It’s time to shake off the rust because election time has returned to the Hoosier state and its capital city Indianapolis.
The Census American Community Survey estimates there are some 629,000 legal citizens in Indianapolis-Marion County of voting age. Of that number 166,110 or 26.4 percent are African-American.
Maybe because of their name – Democrats – that party’s activists and leaders love engaging in spirited, open and sometimes diverse primary and slating (or endorsement) battles.
Unlike the current iteration of Marion County Republicans who ruthlessly suppress dissent, debate and spirited intraparty contests in their slating process; Democrats sometimes resemble one of those “wives” TV reality shows. But that’s the reality and spirit of American democracy.
Coming into last week’s Democratic Party slating convention, two outstanding Democrats, who happened to be African-American, battled for the party’s endorsement for the critical office of county clerk.
Myla Eldridge is a top assistant to County Clerk Beth White, who’s running for secretary of state.
Eldridge’s eight years experience in the clerk’s office is far more experience than any past Marion County clerk candidate, Democrat or Republican, in years.
Dr. Frank Lloyd has been a great Marion County coroner. He was drafted by some party leaders to be the county clerk candidate instead of Eldridge.
Unlike some past slating battles I’ve seen which revolved around race, this race wasn’t about race. Instead it revolved around precinct committeepersons and delegates’ deep feelings of who would be the best and strongest candidate and who would be the best county clerk.
It wasn’t a choice of lesser of evils. But, like during the Obama-Clinton race, a choice between two great candidates and Democrats.
Most political experts thought that Lloyd, who had the backing of many top party leaders, would get the nod in a walk.
But that’s the beauty of democracy. Letting people have their say. Like Julia Carson, Glenn Howard, Webster Brewer, Tanya Walton-Pratt and many others, Myla Eldridge overcame the reluctance of some party leaders and earned the endorsement for clerk.
Myla Eldridge understands the importance of protecting people’s right to vote and the right of Indy’s 629,000 potential voters to vote without hassle, intimidation or games.
Something Eldridge’s GOP opponent doesn’t believe in.
Eldridge joins Sheryl Lynch, the party’s choice for Circuit Court judge, as the African-Americans on the countywide Democratic slate this year. Joining them are three other African-Americans on the Democrats Superior Court judge slate. Current Superior Court Judge Barbara Crawford and attorney Shatrice Flowers and veteran attorney Marcel Pratt.
There are lots of Marion County Republicans who wished they could’ve had a spirited, civil intraparty contest the Democrats had.
Understand, Marion County Republicans’ game plan is to make it harder and inconvenient for you to vote. They’re gonna try and bamboozle African-American (and white) voters into thinking local Republicans are a party that really cares about Black people.
They’re demonstrating that “love” with a countywide ticket dripping in diversity. Of their six countywide candidates, three are African-American.
Last fall, a veteran African American lawman, Emmitt Carney announced he was running for Marion County sheriff. He’s joined by two more African-Americans on the GOP’s affirmative action ticket.
Terry Dove, a businesswoman who once worked for Secretary of State Todd Rokita, is the GOP candidate for county recorder.
And, in a major piece of political history, an African-American attorney, Duane Merchant, is running for county prosecutor.
The party that abhors diversity for diversity’s sake has three white females joining the Blacks on the county ticket, including Christine Bischoff, their county clerk candidate.
To be fair, both Carney and Dove sent releases touting their candidacy to Indy’s Black media.
But strangely, the local GOP sent out no info to Black media touting their historic slating of three Black countywide candidates. Even odder, nothing was sent about their historic prosecutor candidate.
An Internet search of Duane Merchant turned up nothing about his background and experience. A story in the Feb. 5 Indianapolis Star reported Merchant “worked for 20 years” in the prosecutor’s office.
But the Star’s inexperienced reporter provided no more details on the first minority prosecutor candidate in the county’s history.
The local GOP’s game this election year is to win the sheriff and clerk’s race at all costs.
Sheriff John Layton has earned Mayor Greg Ballard’s ire because Ballard can’t tolerate anybody standing up to him. And Layton’s refused to bend to Ballard’s will.
Ballard has tried to tell Layton what to do and Layton has refused. Being an independently elected countywide constitutional official, Layton’s tried to be a player in helping make this county safe. And Ballard and his “boyz” can’t stand that. They want Layton out and they’ll stop at nothing to achieve that.
County clerk is just as critical.
Kyle Walker, the county’s Republican chair and the “boyz” that do his bidding, want to return to Marion County’s bad old days when Republicans openly intimidated Black voters on Election Day.
Many remember sheriff’s deputies stationed outside polling places. Or the flying squads of white attorneys in Black precincts challenging any and every voter just because they had the temerity to vote.
Walker has to shave Black and progressive voter turnout this year and next. Especially for Mayor Ballard to have any chance at a landslide mandate for a third term.
Walker and his handpicked puppet(s) on the Marion County Election Board have severely limited early voting. For no reason other than political spite and warped ethics.
Ever since Republicans saw those long lines in the 2008 elections, Walker and Republicans have stymied making voting easier and more convenient in Indianapolis.
Though Walker and Republicans forget that those long early voting lines benefited Gov. Mitch Daniels as well as President Barack Obama and Democrats.
One final election note.
Though Sheriff Layton faces Republican Carney in November, in the May primary he again faces African-American Mark Brown, who’s yet to establish a compelling reason why voters should choose him.
Veteran Black activist, Republican Jocelyn Tandy-Adande battles Republican Bischoff for clerk. Candidate forums in that race’ll be fun!
And in the 7th District Congressional Democratic primary, Black activist Rev. Mmoja Ajabu is seemingly running against Rep. André Carson on the 19th century issue of abolishing slavery.
It’s gonna be an interesting election year.
See ‘ya next week!
Email comments to acbrown@aol.com.
