I would’ve liked to share with this column’s readers reasons why Indianapolis/Marion County would be a better city/county with the outrageous, unconstitutional portions of the now infamous Senate Bill 621, popularly known as Ballard’s Power Grab Bill.
But no one in this city seems willing to come forward and articulate why these provisions, including the unprecedented emasculation of county elected officials, are in the public interest.
At the hearing of the bill before the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee, the outpouring of public support for this bill was overwhelmingly underwhelming. No one from the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, or the city’s major businesses, spoke in favor of the proposal.
No neighborhood association spoke in favor. No good government group endorsed it. No trade association. No civic association. No member of the Hispanic, Asian, or African-American community spoke in favor of it. No ministers, small businesspersons, no ordinary residents of the 11th largest American city piped up.
Just three individuals testified as to why this was a great piece of legislation. Sponsor of the measure Sen. Richard Young; Joe Loftus, a lobbyist with Barnes & Thornburg who’s paid big bucks to get legislators to see things the way the mayor and the men pulling the mayor’s strings see them; and state Rep. Mike Speedy, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Twenty-seven people signed up to speak against the odious legislation; 15 were able to speak against it. Scores more jammed inside and outside a small hearing room in the Statehouse basement would’ve testified against the bill, if time had allowed.
Sadly, Mayor Ballard couldn’t tear himself away from whatever it is he does during the day to visit the Statehouse and testify in favor of legislation his lobbyist says he wants; but Ballard doesn’t want to be publicly associated with.
The committee voted to send the bill to the full House. Those who control Indianapolis’ robotic mayor are on the verge of having the radical Republican Legislature pass legislation virtually no one in Indianapolis wants, except the mayor’s Greek chorus of sycophants.
For now City-County Council at-large seats remain intact. Unfortunately, the most depraved and unconstitutional parts of the legislation remain.
Like the illegal provision requiring constitutional county elected officials to submit their budgets quarterly to Ballard’s unelected, flunky city controller.
The Marion County prosecutor, sheriff, clerk, assessor, treasurer, auditor, coroner would have to get on their knees, figuratively, before the controller and beg for their budgets in piecemeal three month allotments.
Ballard’s power grab forces these officeholders whose duty is first to the Indiana Constitution, then to Marion County (not Indianapolis) residents, to beg for their budget sustenance the way the panhandlers Ballard detests beg downtown.
Two weeks ago, the outnumbered Democrats in the state Senate openly threatened to derail Ballard’s power grab by stopping mass transit. That made Ballard livid. He went on WTLC-AM (1310’s) “Unity in the Community,” and tongue lashed Sheriff John Layton, falsely accusing Layton of single-handedly bankrupting the city/county. Then Ballard begged the Black community to call their (Black) legislators to force them to vote for mass transit.
With that crass appeal, Ballard showed his abject ignorance of legislative reality.
In February, mass transit got a House majority by just six votes. The victory margin came from Marion County Democratic legislators.
Eight of the nine Democratic House members from Marion County voted for mass transit. Only John Bartlett voted no.
Of the nine Black and Hispanic members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus in the House, four voted for mass transit (all from Indianapolis) with Bartlett and three others from Northwest Indiana voting no; and one didn’t vote.
But now it’s becoming difficult for Indianapolis Democratic legislators to support Ballard’s power grab because of how House Republicans beat down Democratic attempts to amend the bill. Democratic House members from Indianapolis know their constituents strongly oppose Ballard and his cronies’ attempt at unprecedented powers that even Gov. Mike Pence doesn’t have.
The mayor’s repeated disrespect and disdain for Democratic lawmakers could cause his precious mass transit and power grab bills to be soundly defeated.
What I’m hearing
in the streets
There’s a mess going on at Indiana University in Bloomington.
A coalition of Black and other minority students and faculty charge IU with falling way behind in recruiting and retaining Black and other minority students on the Bloomington campus.
Key Black legislators are concerned about complaints they’re receiving about the situation. Especially given a commitment made by IU’s Board of Trustees seven years ago.
On May 5, 2006, the IU Trustees unanimously approved a resolution which “Endorse(d) the recommended goal of doubling the enrollment of under-represented minorities on the Bloomington campus by 2013-14.”
The resolution continued, “The president of Indiana University and the provost of the IU Bloomington campus will develop a budget to support this strategy as well as identify potential sources of funding.”
Currently the percentage of Black students at IU/Bloomington is woefully low. Just 4.1 percent of undergrads are African-American.
By contrast, the percentage of Black undergraduates at Ball State is 6.4 percent; Purdue 3.3 percent; IUPUI 9.7 percent.
Some think IU/Bloomington’s trying to be a highly restrictive university like Harvard. If so, then IU has a way to go as 6.5 percent of Harvard’s undergraduates are Black.
Finally, it seems there’s a Republican minority member of the Indiana General Assembly. Evidently Rep. Rebecca Kubacki of Warsaw is Hispanic. When I spoke about minority legislators two weeks ago, I didn’t know about her.
See ‘ya next week.
You can email comments to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
