Winnecke and Davis both Trash “the Machine†in Mayoral Debate
The candidates for Mayor of Evansville squared off again last night in what was the final of the three joint appearances that were agreed upon by the campaigns back in the summer. In a well moderated debate where both candidates appear to have a bit of “campaign fatigue†setting in only a few new things were brought to light by the candidates.
The opening remarks set the stage for the evening as Lloyd Winnecke came out swinging accusing Davis of wanting to return to the “machine politics of the pastâ€. Winnecke also gave proper credit to Governor Daniels for his leadership in restoring the now well known Homestead Tax Credit that was removed by the inaction of our local government. Winnecke emphasized that the decision to remove the Homestead Tax Credit was driven and controlled by City of Evansville officials who controlled sufficient votes to make this happen without consulting Vanderburgh County officials. Winnecke avoided naming names with regard to the intentional lapsing of the Homestead Tax Credit but most viewers read between the lines that Mayor Weinzapfel was driving that bus.
Davis countered Winnecke’s opening statement by stating that the “Good Old Boy†ways of sneaky closed door meetings will not be tolerated in his administration and that leadership is about more than style. The opening remarks it seems firmly establishes that both candidates have disdain for the “Good Old Boy Machine†that is becoming the scapegoat for the sins of the past in Evansville and that both think their opponent is part of “the Machineâ€.
Ford Center was the topic of the first question and both candidates expressed optimism and hope that the state of the art facility will bring enough prosperity to downtown Evansville to justify the $128 Million that it cost to build plus the added costs of associated projects. While Winnecke was very optimistic and stated that the Ford Center will complete the revitalization of downtown Evansville, Davis was more cautious and stated that 3,500 people per game for the Aces and Icemen will not be enough and that more than 10 concerts per year will be necessary. Both candidates will be in the stands when the Aces play Butler on November 12th.
The Local Option Income Tax increase was the next topic breached with each candidate vowing to concentrate more on reducing spending before considering raising taxes. The time allocated for this question was mostly spent on another volley regarding the Homestead Tax Credit where Davis actually called Winnecke a “Liar†over his interpretation of events. Davis did raise an interesting an often forgotten point that the Homestead Tax Credit actually was taken away from the people of Vanderburgh County and that he as Treasurer had to reissue the tax bills after Governor Daniels intervened to restore the credit. It was also mentioned that refunds were distributed to those homeowners who had paid their taxes in full before the Homestead Tax Credit was reinstated by the Governor.
Both candidates agreed on the following question that was directed at the recent incident where a citizen of Evansville carried a firearm to the Evansville Zoo. Both candidates expressed support for the 2nd amendment and see proper training of the Evansville Police Department as the solution.
On the subject of consolidation the candidates legitimately disagree with Winnecke supporting it and Davis opposing consolidation.
The subject of shutting down City of Evansville offices that are “useless†or redundant was next with Davis responding that he would like to hire the best department heads to run the city offices as a customer service organization.
Winnecke advocated for simplification and removal of red tape. He then relayed a personal experience with an unnamed City of Evansville employee where he took on the role of a “secret shopper†and was met with rudeness and disrespect. Winnecke then spoke of a project with a private development where the developer was served a $60,000 negative surprise after things were rolling on the project due to poor planning on the part of the City of Evansville. Davis’s rebuttal simply stated that he had never experienced rudeness in the Civic Center.
The subject of offering same sex benefits for City of Evansville employees was addressed the same way by both candidates with each expressing a willingness to consider this benefit if the economics of the situation could be justified.
The next to last question of the night was with respect to what each candidate would like to be looking back on after three years in office. Davis took the opportunity to state that he would like to see the Combined Sewer Overflow problem that is estimated to cost between $500 Million and $800 Million to be well understood stating that the EPA had busted the City of Evansville for not providing a sufficient sewer system to keep #2 out of the street when a “gullywasher†came down. He also stated that he would like to see the Evansville Aces in the Sweet 16 of March Madness and that lots of good and affordable concerts would be at the Ford Center.
Winnecke also addressed the CSO issue while adding that he would like to have led the effort to eradicate litter in Evansville and will have begun to see tangible results from his jobs plan. He also stated that he hopes to restore a voice to the people of Evansville in how the city is run.
The final question of the night was regarding what should be done with respect to the flare up of gang activity in South Evansville. Winnecke responded first and spoke about a recent ride along that he did with EPD officers to the area of town that is plagued by gang violence. He admitted to seeing many young people just hanging out on street corners and that the atmosphere was simply not inviting. Winnecke stated that the people of the neighborhoods and the churches of the community should be heavily involved in a solution. He also spoke of some research he had done into how Peoria has handled a similar issue with an unmanned assault vehicle with cameras and other monitoring equipment being parked in these neighborhoods reducing the crime rates.
Davis cited how a bad home life leads young people to join gangs and that some of what we are seeing now is related to the bad economy. Davis also cited neighborhood associations, the ministry, and the Boys & Girls Clubs as important part of a solution to gang violence.
The closings were opportunities used by both candidates to bust on each other for being visionless, playing on fears, and being part of the “Old Boy Machineâ€. Davis in his closing produced a newspaper article that reported that Winnecke cast the deciding vote to end a Welfare to Work program while Winnecke stated his intention to maintain a positive attitude and demeanor going forward.
