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Polls vs. Moles: The Results and Predictions

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On Wednesday, October 20, 2010 a select group of City County Observer Moles had a secret gathering at a local private dining establishment to discuss their prediction for the upcoming election. There was much discussion centering on the game changers and surprises that have happened during the last few weeks of the election. All in all there were several potential surprises and several potential upsets that dominated the conversation. Some notable surprises were the strength of the campaigns of Ron Bacon, Steven Lowell Smith and Malcolm Gwinn’s phenominal door to door campaigns, and the highly competitive nature of the race for Vanderburgh County Prosecutor between Stan Levco and Nick Hermann. The Moles were also surprised at the twists and turns and defensive campaign strategies that have been successfully employed by Gail Riecken in order to counter the aggressive campaign waged by Cheryl Musgrave for the 77th District Indiana House of Representatives seat.

The CCO Moles all entered a contest individually predicting the winner of each contest. Please note that a vote to win does not constitute a CCO Mole’s support of a candidate. There are some races that are assumed to be blowouts where a particular Mole such as Mole #3 would lay its reputation as a local political prophet on the line for an expected winner, but openly expressed support for the opposing candidate.

There are several areas of interest where the CCO reader polls and the Moles had some disagreements or uncertainty too. In the District 77 race for Indiana House of Representatives the CCO readers poll favored Wendy McNamara yet the CCO Moles predicted that Bob Deig will make the trip to Indianapolis. In a surprise winner of a CCO Reader poll Steven Lowell Smith defeated Suzanne Crouch in the City County Observer reader poll for the District 78 race for Indiana House of Representatives. Mr. Smith defeated Ms. Crouch in the poll by single digits out of several hundred votes, yet the Moles predict that Ms. Crouch will win by a comfortable margin.

The CCO reader polls and Moles agree that the race between Patty Avery and Jim Tomes will be much closer than most expect due to the grass roots movement of Tea Partiers and Reagan Democrats that are starting to line up behind Mr. Tomes. Other races that produced very close results and healthy discussions were the District 75, and District 77 races for Indiana House of Representatives and the races for Knight and Center Township Trustees.

The Moles participating included Moles #112, #69, #101, #12, #13, #167, #7, #36, and of course our Nostradamus of local politics Mole #3. As Mole #3 is feeling confident in his ability as a local political prophet it has asked that it have its predictions noted individually. The predictions are below.

Federal Elections
Senate
Brad Ellsworth 
Dan Coats X Polls, Moles, and Mole #3 Predict Impressive Win in Senate Race

8th District House of Representatives
Larry Buschon X Polls, Moles, and Mole #3 Impressive Win for Brad’s 8th District Seat,
Trent Van Haafton 

State Elections
Senate
Patty Avery X Polls, Moles & Mole #3 Predict a Close Win for Avery (Upset Possible)
Jim Tomes 

House of Representatives
District 75
Ron Bacon X Polls, Moles & Mole #3 (Door to Door Campaign could decide this Contest )
Mike Goebel 

District 76
Wendy McNamara  Polls (Polls Go to Wendy)
Bob Deig  Moles including Mole #3 to Dieg

District 77
Cheryl Musgrave 
Gail Riecken X Polls, Moles (4 to 4) & Mole #3 Predicts Riecken by 3% to 5%

District 78
Suzanne Crouch  Moles & Mole #3 Predict a Comfortable Victory for Crouch
Steven L. Smith  Polls (Close Reader Poll Victory for Newcomer Smith)

Local Contests

Prosecutor
Nick Herrmann X Mole #3 says this race is changing too fast and is too close to call right now
Stan Levco X Moles All Moles predict a win for Levco

Mole #3 may release a prediction on Monday!!

