This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I tackle one of the most important rights that our fore fathers bestowed upon as that statistically very few people take advantage of.
LET'S GET OUT THE VOTE
The signs have been out there ever since January. While the mail box hasn’t been overflowing like in years past, I still have gotten a few mailers. The newspaper has been filled with display ads from candidates and the letters to the editor have been hyping the candidates. It is election time again in Southern Indiana.
Every election year I have high hopes. I feel that the people will do what is right and elect the people that can lead this community into the future. The only problem is that the lack of participation is overwhelming. Not enough people actually go to the polls and vote on election day which means that sometimes the best candidates don’t even make it to the General Election. So many people are out there complaining about the way things are, but so few people take the time and vote.
Things get even worse this year when it is only the municipal elections on the ballot. Presidential election years are by far the most popular for people to vote in. Nationally about 56% of those of voting age turnout for a national election. That number drops to under 40% in off year election when we elect Members of the House and Senate. In Indiana, when only the election for city officials is on the ballot it is even worse than that. Four years ago in Floyd County less than 4700 came out to vote in the primary when more than 28,000 were eligible.
In last year’s primary election less than 18% of voters turned out locally for the election. That was when everyone seemed to be up in arms about the direction the country was headed. In November their was historic turnover in the US House of Representatives, but a relatively few people actually took the time to vote.
It would seem to me that more people should come out to vote in the election for city officials. The Mayor and members of the city council have more control over our day to day lives than the President or members of Congress. How clean our neighborhoods are, how prepared our police and fire departments are and whether or not our garbage gets picked up are all functions of city government. So why do so many people stay home on election day?
I have heard that some people don’t vote because they believe their vote doesn’t matter. After some very close calls in recent elections it is hard to believe that someone could think that. The results of the 2000 Presidential election would have been different with a change of just less than one vote per precinct in the state of Florida.
The problems with the 2000 Presidential election in Florida may also turn people off. It may never be known how many people’s votes were not counted or were counted wrong during the “hanging chad” debacle. Hopefully, the problems that were uncovered with that method of voting have been fixed across the country so we will never have to go through that kind of a recount ever again.
Some people have complained and say they don’t vote because there are no good candidates running. Sometimes you will be forced to choose between candidates that you believe may be “dogs”. In that case you just have to pick the ones with the fewest fleas. You will never find a candidate a candidate that you agree with on every issue, you just need to find the one the you agree with on important issues and choose that one. If you are waiting for the perfect candidate that agrees with you all the time then it is probably time for you to run for public office.
It always surprises me when you hear that elections can actually be swayed by the weather. The conventional wisdom says that a rainy day is good for incumbents. It is disappointing that people would actually not go out to vote because a little rain is falling. The polls are open for twelve hours here in Indiana and it probably will not rain hard for that whole time (knock on wood). If it does happen to rain, suck it up, buy an umbrella and some galoshes and get out there and vote.
Everybody that puts his name out there and attempts to run for public office deserves our respect. It is a very hard thing to do to put yourself out there for examination and I wish that more of our best and brightest would do it. The least we can do is understand the issues and make an informed decision on election day. I hope that everyone who is able will do their civic duty next Tuesday and take a few minutes to vote.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
An old friend writes in support of Steve
With the election just one week away I do not have time give this space in My Friday Column
Today in the News and Tribune Ms. Shirley Ann Larner writes a letter to the editor in support of her councilman, Steve Price.
LETTERS APRIL 26
It is very similar to a letter she wrote back in January in defense of Price and Coffey
LETTERS JANUARY 19
That letter was in response to a column I had written a month earlier concerning Mr. Price's failed attempt to disband the "Historical Society" (previously referred to as the Historic Preservation Commission)
THIRD DISTRICT DESERVES BETTER
Ms. Larner is still carrying on with such themes as The Constitution, Land of the Free and Home of the brave. She believes that her councilman is the champion of the little people of New Albany and called his opponent names such as "east end snob" she made vague references to conversations she may or may not had with him.
I am not sure if Ms. Larner has had the opportunity to listen to 3rd district candidate Greg Phipps speak but to me the contrast between the two candidates is overwhelming. Mr. Phipps, as a professor of Sociology at Indiana University Southeast should not be considered a "pseudo-intellectuals" he is an actual intellectual and will be a fine addition to New Albany's city council.
3rd DISTRICT COUNCIL CANDIDATE GREG PHIPPS WNAS COMMENTS
Today in the News and Tribune Ms. Shirley Ann Larner writes a letter to the editor in support of her councilman, Steve Price.
