shrinking them. Six years ago, he came to Detroit promising growth: a $258 million project to build about 3,000 houses on 1,200 acres on the city’s border with Grosse Pointe Park. Detroit spent millions of dollars acquiring land, razing houses and rebuilding roads in anticipation of what was touted as a landmark redevelopment. No houses were built. The land is dumping ground for trash. Court judgments are piling up. And the project has become what some call a lesson for city leaders. “It was billed as one of the largest housing development projects, to see it not come to pass is frustrating,” said Councilman Kenneth Cockrel Jr. “We need to scrutinize these deals very, very closely. We should probably look before we leap.” Cisneros is the keynote speaker in American Assembly’s three-day conference at the Westin Book Cadillac to strategize ways to save declining cities. The nonprofit public policy group based in New York, founded by Dwight Eisenhower, conducts research on everything from race to urban renewal. Cisneros said he’s not ad-vocating any prescriptions for Detroit, and blamed an “unfortunate convergence of events” for the project’s demise. The real estate market collapsed, a partner died and his company went bankrupt, and then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration imploded. “I never like to see something I am in-vested in not succeed,” said Cisneros, the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, who invested through his company, AmericanCity Detroit. “I have spent a lot of time personally on the project. I was in De-troit almost every month for two years. “The project didn’t fail. The project never got started. … Everyone really broke their backs to do the right thing for Detroit.”

Area now a ghost town — Today, what remains of the New Far East Side Development project is vacant land surrounded by a smattering of houses and frustrated neighbors. “I never believed it was going to happen,” said John Myers, who lives nearby. “I think it’s just been quietly forgotten.” Cecil Williams, 53, who lives on Philip near Jefferson, still believed the development was proceeding until he spoke with a Detroit News reporter Wednesday. But he wasn’t surprised. “Let’s put it this way: It’s hard to be disappointed over something you never had a chance to get,” said Williams, whose home is surrounded by lots filled with broken concrete and tires. “I didn’t have much faith in it to begin with.” Detroit’s investment is unclear, but it spent at least $4 million rebuilding roads and side-walks and installing street lights in an eight-block area known as Fox Creek. Developers were sup-posed to build 700 homes in the first phase of the larger project that was bounded by East Jefferson, Alter, Warren and Conner. The Far East Side Development still owns 580 parcels, but its development agreement with the city is set to expire in November. Cisneros partnered with Detroit developer Melvin Washington, Chicago home builder Kimball Hill and nonprofit U-SNAP-BAC, but he said he hasn’t worked on the project for 21/2 years and isn’t sure if he’s technically still part of the company. “I don’t even know it exists,” said Cisneros, who added he made no money from it. Court records indicate the New Far East Side Development Co. LLC has two judgments worth about $180,000 against it for unpaid bills. “It would certainly be nice if they came and cleaned up their act,” said Andrew Broder, a lawyer for a civil engineering firm that claims it is owed $135,000. “That is no way to do business.” Mayor Dave Bing’s staff didn’t return calls for comment. U-SNAP-BAC Director Linda Smith declined comment. Washington and others haven’t given up. They want to pitch a new proposal to the city to build rentals rather than single-family homes, said Denise Lewis, an attorney for the company. Kimball Hill’s president, David Hill, died in 2008, the same year the company went bankrupt. The market collapse also delayed progress, but Washington wants to keep the project afloat, Lewis said. Washington told a jury last year he gave former City Council President Monica Conyers thousands of dollars for travel, shopping and tuition because she served on the pen-sion board and he wanted it to invest in one of his other developments.

Some see an opportunity — Others hope something good can come from the project. Josh Elling, executive director of the Jefferson East Business Association, said his group is in talks with Bing’s staff about the land. He said he’s been told the property will revert to city ownership and wants to ensure the land isn’t sold before a development agreement expires. He said it is one of the largest ar-eas of vacant land in the city and believes it could be a key area in Bing’s Detroit Works Project to reshape the city in part by consolidating residents in vibrant neighborhoods. Cisneros said the city’s infrastructure investment of new roads and sewers isn’t wasted. “There is no reason in the world that area can’t still be redeveloped,” said Cisneros, who founded a California investment firm called City View in 2000 that claims on its website to have generated $2 billion in urban investment nationwide. “Detroit needs to be thinking about steady progress and a long-term plan.”

Rick Davis, Democratic Party candidate for Mayor of Evansville, learned through the news media today that his opponent has challenged him to a public debate. However, Davis — who officially announced his candidacy on Nov. 11, 2010, said the Troy Tornatta campaign never has communicated a desire to debate Davis before the May 3 primary election.

Tornatta, who has been a candidate for two months, mentions in a press release that jobs are a paramount importance to voters going to the polls in less than 3 weeks.

However, in April 2009, when Tornatta was a County Commissioner, he stood in front of the Downtown Evansville Rotary Club and gave a 100-day report on County government. Tornatta said: “Please keep in mind that all of the best politicians with their most compelling ideas CANNOT GET A COMPANY TO RELOCATE OR STAY IN THEIR COMMUNITY.”

