Threatened by a possible victory for at-large candidate Wendy Brant, the ''Move Zionsville'' mafia has resorted to new suppositories this week, assisted by their development cronies.
After recent telephone polling showed an overwhelming support for the former county commissioner, the ''Move Zionsville'' hatchet men went to work on widow Brant with a vicious misleading mailing focused on school issues, issues the Town Council has no power over.
And, to dress the wolves in sheeps' clothing, the ''Pay to Play'' crowd mailed out a bogus ''primary election guide'' under the name of ''Civic Pride of Boone County'' which endorsed their seven nebbishes - Eeenie, Meanie, Miney, Moe and more of the same.
So, who or what is doing the "endorsing?''
Another cash guzzling committee - the Civic Pride of Boone County Political Action Committee, and guess who was listed as chairman of that PAC?
None other than Town Council president Matt Price, who has been orchestrating the three-ring Pay to Play circus since 2008 despite some bumps in the road. His name appears in very, very small print at the bottom of the back page.
And, listed as ''board'' members of this new political action committee are none other than Paul Kite, builder; Tom and Jim Longest, principals in the engineering firm of Beam Longest & Neff (town engineers), and Bob Harris, an erstwhile developer and local business property owner.
Price, for whatever reasons, decided against running for re-election after being swept into office with Michelle Barrett and Tim Haak in 2007 with the machinations of Chad Pittman, developer.
Kite, who resides in Irishman's Run, is a major residential home builder. Just think of the building possibilities of the wide-open spaces in the newly reorganized Zionsville of 52 square miles.
And, who can forget the Longest brothers, Class of '86 with Matt Price and Tim Haak. With the help of Price and his lock-step councilors, the town's longtime engineering firm of HNTB was tossed out this year.
And guess which firm got the six figure contract? Bingo!!!! Beam Longest & Neff. The Longest clan also dumped cash into the 2007 campaigns of the Price crowd.
And, lastly Bob ''Love'' Harris, who had been trying for years to extend the town's business district south to where he owns property.
Harris was also the deep pockets behind the short-lived Boone County Sun, the Lebanon-based weekly newspaper.
And, guess which bank is getting the contributions to the ''Civic Pride of Boone County?'' Yup, you guessed it, the National Bank of Indianapolis where Councilor Tim Haak is a vice-president.
The ''Civic Pride'' tabloid features the five district candidates and two at-large, all of whom have been endorsed and financially supported by MIBOR - the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, which has dumped $10,000 so far into the campaigns. "Civic Pride" neglects to mention any other candidate options though there are many.
The Zionsville primary has been targeted by MIBOR, which is the only election among the donut counties singled out for special attention.
Get the picture yet? There's not much time.
In spirit of the royal wedding, God Save The Queen.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Plan Commission Takes a Fall
At the Zionsville Plan Commission meeting Monday night this week wonders of wonders occurred.
The Transportation Plan that the Town Council had approved with amendments was sent back to the Plan Commission for its approval but was sidetracked when Allan Rachles, commission chair asked for "further study.''
Why?
One of the features the Town Council deleted from the Transportation Plan was the controversial I-865/Cooper Road interchange.
Only Councilor Candace Ulmer voted against the approval.
Ulmer did not attend the public meeting on the Transportation Plan, and was quoted later as saying she didn't agree with the process. What process didn't she agree with? Allowing the public to comment on the plan?
Ulmer, a former Union Township trustee, became a de facto member of the Zionsville Town Council by virtue of the township reorganization plan. Now, she's a full-fledged candidate for the council opposing long-time Union Township resident Steve Schanke.
So, why did the Plan Commission punt on the Transportation Plan that the Council sent them? Did it have anything to do with Election Day May 3?
If the slate of pro-development interests - Ulmer, Pappa, Suarez, Hopper, Haak, Schuler prevail at the polls - the developers win big.
With the Town Council in their corner, the development crowd brings back the I-865/Cooper Road interchange, and the extension of Cooper Road north of 334.
And, that radical change to the face of Zionsville will open up wide-open spaces in Union Township, where developers have big plans.
If anyone has any doubts about what's coming there, look at page 22 of the Transportation Plan where areas for future residential growth are highlighted in yellow.
And, also take note of an area shaded in red for future commercial growth - at 116th and Michigan Road.
Guess who owns the southwest corner of that intersection? You guessed it, the Pittmans, and Chad Pittman has been the biggest backer of the Citizens for a Better Zionsville, made-up of the development industry.
"I hear the train a'coming, it's coming down the tracks'' from the Orange Blossom Special.