LETTERS APRIL 26
It is very similar to a letter she wrote back in January in defense of Price and Coffey
LETTERS JANUARY 19
That letter was in response to a column I had written a month earlier concerning Mr. Price's failed attempt to disband the "Historical Society" (previously referred to as the Historic Preservation Commission)
THIRD DISTRICT DESERVES BETTER
Ms. Larner is still carrying on with such themes as The Constitution, Land of the Free and Home of the brave. She believes that her councilman is the champion of the little people of New Albany and called his opponent names such as "east end snob" she made vague references to conversations she may or may not had with him.
I am not sure if Ms. Larner has had the opportunity to listen to 3rd district candidate Greg Phipps speak but to me the contrast between the two candidates is overwhelming. Mr. Phipps, as a professor of Sociology at Indiana University Southeast should not be considered a "pseudo-intellectuals" he is an actual intellectual and will be a fine addition to New Albany's city council.
3rd DISTRICT COUNCIL CANDIDATE GREG PHIPPS WNAS COMMENTS
Saturday, April 23, 2011
New Albany City Council Candidates Forum at IUS
On Friday night April 22, The candidates for New Albany city council held a forum hosted by the IUS Horizon here is a link to the video of that event.
2011 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES FORUM
2011 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES FORUM
Friday, April 22, 2011
Picking the Best Council Candidates
This week in My Friday Column I discuss the upcoming Primary election in the City of New Albany
The city of New Albany has a long history of not reelecting its mayors. Over the past four decades our citizens have only returned two people after their first term in office. In this century, no one has been mayor for more than four years in a row. This year, Doug England, one of only two people to be reelected in my lifetime, has decided not to run for reelection, instead running for a seat on the New Albany City Council. So as of January 1st, 2012 we will have someone new running our city.
In recent years the citizens of New Albany have also continued to send people back to the city council that are incompetent and totally ineffective. This year some of the least effective members on the council are facing some challenges from worthy opponents that deserve a chance to show us what they can do. With the combination of two of the councilmen not seeking reelection and the challenges to the current group, the next city council could have a drastically different look in 2012.
Since I started writing this column, my disappointment with a couple of the current councilmen has been well documented. First and third district councilmen, Dan Coffey and Steve Price have stood in the way of progress for this city and have been on the city council for far too long. Some of the highlights of their tradition of obstruction of progress in our city include voting for things like disbanding the Historic Preservation Society and against things like paving our streets. Not to mention the most egregious of all of their transgressions, their ultimately unsuccessful attempts to torpedo Scribner Place and the YMCA project.
The YMCA is one of the best things that has happened to New Albany in a very long time. It has been a catalyst for growth in the Downtown and a shining example of what can be done through cooperation and determination. Besides being hugely successful it has also caused investors to take a look at our downtown. Before the development very few people were interested in living, dining or shopping in our downtown. The YMCA has done everything that it was suppose to and more, but if some council members had gotten their way while it was being discussed, it never would have happened.
Coffey and Price were integral part of a team of obstructionist who fought vigorously against the project and delayed it for a couple of years, the other members were retired four years ago, now it is time to finish the job. Coffey is facing an opponent he narrowly defeated four years ago and Price is going head to head against just one opponent for the first time.
In the past when I have written my opinions about these councilmen a reader invariably writes a letter to the editor saying that if I think that I could do better, I should run against them. The only problem with this plan is that you have to live within the boundaries of each of their respective districts in order to run against them. I currently reside within the 5th district in New Albany and I will be voting to replace my council person also.
There have been several public forums in which to interact with the council candidates. You can also watch them give personal speeches on WNAS on Insight Cable. The IUS Horizon and IUS College Democrats will hold a candidate forum tonight April 22, from 7 to 8:30 at IUS in University Center North room 127. All of the candidates are invited and the public is welcome to come and interact and ask questions in an open discussion.
The city council that we elect this year will lead us through our Bicentennial in 2013. We must choose the leaders that we think will lead us through our 200th year and beyond. We cannot continue to elect people who are not willing to make the best decisions for our city. We are on the verge of making great things happen in our community. It is up to us to elect the best people that are willing to help to make this small city great.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
It's that time of year again...
This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I discuss tax day:
HAVE YOU FILED YOUR TAXES YET?
