In Strange Twist Democratic Challenger Kostas Poulakidas Attacks Republican Councilor Christine Scales for Not Supporting Mayor Ballard CIB Tax Increase

Kostas Poulakidas

In what continues to be a bizarre approach to campaigning by Kostas Poulakidas in Indianapolis City-County Council District 4,  the Democratic challenger has mailed out yet another mailing pretending to be from Republican councilor Christine Scales.  But that's not the bizarre aspect of the mailing.  What is bizarre is that the piece actually slams Scales for not voting for a Capital Improvement Board tax increase for the sports stadiums pushed by Republican Mayor Greg Ballard, a tax increase which only one Democratic councilor voted for.  (Note:  Poulakidas refers to it as a bipartisan vote because one Democrat who crossed over.  That does NOT meet the definition of a bipartisan vote. A "bipartisan vote" is one where majorities in both parties vote on the same side.)
Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana reports:

Kostas Poulakidas seems determined to bring down the legal profession of which he is a member as much as possible given the unethical and deceitful campaign he is running against 4th District City-County Councilor Christine Scales. Apparently it was not enough for him to blanket 4th District voters with a post card impersonating Scales, giving them the impression she is an inattentive councilor who spends all of her time living at a family vacation home in Naples, Florida by making it appear that she had handwritten a post card to them from Florida. He decided to double down by breaking the law again by sending yet a second post card to voters in the district impersonating Scales. The text of the handwritten message on the post card impersonating Scales reads:

Crazy, right?! Second time you've heard from me in 4 years! I hear Indianapolis' unemployment rate is one of the worst in the state and incomes have dropped 9.8%.

Bummer! Too bad I voted against a bipartisan City-County Council proposal that supported 66,000 Indianapolis jobs and families.

Since I don't need to work, I'm not sure why anyone else does.

Councilor Christine Scales

--Christine

Ironically, the proposal the post card references that Scales voted against, which supposedly "supported 66,000 Indianapolis jobs and families" was actually a tax increase enacted to bail out the Capital Improvement Board after it claimed it was facing a major shortfall. After the ordinance passed, which only one council member of Poulakidas' party supported, the CIB used the money to give a $33.5 million subsidy to the billionaire Simons and their Indiana Pacers, including a subsidy to cover costs for this season even though a chunk of the NBA season has already been cancelled due to a lack of a collective bargaining agreement between the billionaire owners and the players who earn millions of dollars a year. The agency is so flush with money that it's giving away money to help fund millions more in law enforcement expenses for the Super Bowl since the city's operating budget is short the necessary funds to pay for those expenses.

Contrary to the impression the post card tries to leave that Scales is an absentee councilor, she has an exemplary attendance records at council meetings and regularly attends community group gatherings in her district. Scales has received numerous awards from community groups in her district for her work on their behalf. She even donates the salary she earns as a councilor to charity.

To see the rest of Gary's column, click here.

I guess if you want to raise taxes for sports teams, you should vote for Mayor Ballard and Kostas Poulakidas.