Many Marion County Democrats will tell you their party made two big mistakes four years ago in electing Kenneth Ackles as Coroner and Mary Catherine Barton as Surveyor. Ackles, an African-American chiropractor, has been at the center of many controversies over his management of the office, including today's disclosure that he failed to pass a state-mandated basic education requirement for serving as coroner. Nonetheless, Democrats chose to re-slate him along with another African-American officeholder first elected four years ago, Marion Co. Treasurer Mike Rodman. Barton, who is white, was dumped. Debbie Jenkins was slated in her place.
On the Republican side, voters are the big winners in the selection of Dr. John Pless as the GOP's candidate for coroner. A highly-respected forensic pathologist, Pless is imminently more qualified than Ackles to run this office. Republicans also nominated David Moscrip for Treasurer and Erika Pugh for Surveyor. I know nothing about Moscrip or Pugh so I really can't say what kind of candidates they will make.
Some of you may also be interested to know that Democrats slated Mary Ann Sullivan over City-County Councilor Dane Mahern for the Indiana House seat being vacated by State Rep. Jon Elrod (R), who is running for the 7th District congressional seat. It doesn't look like the Mahern clan's decision to back Andre Carson in the January slating for the special election paid any dividends for Mahern's bid in slating today.
40 comments:
Doesn't Debbie Jenkins hava a bankruptcy in her past?
André Carson's acceptance speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bcIAu1KOC0
Carson wins the slate from the pc's, but he wont win the primary election from the voters!
The deck was stacked against Dane because he had the integrity to vote against the ex-mayors county tax increase. Dane's opponent was allowed to appoint approx. 15 new committee people, most of whom had NEVER voted in a primary and thusly can not even be considered Democrats. I am sick of these so-called "open" conventions that are as fixed as the 1919 World Series. If they are going to hand pick candidates I wish they would at least be honest about it and quit the charade!
Wilson, the speech is very similar to the speech he gave last weekend, less the slam at David O and the sexist comment about Nancy Pelosi. His comparison of Julia Carson to Jesus Christ, Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. was insulting to the legacies of these three. And when he talks about bought politicians, he should include himself. That's exactly what he did when he whored himself out to Cripe, a city contractor, as soon as he stepped into his first public and what hopefully will be his only public office. Thanks for sharing. As with the video you posted last week, it will do him more harm than good.
So when will somebody please post a Slating YouTube of Jon Elrod's eloquent and passionate speech about constituent services and at-work multi-tasking?
Look out...here comes the crybaby losers........the deck was stacked, they cheated.."IF ONLY".........the committeemen have spoken.
With all due respect Wilson, Carson speaks from the same cue cards every week. Please feed him some fresh statements.
I was there and when Andre launched into the Ghandi tripe, people all around me rolled their eyes. It was disgusting.
And 7:55, boy, are you out in left field.
Although the party has been rumored to have "fixed" multiple slating conventions in the past (i.e., Chairman Treacy's wife's judicial bid), the state rep race you describe was not fixed.
Not even close.
I heard multiple Mahern complaints from people I never thought I'd hear them from. There were more young voters today than I've ever sene before, and many of them are relatively fed up with the old style of politics. You could sense it.
In short, the jig is apparently up. Dane was arrogant as hell today, acting all morning as if he'd won the thing before he even showed up.
And talk about stiffing committeemen--there were 11 Maherns on the voting rolls. Some of them never having been on the voting rolls before. Of course they were entitled to be there. But many were stiffs in the classic sense. So don't go getting all high and mighty about stiffs. Or fixed conventions. But even with all those Mahern relatives, Dane still lost.
To a lot of us, it just seemed fitting.
He'll run in the primary anyway.
Will someone please take Wilsons keyboard away from him?
I'm sure that André Carson just LOVES Wilson to no end, especially when Wilson says things that André is supposed to have said.
I'll vote for André, and openly admit it, if André will openly admit that Wilson is NOT his spokesperson!!