County Commissioner Upset Alert
Troy Tornatta 
Marsha Abell X Moles, Mole #3 & Polls UNANIMOUSLY Predict an Upset Win for Abell

Auditor
Joe Gries X Moles, Mole #3 & Poles Pick Gries in a Landslide
Maura Robinson 

County Council

2nd District
Tom Shetler, Jr. X Polls, Mole #3 and Moles Predict a Landslide for Shetler
Hayden Barth 

3rd District
Bill Kramer 
Stephanie Terry X Polls, Mole #3, and Moles Agree that Terry keeps her Seat in a Landslide

4th District
Russell G. Lloyd, Jr. X Polls, Mole #3, and Moles Predict a Lloyd Landslide
Tim Taylor 

Assessor
Jonathan Weaver 
Bill Fluty Jr. X Moles, Mole #3, & Polls UNANIMOUSLY Predict Fluty Victory

Township Trustees
Perry
Rick Riney X Polls, Mole #3, & Moles are with Riney in the Biggest Victory Margin of the Day
Curtis Baker 

Center MANGOLD HAS TIGER BY THE TAIL
Robert Mangold  CCO Reader Poll won by Mangold by a Small Margin
Jim Tiger Ritter X Mole #3, & Moles Agree that Tiger had to fight hard for this predicted win

Knight
Kathryn Martin X Polls, Mole #3 & Moles Predict a Big Win for Martin to Keep the Toughest Job in Town
Jim Braker 

Tie Breakers (Moles Only)

Indiana Secretary of State
Vop Osoli 
Charlie White X Moles and Mole #3 Predict Close Victory for White

Kentucky US Senate
Jack Conway 
Rand Paul X Moles and Mole #3 Predict an Aqua Buddha Blowout

Make-Up of Federal Legislative Bodies

House of Representatives: __(9)_ (R) __0__(D) All Moles Predict Republican takeover of House
US Senate: ___4__ (R) ___4__ (D) ___1__(TIE) Moles are Confused, One Mole Predicts a Tie

Mole #3 Predicts that the United States Senate stays in Democratic Hands

These predictions and polls are not in any way presented or intended to be an endorsement of any candidate. The City County Observer hopes that all eligible voters register and that all registered voters vote. We furthermore hope that each and every voter puts the same work effort into doing some research, getting to know the candidates for office, and personally making an informed decision based on intelligent thought and free will. We do not make endorsements and we do not encourage others to put much faith into any person or entity that pretends to tell others how to vote.

Our suggestion is that if you are letting someone else tell you how to vote, please just stay home. It is a affront to thinking informed voters to have mindless parrots kill their vote because somebody told them how to vote.

The City County Observer takes the right to vote seriously. Our current poll makes a subject of straight tickets vs. split tickets. Split tickets currently lead straight tickets of both parties by a comfortable margin. Our readers as it may surprise some people to learn are overwhelmingly independent thinkers who really do reflect on the decision to vote. These are the very people who will be deciding all of the close elections this year.

There is a week to go. It is time to choose. Next Tuesday is the Point of no Return for the 2010 elections. We encourage everyone to get energized, get informed, if you have made your choices please help the candidate of your choice with your time and your money as all of our Moles do. From all of our Moles, our Staff, and our Ownership, the City County Observer says, “good luck, good thoughts, God Bless the Constitution, the United States of America and our brave fighting men and women that we want bought home safely soon”.

City County Observer Rises to #145,938 on Alexa

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UPDATE: In the last week the City County Observer has risen over 300,000 places in Alexa’s USA Internet Traffic Ranking to the place of #145,938th most visited website in America passing Casino Aztar (www.casinoaztar.com) at #271,610th, SMG that is responsible for the Centre, Roberts Stadium, and the Victory Theatre (www.smgevansville.com) at 489,199th, while extending our lead overEvansville Convention and Visitors Bureau, GAGE (the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville), The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, the Henderson Gleaner Journal, News4U, and Evansville Living.

We would like to thank our readers, our staff, and all of the people of Evansville for accelerating our readership to levels that we had never dreamed possible. It seems that articles about promoting good public policy are getting traction. IS IT TRUE that the number of people in Evansville who advocate for positive responsible change through good public policy is growing daily?

Alexa.com is a website that ranks respective websites around the world according to the number of visitors that each site attracts. Alexa also presents these rankings with one month and three month trailing averages. During the last month the website www.city-countyobserver.com has risen in world wide rank by nearly 4.0 Million places.

The City County Observer is both pleased and surprised to rank ahead of all of these established organizations with recognized names. The City of Evansville (www.vanderburghgov.org) has moved up the Alexa Ranks ranks this week. The City of Evansville is now at #139,835 with only a 6,103 place lead over the City County Observer. Last Saturday the City of Evansville had a 200,000 place lead on the City County Observer and was sitting in roughly 250,000th place before this weeks 100,000+ place rise. IS IT TRUE that the there are some City of Evansville inspired visitors to that website that have taken on the challenge not to be passed by the City County Observer?

