The race for Indianapolis Mayor got more unusual last week, as one candidate left, another jumped in, and Republicans continued their search for a candidate.
State Representative Ed DeLaney’s mayoral campaign ended with a whimper.
DeLaney didn’t call an official press conference or speak with media. He just had the House Democratic press office send out a press release saying that serving on the House Ways and Means Committee was more important to him than running for mayor.
DeLaney’s exit makes Joe Hogsett the defacto Democratic nominee. Don’t expect anyone else to go through the slating process. Though there’s still a chance someone could file as a Democrat in the Primary.
Hogsett’s lining up support from, it seems, every labor union and group in the party. But Hogsett can’t afford to coast. He’s already starting to gain the veneer of inevitability; which could pose a danger for his campaign.
Meanwhile, Republicans continue their candidate search.
You get blank stares when you ask key local Republicans who their candidate will be. I’ve never seen such indecision and inertia about a prospective Indianapolis mayor’s race from the G.O.P. And such a reluctance for a Republican, any Republican, to emerge from the shadows to take on Joe Hogsett.
That brings us to Rev. Charles Harrison. The Barnes United Methodist Church Pastor and head of the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, filed paperwork for an “exploratory” committee. The first legal step on the road to the Mayor’s Office. Such a committee allows you to raise money and build campaign infrastructure before making the final decision to run.
African-Americans have run for mayor in the UniGov era. Except in school board contests, African-American ministers haven’t done well as Indianapolis political candidates.
There’s also been criticism of Charles Harrison’s actual political intentions. Is he running in the Primary as a Democrat or Republican? Or running as an Independent?
If he runs as an independent, there’s fears a Harrison independent race would siphon off enough African-American Democratic votes to insure the election of a Republican Mayor.
It didn’t help tamp down speculation when I saw that Sahara Williams, who ran as a Republican City-County Council candidate in 2011, is Harrison’s exploratory committee treasurer.
When asked about that on WTLC-AM (1310) Afternoons with Amos, Harrison said, “I’ve got Democratic, Republicans and Independents supporting me.” But having a visible Republican as your campaign treasurer doesn’t send a strong non-partisan signal.
What I’m hearing
in the streets
Get ready for a massive attack on the funding of traditional public schools. The attack will be led by Governor Mike Pence.
Last week announcing his agenda for the upcoming legislative session, Gov. Pence says he wants to steer more money to classrooms. Except, you should expect that extra money to flow to charter and private schools.
Pence wants to up the per-pupil funding for charters and lift some caps off the vouchers to pay for parents who send their kids to private schools.
You know the Pence and the Republican legislative steamroller isn’t going to massively increase K-12 funding, so somewhere there’ll be cuts. Guess where?
Also it seems the Governor copied that heinous NEO Plan The Mind Trust was pushing for Marion County schools last year.
The Governor claims 100,000 Hoosier students attend “poor quality” schools. So, Pence wants to make sure those students are in “high quality” schools by 2020.
It’s one thing to say parents ought to choose moving their kids from a “low quality” to a “high quality” school. But then I look at “D” and “F” schools in Indiana’s smaller towns.
Where are parents in Rome City, Shelburn, Cannellton, Garrett, Edinburgh or Mississinewa going to move their kids to?
Pence’s priorities would try to create more ways to “charterize” public school districts.
But Pence and the radical school reformers remain silent on taking action against poor performing charter schools.
Finally, for 21 years this column has paid tribute to the “lions” of our African-American community upon their passing. My words on the life well lived of William “Bill” Mays can be found in this week’s Recorder.
But, suffice to say our African-American community last week lost one of our greatest and most influential lions. Bill Mays’ death is a substantial loss to our community.
My deepest sympathies to Rose, Heather and Kristin; and the rest of the Mays Family.
Thank You All for sharing Bill with us!
This lion’s presence, this lion’s roar, this lion’s leadership will be deeply missed.
See ‘ya next week!
You can email Amos Brown at ac-brown@aol.com.