“…if you drive a car--I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold-I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk-I’ll tax your feet.”--The Taxman by The Beatles
I think it is safe to assume that no one enjoys paying taxes. For as long as records have been kept tax collectors have been some of the most hated people around. In biblical times the tax collectors were looked on with great disdain, equivalent to a prostitute or other sinner. We think we have it bad but according to Bible-history.com in Ancient Rome every man was to pay 1% of his income in taxes. There was also an import and export tax, a crop tax, a sales tax, a property tax and an emergency tax.
Last year there was a huge debate on whether there should be an extension of the George W. Bush tax cuts. President Obama wanted to end the cuts that have benefited the richest Americans for the past several years. Republicans believed by returning more money to the wealthy, that tax revenues would increase. Even after several economist insisted that the tax cuts would never have the desired affect, they were still enacted and continue to contribute to the rising debt. The fact is they have contributed much more to the national debt than NPR, PBS, or Planned Parenthood ever will.
Last year’s election was swayed by people that were angry about rising taxes. The “Tea Party”, taking their name from the patriots who threw tea from the sides of ships protesting England’s tax on the Colonies in the New World. With leaders like Sarah Palin and Rand Paul leading the charge, the “Tea Party” seemed like a force to be reckoned with. They campaigned on things like lowering taxes and limiting the governments’ involvement in our lives. Only time will tell if they actually have any effect on how business is conducted in government.
It always surprises me when someone gets excited about how large their tax refund is. They don’t seem to understand that they gave the IRS too much money over the past year. All they did was give the government an interest free loan for the year. It would make more sense to give the government just enough to get a small refund back or owing just a little.
I have always wondered what would happen if instead of withholding taxes from our paychecks each week, everyone was forced to write a check for their taxes each year. Would there be a much bigger uproar if there was more pain involved in paying our taxes?
Over the last few years there have been several fees/taxes that have been increased. One example is last year when New Albany had to raise the amount that it charged each household for trash pick up. While there was some people that were upset that there was an increase, it was necessary in order to bring it in line with the amount that the city was being charged by the vendor. It made no sense to charge the citizens less than the household charge that the city was paying. Other departments were forced to make up the shortfall. People get mad for having to pay more for someone to pick up their garbage but I am sure they would be madder if their garbage began to pile up.
Everyone wants to live in a city that is clean with nice streets that are free of potholes. When there is an emergency and someone has to dial 911 it is important to know that the Police and Fire will respond as quickly as possible. When you flush the toilet you hope that what goes down will get to where it is going as efficiently as possible. The problem is that all of these things cost money, and each year the cost keeps going up.
Taxes are necessary to keep the government running smoothly. Just last week we narrowly avoided a shutdown of all non essential government employees. It wouldn’t take long for the average household to notice if services just stopped. We can always complain about our taxes, but I have a feeling they are not going away anytime soon.
Matthew Nash doesn't think it is a coincidence that the Titanic crashed on April 15th.
HAVE YOU FILED YOUR TAXES YET?
“…if you drive a car--I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold-I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk-I’ll tax your feet.”--The Taxman by The Beatles
I think it is safe to assume that no one enjoys paying taxes. For as long as records have been kept tax collectors have been some of the most hated people around. In biblical times the tax collectors were looked on with great disdain, equivalent to a prostitute or other sinner. We think we have it bad but according to Bible-history.com in Ancient Rome every man was to pay 1% of his income in taxes. There was also an import and export tax, a crop tax, a sales tax, a property tax and an emergency tax.
Last year there was a huge debate on whether there should be an extension of the George W. Bush tax cuts. President Obama wanted to end the cuts that have benefited the richest Americans for the past several years. Republicans believed by returning more money to the wealthy, that tax revenues would increase. Even after several economist insisted that the tax cuts would never have the desired affect, they were still enacted and continue to contribute to the rising debt. The fact is they have contributed much more to the national debt than NPR, PBS, or Planned Parenthood ever will.
Last year’s election was swayed by people that were angry about rising taxes. The “Tea Party”, taking their name from the patriots who threw tea from the sides of ships protesting England’s tax on the Colonies in the New World. With leaders like Sarah Palin and Rand Paul leading the charge, the “Tea Party” seemed like a force to be reckoned with. They campaigned on things like lowering taxes and limiting the governments’ involvement in our lives. Only time will tell if they actually have any effect on how business is conducted in government.
It always surprises me when someone gets excited about how large their tax refund is. They don’t seem to understand that they gave the IRS too much money over the past year. All they did was give the government an interest free loan for the year. It would make more sense to give the government just enough to get a small refund back or owing just a little.
