The folks in Gov. Mike Pence’s office may not like the first part of this column’s headline. And the governor himself vociferously insisted that in appointing Dwayne Sawyer as the first African-American Republican to hold a statewide, constitutional Indiana officer, he was picking “the best person for the job.”
But Pence’s choice of an African-American as Indiana’s new auditor is a brilliant political masterstroke for Indiana’s Republican Party. A decision that poses perils for Indiana Democrats and African-American Democratic leaders.
In terms of brilliant politics, Pence’s choice of Sawyer, a 43-year-old software engineer and businessman, with experience in suburban Republican politics, was masterful.
Sawyer has worked in the GOP vineyards in Hendricks County for nearly a decade, serving in numerous grassroots leadership positions. Precinct committeepersons named him to a vacancy on Brownsburg’s Town Council in 2009 and Sawyer then won election to the post two years later.
His fellow Town Council members elected him president just last year. The first Black to hold any top leadership position in any Indianapolis suburb, regardless of party.
From a Republican political standpoint, Pence’s choice checkmated the radical, foot-in-mouth state Treasurer Richard Mourdock who was eyeing the auditor’s post since he can’t run again as treasurer.
More significantly, Sawyer gives Republicans an opportunity to chip away at the Indianapolis area’s African-American vote, not just in Indianapolis’ suburbs, but in Indianapolis’ townships.
Politicos of both parties and the city’s media routinely forget that the majority of Indianapolis area Black voters live outside the city’s pre-1971 city limits.
The defeat of Richard Lugar and political retirement of Mitch Daniels removed individual Republicans capable of capturing a decent chunk of African-American votes.
Now, the GOP has a statewide African-American officeholder with attractive personal attributes. Sawyer’s a devoted, Christian family man. His three children stole the show at the governor’s announcement with their cuteness.
Given Sawyer’s rise in the GOP, one must assume he’s somewhat conservative. But, unless he gets an attack of Mourdock-itis and puts his foot in his mouth, or is involved in some controversy in the auditors’ office, Sawyer will be an attractive, appealing candidate for Black voters next November.
He would directly appeal to African-Americans living in suburban counties adjacent to Indianapolis. And he would appeal to many middle and upper class, college educated African-American voters living in Indy’s townships.
Despite the many African-Americans who vote straight tickets, many split or “scratch” their ballots. Sawyer now gives those Blacks an opportunity to “scratch” for a highly visible Black Republican.
Pence’s appointment of Sawyer puts pressure on Indiana Democrats.
Already a Hartford City man, Mike Claytor, has a website saying he’s running for auditor. But given a choice between an unknown white Democratic candidate and what should be a visible Dwayne Sawyer, any white Democratic Auditor candidate would lose the substantial margin needed coming out of Marion County to make the auditor’s race competitive for Democrats.
New Indiana Democratic Party Chair John Zody will be under pressure from African-American Democratic elected officials and grass roots party leaders to recruit and run a qualified, visible, energetic campaigner African-American candidate for auditor or the other statewide posts up next year – secretary of state or state treasurer.
And that’s where a recent action by the state Democrats has me concerned about where John Zody and some of the party’s new leaders are coming from.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a breathless press release from Indiana Democrats announcing their 2013 class of Emerging Leaders; a group of 40 “up-and-coming Hoosier Democrats under the age of 40 who will work together to grow their political leadership skills” and ensure the party’s long term success.
Since Democrats are the party of “real diversity,” I was curious about the diversity of these 40 new “emerging leaders,” so I asked for a breakdown of their racial/ethnic diversity.
I was stunned when an Indiana Democratic Party spokesperson said they couldn’t immediately give me the answer because they “didn’t ask people for their race/ethnic information when they applied.”
Earth to Indiana Democratic Party, you didn’t ask your 2013 emerging leaders their race/ethnicity when they showed up at their first meeting? You didn’t take a class picture?
As of this column’s deadline, the party hasn’t given me an answer.
It’s been my experience when institutions that preach racial/ethnic diversity can’t tell you what their diversity is in specific instances, that usually tells me they don’t give a damn about diversity. Or in this case about including Blacks, Hispanics and others in the Democrats’ Emerging Leaders program.
I hope I don’t have to wait as long as I’ve for the answer to the diversity of Indiana’s Democrats Emerging Leaders as I’ve been waiting for how many high school students were Indy Parks lifeguards.
What I’m hearing
in the streets
It was an eloquent, personal appeal from Dr. Lewis Ferebee, new IPS Superintendent, to his new students. In 317 words, Ferebee introduced himself as “a listener, a learner and a proud father.” Then he challenged his students to “arrive at school willing to learn.” And made a personal appeal to students saying “you are valued,” “you have a strong and compelling voice” and the powerful sentence “you need to know that I believe in you.”
So it was sad that in a lapse of journalistic common sense, Indianapolis Star editors eliminated the personal appeal of Ferebee’s letter – turning it instead into a bland recitation; not his powerful appeal to IPS students. Sad. However, your Indianapolis Recorder ran it as written on the education page.
See ‘ya next week.
You email comments of this column to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
