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Monday, November 7, 2016

ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL AT LARGE 2016 ELECTION- NOW WHAT?

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ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL AT LARGE 2016 ELECTION
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insight and analysis by Gina Burgess
local political analyst public policy wonkette
and independent investigative journalist and commentator
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Gina Burgess

Follow · 19 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL – WITH BUSKIRK’S DEATH, WHO SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR? Republican Roy Buskirk, Republican Bob Armstrong, and Democrat David Roach. Yes, I am asking you to vote for a “dead man” and a wild card Democrat. Folks, I can’t believe I am making this request and I am just as surprised as you. When you hear the reasons why--- those of you who have been paying attention are going to be angry at first, but will be in full agreement of my incredibly unusual endorsements.

I’ve also proposed that the Allen County Republican Party replace Roy Buskirk with current County Councilman Tom Harris – District 2 (NE) and create a County Council District 2 vacancy to be filled by Nathan Hartman.

So why have I endorsed this strange combination of candidates? And why am I proposing a shuffling of candidates out in County Council District 2? The short, succinct answer:

1. To slow down impending UNIGOV-style regional governance;

2. To slow down expansion of Fort Wayne into Allen County in an effort to create a regional city; and

3. To slow down an estimated community expenditure of $1.7 BILLLION to $3.5 BILLION over the next 10 years.

The long answer, or the full detailed reason, is going to require a lot of reading on your part—but I promise, it will be worth it. Just follow these links:

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 1): NOW THAT ROY HAS DIED, WHAT HAPPENS?https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814725629041

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 2): WHO SHOULD REPLACE ROY?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814708588615

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 3): WHY MY ENDORSEMENTS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MAKE-UP OF COUNTY COUNCIL?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814628826621

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 4): NOW THAT ROY IS GONE—WHO SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR? AND WHY?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814605506038

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 5): SOURCES AND NOTES
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814596825821

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PART ONE:

Gina Burgess

20 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 1): NOW THAT ROY HAS DIED, WHAT HAPPENS? On Thursday, November 3, 2016, I provided my 2016 endorsements for Allen County Council. [1] Those endorsements were for Republican Roy Buskirk, Republican Bob Armstrong, and I left the third spot open. On Friday, November 4, 2016, Roy Buskirk lost his fight to cancer and died. [2] Since Roy’s passing, my inbox has been flooded with questions about what happens now, whose my pick to replace Roy, requests that I withdraw my original endorsement for Roy in light of his passing, requests that I maintain my original endorsement to Roy as a tribute to honor him, and renewed requests that I open my endorsements up and nominate a third. I’ve listened carefully to the pros/cons presented by everyone.

Before I go further, however, there needs to be some “housekeeping.” First, I want to thank EVERYONE who has reached out to me. I tried my best to respond to everyone yesterday from 8 am on November 5th to 8 am November 6th, this morning. I was literally online reading and responding to everyone the best I could for nearly a solid 24 hour period. I wasn’t able to respond to everyone—and I offered my apologies for that. Please know that it wasn’t for lack of trying on my part or lack of importance on your part. It’s just that there were only so many people I could attend to within that 24 hour period. Second, there is no way that everyone is going to be happy with my Modified Endorsement. (And that was a factor in why I stayed up for a 24 hour period.) I ask that everyone be respectful of my posts and more importantly, please be respectful of each other. At the end of the day, no matter who is elected to what position---we are all in this together.

NOW THAT ROY HAS DIED, WHAT HAPPENS?

Nothing really happens at first. Roy’s name will remain on the ballot. It has to. Ballots have already been printed, a significant number of ballots have already been cast due to the interest in this year’s Presidential election, and in all honesty---I believe it’s very likely that Roy has already won this election and is likely the number one GOP vote-getter. I don’t think that is likely to change. Matter of fact, I suspect that the worst case scenario for Roy is that even if everyone stopped voting for him the exact moment he passed until the close of polls on November 8th, 2016 (Election Day)---that he might wind up as the 2nd place finisher in a 3-person race.

Logistically, the Allen County Republican Party can caucus in a replacement for Roy to fulfill the end of his current term, which ends December 31, 2016. Then after the election, hold another caucus to replace Roy for the term starting January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2020.

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PART TWO:

Gina Burgess

20 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 2): WHO SHOULD REPLACE ROY? If I had any influence in GOP circles, I would respectfully ask that no replacement be named for the current term, ending December 31, 2016. Let the vacancy remain intact as a symbol honoring the number of years Roy served on the Allen County Council. With all due respect, there are only two meetings left on County Council for this calendar year---and one vote is not going to make or break any upcoming bills that may be in County Council’s pipeline.

