From the time of the first Black newspaper in America, the Black press’ role has been to speak truth to power. The governor’s office got a live demonstration of the role of Black media last Friday when I confronted supporters of government consolidation and township elimination with their continued disrespect of Indiana’s 610,000 African-Americans.
In December, when Gov. Mitch Daniels expressed his support for government consolidation and township elimination, I strongly asked why no African-Americans were represented among the proposals’ supporters. My question clearly embarrassed the governor and those supporting the Daniels/Kernan/Shepard plan.
So, I thought the supporters had learned their lesson when I attended a press conference in the governor’s office announcing plans to lobby Hoosiers to support Daniels/Kernan/Shepard. The only Blacks there were two legislative interns, two TV folks, a fading media pundit and me.
Fireworks started when I bluntly asked two of the coalition’s organizers — Marilyn Schultz, the former budget director for Governors Frank O’Bannon and Joe Kernan and Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber of Commerce president — about the absence, again, of African-Americans. I asked why they hadn’t learned their lesson and why hadn’t their lobbying effort reached out to the Black community. I demanded to know why the towns slated for their grassroots meetings didn’t include Marion or Lake Counties, counties with the largest Black population.
Schultz, stunned by my direct questioning, went on the attack.
She ignored answering why no Blacks were involved in the effort of government consolidation and township elimination. Instead, Schultz blasted alleged township inefficiency.
“I want to talk about those inner city townships,” Schultz arrogantly began. “I don’t see the representatives of those poorest townships being upset that their citizens are being taxed more than anybody else in the county.”
Schultz continued, “There’s two percent of the townships that provide 80 percent of the relief. And in those townships we have the very poorest people in the state and they are taxed more heavily than anybody else. That is one of the reforms that the Kernan/Shepard proposal will make.”
Schultz and Brinegar defended the outrageous vagueness in pending legislation, which outlines township poor relief consolidation in just two sentences, while taking several pages to outline consolidation of township fire and public safety services.
“We’re leaving it to the communities in every county to work for a system that works best for their community,” said Schultz. “We’re trying to make this flexible. It will be done community by community.”
Do Schultz and her allies expect for our Black community to trust Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration to create the system for consolidated poor relief? The same administration that’s gutted using race and gender as one factor in our police and fire department employment? The same administration that can’t clean record snowfall, balance a budget or run a city/county?
Schultz, Brinegar and their allies lash out at me was because they got humiliated two days earlier at the hands of a state senate committee which blasted their proposals. The beatdown was so bad senate supporters held off voting because those favoring government consolidation and township elimination didn’t have the votes.
Hence the “grassroots” lobbying effort. Because, in the Governor’s words “If only the special interests are heard, the public interest won’t be heard.”
One problem, Governor.
Who is pushing this down our throats? The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Firefighters Union, the Indiana Association of Realtors and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (the regions’ major corporations). Those are the very definitions of “special interests.”
What I’m Hearing in the Streets
While President Barack Obama did great in his first three weeks, passing landmark economic recovery legislation in less time than any president since World War II, the president showed he’s not omnipotent. He’s made mistakes. One of his biggest was, in his desire to be bipartisan, appointing New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary.
That appointment drew sharp fire from minority lawmakers, including the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). In an exclusive interview on our WTLC-AM1310 “Afternoons with Amos” program last week, CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) was critical of Gregg’s appointment.
Gregg tried to cut dollars for the 2000 Census, Lee charged, and she questioned his sensitivity towards supporting minority-owned and women-owned business. Both major components of the Commerce Department.
Gregg had second thoughts last week and abruptly declined the appointment.
Congresswoman Lee was right. Judd Gregg wasn’t the best ch oice for Commerce Secretary, overseeing the 2010 Census. Which starts in less than 14 months.
Local schools could receive a huge one-time windfall from the Obama economic recovery legislation. Gov. Daniels described the cash as “more money than schools know what to do with.”
Including cash for Title I, Head Start and other educational programs, Indiana’s schools could share in a billion bucks under the Obama plan.
IPS could get some $47 million. Others millions by district: Pike $4.1, Wayne $5.2, Warren $3.9, Washington $4.6 and Lawrence $5.5.
Meanwhile, there’s uncertainty what Indianapolis projects will be funded by the Obama plan. It’s certain that millions will go to the city/county’s sewer rehabilitation project. But two other so-called “shovel-ready” programs are the type of wasteful spending Obama’s Republican opponents blasted.
Millions to rehab Monument Circle and create more cultural trails and bike paths aren’t projects that’ll put people in our community back to work.
I hope the Obama administration and Congressman Andre Carson resist efforts to divert money to the city’s wasteful projects and instead use the Obama plan cash for projects that’ll truly make a difference.
See ‘ya next week!
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
