Indianapolis Council Republicans Fail to Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility in Georgia Street Giveaway to Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.

I had a chance last night to listen to part of the Indianapolis City-County council debate on the plan to lease (for free) the newly remodeled Georgia Street to Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (IDI) an organization that lives on city government handouts, spends lavishly on itself and does little work on promoting Indianapolis that is not or cannot be handled by other organizations.

Once again, it appears that we have a city asset taxpayers have spent millions on, only only to find our city leaders want to give it away to a private entity for free.  IDI will manage the place, but apparently will also keep all the profits associated with the venue.

What amazed me was that my fellow Republicans, with the notable exception of Christine Scales, was all for simply handing over the property to IDI, without even bothering following normal statutory procedure, i.e. doing an appraisal and taking bids on running the venue.

Meanwhile Democrats like Brian Mahern, Dane Mahern, Angela Mansfield and even Monroe Gray played the role of fiscally responsible legislative officials asking whether the council should be following proper procedure and making sure the deal was in the best interests of the taxpayers.

When did my Republican Party representatives abandon the role of being responsible stewards of the taxpayer money?   Viewers who didn't know the individuals involved would have thought the Democratic councilors were the Republicans and the Republicans were the Democrats.   The GOP majority shows why they deserve to be in the minority come January 1st.

Libertarian Councilor Ed Coleman also voted for taxpayers and against the giveaway.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to Public: "I Don't Care What You Think, I Am Changing the Name of Georgia Street"

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard

Okay, the quote is made up, but it captures perfectly Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's attitude when it comes to listening to the voice of the public versus the downtown elites.  Ballard simply doesn't care what the average person thinks about city issues.   WISH-TV reports:

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is standing firm on plans to rename Georgia Street in downtown Indianapolis.

The three block stretch is being reconstructed to accommodate a pedestrian mall and there is a competition to come up with a new name .



Georgia Street under construction.

A Democratic member of the City-County Council, Angela Mansfield, has called for the mayor to drop plans to rename it , citing history, but Ballard told 24-Hour News 8 Reporter Jim Shella that it won't happen.
"There's other things that are planned for it which is necessitating the name change," he said.

When asked to explain that Ballard said, "We'll have to wait for the next few days ... putting it together to make sure people understand what we're really trying to do on that street."

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate for Mayor Melina Kennedy added her criticism Thursday.

"I don't think we should change the name," she said, "but there are many bigger issues that the mayor ought to be focusing on."

Ballard says he will make an announcement regarding Georgia Street in a couple of days.

To see the rest of the story, click here.

As I've said before, it doesn't matter even if 99% of the public is against the name change.  Ballard simply doesn't care what people think. What Ballard cares about is what the downtown elites think. Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. wants the name change, so the Mayor's is going to carry out IDI"s orders regardless of overwhelming public opposition.

A Republican friend of mine asked why this issue is so important. In the grand scheme of things it is not.  But it is emblematic of the attitude Mayor Ballard has consistently displayed toward the residents of Indianapolis He simply doesn't care what the average person thinks about issues. When it comes to the issues like the Pacers $33.5 million gift of our tax dollars, the 50 year parking meter deal, the Broad Ripple parking garage giveaway, or the $100 million North of South project, Mayor Ballard believes he is in office to take orders from downtown elites and implement their directives.  If there is a perfect symbol for why Mayor Ballard does not deserve a second term, his attitude on the Georgia Street name is it.

WRTV Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Keeping Georgia Street Name

WRTV has an online poll on whether to change the Georgia Street name.  The results thus far:

Yes    42 votes,  4%
Maybe (depends on the name)  111 votes, 11%
No   844 votes, 85%

While such an on-line poll is not scientific, I do think it measures the depth and intensity of the opposition to the street name change.  I appreciate the fact that they fixed it so a person can't vote more than once from a single computer.  (Unless you clear the cookies, of course.)

I'm sure though the Mayor Ballard will do what he is told to do by Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. and other insiders, so I expect his position supporting the name change won't be affected by the overwhelming public opposition to the idea.

In a previous blog article discussing the resolution sponsored by Councilor Angela Mansfield against the name change, I failed to mention that Libertarian Councilor Ed Coleman is a co-sponsor.  Thank you Angela and Ed for sticking up for common sense.

Indianapolis Mayor Ballard Supports Changing 190 Year Old Georgia Street Name

Indianapolis' Georgia Street currently under construction.