With regards to Roy’s replacement for the term starting January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2020. If I had any influence in GOP circles, I would respectfully ask that the Allen County Republican Party fill Roy’s spot with current 2nd District County Councilman Tom Harris, which would then create a 2nd District County Council vacancy. I would then propose that Nathan Hartman, who is an associate actuary (pension consultant), fill the 2nd District.

I make these suggestions based on 8 factors:

(1) The replacement has to be a Republican;

(2) No one local Republican can fill Roy’s shoes---and I don’t say that out of any respect for Roy. I say that as an acknowledgement of some basic facts.

(3) Roy was one of 18 elected Republican leaders to speak out against Greater Fort Wayne’s “efforts” to wrangle taxpayer dollars to subsidize massive private development, which pretty much included all the Republicans on City Council and County Council.

(4) Roy was one of the few Republican County Council members to publically speak out against County Government Restructuring. Tom Harris was another one.

(5) Roy Buskirk wanted to set aside part of the County’s existing Rainy Day Fund to pay for any Greater Fort Wayne/Regional Cities Initiative mandates to get ahead of and in replacement of raising taxes.* Of all the County Council members, Tom Harris seems to be the most receptive to that idea. Perhaps once Downtown Bill Brown is off County Council, that idea can be better developed.

(6) Roy publically spoke out against the North IV Annexation. So did Nathan Hartman. Matter of fact, this is one of the reasons that I picked Hartman over Ken Richardson who did not take any public position on the North IV Annexation matter. Please remember folks, that on April 28th of this year, my GOP Primary picks for Allen County Council were, in random order: Roy Buskirk, Nathan Hartman and Ken Richardson. [3] Out of the field of 8 potential candidates, these were the guys I believe to be the most financially responsible and fiscally conservative. It should be noted that had Mark Hagar not made the campaign finance mistakes he did earlier this year, my 2016 May Primary endorsements would have been Buskirk, Hartman and Hagar. Hartman and Hagar are both numbers guys while Ken Richardson is a real estate guy whose attached to UPSTAR Alliance of Realtors, which tends to be a very pro-development group of people. Hagar got hung up on campaign finance nuances and didn’t get them remedied by the time I gave my primary endorsements. He would be someone I would give consideration to if Hartman isn’t able, willing or available. While both of these guys took a public stance against the North IV Annexation, only one paid close enough attention to the details to get his campaign paperwork in order. Also, Hartman as an actuary will naturally tend to be a bit more fiscally conservative than Hagar, but Hagar will be considerably more conservative than Richardson. All three guys are accessible and responsive—Hartman and Hagar more so than Richardson by way of their public position against the North IV Annexation. For more info, please read my 2016 Primary Endorsements. [3]

(7) Roy Buskirk is the most accessible and responsive elected leader in all of Allen County. (And folks, that is not an opinion, that is a fact supported by an academic study that I helped initiate in 2013. The point of the study was to measure the responsiveness of elected officials that control local legislation and local fiscal policy decisions, specifically Allen County Commissioners, Allen County Council and Fort Wayne City Council.) Tom Harris is moderately accessible and responsive (A/R). He is more A/R than fellow Republican Councilmen Bill Brown and Larry Brown, but less A/R than Bob Armstrong. During this year’s May Primary, Nathan Hartman publically demonstrated both his accessibility and his responsiveness by way of his social media accounts and by way of his involvement with the North IV Annexation matter.

(8) There is a reason that County voters have continuously voted for Roy since 2002 and have kept him as their consistent #1 pick. Those voters need to be acknowledge and respected. The only way to do that is to replace Roy with someone with as many qualities as he had, many---but not all—have been noted above. County voters have made it well-known that they are NOT FOR all the “Downtown Development, “ “Riverfront Development,” “Regional Development,” nor the runaway spending associated with all of this so-call unsustainable economic development, which hasn’t created the number of jobs it was supposed to create, and what few jobs were created---the majority weren’t the high-wage paying jobs that we were promised. If these economic development matters were put on a referendum for voters to actually have a say in this matter, it would fail worse than the 2014 County Government Restructuring proposal did. (Folks—why do you think the powers that be WON’T let the matter make it on a referendum for your vote??) In the May, 2016 Primary---GOP insiders along with Republican voters flat out rejected the candidacies of Republicans who had any taint of Downtown remotely associated with them.

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PART THREE:

Gina Burgess

19 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 3): WHY MY ENDORSEMENTS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MAKE-UP OF COUNTY COUNCIL? Before I give my endorsements, I need to discuss the current and likely future make-up of County Council. No matter who gets elected Tuesday, November 8th---certain members of County Council will remain on County Council. While Fort Wayne City Council all gets replaced at the same time, only half of County Council gets replaced each election cycle. The election cycle goes like this: 2014— 4 County Council District candidates are up for re-election/replacement; 2015 – 9 City Council candidates, District and At-Large, are up for re-election/replacement; and in 2016 – 3 County Council At-Large candidates are up for re-election/replacement.