Whine, whine whine from the Mahern camp. How long has that district been stacked by Ed Mahern? They've been fixing elections in slating for how long? You don't see Sullivan complaining about 10 Maherns voting today, a number who were added late. She won fair and square, by working the district. Most anyone you ask knows Dane shouldn't be in the legislature. And he shouldn't have run right after winning reelection.
If Dane thinks he's going to use this weak excuse to run against the slate, the Mahern name really will be mud.
As a Christian, I find it highly offensive that Carson, a Muslim, would attempt to equate Julia Carson to Jesus Christ. My Lord Savior would have never admired a person like Louis Farrakhan.
For the record: I am not an official spokesperson for the André Carson for Congress campaign -- I'm merely an enthusiastic supporter...
"Bones" Ackles...what a laugh! The supreme embarrassment to the Dems gets re-slated.
"Bones" cost the taxpayers a 6-figure judgment in a law suit over racial discrimination. Yes, the plaintiffs proved he wanted a Coroner's office that was full of race-based hiring policy, instead of merit, and a violation of equal opportunity laws. Why would anyone re-elect a loser who forced TAXPAYERS to pay a 6-figure judgment??? (Ohhh, they are uninformed ignorant Democrat machine voters...some of whom may be deceased at the time their ballot was cast).
Now "Bones" is so stupid that he cannot pass the qualification test to hold the office he was elected to serve, and he owes Marion County taxpayers several thousand dollars in salary that he accepted in violation of law. (If you flunk the qualification test, you cannot receive money from the public dole.)
The Dems are really lining up some losers for the election.
With all due respect Wilson, why are you so enthusiastic about Andre Carson? He lacks experiance, he's destroying the democratic party and he will not win the May primary. Speaking for myself, I can only be enthusiastic about someone that fights and speaks for all people and is'nt willing to "USE" my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to rally the crowd even though they "DON'T" believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. But to each his own right?
The Maherns shouldn't complain....besides tons of relatives added to the list...many of Ed Mahern's business associates were added also.....Dane still lost....several people told me that they committed to Dane in slating but if he lost slating that they would NOT cut the slate for him.
The Democratic Party needs new leadership. Why is the same guy who presided over the loss of the Mayor's office and the Council, still head of the party?
15 New committeepersons???? Wow. Are you kidding me? Cry me a river- if that's all Sullivan got, and she still won, then the woman should run for Mayor.
Think of this way, if Mahern (stupidly) runs in May, he'll be 1-2 since last November.
I can think of at least one Ed that won't let that happen.
Sullivan had over 40 appointments. The 15 is the number who had never voted in a primary election.
If I were the incumbent judges, I would be worried that their campaign manager is going to try and dump the slate for Mahern which could result in one or more of his slated judges losing....
For the record: I am not an official spokesperson for the André Carson for Congress campaign -- I'm merely an enthusiastic supporter...
I supported Bart Peterson in the last election, but I didn't follow him around with a camera and worshipping every word he said as gospel truth. He is not a perfect person, neither is Andre` carson.
The only reason I will vote against Andre` is so Wilson will be silenced
anonymous..... if the only reason you will vote for andre carson is to silence someone whose mouth overloads the rest of himself on a blog, then your patriotism and interest in good government is lost here...... may i suggest a good showing of bugs bunny?
My two cents on the Mahern - Sullivan race.
-11 of the 90 votes apparently were Mahern family members. They are complaining about stacking the vote?
-Ed controlled that district for years and it seems did not do the basic party building work, such as filling vacancies in precincts. Which is one reason why he lost. The Maherns now can't complain that vacancies were not filled with their cronies.
-People are upset with Dane for running for the Statehouse right after he was reelected to the Council.
-People are wholly unimpressed with Dane.
-Dane had no organization - that was reflected in the "Mahern for Statehouse" sign he had at slating that was "paid for by the Ed Mahern for House committee".
-People think Dane will just become a lobbyist like his dad and family.
-People are upset about the library fiasco and Louie Mahern's involvement.
-Sullivan is a hardworking candidate who offers ideas about the future. She and her family have supported Democratic candidates for years.
-Sullivan reached out to the precinctpeople with letters, calls, meetings, etc. She even reached out to "Mahern" people. She was organized, with T-shirts, literature, website, etc. She was endorsed by Bart Peterson.
