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Big GOP Gains Shift to City Halls Majority

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Big GOP Gains Shift to City Halls Majority V17, N13 Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 Big GOP gains shift to city halls majority. Some GOP strat- ‘Political Porn’ egists believe the party has a shot at a 67-seat backfires on Fry, super majority there in Kennedy; new era 2012. Republicans now for Gary, South Bend hold a majority of mayor- al offices in Indiana with By BRIAN A. HOWEY a 61 to 54 edge (with INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosier two Independents). Two Republicans continued to make races, Connersville and advances by picking up 13 mayoral Rising Sun remained to seats (and leading in two others) be called, but Republicans while Mayor Greg Ballard won a led both, Democrats had convincing reelection and the party a 68 to 48 to 3 advantage held onto Terre Haute and picked after the 2007 cycle. up heavily Democratic Evansville, “This is a great Jeffersonville, LaPorte, Portage and night for Hoosier taxpay- Anderson. ers across the state,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Indiana Republican Chair- Henry and State Rep. Dennis Tyler man Eric Holcomb. “Our kept the state’s second largest city goal was to preserve and in Democratic hands and won in expand the number of Muncie. good government Repub- But after ending 16 years licans and we surpassed of Democratic gubernatorial rule in that goal, even winning in 2004, Republicans have picked up places unimaginable just two U.S. House seats, a U.S. Sen- a few months ago, like ate seat, four seats in the Indiana Senate and now rule the Indiana House with a 60-seat Continued on page 3 Analyzing Fort Wayne By MARK SOUDER FORT WAYNE - Indiana’s second largest city again served as a bellwether for politics, with incumbent Demo- crat Mayor Tom Henry getting reelected in a mild upset. Here are some lessons learned. “The only way we can recover 1.) 2011 was not 2010: the and surpass what our old pros- words “Reelected, incumbent and Democrat” were rarely used together perity was is with new energy, in 2010. Yet another so-called historic election proved not to have sea legs. In new options and new alliances. Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey and We must take new risks and Mississippi liberal Democrats proved to be less extinct than the mastodon. They create new opportunities.” may be still on the endangered list, but - South Bend’s Peter Buttigieg HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 2 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 good behavior could repopulate them. Now we are working rapidly toward Turnout was poor in Fort Wayne, lower the New York City model of pointing than in 2007, even with thousands of out that our opponent is a cross-dress- newly annexed voters. In other words, ing, whoring, tax cheat who would instead of just the Democrats being hate his mom if he knew who she www.HoweyPolitics.com deflated, apparently both parties have was. And that’s just the warm-up. lost air. Here is the Fort Wayne munici- 5.) Negative ads appear pal election voter turnout percentages to be used as a tactic to deflate Howey Politics for the last twenty years: 1991 – 42.0, turnout: Somewhere along the line a Indiana 1995 – 36.9, 1999 – 34.8, 2003 – candidate will again try the novel ap- is a non-partisan newsletter 38.4, 2007 – 32.4 and 2011 – 26.2. proach of trying to inspire voters with based in Indianapolis. It was It appears that 2011 was the all-time a vision other than “did you hear this founded in 1994 in Fort Wayne. lowest turnout. about my opponent?” The goal seems 2.) If only Mayor Henry to be that if you can’t convince people had tried to pass national health to vote for you, depress them and Brian A. Howey, Publisher care: While many issues came togeth- cause doubts about the opposition so Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington er to build the Tea Party movement, they will stay home. Jack E. Howey, editor I and others always suspected that na- 6.) The cities are becoming Beverly K. Phillips, associate tional health care was the big motiva- more Democrat as the surround- tor as opposed to truly balancing the ing areas become more Republi- editor budget with the then required changes can: in Medicare and Social Security. The Indianapolis remains a rare excep- Subscriptions more thoughtful folks in the leader- tion (remnants of Unigov remain with $350 annually HPI Weekly ship of the Tea Party movement saw Republicans hanging on until more it as a battle over the Constitution as Republicans can sell their homes and $550 annually HPI Weekly and President Obama seemed determined move to the collar counties). Fort HPI Daily Wire. to challenge every section but not the Wayne and South Bend remain Demo- 'Call 317.627.6746 masses. crat, with Democrat mayors in Elkhart 3.) Hope and change are and Goshen, engulfed by an ocean out: Some experience was preferred of Republicans in north central and Contact HPI this