I have always wondered what would happen if instead of withholding taxes from our paychecks each week, everyone was forced to write a check for their taxes each year. Would there be a much bigger uproar if there was more pain involved in paying our taxes?
Over the last few years there have been several fees/taxes that have been increased. One example is last year when New Albany had to raise the amount that it charged each household for trash pick up. While there was some people that were upset that there was an increase, it was necessary in order to bring it in line with the amount that the city was being charged by the vendor. It made no sense to charge the citizens less than the household charge that the city was paying. Other departments were forced to make up the shortfall. People get mad for having to pay more for someone to pick up their garbage but I am sure they would be madder if their garbage began to pile up.
Everyone wants to live in a city that is clean with nice streets that are free of potholes. When there is an emergency and someone has to dial 911 it is important to know that the Police and Fire will respond as quickly as possible. When you flush the toilet you hope that what goes down will get to where it is going as efficiently as possible. The problem is that all of these things cost money, and each year the cost keeps going up.
Taxes are necessary to keep the government running smoothly. Just last week we narrowly avoided a shutdown of all non essential government employees. It wouldn’t take long for the average household to notice if services just stopped. We can always complain about our taxes, but I have a feeling they are not going away anytime soon.
Matthew Nash doesn't think it is a coincidence that the Titanic crashed on April 15th.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Let Me introduce Myself
This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I use my space to introduce me to the Clark County readers of the NEWS AND TRIBUNE who may not have had the opportunity to read my columns in the past.
LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF
Last week my column appeared for the first time in the combined News and Tribune. That meant that people that live in Clark County that read the print version only, got their first taste of my column. I am sure that some people were wondering who I was and how I came to end up in their newspapers. This week I am going to take some time to introduce myself to those who have not had the opportunity to read my column.
I grew up in New Albany and have lived here nearly my entire life (so far). My father was the mayor when I was a young child and more recently was chairman of the Democratic Party here in Floyd County. Both of my parents instilled in me the need to stay informed and pay attention to what was going on in the world around me. I started reading the newspaper at a very young age, starting with the comics and working my way from sports to features to hard news.
I come from a family of people that have been in the newspaper business for many years. My grandfather started working for the Courier Journal in the mid 1920’s and stayed there until he retired. His three sons followed in his footsteps each of them putting in some time in some capacity. My brothers and I all had paper routes when we were younger for both of the local papers, I guess the newspaper business is in my blood.
My column has appeared in the Friday edition of the paper formerly known as The Tribune, since July of 2009. My column has focused mainly on politics in New Albany, and the things that may affect our lives. I have hit on such topics as our dysfunctional city council, unchecked development and its effect on our environment and over the last few months I have tried to better understand the Ohio River Bridges Project. Now that my coverage area has been increased to include Clark County, I look forward to delving into the world of canals, adult bookstores and baseball park tree clearing.
You might wonder why someone from Floyd County would have any opinions about what goes on in Clark County. My oldest son graduated from Charlestown High School in 2008 and was a member of the Pirate’s undefeated regular season The first job that I had was in Clarksville. For the last seven years I have worked in Jeffersonville and Clarksville. My local income taxes are collected by Clark County, so I do have an opinion about what goes on there too.
Clark and Floyd Counties have more in common than you might think. We both have had issues with an adult entertainment business in recent years. We both have had some major funding issues with local governments and our school systems, and with the budget cutting at the state level I am sure we will have more in the future. We also have had local politicians and public officials who have had trouble with the law, with a few in court for corruption, some having incidents involving alcohol with several DWIs between the communities not to mention, the garbage can incident.
We also have several things that are great about each of our communities. After years of decline downtown life in Jeffersonville and New Albany have both experienced somewhat of a renaissance lately. Jeffersonville’s RiverStage and New Albany’s Riverfront Amphitheater both bring people to downtown for great music once the weather turns nicer. Soon, New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville will all be connected via the Ohio River Greenway which will only bring us all closer together.
I also value the opinions of my readers. My email address appears each week under my picture and I try to answer everyone who writes to me. I also have a “Blog” that to all of my columns are linked to and I try to add some bonus material including pictures or links to more information on each of my topics.
It may not always seem like it but my main goal as an opinions columnist is to make my community a better place to live. Now my community has enlarged to include Clark County also. I really hope that you enjoy reading my column as much as I enjoy writing it each week. I know that you will not always agree with everything that I say but at least I hope my column helps you to understand another point of view.
LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF
Last week my column appeared for the first time in the combined News and Tribune. That meant that people that live in Clark County that read the print version only, got their first taste of my column. I am sure that some people were wondering who I was and how I came to end up in their newspapers. This week I am going to take some time to introduce myself to those who have not had the opportunity to read my column.
I grew up in New Albany and have lived here nearly my entire life (so far). My father was the mayor when I was a young child and more recently was chairman of the Democratic Party here in Floyd County. Both of my parents instilled in me the need to stay informed and pay attention to what was going on in the world around me. I started reading the newspaper at a very young age, starting with the comics and working my way from sports to features to hard news.
I come from a family of people that have been in the newspaper business for many years. My grandfather started working for the Courier Journal in the mid 1920’s and stayed there until he retired. His three sons followed in his footsteps each of them putting in some time in some capacity. My brothers and I all had paper routes when we were younger for both of the local papers, I guess the newspaper business is in my blood.
My column has appeared in the Friday edition of the paper formerly known as The Tribune, since July of 2009. My column has focused mainly on politics in New Albany, and the things that may affect our lives. I have hit on such topics as our dysfunctional city council, unchecked development and its effect on our environment and over the last few months I have tried to better understand the Ohio River Bridges Project. Now that my coverage area has been increased to include Clark County, I look forward to delving into the world of canals, adult bookstores and baseball park tree clearing.
You might wonder why someone from Floyd County would have any opinions about what goes on in Clark County. My oldest son graduated from Charlestown High School in 2008 and was a member of the Pirate’s undefeated regular season The first job that I had was in Clarksville. For the last seven years I have worked in Jeffersonville and Clarksville. My local income taxes are collected by Clark County, so I do have an opinion about what goes on there too.
Clark and Floyd Counties have more in common than you might think. We both have had issues with an adult entertainment business in recent years. We both have had some major funding issues with local governments and our school systems, and with the budget cutting at the state level I am sure we will have more in the future. We also have had local politicians and public officials who have had trouble with the law, with a few in court for corruption, some having incidents involving alcohol with several DWIs between the communities not to mention, the garbage can incident.
We also have several things that are great about each of our communities. After years of decline downtown life in Jeffersonville and New Albany have both experienced somewhat of a renaissance lately. Jeffersonville’s RiverStage and New Albany’s Riverfront Amphitheater both bring people to downtown for great music once the weather turns nicer. Soon, New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville will all be connected via the Ohio River Greenway which will only bring us all closer together.
I also value the opinions of my readers. My email address appears each week under my picture and I try to answer everyone who writes to me. I also have a “Blog” that to all of my columns are linked to and I try to add some bonus material including pictures or links to more information on each of my topics.
It may not always seem like it but my main goal as an opinions columnist is to make my community a better place to live. Now my community has enlarged to include Clark County also. I really hope that you enjoy reading my column as much as I enjoy writing it each week. I know that you will not always agree with everything that I say but at least I hope my column helps you to understand another point of view.
Friday, April 1, 2011
My Formerly Foolish Opinions
This week in My Friday Column I review some of the opinions that I have had in my column over the last twenty months:
MY FORMERLY FOOLISH OPINIONS
With changes coming to our local newspaper I have been looking back and evaluating my relatively short career as an opinions columnist. Some of the things I have noticed that my opinions have changed on many of the topics that I have written about over the last twenty months. As I look back on some of those old columns I have to alter some of my stances on certain topics. Some may call my changes of opinion “waffling” , I consider it maturing.
My column started running in The Tribune smack dab in the middle of the city council presidency of none other than New Albany finest statesman, Dan Coffey. His colleagues held him in such high regard that they elected him president in only his tenth year on the council. He ruled the council chamber with an iron gavel. I was pretty hard on Mr. Coffey those first few months I was writing, I see now the error of my ways.
Over his tenure on the council they were able to pass a novelty lighter ordinance keeping the city safe from impulse purchases at convenience stores. They also ruled against a zoning board recommendation in order to protect the citizens of Lafayette Drive from Frostys and Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers. His leadership style was evident as he voted against any of those so called “feel good” plans that those “downtown” progressives and stood in the way of anything he thought they championed. My particular favorite thing about Mr. Coffey is the shade of red his face begins to turn when someone brings up a parking garage.
You cannot mention Dan Coffey without also mentioning his partner on the city council, 3rd district councilman, Steve Price. Mr. Price who has risen to great fame for his “style” at city council meeting, and for the fact that he has never had to get more than 50% of the vote in a primary election to win. Both men have showed their own style of leadership by standing up to their colleagues, losing many votes by a 2-7 margin.