-The Maherns may not like the way this went down. But if Dane runs against the slate you're going to see a lot of Democrats in the county very very upset, including all the judge candidates. It will come back and bite the Maherns in the long run, especially Brian, who actually has a lot of people's respect. Suck it up and wait for another day.
When Ed Treacy fixed the slating convention for his wife, his two primary assistants were Ed and Louis Mahern. What happened to Dane was karma, pur and simple.
On Friday I saw one of those billboard trucks that carries ads on the back of it. This one was advertising the chiropractic practice of Kenneth Ackles, D.C.
The fact that the truck was parked at the 38th and Capitol pea-shake house was pretty amusing.
How did Treacy fix the slating convention for his wife?
10:39, forgive us...we made an assumption that the story was well-travelled. Apologies.
Treacy presided over the slating convention which nominated his wife. Shortly afterward he made peace with the Republican chair, and they collectively hoodwinked the legislature into a new scheme to elect judges. As a payoff, each county chair got to appoint a new court's judge. It was highway robbery. County chairmen naming a judicial officer? It was nuts.
At the slating convention over which he presided, Ed Treacy stood behind the lines and near the machines when counts were announced. It took forever to get the machine totals calculated and turned in. He had already filled the voting slots with multiple stiffs, but that's nothing new.
If you talk to the delegates at that convention, many will tell you there's no way Mrs. Treacy got as many votes as were reported. No way in hell.
But, when your husband is supervising the "counting," anything can happen.
And we now have one more mediocre judge. And the Treacy home now has a state pension.
Thus endeth the theft story.
10:39 are you serious? She was listed as "not qualified" by the bar.
Sullivan had no appointments to precinct vacancies.....that job belongs to the Ward Chairs and the County Chairman. It is a fact that every vacancy request that the Maherns submitted were honored. They lost fair and square and if the want to throw the slate in jeopardy including the judges then that will rest on their shoulders. I think last year's slated candidate who won, Brian Mahern, should have a conversation with his relatives. That same slating process slated Dane Mahern for city council.......Hmmmmmmmmm
There were only 5 Mahern's that were on the list for disctrict 97. There are 6 other Mahern's who are committepersons outside of District 97. All 11 Maherns were committeemen for last years election. There were 5 Sullivan's on the list none have been committemen before this year. Two had never bothered to vote in a primary.
O'Connor did all of the apointments most ward chairs were not told about Sullivan people who were added in their wards. If the slate falls apart in would be the fault of County Chairman.
11:51, that's pretty darn close to the truth. And, after a few years of practice, she's still a little less than mediocre.
O'Connor or Treacy there is no comparison. Ed T. won election after election he turns things over to O'Connor and he looses the council and Peterson blows a 40 point lead. O'Connor was the country chairman and campaign manager for the Mayors campaign. How did O'Connor advise the Mayor on the 65% income tax increase put into place the month before the election? O'Connor has spent a whole lot of time trying to get back at Dane Mahern because he stood up to the mayor and voted no on the tax increase. The Mayor make a major mistake by pushing the increase it cost him the election. Now the former mayor and O'Connor are going after Dane because he was right and got re-elected.
Was Dane right in the Demo council caucus when the vote for council president was tied 7 to 7 and he cast the tie breaking for for Monroe Gray...that certainly helped us lose the mayor's office and the majority on the council..those votes come back to bite us in the behind sometimes...
3:57 assigns a lot of dignity and brains to Dane Mahern.
Not many folks would agree.
At yesterday's slating convention, there were 11 Maherns on the sign-in sheet. I am not aware that any were outside his district, but that could be.
I overheard many committeemen grumbling about Dane. Evidently his council constituent services leaves a little to be desired.
Being a councilman isn't easy. Citizens make outrageous demands and covet your time.
But Dane had best tend to that for awhile.
And for the record, what Louie Mahern did to the library is a travesty. And I'd say that regardless who they hired as their CEO--I couldn't care less.
Nice try, 3:57.
