Comments on Advance Indiana™: GOP Picked New Leader In Durham's Office

Wilson and Jen Wagner were all over Carl Brizzi an...

2007-11-14T20:10:00.000-05:00

Wilson and Jen Wagner were all over Carl Brizzi and the GOP's case when they hosted a fundraiser at Durham's office a few weeks back for their judge candidates. Why the change of heart, Wilson?

Well, maybe this whole blog has been a waste of my...

2007-11-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe this whole blog has been a waste of my time. See ya.

This is becoming a very irritating broken record.....

2007-11-14T17:52:00.000-05:00

This is becoming a very irritating broken record...

This is so NOT a big deal. When Wilson makes more sense than you, Gary, you need to reconsider.

If you make mountains out of molehills, no one's going to pay attention when you disclose the mountain (ie, Patrice's residency). Don't waste your space!!

They couldn't meet at the Rep county HQ ?

2007-11-14T11:23:00.000-05:00

They couldn't meet at the Rep county HQ ?

It was Tom John's stupid idea to have it at this l...

2007-11-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

It was Tom John's stupid idea to have it at this location. Are you surprised?

I've used the conference space described here. Du...

2007-11-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

I've used the conference space described here. Durham was no where around.

And don't let Wilson's ruse fool you: the mayor's folks wanted as much distance as possible between Bart and Wilson. How Wilson attended that meeting is a mystery--he surely didn't pay...maybe Julia attended, and he entered with her entourage for free. God knows he's done that many times before.

Their only dilemna in the future: if 15 of them gather at the same place, unannounced, it is officially a council meeting. They've got to be sure to post it. The Open Door law allows caucuses, but it makes no mention of, say, Holliday Parties. To be perfectly compliant, the majority of any elected body, when gathering for any purpose except a caucus, should advertise and post it.

The Open Door law passed in 1977. Biggest lobby groups against it: Farm Bureau, School Boards, Superintendents, Cities and Towns. If you think there are some huge errors in judgment now, Gary, you shoulda been around pre-ODL.

We now have an entire generation or so, of elected officials, for whom this law is the norm. The progess is astounding. Sometimes, they slip. It used to be normal for closed meetings to occur. The law allows for the body to go private for negotiations on contracts, personnel issues, self-evaluation and interviewing personnel or discussing personnel issues.

In Florida, a school district must interview all its Supt. candidates in public. There are basically no reasons for private meetings.

Their schools suck, but that's the way they conduct business.

The world must be coming to an end! I actually agr...

2007-11-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

The world must be coming to an end! I actually agree with Wilson. Caucus meetings are private. I don't hear anyone complaining when the House and Senate caucuses choose their leadership before the actual floor vote. Nor do I ever hear anyone complain about caucus meetings prior to any floor votes on bills. Media does not have access to these meetings- how is this different?

And you thought it would be different???? I consi...

2007-11-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

And you thought it would be different???? I consider myself a fiscal democrat, as growing up it has been easy for me to view the republican party (in great masses) as the bourgeoisie, with no concern for their constituents. Yes, I know this is a large generalization, but can you tell me that this can be viewed any other way? To task, both parties practice exclusivity to some extent, but this is what "we" were fighting against, no?

The problem with the location is it seems to be as...

2007-11-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

The problem with the location is it seems to be associated as a place where both political parties go to have fundraisers. That should be reason enough to avoid having an official meeting at this location.

In some states, the open door law requires even ca...

2007-11-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

In some states, the open door law requires even caucus meetings to be conducted in public. Not in Indiana.

"Now it can be told: last December I attended a mo...

2007-11-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

"Now it can be told: last December I attended a most deluxe fundraiser for Bart Peterson up in Tim Durham's top-floor offices."

In wrinkled T-shirt and cargo pants, as per usual, I suppose.

Reminds me of the 'pet rock' fad. Everybody wanted to buy one and keep it around for their friends to look at, even though it had absolutely no purpose and anybody could pick up one for free anywhere.

This was a private Republican get-together to iron...

2007-11-14T09:01:00.000-05:00

This was a private Republican get-together to iron out some Republican pecking-orders - not a public meeting of elected officials on public business!

The President of the Council will be elected openly by the Council in January. The GOP may have their little meetings where they wish - it is really not public business.

Where did Ballard select his transition team? Why wasn't I asked to be present? Because it's not official public business!!!

How can they be doing "council business" when most...

2007-11-14T08:52:00.000-05:00

How can they be doing "council business" when most of them aren't even sworn in to the council yet? The terms for the newcomers don't start til January. Perhaps this is a fine line, but one worth noting.

It's a conference and catering center — scarcely a...

2007-11-14T08:45:00.000-05:00

It's a conference and catering center — scarcely a "private office."
http://www.obsidianenterprises.com/catering.php

*yawn*

Right here is reason #1 why this & other right-lea...

2007-11-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Right here is reason #1 why this & other right-leaning blogs should not close up shop. We still need to keep our government accountable to the people.

Thanks AI!

Or they could have had the meeting in a public bui...

2007-11-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

Or they could have had the meeting in a public building since they are elected officials whose salaries are paid by the taxpayers.

Durham has the whole top floor at the Chase Buildi...

2007-11-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

Durham has the whole top floor at the Chase Building and much of it is converted to conference space. They try to get meetings, conferences and fundraisers in there all the time and he's pretty quick to donate it groups if he knows them.

(They could have had these meetings at the Columbia Club, it would have cost them a lot more, and they would have come under the same criticism, I'm guessing.)

Now it can be told: last December I attended a mos...

2007-11-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

Now it can be told: last December I attended a most deluxe fundraiser for Bart Peterson up in Tim Durham's top-floor offices. Very, very impressive! I was rather amused myself when I read about the venue of that GOP council caucus...

As the French say: the more things change, the more they remain the same!