1L POLITICAL REPORT
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Thursday, March 16, 1995•Volume1,Number26 Page 1of8 Preva1l1ng wage I -~ J I. I l \ I. I labor I ·~ igniting ' ' I I ' \ ~ ·, I I ' l I~ I I \ \ ,_ I,\ , ,__ Seven House seats vulnerable to Tl-IE Democrat recoup of worker vote Joe Hogsett knew it at 7 a.m. Election Day, when workers outside an Anderson auto plant seemed polite, but detached. Jack Williams of the Howard County UAW CAP Council HOWEY '1l knew it that night. "I tracked 11 precincts in the Kokomo area, all either strong Democrat or marginal for the Demcorats;' Williams said of his town with huge Chrysler and Delco plants. "What I found out there was about half the people in those precincts didn't vote. POLITICAL "If half of that half had voted, we would not have lost Earl Howard;' Williams said. State Rep. Howard lost to Republican Jon Padfield by 1,226 REPORT vctes. Now, because of Indiana Republicans pressing the prevail The Weekly Briefing On Indiana Politics ing wage issue, Padfield, along with House colleagues like John Becker, John Kimmel, Sally Rideout Lambert, David Lohr, Irene Heffley and Dorothy Womacks figure to be on the 1996 endangered politicians list Combined, those seven Republicans in heavy labor The Howey Political Report is published by The districts in Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Boonville, Indianapolis and Newsletter Center,a subsidiary of Nixon Newspapers lnc. Kokomo won by a combined 4,000 votes. · The Howey Political Report is an independent, non All those victories came in districts where labor either didn't partisan newsletter analyzing the political process in vote or significant numbers voted Republican. The fact that more Indiana. It neither endorses candidates nor advocates than 20,000 workers turned out for a Tuesday rally at the Statehouse positions of public policy was a true wake-up call for Republicans. But even if the Senate Brian A. Howey, editor Office/Fax: 219-420-0909 changes the course of action on the issue, it's probably too late. 1707N.Anthony Blvd. Mobilenet:219-438-5105 "This was like kicking a sleeping dog;' explained Mark Fort Wayne, IN 46805 AOL: [email protected] Crouch, associate professor oflabor studies at Indiana-Purdue, Fort For Subscription information call: 317-473-3091 Wayne. "You've got to expect it to start biting back.:' © 1995, The Howey Political Report There is little data available on what percentage of Hoosier laborers voted Republican or didn't vote. House Minority Leader John continued on page l {(QUOTE" OF THE WEEK INSIDE F E A T U R E S • Ill !Mi •Cartoonist Bob Lang sizes up prevailing wage page2 • Hoosier press scours Lugar's record pages4-5 "Revolutions are not for • Quayle will take"some time"to decide plans page6 moderates ... " • Columnists Leonard, Colwell, Will, Julian page 7 - Washington Post • Morton Marcus"Speculates" on regulations page8 Page 2of8 Thursday, March 16, 1995 0 Hillv1~::).R M I l l Gregg put the fall-off numbers betwef! n 3, 1C' : :i two years. 6,000 votes. He ran unopposed. in hls Knc,,:c Jim pfaff, wh1i lbelped Republicans in •111,u~• 11m11W111i• County district, and ran 3,00~ votes bd1i nd. hi~ all seven districts as pa rt' of the Opportunity Wendel!isms 1992 totals. Project of Indiana, ca lh d Tuesday's trumout • By Wien dell Trog1~<H'i In fact, th.ere are few :statistirn to b tck "really interesting:' Indianapolis News up the decline in organfaed labor sup])N1' f;· r "With Padfidt1!, it's clearly an issue;' he J ~::I · said. "It wi.H 1be on a lot oif legislators' minds. But Q, "Will I get seasick on ariverboat Democrats. Chuck Deppart of the APL- :::11 we're fighting for a p1i111dple here~' casino in the WeSi: Baden m0<1t?" lit have figures, nor did State ~.en. Robe 11· D~:m ocrat Ver 1 Tincher of Time Haute A. "No, just dizzy from circling the Hellman, who couldn't even gaugewlml imr act was another who lo~. 1 '"\ hile labor sat on its hotel." prevailing wage m'.ght have on Senat1~ r .11. •. ir 1996. hands. "He didrrt get tln e1 r help:' said 1•eteran "I've got to figure tlbiere were 50iU t 116101) journalist Dick Robin:s.1 ~1r:1. "He didn't get the AJegisl.atorsays tl~e Genera I 1 Assembly is goofier than ever Forget people from each Senat~! district out th1!11'•'!: labor vote?' 2 perci~:rrl I 1 Pfaff agreed.'' Pnlitically, there was no Florida. See the Disney characters at Hellman said. "That would be 11J !1: big labor involvement there?' the Statehouse. normal vote:' In some districts, it could be l:.i~•! !J., r. What should! 