You give Treacy credit for Mayor Peterson's wins, including the council, and then dump the 07 loss on Mike O'Connor? I like that spin. Mike might have had something to do with those other wins. Frankly I don't think either of them are stellar, but you can't dump it just on O'Connor. Who was county chair when Ackles, White, etc. were elected?
Sullivan won fair and square. You can't have it both ways - appoint your cronies for two decades then complain when a couple Sullivan family members get appointed (by ward chairs, not the chairman). There were plenty of longtime precinct people who supported Sullivan over Dane. The fact is, Sullivan is a better candidate by far - and now she's the slated candidate. Party people support the slate, regardless. Do the right thing.
I started strongly opposed to Carson because I felt a congressional seat shouldn't be a family heirloom, and if you took the names off the resumes of all the D candidates, his wouldn't be the one you'd select. Then I started thinking about what "experience" REALLY means for a member of Congress. That's when I concluded that being a city councillor or state representative or township board member do NOTHING to give you experience in Congress, which has different issues, procedures, and personalities. I'd take someone who sat on a Congress member's hip for even five years over someone with 40 years of actually voting in the Indiana General Assembly in a heartbeat. Ask yourself this question: among the Democratic field, who will be mostly likely to have the Congressional Black Caucus as a voting block to assist him/her in getting federal assistance for Indianapolis? Who will be most warmly embraced by the sitting members of Congress (including even DAN BURTON!)? The people who hated Julia Carson may never understand this (heck, I don't because I thought she was rather passive), but she was well-regarded in D.C., and people will go out of their way to help her nephew. I've met the man at a few functions (I've also met Elrod several times as well, and his "lack of experience" is no fault either). Andre is compassionate and caring, which makes him like Julia, and (refreshingly) he never assumes he has all the answers. This is a guy who is interested in digesting the collective thoughts of those he seeks to serve, not one who wishes to impose HIS agenda on them without regard to THEIR wishes. In other words, I think having that humility outweighs "experience." If what critics are really saying is that he isn't intelligent enough to digest whether what he is hearing is legitimate or poppycock, that's a separate concern. But experience - meaning a term of years doing a particular job - is meaningless. If he'd taught for 20years, he'd know education, not healthcare, foreign policy, or social security. If he was a soldier, he'd know the military, not environmental policy. Nobody is going to know it all. What he/she must do is be a prudent filter - take a lot of information, some valuable and some garbage, and make it reflect as purely as possible the collective sentiments of the district. Based on what I've seen, Andre Carson can do that.
One of the differences between the Mahern's who were on the voting rolls and the Sullivan backing appointees is that every Mahern who had a vote has been deeply involved in Democratic politics for years. Many of the Sullivan were claasic stiffs in that they have never been involved in the party and probably never will be again.
No one should be allowed a vote in the slating process who has not been a committee person since before the last elction and has at least worked the polls one time.
I would not fault Dane for staying in the race, though despite what some have said in this thread, I have heard nothing from Dane indicating that he will.
In protest to the "stiffing" done by the county chair -- both for Sullivan AND for the contested judges races -- which was a total insult to the Real precinct committeepeople who work their tail ends off in their precincts, the REAL precinct committeepeople should boycott the primary and let the stiffs run the precincts for a change. It really won't have any effect on the results -- since it's a primary -- and maybe it will teach the county committee a lesson about respect.
Sullivan's appointment were such classic stiffs that they don't even know what the term means. As has been already said but bears repeating, the johnny-come-lately Sullivan stiffs are an insult to the real committeemen. And believe you me it did not go unnoticed by the party faithful. I even heard some of the Sullivan family members stiff have never even voted in a Primary Election. Seesh.
Another way to look at the Mahern camp and the Sullivan camp - is that the Sullivan team won and y'all lost.
I didn't have a horse in that fight, but it was incredible to see Sullivan's campaign team. Real professional, young and old, black and white.
Quit your crying folks, it's a new day in Marion County. I'm a long time PC (not in that district) and have a lot of friends that are too- none of us were offended at all about the new blood for Sullivan, we were excited. It's funny that we're still talking about, Mary Anne sure did it right, didn't she?
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