Over the last nearly two years I have compared New Albany’s city council to a three ring circus, an episode of the “The Jerry Springer Show”, and I trip to Bizarro world. While I now see that these comparisons are rather childish and completely unfair, especially to the hardworking people who produce circuses and “The Jerry Springer Show”.
Over the last several months I have also written several columns condemning the Ohio River Bridges Project and the “two bridges, one project” plan. I had been concerned that the plan to use tolls as a tool to finance this outlandish plan would put an undo burden on Hoosiers, who already have enough money in the bank for their portion of the project.
After careful consideration and listening to hours of testimony and reading hundreds of pages of documents I have come to the conclusion that building two bridges could be the best for our community. I actually think the “Authority” might want to go one step further. I would like to be the first to publicly recommend that instead of building the two bridges we cannot afford, let’s build three. Opponents of the current plan will surely not understand the complexity of my new plan, but that’s ok, their input was never that important anyway.
Three bridges would not only carry this region for the next fifty years, but into the next century. Even years after the internal combustion engine has long been obsolete, our trio of new bridges and the progressive way to pay for them will stand as a testimony of what we can do if a small group of non delusional people put their minds to something.
While many of these revelations today may seem out of character or even a bit outlandish, you must consider the timing. Who knows how my opinions on these, or any other subject might change in the future, or even tomorrow. I will continue to put my opinions out there for those that care to read, maybe in 2016 I will have something nice to say about Coffey and Price again.
MY FORMERLY FOOLISH OPINIONS
With changes coming to our local newspaper I have been looking back and evaluating my relatively short career as an opinions columnist. Some of the things I have noticed that my opinions have changed on many of the topics that I have written about over the last twenty months. As I look back on some of those old columns I have to alter some of my stances on certain topics. Some may call my changes of opinion “waffling” , I consider it maturing.
My column started running in The Tribune smack dab in the middle of the city council presidency of none other than New Albany finest statesman, Dan Coffey. His colleagues held him in such high regard that they elected him president in only his tenth year on the council. He ruled the council chamber with an iron gavel. I was pretty hard on Mr. Coffey those first few months I was writing, I see now the error of my ways.
Over his tenure on the council they were able to pass a novelty lighter ordinance keeping the city safe from impulse purchases at convenience stores. They also ruled against a zoning board recommendation in order to protect the citizens of Lafayette Drive from Frostys and Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers. His leadership style was evident as he voted against any of those so called “feel good” plans that those “downtown” progressives and stood in the way of anything he thought they championed. My particular favorite thing about Mr. Coffey is the shade of red his face begins to turn when someone brings up a parking garage.
You cannot mention Dan Coffey without also mentioning his partner on the city council, 3rd district councilman, Steve Price. Mr. Price who has risen to great fame for his “style” at city council meeting, and for the fact that he has never had to get more than 50% of the vote in a primary election to win. Both men have showed their own style of leadership by standing up to their colleagues, losing many votes by a 2-7 margin.
Over the last nearly two years I have compared New Albany’s city council to a three ring circus, an episode of the “The Jerry Springer Show”, and I trip to Bizarro world. While I now see that these comparisons are rather childish and completely unfair, especially to the hardworking people who produce circuses and “The Jerry Springer Show”.
Over the last several months I have also written several columns condemning the Ohio River Bridges Project and the “two bridges, one project” plan. I had been concerned that the plan to use tolls as a tool to finance this outlandish plan would put an undo burden on Hoosiers, who already have enough money in the bank for their portion of the project.
After careful consideration and listening to hours of testimony and reading hundreds of pages of documents I have come to the conclusion that building two bridges could be the best for our community. I actually think the “Authority” might want to go one step further. I would like to be the first to publicly recommend that instead of building the two bridges we cannot afford, let’s build three. Opponents of the current plan will surely not understand the complexity of my new plan, but that’s ok, their input was never that important anyway.
Three bridges would not only carry this region for the next fifty years, but into the next century. Even years after the internal combustion engine has long been obsolete, our trio of new bridges and the progressive way to pay for them will stand as a testimony of what we can do if a small group of non delusional people put their minds to something.
While many of these revelations today may seem out of character or even a bit outlandish, you must consider the timing. Who knows how my opinions on these, or any other subject might change in the future, or even tomorrow. I will continue to put my opinions out there for those that care to read, maybe in 2016 I will have something nice to say about Coffey and Price again.
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