His words were prophetic, as Whirlpool announced it was leaving Evansville only 4 months later.

Now candidate Tornatta is running a television ad stating we need to do “more with our schools and colleges to develop high-tech jobs,” and then he has the nerve to stand in front of Whirlpool and says government can “do more to retrain people who have lost their jobs.” He ends his commercial by saying “we don’t have time for politics, we need to create jobs.”

My opponent can’t have it both ways. As a Commissioner, his attitude was more or less “there’s nothing we can do” to land quality, high-paying jobs to Evansville. But as a candidate, he implies job creation and retention is a top priority.

Actions speak louder than words. However, my opponent’s actions AND words as a Commissioner speak volumes. He had his chance to be a leader in economic development and job growth as a County Commissioner, and he publicly stated it was not possible. What did my opponent do to prevent Whirlpool from leaving town? Nothing. Because he said it wasn’t possible.

I disagree with my opponent’s statement to the Rotary members and I have a plan of action. I will head a committee of business leaders, organized labor, and representatives from our schools and universities and we will meet publicly on a monthly basis and show our taxpayers what is being done to attract business and industry to Evansville. Taxpayers currently have no idea what is being done in that regard, and we deserve to know that our government and community leaders are doing to not only bring jobs into Evansville, but also to retain the jobs we currently have.

Regarding the debate, my opponent had better be ready to debate how he wants to continue the Weinzapfel administration’s path of denying 46,000 homeowners $5 million in homestead credits, or holding “caucuses” — a quorum of City Council members — in the mayor’s office before City Council meetings. He had better be ready to debate how he pushed the controversial patient safety ordinance through the Commissioners without any public input. I have knocked thousands of doors and held 8 Town Hall meetings already in this campaign, and I haven’t found anybody who wants more of the same. My opponent represents more of the same.

My schedule has been set for many days and I already know my opponent’s views on local government. I would rather focus my remaining time going door-to-door and talking with residents on their front porches and in their living rooms, getting the opinions of the taxpayers, because we all have a vested interest in moving Evansville forward.

Rick Davis

16 pages of activity and the moon is not even full

EPD Activity Report April 13 2011

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 April 14, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the recent annexation of the previously unincorporated area in Knight township north of Morgan Avenue has spared one of the original eight businesses in Vanderburgh County that were to have come under the County Commissioners new smokefree workplace ordinance this summer?…that this annexation includes the Eagle’s Club out on Old Booneville Highway?…that the Eagle’s Club would have been going non-smoking this summer under Vanderburgh County law but now under City of Evansville law the smoking will continue?…that the original eight are now down to six?…that Dutch Corner burned down in a smoking related fire taking the protected establishments down to seven?…that annexation by the City of Evansville has now reduced the number of mandated by law come this summer establishments down to six?…that two of those are already non-smoking by choice and that the owner/managers say that business is as good as it has ever been?

IS IT TRUE that when the forces supporting consolidation and having no threshold rejection howl about how we are really one big happy family that they need to look at just how much difference there is between the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County on the smoking issue?…that for the most part the City of Evansville is a Democratic stronghold and that Vanderburgh County is typically Republican?…that “progressives” are typically associated with Democratic policies and strongly support comprehensive smoking ordinances?…that the Republican dominated Vanderburgh County Council is the body to advance the progressive position in this place?…that it is the Democratic leadership that has failed to enact a comprehensive smoking ordinance in the City of Evansville, reversed one in Vanderburgh County, and has been most vocal against adopting such an ordinance?…that when local Democrats talk about being on the “TEAM”, what they mean must be “THEIR OWN TEAM” as opposed to any national Democratic team?…that one must come to Evansville to hear and see Democrats in power advancing positions from the RIGHT and Republican advancing progressive positions?…that living in a backwards world can be confusing?

IS IT TRUE that the United States Congressional Budget Office has completed its review of the supposedly “historical” $38Billion spending cuts that were celebrated by Democrats and Republicans alike last Friday in the “Faceoff inside the Beltway” that avoided shutting the government down?…that the CBO’s analysis of the $38 Billion in cuts has determined that it is not really (nod, wink) $38 Billion that is being saved?…that the CBO says it is only $352 Million that will be saved in 2011 and not the $38 Billion that was announced last week?…that is only a 99% difference?…that either the congressmen who came up with the $38 Billion number are economically incompetent or someone was trying to pull the wool over the people’s eyes again?…that saying that $500 is equal to $50,000 (scaling the mistake made in the announcement) does not make it so?…that if that were true out here in the real world that we could head over to D-Patrick with $500 bucks and come home with a loaded new BMW with no monthly payment?…that only seems to work in the US Congress?

IS IT TRUE that the website of the Congressional Budget Office is quite informative for those who are interested in digging a little deeper than the talking heads dig?…that if you want to read a real analysis of Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget proposal as opposed to listening to the stuffed shirts the Office of the CBO is the place to go?…that here is a link to their portal?

http://www.cbo.gov/