Awareness, Acknowledgement, and Actions Three Key Ingredients to Making a Profound Positive Difference in Life and Business

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Joe J. Wallace
Hadannah Business Solutions

The origins of entrepreneurship are the ideas and perspectives that people have and then act upon to create changes that often have profoundly positive economic or social outcomes. These outcomes can range from businesses in the manufacturing sector that create wealth through solving problems and offering solid solutions to elegant services that make human life better.

Ideas and perspectives germinate in the minds of acutely aware individuals during the day to day activity of living. By the powers of observation and through a healthy feeling of discontentment with the status quo, curious visionaries identify potential solutions to society’s problems. When these visionaries have ambition, drive, and access to capital, sometimes they become entrepreneurs. When their ideas become successful products and services, the entrepreneurs and their communities can accumulate wealth and enhance quality of life.

Awareness: Living a day to day lifestyle that is characterized by awareness is vital to individuals and businesses that aspire to become game changers. To solve problems and present solutions, one must be aware of the sources of discomfort and have the initiative to ponder how to improve life for all. The status quo is the target. Ideas, thoughts, and awareness are the arrows in the quivers of aspiring high impact people.

Higher consciousness is just as necessary for invention and technical innovation as it is for the initiation of sweeping social change. It all really starts with the acute awareness that leads to the recognition of problems that are in need of a solution. Other people’s problems are a treasure chest of opportunities for those with the curiosity and presence of mind to recognize them

Acknowledgement: Once a problem condition has been identified, it is important to progress through a period of contemplation for the purpose of truly accepting that the perceived problem is really a problem. It is necessary to go through a series of thoughts and discussions that completely convince both oneself and others that something significant will happen should a practical solution be developed for the problem that has been identified. At the conclusion of the acknowledgement phase, the investigator will not only have found a problem on which to ponder, but will have gotten outside validation for the need of a solution.

Action: When the need for a solution consumes an investigator to the point that it is decided to pursue solutions something magical happens. The quest for a solution has a way of taking on a life of its own and spontaneously attracting a variety of talented people to the cause. In the initial action stage potential solutions are formulated and vetted through brainstorming or even through using internet based open innovation forums. Promising solutions are identified and planning is begun to design and test the solution set. Unlike a lifestyle of awareness and acknowledgement of a specific problem, the action phase can take on many forms.

Sometimes the post eureka moment action will be a well written business plan to seek investment capital. Other times the action will result in a working prototype that can be tested prior to deciding what is needed to truly initiate the actualization of the solution. The action phase can become an endless loop of continuous improvement. Each iteration should be designed to make the solution better and more available to a wider audience.

As Andrew Grove, founder of Intel admonishes us in his book, “Only the Paranoid Survive”, it is only through blowing up the road you just passed over and making your solutions obsolete that a business can truly stay in front of competition.

Problems are Opportunities: Where are today’s opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship? We can all benefit from innovation in the areas of food, energy, education, healthcare, government, travel, workforce development, and a multitude of yet to be defined areas. The same was true 10 years ago, 50 years ago, and 100 years ago. A better question would be, “Where are we not in need of positive disruptive change”?

Evansville is at a crossroads. This region can frantically attempt to replace “jobs” as many other places are doing or Evansville can move forward with a strategic direction to replace the jobs that have been lost with jobs that are not subject to outsourcing. These jobs will only be jobs that identify and solve the world’s problems. When this region is seen as a place to go for solutions as opposed to hands and backs, then and only then will Evansville assume a place alongside the prosperous parts of America that are seen as problem solvers.

IS IT TRUE October 28, 2010

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Thursday October 28, 2010

IS IT TRUE that the remaining shell of the Executive Inn is only about half the width of the Parking Tower across the street, the Locust St. Parking garage, and every other parking garage in Downtown Evansville?…..that a traditional parking garage needs to be four (4) parking spaces plus two traffic lanes plus one turning radius wide?…..that nearly all traditional drive up parking structures are about half a block wide?……that the lot that the rapidly deteriorating Executive Inn sits on is not wide enough to support a free standing parking garage?…..that all three of the proposals that have been received by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission call for the new Downtown Convention Hotel to be placed where the Executive Inn Parking garage currently sits?…..that none of the proposals address any location details about a parking garage for the Downtown Convention Hotels that they are proposing?….that the City of Evansville has another dilemma due to lack of planning?…..that the citizens of Evansville may be asked to pay for some more overpriced land near the desired Downtown Convention Hotel to place a parking garage on?……that anyone with a computer can figure this one out by looking at a Google Maps picture of the Executive Inn and all of the parking lots in Downtown Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that the following link is to Google Maps and shows the pre-arena Executive Inn and its associated parking tower side by side? ….. that the following picture is worth a thousand press releases?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-sk-gm&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=map