1H: a concern to 1•• ' Becker defeated Democrat E·en GiaQ1Jrnt::, 1 ,c .1 Republicans is that 111a11y of the issues OPI and Devil's Dicti1[>nary, mere 7 votes on election night But m:~r,1: J1 n movement conserva.!1'1!":~: successfully appealed by Ambrose Biel'CE! 2,000 buildingtradesm~!n took 18 bu~;e:: ::o to blue coHar worke1rs and tradesme·n were guns, Indianapolis on Tuesday to prntest." ,1\. h:a.1: to welfare and abortion. "'I had a guy tell me he Insurrection, n. An unsurmsful get three more buses at the last minut1:, · i1.a1. ~kt voted Republican be :a ii, e of abortion;' Williams revolution. Disaffection's fa1lu' eto Gonzalez of Fort Wayne said of the J>adfield/l·fo.~1ard race. "He told me again~, substitute misrule for bad ~iovern Simple math in rehtionship i:o Ih1: he'd never do that ment.. skinny margins the Republicarns won dJi:! H 11.rne Crouch recaU1·d how surprised he was by in seven tradionally-stro11g labor d ~ lrK s is during an Allen Cow:Hr get out the vote. "The Labc1r,n. One of the processe'S by indicative that the GOP will have a pr: M1: n:: in responses I got on Election Day pemmallywas • which Aacqu res property I'm B. contmue1 on page 3 ·------------•oauu"'"" -=.,•-------•-•••------- Page3 of8 Thursday, March 16, 1995 Labor's 1996 battleground for the Indiana House 30th House District 74th House District 1OOth House District TICKER (Kokomo) (Warrck,Spencer, Perry) (Indianapolis) p Padfield 8,589 Lambert 10,589 Womacks 3,969 T A E Howard 7.363 Phillips 10.314 Day 3.818 Difference 1,226 275 151 Sen. Richard Lugar's campaign kick-off will be at noon Wednesday 80th House District Ashift of 3,987 votes in 43rd H use District Aprll 19,at Monument Cirde in (Terre Haute) (Fort Wayne) these seven Indiana House Indianapolis. campaign fund-raisers Kimmel 8,549 Becker 5,206 of Representative Districts wlll take place in Fort Wayne on Keams 7.092 GiaQuinta 5.199 would have allowed the Aprll 19;Northwest Indiana on April 1,457 7 Democrats to retain control 20; LaPorte, Warsaw and Elkhart on of the House. Both Aprll 21,Muncle and Columbus, 0., 46th H use District 97th House District Democratic Party and orga on April 22; Evansville and (Vigo, Clay, Owen) (Indianapolis) nized labor officials believe Indianapolis on Aprll 23;and Lohr 8, 160 Heffley 4,782 all these districts were Jeffersonville/New Albany on April Tincher 8.034 Cantwell 4.037 impacted by a lack of labor 24. 126 745 turnout. Elkhart native Terry Holt has signed on with the Lugar campaign Labor, from page 2 from the westerly Statehouse steps and called it "a defining moment Most of these people didn't as director of its New Eng land oper 'I'm not going to vote for those damn Dem see the difference between Democrats and ations. Holt is fresh off managing ocrats' and a number of others said 'I'm not Republicans until this:• George Nethercutt's upset victo going to vote at all, I'm disgusted with the whole Hellman called the upcoming Senate ry over House Speaker Tom mess: deliberations and potential vote (Senate Foley and has managed 3rd CD "What this does is it energizes a por President Pro Tern Robert Garton will assign HB campaigns for John HUer and Carl tion of the labor movement that has not been 1008 to committee) "the defining vote of theses- Baxrneyer. Joe BUI Wiley has politically active~ Crouch said. "They had no sion:' signed on as campaign finance reason to activate last November because we And Hellman predicted that both Vigo director In Indianapolis, and were getting corporate Democrats who weren't County seats, along with Lambert's, "would have Jennffer Cutshall will be deputy involved with traditional constituencies:• been won back any\.vay. This is just icing on the press secretary. Said Williams, "We in labor really cake:' needed something to get our backs reared up. Some Statehouse observers give Lugar is urging cuts in com, wheat, Something like this can build momentum:' Kimmel and Womacks reasonable chances to cotton and rice subsidies of3 per Democrat Baron Hill watched the rally retain their cent ayear over afive-year pertod. continued on pageB aEven at that level of cuts, (the price) is still 108 percent higher The Howey Political Report is copyright 1995 by The Newsletter Center, than the market price average for Inc., and Nixon Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. 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