Comments on Advance Indiana™: Get A Clue, Mr. Mayor

I know they hire gays and promote them...what abou...

2009-01-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

I know they hire gays and promote them...what about blacks, hispanics, etc. Also, what about transgendered folks. Are they truly representing a rainbow of diversity?

If they are, I commend them for that.

At Angie's List (where I work) they make a big deal about diversity and even require classes on diversity which includes tolerance of transgendered people.

Melyssa, I don't think you can dispute that B&...

2009-01-23T16:05:00.000-05:00

Melyssa, I don't think you can dispute that B&T promotes diversity. The firm has a good track record on that score. The timing of the award in this case is bad because of the bad press the mayor has received over his ties to the firm; it gives the appearance that awards are being given out on a basis other than merit, rightly or wrongly.

Oh, and when I think of DIVERSITY, the last place ...

2009-01-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Oh, and when I think of DIVERSITY, the last place that comes to mind is Barnes & Thornburg.

Melyssa, Thanks for sharing.

2009-01-23T15:37:00.000-05:00

Melyssa, Thanks for sharing.

I posted a message on the Mayor's Luau Faceboo...

2009-01-23T15:28:00.000-05:00

I posted a message on the Mayor's Luau Facebook page asking if Bob Grand and Joe Loftus would be at the Luau.

I'm reasonably sure that the B&T folks told Abdul to put some pressure on the citizen activists attending the Luau. Abdul knows us, so that would be easy. I guess Abdul was on the phone a few times with one of our ranks over this matter because he phoned me first thing yesterday morning to ask me to back off.

I was incredulous because we never planned a protest there. We simply want the Mayor to know how we feel, that we've got his back, and that we dont' want him backstabbed down the road by his new bedfellows.

I'm not real keen on Abdul protecting is pals at Barnes and Thornburg over the public.

SUNSHINE, not secrecy needs to be the motto of the CIB and Barnes & Thornburg if they want us off their backs.

There are too many of us who want our mayor to work for the people and not that damned law firm.

I wonder if Abdul is still using his Illinois lice...

2009-01-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Abdul is still using his Illinois license plates on his Mercedes in order to avoid paying the license plate fee and Indiana excise tax.....he would be the first to condemn tax cheats.

Yes, WIlson, He still has IL plates. Maybe the police should check out his address. He was supposed to change within 60 days!!
Our "fearless"cops would NEVER cross Abdul. Too much pull with the Mayor!!!!

I wonder if Abdul is still using his Illinois lice...

2009-01-22T15:24:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Abdul is still using his Illinois license plates on his Mercedes in order to avoid paying the license plate fee and Indiana excise tax.....he would be the first to condemn tax cheats.

And then Paul Ogden notes this item about Abdul an...

2009-01-22T14:50:00.000-05:00

And then Paul Ogden notes this item about Abdul and the Mayor on his blog today:

"Today was the 8th Annual City of Indianapolis Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Awards Luncheon, moderated by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, Bob Grand, Managing Partner of Barnes & Thornburg was on the small committee selecting the winners for the Mayor. So who do you think won the first award for diversity at the luncheon? If you guessed Barnes & Thornburg, you would be correct. Witnesses to the event said nobody in the room was surprised."

Brenda said, "It is dissimilar to your post, as th...

2009-01-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

Brenda said, "It is dissimilar to your post, as there are no facts pointing to Mayor Ballard instructing Abdul Hakim Shabazz to disparage the community activists who may want to speak to the Mayor at his charity event. It is only rumour and innuendo."

Just a pattern that has repeated itself over and over again for more than a year now. It's not difficult at all to track his sources. We know who his guests are and who he goes out drinking with on a regular basis. People quickly connect the dots. Being completely devoid of objectivity on all things Ballard, while expressing hyper negativity towards anyone who is doesn't help Abdul's case.

I assume you refer to this: "The Public Safety Com...

2009-01-22T13:44:00.000-05:00

I assume you refer to this:

"The Public Safety Committee meets once between every Council Meeting. If the attendance allegations (that he missed nearly half the meetings) are true, than Coleman's absences could not be soley attributed to when his daughter fell ill only a few months ago.

Coleman is not the only Councillor who "takes doing the people's business seriously." Susie Day and Bob Cockrum fought the Peterson Administration for years on their wasteful spending. Marilyn Pfisterer is a tireless westside advocate who has done yeoman's work fighting the Democrats' attempts to bloat the budget and prevent taxes from being lowered. Mike Speedy is one of the few councillors who speaks on behalf of conservative principles on the floor. Ryan Vaughn sponsored several proposals to help property taxpayers when the reconciliation bills hit, which were blocked by Joanne Sanders and Mike Rodman. Vaughn also sponsored an amendment to reduce the assessors salaries to the lowest amount under statute. Coleman opposed the Vaughn ammendment, resulting in several Township Assessors receiving higher salaries funded by our tax dollars, despite them doing no work.

Ed Coleman may have done something to be put on different committees, but it wasn't because he 'takes doing the people's business seriously.'"

That is not a potshot at Ed Coleman. It is an examination of facts. It is dissimilar to your post, as there are no facts pointing to Mayor Ballard instructing Abdul Hakim Shabazz to disparage the community activists who may want to speak to the Mayor at his charity event. It is only rumour and innuendo.

Advance Indiana, 2 thumbs up for reporting this. ...

2009-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

Advance Indiana, 2 thumbs up for reporting this. If there were a protest, only a handful of us would know about it and I would be one of them! This wild tale must be the result of a sugar cream pie.
There are serious life & death issues in this state, and ghost stories is not one of them.

Oh yes, Brenda. The last time we heard from you wa...

2009-01-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, Brenda. The last time we heard from you was when you stopped by to take a shot at Ed Coleman after the Star reported he had been dumped from committee assignments, assuring us it had nothing to do with concerns he raised in O'Shaughnessy's story on the administration. You assured us that it had nothing to do with that and had everything to do with Coleman's attendance record.

If you pay attntion to the blogs, what Abdul "repo...

2009-01-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

If you pay attntion to the blogs, what Abdul "reported" has been rumoured in blog cemments for weeks. There is no news in any of this...and I highly dought the Mayor's people "fed this" to Mr. Shabazz.