Star Wants Four More Years Of Lies And Corruption

I said months ago the Star's editorial writers had already made up their minds to endorse the failed leadership of Mayor Bart Peterson for another four years. While the eggheads who make up the Star's editorial board will nitpick from day-to-day about the many problems with this administration, at the end of the day, it is far more important to them to have an inviting seat at the table of the ruling elite in this town who operate government as if it were their own personal kingdom and the rest of us are mere servants to them. The fact that you face a future of higher taxes, more crime and unbridled corruption is of little concern to them.

Mayor Peterson has hardly made a case for his own re-election, but the Star ticks off a list of what it sees as accomplishments supporting four more years of him:

• "He is fixing the antiquated sewer system." Response: He has no choice. It's called the Clean Water Act, a federal law which is holding a gun to his head. The largest cost of rebuilding the system is being shouldered by the working class.
• "He has created a charter school system that provides families with a valuable alternative for educating their children." Response: Charter schools have been awarded to political cronies of the mayor, while IPS, the public school system which serves many of our most in need citizens continues to rank as one of the worst public school systems in the nation.
• "He negotiated agreements that are leading to a midfield terminal at the airport and a major expansion of the Convention Center." Response: Check out the mayor's campaign finance reports. It's replete with contractors making bucco bucks off this project. If the feds would bother to investigate, a number of folks would go to prison. The RCA Dome, on which we still owe $75 million of the original $75.8 million construction cost will be torn down to make room for an expanded convention center. Smart deal?
• "He helped forge a deal that kept the Colts in Indianapolis." Response: At what cost? A $700 million stadium built on the backs of taxpayers with no funding stream to operate the damn stadium. Absolutely no other NFL team owner made off better at the expense of taxpayers than this one-sided deal. Jim Irsay's gain is a huge burden on the city's taxpayers, which could bankrupt the city before it's all over.
• "He promoted government efficiency by merging the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department." Response: He gave up control of the police department in the midst of a crime explosion and didn't produce a dime's worth of savings for the taxpayers, his phony claims notwithstanding.
• "He is pursuing consolidation of township fire departments with the Indianapolis Fire Department, a move that will save money and improve service." Response: He allowed a government consolidation plan to fail because he wouldn't force the most corrupt township in the state of Indiana, Center Township, to be eliminated.
• "He helped shepherd deals that led to major Downtown construction, including the Simon headquarters and the Conrad Hotel." Response: Again, he gave away more than $50 million in public funds to the area's most wealthy citizens, not to mention eliminating a city park facing our State House in the process.

All of the strengths identified by the Star point up serious flaws in his administration of this city for the past 8 years. While giving Peterson a complete pass, the Star raises the bar in its evaluation of Greg Ballard. "But Ballard is a rookie when it comes to politics," the editors write. "His inexperience has often shown during the campaign." Translated, that means Ballard is an unknown to the ruling elite and can't be trusted to carry out their orders. "Ballard hasn't shown a sufficient understanding of the city's problems or of potential solutions," the editors continued. "[H]is inability to recruit support from his own party calls into question how he would fare as mayor in rallying people from various backgrounds to help his initiatives succeed." In other words, as long as the ruling elite vetoes you, you will never earn the endorsement of the Star.

Why don't these Star editorial writers just hang up writing editorials altogether. It makes no sense to harp day in and day out about the multiple problems which plague this city if you're simply going to conclude that the voters should re-elect the same people who have been responsible for dealing with those problems for years. And don't forget, these same eggheads urged you to re-elect Julia Carson to Congress for another two years last year. She has one of the worst attendance records in Congress because of her poor health and, when she does show up to vote, we don't know even know if she has a mental capacity to cast a vote because one of her colleagues or staff members must cast her vote for her. Thanks a lot, Star editors, for once again failing your readers miserably.