Democrat Melina Kennedy hit Mayor Greg Ballard hard on the crime issue last week, charging that under his leadership the city has botched, mishandled and flat out lost some $100 million in federal grants. That money could have been used to put more cops and resources on the streets to fight crime.
Worse, Kennedy, who is running for mayor, cited the Ballard administration’s failure to work together with crime fighting agencies. The Goldsmith and Clinton administrations, fueled by a Justice Department grant, created the Indianapolis Violence Reduction Partnership. This was a multi-agency coalition of law enforcement groups that worked together to fight crime, especially the most violent crimes.
Even though homicides are down, violent aggravated assaults are up in Indianapolis, Kennedy noted. She says she’ll reassign 50 cops from “administrative duties” to street duties and hire 50 new officers using existing funds, many of which have been wasted on a bloated administrative structure in the Department of Public Safety.
Kennedy’s truthful attacks were met by vehement Republican counter charges, using their theme that Indianapolis was a dangerous city when Bart Peterson (and by extension Melina Kennedy) was around. Forgetting that during the worst homicide spurt in 2006, Kennedy wasn’t a member of Peterson’s administration.
Going back to aggravated assaults and burglaries, both groups of crimes were up last year, compared with 2007, the last year of the Peterson administration.
And even though crimes are down in Black neighborhoods that’s seen the “surge” in police officers, crime is on the upswing in other areas of the city/county, like the muggings on the Monon Trail, the rash of robberies on the Northside and the increase in carjackings.
People believe crime is rising. Faith in police is shaky. Faith in the Ballard administration’s leadership in public safety has eroded. Melina Kennedy’s outlining of what she’d do about crime is a good step. And the vehemence of the Ballard camp’s attacks means Melina’s hitting home!
What I’m hearing
in the streets
Just Tellin’ It completes 17 years this week observing that Brandon Johnson’s family isn’t the only group deserving of an explanation from the U.S. Justice Department on why no federal prosecution of civil rights violations in the case.
The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department must come to Indianapolis and explain why.
Our community has long felt that the Justice Department, especially under Democratic presidents, doesn’t take local civil rights complaints seriously.
Nice words from U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett are OK, direct explanations from President Barack Obama’s Justice Department are better.
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Why are those redeveloping the Meadows area not utilizing Black-owned contractors or hiring significant numbers of African-American workers?
It’s sinful that a major development in an 85 percent Black neighborhood has a contractor and workforce far too majority-white.
The braintrust at Goodwill Industries showed haughty arrogance towards our African-American community in their lack of openness and candor on expanding their Excel Center adult charter school to the Meadows.
The folks at Charles Tindley School are peeved that Excel would locate across the street without any courtesy call to hear concerns.
Goodwill forgot charters are public schools. Many changes in those charters require public disclosure. The addition of new locations for a charter should include a public hearing. But the city refuses.
The acting head of the Mayor’s Charter School Office promised me Excel’s request for expansion would be released to the media. But they were caught in a falsehood when Excel officials admitted on our WTLC-AM (1310) “Afternoons with Amos” program that the documents were filed with the city days ago.
This isn’t the only time city officials have blatantly stonewalled Black media. Take the Ballard administration’s plans to punish Black neighborhoods around the State Fairgrounds.
In an ordinance covering the Super Bowl, the spiteful, arrogant Department of Code Enforcement plans to charge buckets of bucks for permits for homeowners to park cars on their lawns during the State Fair.
But the Ballard administration has no plans to charge homeowners, living within Indianapolis near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to park cars on their lawns during qualification and race days.
The difference, those neighborhoods are predominately white; while areas around the fairgrounds are predominately Black.
Department of Code Enforcement Communications Director Kate Johnson flatly refuses to talk to Black media on this issue, again pointing out the Ballard administration’s media racial redlining.
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Eleven of the 29 Democratic candidates for the Indianapolis City-County Council are African-American. They, and their districts, are Jose Evans (1), Maggie Lewis (7), Monroe Gray (8), Joe Simpson (9), William Oliver (10), Steve Talley (11), Regina Marsh (12), Maxine King (14), Vop Osili (15), Vernon Brown (18) and Leroy Robinson (At Large).
Just four of 29 Republican candidates are African-American: Sahara Williams (7), Barbara Holland (10), Barbara Malone and Jackie Cissell (At Large). Republicans are running white candidates in four of the city’s five Black-majority districts and in two of the city’s three council districts that are 40-50 percent African-American.
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As this column completes 17 years, let me salute Bill Mays, who’s retiring from heading the Mays Chemical mothership, for the support he’s provided this column and me.
I know there were times what was said in this space brought Bill Mays some grief. But he defended my right to say it and his right, at times, to disagree while allowing me my voice.
Mays may be retiring from the chemical company, but I know he’ll continue mentoring and providing advice to many in our community, like he’s done with me these many years.
Next week, Just Tellin’ It becomes an “adult.” See ‘ya then!