The Transportation Plan that the Town Council had approved with amendments was sent back to the Plan Commission for its approval but was sidetracked when Allan Rachles, commission chair asked for "further study.''
Why?
One of the features the Town Council deleted from the Transportation Plan was the controversial I-865/Cooper Road interchange.
Only Councilor Candace Ulmer voted against the approval.
Ulmer did not attend the public meeting on the Transportation Plan, and was quoted later as saying she didn't agree with the process. What process didn't she agree with? Allowing the public to comment on the plan?
Ulmer, a former Union Township trustee, became a de facto member of the Zionsville Town Council by virtue of the township reorganization plan. Now, she's a full-fledged candidate for the council opposing long-time Union Township resident Steve Schanke.
So, why did the Plan Commission punt on the Transportation Plan that the Council sent them? Did it have anything to do with Election Day May 3?
If the slate of pro-development interests - Ulmer, Pappa, Suarez, Hopper, Haak, Schuler prevail at the polls - the developers win big.
With the Town Council in their corner, the development crowd brings back the I-865/Cooper Road interchange, and the extension of Cooper Road north of 334.
And, that radical change to the face of Zionsville will open up wide-open spaces in Union Township, where developers have big plans.
If anyone has any doubts about what's coming there, look at page 22 of the Transportation Plan where areas for future residential growth are highlighted in yellow.
And, also take note of an area shaded in red for future commercial growth - at 116th and Michigan Road.
Guess who owns the southwest corner of that intersection? You guessed it, the Pittmans, and Chad Pittman has been the biggest backer of the Citizens for a Better Zionsville, made-up of the development industry.
"I hear the train a'coming, it's coming down the tracks'' from the Orange Blossom Special.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Annie Get Your Gun
As the old saying goes, if you are going to a knife fight, bring a gun - if you want to survive.
Well Zionsville's life is at stake in the primary election next week.
The reason isn’t really diversifying the tax base, or helping our schools. The reason is development – more houses, more apartments, and big box retail. It’s not that complicated.
There are two slates running, one backed by big development, and the other made up of citizens who see through the game.
The handwriting is on the wall, and all one needs is to connect the dots to see the true picture. Start with the players behind the scenes, look at their actions and comments and you’ll see what “going forward” really means.
The biggest “player” is a local Political Action Committee with the good humor to call themselves “Citizens for a Better Zionsville,'' which is actual a depository for development money.
This PAC was started by a local developer who was instrumental is fielding the candidates for the 2007 Town Council election, and this one as well. In the 2006 fight against Walmart, a developer was the one citizen who spoke in favor of it.
Also look at who is endorsing the “Forward” Candidates (see Times Sentinel ad last week). None other than Gene Thompson, who is on the Boone County Council, and happens to be Susana Suarez’s treasurer. Suarez is a candidate for an at-large position.
Thompson’s views? Since 2003, he has waged a constant war against the environmentally friendly tunnel of trees on 96th Street, wanting to chainsaw them to make way for a colossal concrete bridge over Eagle Creek that would be raised 10 feet.
Another big “Forward” supporter is Mike Andreoli, local real estate attorney who has brought Zionsville apartments by the bag full.
Inside sources have written to tell Zionsville Confidential that Andreoli is the attorney of record for the latest apartment project - 250 units on Michigan Road.
The property, owned by the Bennett Family Farm, will have to be rezoned from industrial to multi-family, and coincidentally the case is scheduled to be heard by the Zionsville Plan Commission after the May 3 election.
The "Move Zionsville Forward'' slate touts "breaking the old habits and breathing (sic) life into Zionsville's stuck economy.''
Now, what makes more sense - rezoning property for commercial purposes and producing more taxes or allowing apartments which are a tax drain on schools?
And, guess who supports the "Move'' slate?'
None other than Thompson and Andreoli - who were on the appointed committee that "studied and guided'' the government reorganization plan.
And, where did they "guide it'' - in their direction - the direction of more roads to apartments.
Prosperity is just around the corner for developers - at your expense by higher taxes.
Well Zionsville's life is at stake in the primary election next week.
The reason isn’t really diversifying the tax base, or helping our schools. The reason is development – more houses, more apartments, and big box retail. It’s not that complicated.
There are two slates running, one backed by big development, and the other made up of citizens who see through the game.
The handwriting is on the wall, and all one needs is to connect the dots to see the true picture. Start with the players behind the scenes, look at their actions and comments and you’ll see what “going forward” really means.
The biggest “player” is a local Political Action Committee with the good humor to call themselves “Citizens for a Better Zionsville,'' which is actual a depository for development money.