IS IT TRUE that Vanderburgh County ranks 3rd in the State of Indiana for applications for voting with absentee ballots?….that 11,408 applications for absentee ballots have been requested by registered Vanderburgh County voters? …..that absentee voters are typically much more independent in their choice of candidates and shy away from voting straight party line ballots?…..that Marion County with 5 times as many people only has 50% higher requests for absentee ballots than Vanderburgh County?….that this could mean that absentee ballots from independent minded voters could determine every close race in Vanderburgh County?……that in the City County Observer Reader’s Poll at this time with over 250 votes recorded that respondents for SPLIT TICKET VOTING outnumber STRAIGHT TICKET voters by 3 to 1 margins over both political parties?……that SOME candidates for office in Vanderburgh County have had more than 10,000 ad views recorded on the City County Observer?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer article about “Polls vs. Moles: The Results and Predictions”, set an all time record for single day readership of any article in the CCO?…..that this article and our other hard hitting articles that promote good public policy and expose questionable public policy are why the City County Observer has risen to be one of the top 200,000 visited websites in the United States and is closing in on a top 1,000,000 ranking worldwide?

For Sale: 100 Ballfields, Price: $200 Million

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The recent controversy about the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s intention to spend $18 Million to demolish Robert’s Stadium and build 8 little league baseball fields has really drawn much of the City of Evansville into the debate about value. As previously reported by the City County Observer, there are Cadillac quality sports parks springing up all over the country yet we can’t seem to find any location that has spent over $2 Million each on little league ballfields.

Having been hectored continuously about how tight municipal budgets are and about how Evansville is a working class enclave with little money to spare, the City County Observer believes that our existing ballfields may just hold the solution to some of our economic doldrums and may even seed of future of prosperity. There must be some magic in the Ohio River that makes little league ballfields worth $2 Million each right here in little old Evansville. The beauty is that legend has it that we already have about 100 little league fields. Given local valuations our ballfields must be worth about $200 Million.

Our proposal is quite simple. We propose that the City of Evansville find a good realtor or business broker to sell our portfolio of ballfields. Our expectation of course it to raise approximately $200 Million from the sale and to use that money to rectify or improve some other areas in which we are lacking. Here are some of our ideas.

1. Sewer and Water Repairs ($200 Million is not enough but it is a good start)
2. Deferred Maintenance on City of Evansville Roads
3. Repair the Parks that we currently have
4. Clean up the Litter problem that continues to Plague the City of Evansville
5. Pay off the Arena and Centre Bonds
6. Establish a Business Investment Fund
7. New Industrial Park
8. Slackwater Port on the West Bank of the Ohio River
9. Establish a Clean Energy Research Center
10. Build a Downtown Convention Hotel (Actually build 5 or 6 for $200 Million)
11. Build 1,000 Front Door Pride houses

This is just a small portion of the list of activities that could be considered if we can really sell our portfolio of ballfields for $2 Million each and redeploy that money into other things. Of course we don’t really believe that ballfields are worth $2 Million each and are quite skeptical of the results that have been proposed that these 8 little fields of dreams will generate. We just wanted to put things into perspective. Please feel free to post your own suggestion on what the City of Evansville could do with the proceeds of this previously unrecognized value of our golden ballfields.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDATE MARSHA ABELL OPPOSES WESSELMAN PARK / ROBERTS STADIUM BALL FIELD PROJECT

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NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Marsha Abell
Ph. 812-453-3363

Oct 28, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDATE MARSHA ABELL OPPOSES
WESSELMAN PARK / ROBERTS STADIUM BALL FIELD PROJECT

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – County Commissioner candidate Marsha Abell is going on record as an opponent to the proposed Wesselman Park / Roberts Stadium Ball Field project. Abell, a former County Clerk, City Clerk and County Council member, says the ball field proposal is flawed.