I was going to blog my prediction that Mayor Ballard would support changing the Georgia Street name despite the apparent overwhelming public opposition.  Unfortunately the news beat me to the punch. The Indianapolis Star reports:

Some businesses and history buffs are miffed by a plan to change the name of a redeveloped Downtown street.

The initiative, which is backed by Mayor Greg Ballard, would change the name of Georgia Street to . . . well, nobody knows yet.

..
Indianapolis Downtown Inc. last month conducted a survey asking for suggestions to rename Georgia Street and got more than 3,000 replies. The survey explained that Georgia is being transformed into a three-block long pedestrian mall in time for the Big Ten football championship game in December and the Super Bowl in February.

Ballard spokesman Marc Lotter said the goal is to create a "signature" name for the mall that would be recognized nationally, even internationally.

"It is part of the re-engineering of Georgia Street and the re-branding of it," he said. "This will be a new gathering place, a civic institution, like Monument Circle, so we want to market it."

But dissent has been stirring. Historian Joan Hostetler started a Facebook page in an effort to save the Georgia Street name and has been gathering petitions against it.

"I just think it is really shortsighted to change a street name that has been around 190 years for an event like this," Hostetler said. "I just wish they'd have a little more respect for the history of the street name."

Georgia is one of several streets named for states in the original city plat created by Alexander Ralston in 1821. Hostetler noted that another street named for a state, Massachusetts Avenue, has made quite a name for itself.

Hostetler said she worried that the new name might not wear so well in 20 to 25 years.

...
The city's Metropolitan Development Commission is expected to consider the name change in mid-October, and Ballard would have the final say after that, city officials said.

Ballard, who doesn't seem to care at all about what the public thinks on any issue (e.g. Pacers $33.5 million giveaway, the 50 year parking meter deal, etc.), is plowing forward with the idea despite what appears to be overwhelming public opposition. Where are his political advisers who should be telling Mayor Ballard this is a dumb idea to do this just a few weeks before the election?  After all, if he is dead set on doing this, he could easily wait until after the election.

When people consider former military officers for elected office, the concern is usually that the person won't understand that he or she can't just give an order in politics and have it carried out like one can in the military.  A mayor has to work with others, persuade, twist arms to get things done.

But the flip side of that coin is that military people are also accustomed to taking orders. Throughout his tenure, you get the feeling that Ballard is not really in charge, that he's just taking orders from downtown power brokers in the City and implementing those orders regardless of what the public thinks.  Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. is one of those power brokers.  Mayor Ballard has his orders from IDI about changing the Georgia Street name. That he was going to support the name change regardless of what the public thinks was not a difficult prediction.

To go to the Facebook page to sign the petition to keep the Georgia Street name click here.  Of course, it won't matter to this Mayor if 99% of the residents sign it.  This Mayor simply does not care what the public thinks about anything he does in office.

Indianapolis Star Disables Comments On Story About Renaming Georgia Street

Proposed Georgia Street
after $12 million overhaul

On rare occasions the Indianapolis Star will disable the function allowing readers to comment on stories.  Usually it is when stories involve an unfortunate death or a racially-tinged situation.  Those stories provoke a number of insensitive and inappropriate comments that lead the Star to shut off comments entirely.  Today's example though is of particular note as it doesn't fit those types of stories.

In a story which still appears in the on-line edition, the Indianapolis Star invited readers to contact Indianapolis Downtown with suggested names for the three block segment of Georgia Street near Lucas Oil Stadium that is being revamped to the tune of $12 million dollars. The segment will include heated street and sidewalks, as well as a boardwalk and outdoor dining options.  Advance Indiana recently reported on the project.

When the Star first put the story up yesterday, Readers immediately began criticizing the cost of the project and offering such derogatory names as "Boondoggle Blvd" and "Pay to Play Way."  There wasn't anything offensive in the comments...just criticism of the project.  In fact probably 90% of the comments were critical.

Anyone who does not believe the Star has discarded its professional objectivity when it comes to these taxpayer-funded projects to support the downtown elites should take note of what the Indianapolis Star did.  They took down the comments and disabled readers from offering new comments.

If the Star's publisher wonders why the paper is losing readers, perhaps it should consider that people do not want a local newspaper that is nothing more than a cheerleader for the elites who run this City.