This PAC was started by a local developer who was instrumental is fielding the candidates for the 2007 Town Council election, and this one as well. In the 2006 fight against Walmart, a developer was the one citizen who spoke in favor of it.
Also look at who is endorsing the “Forward” Candidates (see Times Sentinel ad last week). None other than Gene Thompson, who is on the Boone County Council, and happens to be Susana Suarez’s treasurer. Suarez is a candidate for an at-large position.
Thompson’s views? Since 2003, he has waged a constant war against the environmentally friendly tunnel of trees on 96th Street, wanting to chainsaw them to make way for a colossal concrete bridge over Eagle Creek that would be raised 10 feet.
Another big “Forward” supporter is Mike Andreoli, local real estate attorney who has brought Zionsville apartments by the bag full.
Inside sources have written to tell Zionsville Confidential that Andreoli is the attorney of record for the latest apartment project - 250 units on Michigan Road.
The property, owned by the Bennett Family Farm, will have to be rezoned from industrial to multi-family, and coincidentally the case is scheduled to be heard by the Zionsville Plan Commission after the May 3 election.
The "Move Zionsville Forward'' slate touts "breaking the old habits and breathing (sic) life into Zionsville's stuck economy.''
Now, what makes more sense - rezoning property for commercial purposes and producing more taxes or allowing apartments which are a tax drain on schools?
And, guess who supports the "Move'' slate?'
None other than Thompson and Andreoli - who were on the appointed committee that "studied and guided'' the government reorganization plan.
And, where did they "guide it'' - in their direction - the direction of more roads to apartments.
Prosperity is just around the corner for developers - at your expense by higher taxes.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
MIBOR Buying the Zionsville Election
It's deja vu all over again - MIBOR trying to buy the Zionsville Town Council election as it did in 2007.
So far, MIBOR, the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, has dumped $7,200 into the coffers of six candidates of the Citizen's for a Better Zionsville PAC slate.
In 2007, by the spring filing, they had spent only $3000.
And the proof is in the campaign expense reports which shows how deep some candidates for the Zionsville Town Council are into MIBOR pockets; and wonder why?
Namely - Jeff Papa, Candace Ulmer, Elizabeth Hopper, Tim Haak, Tom Schuler, all of whom have been endorsed by MIBOR, which is concentrating solely on the Zionsville races among all the donut counties.
And, what's the tab?
According to the reports of receipts and expenses on file with the Boone County Clerk's office for political campaigns during the period ending April 15 here's who got what from the MIBOR Political Action Committee:
Tim Haak $1,052; Jeff Pappa, $1,500; Candace Ulmer, $1,121; Elizabeth Hopper, $966, and Tom Schuler, $1,069; Susana Duarte de Suarez, $1,500. None was reported for Steve Mundy.
So far, MIBOR, the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, has dumped $7,200 into the coffers of six candidates of the Citizen's for a Better Zionsville PAC slate.
In 2007, by the spring filing, they had spent only $3000.
And the proof is in the campaign expense reports which shows how deep some candidates for the Zionsville Town Council are into MIBOR pockets; and wonder why?
Namely - Jeff Papa, Candace Ulmer, Elizabeth Hopper, Tim Haak, Tom Schuler, all of whom have been endorsed by MIBOR, which is concentrating solely on the Zionsville races among all the donut counties.
And, what's the tab?
According to the reports of receipts and expenses on file with the Boone County Clerk's office for political campaigns during the period ending April 15 here's who got what from the MIBOR Political Action Committee:
Tim Haak $1,052; Jeff Pappa, $1,500; Candace Ulmer, $1,121; Elizabeth Hopper, $966, and Tom Schuler, $1,069; Susana Duarte de Suarez, $1,500. None was reported for Steve Mundy.
MIBOR helped host a fundraiser on April 30th for the Move Zionsville slate after the filing deadline. The real big money reports come in the next filing. Unfortunately it's after the May primary when the Fat Lady's done singing.
Other contributors to Move Zionsville candidates by candidate are:
Ulmer:
Elizabeth Mueller, spouse of Zionsville Parks board member Steve Mueller, $200
Allan Rachles, Zionsville Plan Commission chairman, $200
Dan Montgomery and Andrea Montgomery, of Montgomery Aviation, $200. The Montgomerys, who are the operators of Indianapolis Executive Airport, were significant contributors to Ulmer's campaign for Union Township trustee.
Haak:
Matt Price, Zionsville Town Council president, $500.
Allan Rachles, $200.
Baker & Daniels, Indianapolis law firm, $250.