“I don’t believe county hotel-motel tax funds should be used to demolish Roberts Stadium because the stadium is a city facility,” Abell states. “And I feel it is an insult and a disservice to residents who live near Wesselman Park and Roberts Stadium to declare the area a recovery zone because by law this designation signifies that the area is economically distressed. The designation will damage property values in that area.”

Abell states that County Commissioners neglected to discuss the ball field project on Tuesday, which was the last Commissioners’ meeting before the November 2 election. She says her opponent Troy Tornatta, who is currently Vice-President of the Vanderburgh County Commissioners, wants to hide from the ball field issue until after the election.

“The Wesselman Park / Roberts Stadium proposal is an issue that Vanderburgh County Commissioners are required to address in their meetings in order to move the project forward,” Abell says. “From time to time, our local government officials and candidates for elected office hide from the issues. But I make it a point to communicate my feelings about issues involving local government – especially before an election.”

Abell feels the City plan to use hotel-motel funds to tear down the stadium is a corporate bailout for Evansville’s mayor and the City of Evansville because the City neglected to plan for the cost of demolishing the Robert’s Stadium when budgeting for construction of the new downtown arena.

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State Representative Candidate Steven L. Smith announces Opposition to Further Taxpayer Funding of Indianapolis Arenas

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By Steven Lowell Smith

The latest budget approved by the Indiana General Assembly cut $297M from education. The same budget authorized the diversion of sales and income taxes of $8M/yr from the Indiana state general fund to the financially troubled Marion County Capital Improvement Board (CIB). This diversion is for the next 30 years. The CIB is the government entity that runs Lucas Oil Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse, and the Indianapolis Convention Center. Additionally the CIB received a $27M interest free loan to tide over its financial shortages. My opponent, incumbent State Representative from the 78th District Suzanne Crouch (R) was the only representative from Southwest Indiana to vote for this budget.

Furthermore, this summer the Mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard (R), approved a deal where the Indianapolis Pacers will no longer pay the $15M/yr in operating costs towards the management of Conseco Fieldhouse and they were given a $30M interest free loan to be forgiven at $10m/yr depending on whether the Pacers continue to stay in Indianapolis for the next three years. A review of the CIB’s 2009 financial statements shows that the CIB managed to turn their finances around and recorded operating income of approximately $10M. Now the CIB is facing a $25M negative swing to the downside.

The campaign rhetoric by the Republican candidates has been all about promoting smaller government and less spending yet we see our Governor Mitch Daniels (R), and the republican Mayor of Indianapolis deeply involved in the management of the CIB and authorizing taxpayer subsidies of these stadiums. Who are the indirect beneficiaries of these taxpayer subsidies? The billionaire owners of the Colts and the Pacers are the beneficiaries of this government largesse. Supporters of these policies have asserted that Professional Sports franchises bring in millions of dollars in tourism and entertainment while keeping Indianapolis in the on-deck circle to become a major American city. We can debate the amount of Hoosier pride that Professional Sports franchises bring to the state all day; however numerous studies show that Professional Sports are of dubious value to economic development and job creation.

In the course of my campaign I have knocked on thousands of doors and attended dozens of candidates meetings.

I have listened to laid off and displaced workers from Whirlpool and other Southwest Indiana businesses who have been waiting for months to begin their retraining classes so they can acquire a new skill in hopes of landing a new job that is less likely to be outsourced.

I have had many discussions with teachers right here in SW Indiana and across the state about the how damaging the cuts to education have been and continue to be.

I have heard tearful heart wrenching testimony from parents of children with developmental disabilities. Some of these parents are working two jobs to keep the bills paid while waiting day after day for the much needed news that they have been approved for a Medicaid waiver, yet our Governor continues to maintain that his budget cuts have not hurt ordinary Hoosiers.

I have heard about how Vanderburgh County has been a net tax giver to the statehouse for years, receiving fewer dollars from the state than we pay in taxes to the state.

I have learned recently that Indiana’s already high poverty rate is higher than the national average and that SW Indiana where District 78 is located is one of Indiana’s poverty pockets.