time, and we’ve had quite enough northeastern Indiana. To reshape my Howey Politics Indiana of this change stuff. Incumbents favorite Hoosier expression: You can 6255 N. Evanston Ave. actually fared pretty well, from both count the number of Democrat small Indianapolis, IN 46220 parties. Apparently voters believe that city mayors on one hand and have www.howeypolitics.com it is okay to gamble on inexperience enough fingers left to bowl. Tonya in foreign policy and our economy, Hoeffel won in Garrett, and is the [email protected] but not with picking up leaves, snow first Republican elected since 1979. 'Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 removal, and sewers. Or perhaps they Columbia City went Republican. The 'Washington: 703.248.0909 learned something in 2008 ... that Democrats did not even field candi- 'Business Office: 317.627.6746 change isn’t always good and hope is dates in New Haven and Kendallville, elusive at best. formerly Democrat leaning cities of 4.) Negative ads get nas- over 10,000. © 2011, Howey Politics Indiana. tier, but at least there are more 7.) Coat-tails were a bit All rights reserved. Photocopy- of them: For the first time in the Fort shaky: Mayor Tom Henry accused ing, Internet forwarding, fax- Wayne area, the candidate who aired Paula Hughes of being a tax cheat ing or reproducing in any form, the sleaziest ads won. Politics in In- based upon late taxes paid by a corpo- whole or part, is a violation of diana has always been a blood sport, ration of which she and her husband but normally you just accuse the other had a 10% ownership stake, and in federal law without permission person of lying about taxes, spending spite of the fact, that when told the from the publisher. v every dime we will earn for the next owner had failed to pay, the Hughes decade, being incompetent to govern, paid 100% of the taxes. Instead of and, if absolutely desperate, smearing getting a Taxpayer’s Friend Award, their integrity by calling them a liberal. Paula was blasted as an untrustworthy HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 3 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 tax avoider while wanting you to pay more taxes. Hughes an accident that the independent’s vote was 1,781 and the aired what seemed to be a pretty impressive ad featuring a margin of victory was 1,634. prominent local businessman, the executive director of the 9.) Republicans increasingly choose to let the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, perfect be the enemy of the good: Urban Republicans Congressman Mike Pence, and Allen County Sheriff Ken like those in Fort Wayne are more moderate than those Fries saying “I trust Paula.” Governor Mitch Daniels aired surrounding the city. Kendallville, Goshen and Warsaw Re- similar ads. In spite of all these officials, plus Congressman publicans are more moderate than those surrounding them Marlin Stutzman, weighing in for Paula and even the Demo- (which isn’t exactly saying that the Republicans in those crat Fort Wayne newspaper basically calling the Henry ad a cities are moderates). In Fort Wayne, there have been lie, the people chose not to trust Paula and instead be- repeated divisive primaries and enough of the losers pout lieved the lie. Gives one pause. to let the Democrats win (one candidate who was convicted 8.) Will debates ever feature the main candi- of felony charges, but other than that). It is already clear dates again or are we doomed to include nuts too? that it happened again, with the Republicans gaining a City It seems to me that a basic rule to participate in a general Council seat to go up 6 to 3, outpolling Democrats in the election debate should be that someone had to actually individual districts by thousands, and for the citywide seats nominate you beyond just yourself. Failing that, a literacy by thousands yet losing the Mayor’s race. Will this in-fight- test should be required. A third party guy, who the Mayor ing stop, or we will see it again in 2012? Senator Lugar and was so gushingly effusive over during the debate, you Mitt Romney wait with baited breath. v would have thought he was a city contractor who gave the mayor the necessary big contribution. I’m sure it was just Souder is a former Republican congressman. “A lot of people came to us and said, ‘That’s not Mayors, from page 1 right,’” Wood said of the IDP fliers. The Democrats’ 7-2 majority on the city council loosened to 5-4. The South LaPorte and Portage.” Bend Tribune reported that Fry spoke to Democratic council Republicans forged a number of victories in such candidates and said to those who lost, “If I contributed to Democratic strongholds as Indianapolis – where the City- this, I’ll forever feel bad.” County Council now claims a Democratic majority – in Terre Indianapolis Democrats used a debate quote by Haute and Evansville, where Vanderburgh Commissioner Ballard, who talked about a “difficult population” in an ad Lloyd Winnecke became only the fourth Republican mayor running on African-American radio.
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