Jeff Pappa:
Andrea Montgomery, of Montgomery Aviation, operator of the former Terry Airport that Betty Lee Cooper gave away when she was a county comissioner, $200:
Brett Swanson, Zionsville, $325
Susana Suarez:
Allan Rachles, $200
Andrea Montgomery, $200
Javier Ortiz, Atlanta, Ga.,$300
Maribeth Smith, Indianapolis event planner, $500
Bret Swanson, Zionsville, $380
Elizabeth Hopper:
Larry Mackey, (Barnes & Thornburg attorney) Indianapolis, $500
Robert Grand (Barnes & Thornburg Managing Partner), Indianapolis, $250
Jefffery Qualkinbush (Barnes & Thornburg Attorney), Zionsville, $200
Tom Schuler:
Pamela Cutcliff, Zionsville, $200
Debbie Ungar, Zionsville, $300
The other candidates - Tom Santelli, Steve Schanke, Wendy Brant, David Brown, Chris Brooke, Pete Hawryluk, and Marty Thompson - were not endorsed, nor did any of them receive any contributions from MIBOR. Thompson and Brown received no major contributions to report.
Their significant individual contributors were:
Tom Santelli:
Elizabeth Johnson, Zionsville, $300
James Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Johnny Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Wendy Brant:
Charles Eaton, Boone County commissioner, $250
Russell Fortune III, Indianapolis, $5,000
Elizabeth Johnson, Zionsville, $300
John Holliday, Zionsville, $500
John Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Welton (Art) Harris, Zionsville Town Council member, $300
James Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Chris Brooke:
Michael & Jean Lisch, Zionsville, $1,000
Pete Hawryluk:
Jim Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Johnny Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Unfortunately for the voters, the next campaign reports come after April 15 and post primary when the big money will roll in for the fancy yard signs and phone banks.
Remember in 2007 when the challengers each spent an average of $20,000 to buy the council seats, which pays $5,000 a year.
Get the picture folks? Pay to play - but at you're expense - more housing that doesn't pay for schools.
Other contributors to Move Zionsville candidates by candidate are:
Ulmer:
Elizabeth Mueller, spouse of Zionsville Parks board member Steve Mueller, $200
Allan Rachles, Zionsville Plan Commission chairman, $200
Dan Montgomery and Andrea Montgomery, of Montgomery Aviation, $200. The Montgomerys, who are the operators of Indianapolis Executive Airport, were significant contributors to Ulmer's campaign for Union Township trustee.
Haak:
Matt Price, Zionsville Town Council president, $500.
Allan Rachles, $200.
Baker & Daniels, Indianapolis law firm, $250.
Jeff Pappa:
Andrea Montgomery, of Montgomery Aviation, operator of the former Terry Airport that Betty Lee Cooper gave away when she was a county comissioner, $200:
Brett Swanson, Zionsville, $325
Susana Suarez:
Allan Rachles, $200
Andrea Montgomery, $200
Javier Ortiz, Atlanta, Ga.,$300
Maribeth Smith, Indianapolis event planner, $500
Bret Swanson, Zionsville, $380
Elizabeth Hopper:
Larry Mackey, (Barnes & Thornburg attorney) Indianapolis, $500
Robert Grand (Barnes & Thornburg Managing Partner), Indianapolis, $250
Jefffery Qualkinbush (Barnes & Thornburg Attorney), Zionsville, $200
Tom Schuler:
Pamela Cutcliff, Zionsville, $200
Debbie Ungar, Zionsville, $300
The other candidates - Tom Santelli, Steve Schanke, Wendy Brant, David Brown, Chris Brooke, Pete Hawryluk, and Marty Thompson - were not endorsed, nor did any of them receive any contributions from MIBOR. Thompson and Brown received no major contributions to report.
Their significant individual contributors were:
Tom Santelli:
Elizabeth Johnson, Zionsville, $300
James Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Johnny Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Wendy Brant:
Charles Eaton, Boone County commissioner, $250
Russell Fortune III, Indianapolis, $5,000
Elizabeth Johnson, Zionsville, $300
John Holliday, Zionsville, $500
John Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Welton (Art) Harris, Zionsville Town Council member, $300
James Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Chris Brooke:
Michael & Jean Lisch, Zionsville, $1,000
Pete Hawryluk:
Jim Baumgardt, Zionsville, $500
Johnny Johnson, Zionsville, $300
Unfortunately for the voters, the next campaign reports come after April 15 and post primary when the big money will roll in for the fancy yard signs and phone banks.
Remember in 2007 when the challengers each spent an average of $20,000 to buy the council seats, which pays $5,000 a year.
Get the picture folks? Pay to play - but at you're expense - more housing that doesn't pay for schools.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
It's Spring - Snakes Are Shedding
It's Spring when snakes, and politicians facing elections shed their skins.
