There's a New Boss in The Weeds

There's a new political boss looming in Zionsville, who wants his way without interference from the nattering naybobs of negativism.

For the past three years, certain elements have been at work behind the scenes, rounding up the players to control, and keep a tight leash on the Town Council.

The process involves control of the Republican precinct committee persons, which despite all the hoopla of the high profile campaigns in the May 8 primary, has a very significant impact for Zionsville and Eagle Township.

Why worry, or make a big deal of this?

When a vacancy occurs, say on the Town Council, or for a Mayor, it falls to the precinct committee folks to pick the successor. So, if certain elements didn't want any outsider to gain a foothold on a council seat, those powers would seek control of the precinct committee persons confident they would follow orders as who to elect on the Town Council.

As an example, when David Carr stepped down from the council three years ago, there were a few contenders for the opening, which went to Valerie Swack, who was not the anointed one, but a broad-minded thinker who subsequently became a fly in the ointment of Matt Price's administration.

And, as a lesson to anyone who dares fly in the face of the powers-that-be, here's what happened to Swack's most ardent supporter, Tim Bennett, who was the committeeman from precinct 9 in Zionsville. In the precinct caucus, which is the political name of the gathering of committee persons, Bennett passionately touted Swack's attributes as to why she should serve on the council, and Bennett was convincing, and the caucus elected Swack.

Guess what? Bennett is now on the outside looking in. He was dumped as the precinct committee person and replaced by Kevin Swan, a buddy of Chad Pittman and his henchman Doug Rapp.

Which gets us back to what's been going on for the past three years.

Pittman; then council person Michelle Barrett; and Steve Jacob, the Boone County Council president, began strategizing meetings to find people of like minds to run for precinct committee positions from Zionsville and Eagle Township.

When voters take a gander at the ballot in Tuesday's May 8 election, they will see there are 12 contests for precinct positions in Eagle Township, which encompasses Zionsville. And, in each of those 12 races there is a Pittman candidate. And Pittman himself is also running from the Eagle 4 precinct against his neighbor Bill Ferree.

If any of this causes anyone any angst, here are the candidates for precinct committee person that Zionsville Confidential believes voters should seriously consider voting for, and to the best of my knowledge are not beholden to Boss Pittman:

Eagle 2 - Tom Santelli

Eagle 3 - Guinn Doyle

Eagle 4 - Bill Ferree

Eagle 8 - Valerie Swack

Eagle 10 - Kyle McMillan

Eagle 11 - Ralph Stacy

Eagle 14 - Jim Holden

Eagle 15 - Amy Stehr

Eagle 16 - John Notarianni

Eagle 18 - Ron Beck

Eagle 19 - Pat Taylor

Eagle 20 - Steve Guillian

Vote your conscious.

Here Comes de Judge

With Boone Circuit Court Judge Steve David's anointment by Governor Mitch Daniels to the state supreme court, odds makers are picking their mounts on which one will cross the wire first to succeed the former Mayflower Transit's lawyer.

Names of four county barristers are circulating, and the winner that shakes out of the political trees needs to save the governor from any embarrassing fallout.

The four are: Todd Meyer, county prosecuting attorney; Jeff Jacob, a Zionsville attorney with long-standing family political ties; Pam Buchanan, a Zionsville attorney whose late husband John Buchanan was the county prosecutor, and Jeff Edens, who served as circuit court judge pro tem while David was serving with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate branch at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for over a year.

Meyer, who was elected county prosecutor following the untimely death of Buchanan, has no time on the other side of the rail, and not always been the easiest for some local agencies to work with, demanding exhaustive investigations to cover any and all bases. He is currently in his second term.

Jacob, another novice when it comes to judicial robes, is a member of the Andreoli & Jacob law firm in Zionsville. His partner, Mike Andreoli for years was the "man to see'' when it came to sticky legal issues, especially in land development. Jacob is the grandson of the late Paul Green, who was the county Republican chairman for eons. His grandmother, the late Betty Green, was the daughter of Nobe Berry who had been the Boone County Republican party chairman for many years. Other political clout for Jacob is his father, Steve Jacob, who is president of the Boone County Council.

Buchanan, now in private practice, was appointed prosecutor when her husband stepped down from that position because of his illness. If the governor decides on Buchanan, it would help deflect some of the flack he caught from women's organizations when he picked David instead of the chance at breaking the mold on the all-male bench.

Edens, who presently serves as chief deputy prosecutor to Meyer, had an epiphany before he was named to fill-in for Judge David. Edens, a longtime Democrat, had to switch parties to satisfy the governor he had the talent for the circuit court post. The roots of Edens family political tree go back to 1882 when his great-grandfather was county sheriff, and his grandmother was born in the old county jail.

Early odds have Edens an even choice because if he was chosen once, why wouldn't he have the edge; Meyer is 7-3; Jacobs 6-1, and the long shot, Buchanan at 50-1.

Stay tuned for the call to the post.