Pubdate: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 Source: Decatur Daily Democrat, The (Decatur, IN) Section: Politicking http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/articles/2003/11/11/news/opinion/editorial02.txt Copyright: 2003 Decatur Democrat Website: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2027&Nav_Sec=37682 Contact: Form at bottom of page http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1618271&BRD=2027&PAG=461&dept_id=338605&rfi=6 Address: 141 S. Second St., P.O.Box 1001, Decatur, IN 46733-5001 Phone: (219) 724-2121 Fax: (219) 724-7981 Author: Brian Howey Note: Brian Howey publishes The Howey Political Report at www.howeypolitics.com, and The Indianapolis Eye On-Line magazine at www.indianapoliseye.com. WHAT THE DEFEAT OF 30 GOVERNORS MEANS INDIANAPOLIS -- This year, at least 30 incumbent mayors were defeated in re-election. The first wave came in the May primaries, where mayors in Jeffersonville, Terre Haute, Seymour, Loogootee, New Castle and Hartford City were upset. Last Tuesday, at least 23 more joined the swelling ranks of the unemployed. Republican incumbents lost in Charlestown, Columbia City, Crawfordsville, Elwood, Evansville, Greensburg, Hammond, Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, New Albany, Noblesville, Richmond, and Winchester. Democratic mayors lost in Beech Grove, Butler, Frankfort, Kendallville, LaPorte, Marion, Shelbyville, Valparaiso, Wabash, and Washington. The reasons vary. In the case of Terre Haute's Judy Anderson, New Albany's Regina Overton and Jeffersonville's Tom Galligan, these mayors were perceived as confrontational and missed opportunities to develop consensus. In Lawrence and Noblesville, legal troubles and sleazy politics doomed Tom Schneider (who lost a race for Marion County sheriff he ran in the gutter last year with the same tactics this fall) and Dennis Redick, who was arrested for domestic battery at a Jimmy Buffet concert after drinking and while wearing a parrothead shirt. In Evansville, Mayor Russell Lloyd Jr., was deemed not up to the task after he terminated a baseball stadium project and appeared on Comedy Central's Daily Show who spoofed him over attending a Cher concert. The other major trend is that in a year after Indiana Democrats saw their ex-party chairman Peter Manous indicted, its Lake County bulwark under federal investigation, its lieutenant governor opt of the 2004 governor's race, and Gov. Frank O'Bannon's death, the party ended up controlling the seven most populous cities. There are now Democratic mayors in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Gary, Terre Haute, and Lafayette. In Fort Wayne, a race many expected to be close, Mayor Graham Richard annihilated Republican Linda Buskirk by 7,500 votes after she tried to use the abortion issue to woo back GOP voters turned off by negative advertising. In Hammond, 2,000 supporters of Mayor Duane Dedelow Jr., simply didn't vote. In Hammond, New Albany and Evansville, united parties saw voters turning their City Halls back to their Democratic tradition. It is the first time since 1959 that Democrat mayors have occupied the seven most populous cities, and 20 of the 30 with a population of more than 25,000. In 1960, after being out of power for eight years (and 12 of the previous 16), Democrat Matt Welsh went on to win the governorship. But the other unmistakable trend that every mayor, every legislator and every candidate for governor now realizes is that Hoosier voters are frustrated. They've sent a vivid message of their anxiety, not so much over just property taxes -- not a single loss could be solely blamed on that -- but over the loss of jobs, as was the case in places like Marion and Kendallville. The voter ire that some GOP operatives had felt evaporate following the sickness and death of Gov. Frank O'Bannon swept in silently like a plague of Moses. The day after this incumbent mayoral blood-letting, an amazing event happened. Gov. Joe Kernan (who announced his re-entry into the governor's race last Friday), Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Garton, House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, and Chief Justice Randall Shephard toured two severely overcrowded prisons at Rockville and Putnamville. It was an unprecedented journey. Indiana has room to house 16,000 prisoners, but is actually holding 23,000. It has two new prisons at Miami and New Castle that it can't afford to open at an additional cost of $37 million. Indiana's Department Corrections already has a $1 billion biennial budget. A billion! Bauer blamed it on "rampant drug use" and mandatory sentences (ask your local judge at church or Rotary what he or she thinks of mandatory sentencing). Sen. Garton told the Louisville Courier-Journal, "It's time to review determinant-sentence provisions. They came about because of public attitudes and public pressures." We've handled the drug war in a three-decade long fit of lunacy, not unlike how we dealt with the mentally ill a century ago. The fact is, Hoosier voters are scared, they sense something is terribly wrong, and they are now seeking out leaders -- true statesmen -- who can cut through the ideological slogans, get to work, restructure government, prioritize education over incarceration, and create a functional 21st Century style of government. They are looking for upcoming leaders to identify their fears and articulate comprehensive solutions. Ask one of your current leaders, who might have said they want to "run government like a business" this question: What business or corporation runs itself on an 1851 structure? On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, from the voters, to a new crop of mayors, to our new governor and leaders from the legislative and judicial branches, there are indications that these folks are finally getting the picture. God save Indiana? Perhaps we ought to try it ourselves first.