In Zionsville, with the primary weeks away, two Town Council members - Steve Mundy and Jeff Papa - never put in office by the electorate - have cast off their disguises.
Papa was the only candidate before a Republican caucus, called to replace Judith Essex who resigned. Essex had been the Eagle Township trustee and became an adjunct council member with the passage of the consolidated government ordinance.
Mundy, a retired human resources employee at Eli Lilly & Co., came to the council when Michelle Barrett abruptly resigned because of an overload of domestic responsibilities.
Papa, an attorney for the Indiana Senate, had been a member of the committee which put together the nuts and bolts of the consolidation and was sphinx-like throughout the process. According to the Indiana Economic Digest, at $153,000 a year Papa has the "highest salary in the legislative branch and in the top 20 of all state employees."
Soon after taking his council seat, Mundy set out ingratiating himself to the two factions on the council. His HR approach was atypical, "Some of my colleagues are for it, and some of my colleagues are against it, and I'm for my colleagues.''
But, now Papa and Mundy have joined the pro-development slate being engineered once again by Chad Pittman, who gave you Matt Price, Tim Haak, and Barrett in 2007.
But, Pittman is in the shadows this time around and has his company commander, Doug Rapp, fronting the Citizens for a Better Zionsville, a political action committee formed by Pittman in 2007 to swell the coffers of the Pittman slate.
Papa was the only candidate before a Republican caucus, called to replace Judith Essex who resigned. Essex had been the Eagle Township trustee and became an adjunct council member with the passage of the consolidated government ordinance.
Mundy, a retired human resources employee at Eli Lilly & Co., came to the council when Michelle Barrett abruptly resigned because of an overload of domestic responsibilities.
Papa, an attorney for the Indiana Senate, had been a member of the committee which put together the nuts and bolts of the consolidation and was sphinx-like throughout the process. According to the Indiana Economic Digest, at $153,000 a year Papa has the "highest salary in the legislative branch and in the top 20 of all state employees."
Soon after taking his council seat, Mundy set out ingratiating himself to the two factions on the council. His HR approach was atypical, "Some of my colleagues are for it, and some of my colleagues are against it, and I'm for my colleagues.''
But, now Papa and Mundy have joined the pro-development slate being engineered once again by Chad Pittman, who gave you Matt Price, Tim Haak, and Barrett in 2007.
But, Pittman is in the shadows this time around and has his company commander, Doug Rapp, fronting the Citizens for a Better Zionsville, a political action committee formed by Pittman in 2007 to swell the coffers of the Pittman slate.
In a Zionsville Times -Sentinel article of Feb. 5, 2007 entitled , "Fighting for Hope," it states that Pittman started Citizens for a Better Zionsville and outlines how the Pittman and Rapp served in the military together.
Coincidentally, of the $25,500 raised by the CBZ in that election cycle, only 4.6% came from actual Zionsville residents. The vast majority of the cash came from law firms, corporations or individuals in Marion and Hamilton counties engaged in the development industry.
The probable reason for Pittman's disappearing act is that any engagement in politics could jeopardize his position in state government.
But, that doesn't stop Capt. Pittman from hosting a fund raiser on May 13 in the Mayfield cabin at his residence on Ind. 334. In an email circulating around town, invitees are asked to "Move Forward Together" and join Larry Mitchell (past MIBOR president), Mark Plassman (Tim Haak's brother in-law), Heather Gallagher (Judith Essex's daughter) and Chad Sweeney (appointed to the EDC) and Citizens for a Better Zionsville to meet the candidates.
Pittman's stake in the Town Council is development-related, and what he didn't get accomplished during the first term of his hand-picked council, he'll get this election cycle.
For how the new Zionsville Transportation Plan would have been a bonanza for Pittman Enterprises, stay tuned.
The probable reason for Pittman's disappearing act is that any engagement in politics could jeopardize his position in state government.
But, that doesn't stop Capt. Pittman from hosting a fund raiser on May 13 in the Mayfield cabin at his residence on Ind. 334. In an email circulating around town, invitees are asked to "Move Forward Together" and join Larry Mitchell (past MIBOR president), Mark Plassman (Tim Haak's brother in-law), Heather Gallagher (Judith Essex's daughter) and Chad Sweeney (appointed to the EDC) and Citizens for a Better Zionsville to meet the candidates.
Pittman's stake in the Town Council is development-related, and what he didn't get accomplished during the first term of his hand-picked council, he'll get this election cycle.
For how the new Zionsville Transportation Plan would have been a bonanza for Pittman Enterprises, stay tuned.
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