Mitch Harper Pledges To End Crony Capitalism In Fort Wayne

The Republican candidate for mayor in Fort Wayne this year is singing a much different tune than we hear from candidates of either political parties these days in Indiana. Mitch Harper is a former state lawmaker and current city council member who is seeking the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Democratic Mayor Tom Henry, who is seeking re-election to his third term this year. Henry runs Fort Wayne pretty much the same way Greg Ballard and his predecessors have run the City of Indianapolis for decades. TIFs and the crony capitalism they feed is the name of the game so it caught my eye when Harper sent out an e-mail today soliciting financial support for his campaign in which he pledged to end "business as usual."

As our next mayor, I will get to work immediately on changing business as usual at city hall. We must stop the practice of taxpayer dollars being used to pick winners and losers in our business community in the name of economic development. In short-- I’m going to stop the crony capitalism. We must ensure that decisions are made for the benefit of all of Fort Wayne and not for the favored few. The city also spends too much money on paid lobbyists at the statehouse. As a former member of the Indiana legislature, I will apply my real world experience and knowledge to work with our Statehouse delegation as a thoughtful and consistent advocate for Fort Wayne; we can get better results without the added expense to taxpayers. However, to make meaningful changes, we must first rise to the challenge of this campaign; it’s time for Fort Wayne to run, not walk.

Harper is a very bright man and talented lawyer who strikes me as one who marches to the beat of his own drum often to the chagrin of the powers that be. What he says in his e-mail to supporters won't sit well with the big law firms, developers, consultants and engineers and lobbyists who thrive off the crony capitalism that drives government decision-making in the Hoosier state from the State House to every city hall and county government center across this state regardless of size. In a manner of speaking, them's fightin words. I applaud him for staking out a position he knows will rile the people to whom most candidates for public office in this state turn to finance their campaigns. I wish him well and hope he has the chance to become Fort Wayne's next mayor and make the kind of changes that are badly needed in the way the business of government is conducted in a city he has served well for many years.