I have heard about Indiana’s looming pension fund crises. I have had elected officials tell me about our Unemployment Compensation Fund being several billion dollars in debt to the Federal Government. I have had business and community leaders tell me about the final leg of I-69 still being on the back burner of funding compared to road projects in the rest of the state.

Barring a dramatic upturn in Indiana’s economy and with the federal stimulus dollars running out, the upcoming state budget will present enormous challenges. To help alleviate some of the state’s budget problems I have put forward my ideas to help increase economic development and create jobs, including cost savings recommendations like a statewide smoking ban that would improve the health and welfare of thousands of restaurant, bar and casino employees and save the state millions of dollars in health insurance costs.
So what has any of this have to do with Southwestern Indiana and my campaign for the statehouse against incumbent Representative Crouch? Well, given the CIB’s shaky finances it is highly likely that the CIB will come to the legislature this fall hat in hand asking for more money. I have already pledge to vote no to any further taxpayer subsidies to the CIB.

With all the needs of Hoosier families, the need for infrastructure improvements, and all the other vital needs across the state, the state legislature needs to ask Mr. Irsay, the owner of the Colts and the Simon family, the owner of the Pacers to make a business decision about the financial viability of their franchises without taxpayer subsidies.

Southwestern Indiana needs a champion and defender in the statehouse who will fight for funding our needs, not giving priority to the needs of the Professional Sports Franchises in Indianapolis. I hope District #78 voters will review the positions of each candidate and give my campaign serious consideration.

October Political Cartoons

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College Completion Rates, Manufacturing and Logistics Success Go Hand-in-Hand

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If asked to identify one statistic that predicts future economic success, it’s hard to ignore the percentage of young people with college degrees. Education drives innovation, productivity and higher wages.

That’s why it’s such a concern that the United States has slipped to 12th among developed countries in our percentage of 25 to 34-year-olds with an associate degree or higher. A few weeks ago, President Obama called for the United States to return to the top of the rankings by 2020 – a daunting goal that will require a 20% increase in college graduates over the next decade.

In Indiana, the climb is even steeper – we’re well below the national average in the educational attainment of young adults; just one of three young Hoosiers goes on to complete a college degree. We’ll need to almost double that to be competitive with countries like Korea, Canada and Japan.

This educational deficit puts our future at risk. Our capacity for technological and scientific innovation is the biggest competitive advantage that the United States has left in the global economy. As more highly-educated workers (the Baby Boomers) begin retiring, we confront a younger workforce ill-equipped to innovate. To be blunt, you can’t sustain a knowledge-based economy without knowledgeable workers.

In Indiana, the impact of a less-educated workforce will threaten the very foundation of our economy, manufacturing and logistics.

In June, Deloitte Consulting and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness released the annual Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index for 2010. The study (based on a survey of 400+ manufacturing CEOs worldwide) ranked access to educated workers capable of supporting innovation as by far the biggest determinant of success, ahead of factors like the cost of labor and materials, energy costs, and tax/regulatory climates.

Not surprisingly, the same study shows the United States slipping to fourth place in its manufacturing index rankings. The third place country, Korea, finished far ahead of the U.S. in its percentage of younger workers with college credentials. The top two finishers, China and India, have vastly expanded their pool of educated workers in recent years (the number of Chinese college graduates entering the job market each year has grown more than 600% from 1999 to 2009).

It’s clear that improving college completion rates is essential to maintaining our domestic manufacturing base. In Indiana, the erosion of this base would also jeopardize the logistics industry that gets manufactured goods into the hands of customers across the country and around the world. And as global supply chains become more complex and ‘just in time’ inventories the norm, the logistics sector faces its own skilled worker shortages.

Many of President Obama’s proposals to boost higher education focuses on affordability, aiming to increase Pell Grants and expand tuition tax credits. But while the cost of college is a key issue, we face other hurdles in Indiana specific to manufacturing and logistics: Too many young Hoosiers aren’t aware of the high-tech jobs available, and there’s a lack of educational programs that deliver the specific skills that employers are looking for.

These challenges make up a large part of Conexus Indiana’s mission: We’re working to promote manufacturing and logistics careers through our ‘Dream It. Do It.’ campaign. At the same time, we’ve used industry input to create a very specific, multi-layered skills template that details what manufacturers and logistics companies are looking for in new employees. The Indiana Department of Education and Commission for Higher Education have both embraced this template, and we’re working with our educational partners to create ‘industry-approved’ programs that can steer students into the most in-demand job openings.

But clearly this issue is bigger than any one organization, school or government agency. We need focus and coordinated action among policymakers, employers, educators and opinion leaders to push Indiana up the rankings in college completion rates and preserve our manufacturing and logistics edge. The same kind of attention is needed at the federal level to build a world-class workforce.

The only certainty is that a lack of action will cause us to fall even further behind in educational attainment and economic competitiveness. We must act now, before today’s challenge turns into tomorrow’s crisis.

Andre B. Lacy is Chairman of LDI Ltd., a holding company that focuses on value-added distribution businesses. He is an emeritus member of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, and chairs the Workforce Development Task Force for Conexus Indiana’s Logistics Council.

A Profile of Nick Hermann Candidate for Vanderburgh County Prosecutor

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When Nick Hermann’s family gets together, with very few exceptions there is no one in the room that has chosen to pursue a life anywhere but Evansville, Indiana. Hermann’s Candy Store was among the first businesses established in the City of Evansville and is still a fond subject of Nick Hermann. Mr. Hermann lights up when asked about Evansville and openly shares his experiences as a student, a football player and wrestler at Memorial High School.

As many young people do, Mr. Hermann left Evansville to pursue a college education at Ball State University where he majored in Chemistry and was president of the chemistry club. His work in the family’s interest as a poll worker from the time he could walk attracted him to develop friendships with many political science majors while at BSU. During a stint as an intern at the Ely Lilly Corporation, where he served as a process chemist working on a project to develop anti-cancer treatments Mr. Hermann became interested in the legal aspects of intellectual property. In particular, he recognized the knowledge gap between chemists and patent attorneys. His technical background and his interest in law lead him to set his career as a Chemist aside in favor the law school at Indiana University.

Mr. Hermann’s law career began in the office of the Marion County Prosecutor where he was on staff in an office and was involved in trying up to 3 cases per week. Many of the cases involved direct courtroom prosecution and others involved creating a position of strength from which effective and appropriate justice was negotiated. According to Hermann, that position of strength only can be established through preparation, sufficient knowledge to predict the outcome of a pending trial, and a good faith approach to managing each individual case. It was that on the job experience that has provided Mr. Hermann with one of the innovations that he intends to implement in the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office.

When offered an opportunity to use that experience back in Evansville on the staff of the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor, Mr. Hermann could not resist the call of home. It was an opportunity in the Prosecutor’s office that brought Nick back to the place that 7 generations of Hermann’s have lived out their lives. Mr. Hermann’s goal is for his next step to be into the office of the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor.

As a former football player, Nick Hermann sees the role of the Prosecutor much as the role of the quarterback. A championship team requires good communication and the trust of the other members of the team. In the Prosecutor’s case that team is made up of law enforcement, the attorneys and staff of the Prosecutor, and the Coroner. Calling the right plays to allocate the resources to deal with the some 2,500 felonies per year that are committed in Vanderburgh County is the job of the Prosecutor. Historically there are about 25 cases per year that are ultimately determined by a jury. The remaining felony arrests are either the subject of plea bargains or are dismissed.

Mr. Hermann recognized in his time in the Marion County Prosecutors office that cases were directly assigned to attorneys as opposed to a relay race approach. One of the innovations that he is enthusiastic about is to implement the direct assignment approach in Vanderburgh County. It is his belief that the efficiency of prosecution will be greatly enhanced by that approach strengthening the position from which to negotiate when plea bargains are appropriate and shortening the time that people waiting for trial have to spend in the Vanderburgh County Jail. The swift justice of a streamlined process will save money and move favorably toward providing relief to jail overcrowding.

Nick Hermann is a self described person who likes to solve problems that have multiple possible outcomes. He is also passionate about volunteering in organizations that serve children and fundamentally believes that the purpose of the criminal justice system is to keep crime from happening. As a frequent volunteer in the Juvenile Drug Court, his efforts are spent trying to keep future crimes from happening with positive interventions. Interventions are designed to disrupt a person’s ability to follow a bad life path. Disruption of lives headed in the wrong direction and in lives that are on a path of destruction in a way to correct such behavior while protecting the people of Vanderburgh County is the next step that Nick Hermann wants very much to take.

Paid for by Hermann for Prosecutor, Mike Robinson, Treasurer

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