Currently County Council consists of these 7 individuals: Roy Buskirk (deceased)-At-Large; Bob Armstrong – At-large, Downtown Bill Brown – At-Large; Sharon Tucker – District 1 (SE); Tom Harris – District 2 (NE); Joel Benz – District 3 (NW); and Larry Brown – Distict 4 (SW). [4] All the guys are Republican. Sharon Tucker is the lone Democrat. Downtown Bill Brown decided not to seek re-election. And if he had, I would have felt an increased obligation to enter the 2016 County Council race—I had my forms ready to go and was represented on-site at the Rousseau Center in case of a last minute “change of heart” filing by Downtown Bill Brown.**

So that leaves us with Sharon Tucker, Tom Harris and Joel Benz. Tom Harris is the most financially conservative of this group, so it’s imperative that he stay. Sharon Tucker asks a lot of good questions, but then ignores the answers she receives and rubber stamps abatements, tax increases, and general support for Downtown development. In fairness to Sharon, she doesn’t have much choice. If she doesn’t do these things, Henry Democrats will go shopping for a new candidate. I endorsed Joel Benz in 2014 and, regrettably, he has been a disappointment. I really wish Darren Vogt would get back into the game. Benz is considerably more liberal in his fiscal policies that Vogt.

Roy is likely to get re-elected and despite my suggestions outlined above, the Steve Shine led GOP is very likely to replace fiscally-conservative Buskirk with a wheel-and-deal liberal spender. But undoubtedly, it will be someone with name recognition and the ability to MASQUERADE as a fiscal conservative.

Mitch Harper is likely to be a top consideration. If he loses his bid to become a member of FWCS Board (and please let there be a God that can make that happen), then Tom “Let’s tear down the largest pre-existing but underutilized parking garage in all of downtown and replace it with an even bigger parking garage” Smith is another likely choice. (Also known as Tom “I’m Just Like You Only Prettier” Smith.) Ron Turpin, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Greater Fort Wayne---the agency that wants to spend $645 million over the next 10 years, essentially wiping out what’s left of the Legacy Fund as well as the Regional Cities nitiative “Grant”. (Folks, its not a grant---its your taxdollars.) It should be noted that both Smith and Turpin are part of Riverfront Fort Wayne. Jeremy Bush, the current President of the local Firefighters Union, may also be a consideration in light FWFD’s desire to take over TRAA’s ambulance service, which will expand the City’s reach into the County in a way similar to Fort Wayne City Utilities did with the residential housing in the proposed North IV Annexation area. (I had hoped to discuss that more this past Friday, but that discuss gave way to news of Roy Buskirk’s death.)

Rounding out the list of likely contenders includes former County Councilman Kevin Howell, who became a full-time staffer for Marlin Stutzman. Effective December 31, 2016, Howell is likely to be out of a job since Stutzman lost his Senate race in May and will be replaced by Jim Banks (R), Pepper Snyder (L), or Tommy Schrader (D). Less likely contenders include Eric Tippmann (if he loses in the 2016 General Election bid), Mark Hagar, business owner, and Ken Richardson, business owner and a 2014 Board of Director member for UPSTAR Alliance of Realtors, as discussed earlier.

Finally, we could also find ourselves cursed with a January surprise in the form of the can’t-wait-to-spend-more-taxpayer-dollar antics of Downtown Bill Brown. Think it can’t happen? Or maybe you’re thinking “Surely, Downtown Bill Brown wouldn’t vacate a position, not run for re-election, only to come back again? That doesn’t really make any sense??” I have two words for you---Win Moses. (And as a public disclaimer, I adore Win, but I’m going to call a spade a spade here.)

If we assume that fiscally conservative Roy Buskirk will be replaced with a pro-“development”, wheel-and-deal, liberal-spending Republican cheerleader from the “Make Downtown Great Again” club (with “Downtown Bill Brown,” Mitch Harper, and Ron Turpin being the most obvious choices), that means we have lost a fiscally conservative and gained a liberal spender. This means the new make-up of County Council will be:

LIBERAL SPENDER: Someone from the “Make Downtown Great Again” club. (Roy Buskirk’s replacement)

LIBERAL SPENDER: Sharon Tucker, the Henry-backed Democrat who has to vote for LIBERAL SPENDING to keep her position.

LIBERAL SPENDER: Joel Benz, who leans waaaaaay more fiscal liberal than his predecessor Darren Vogt, who was a moderate, and has consistently voted with LIBERAL SPENDERS Downtown Bill Brown and Sharon Tucker.

LIBERAL SPENDER: Larry “I’m Not Downtown Bill Brown but I Wanna Be” Brown, who has consistently voted with LIBERAL SPENDERS Downtown Bill Brown, Sharon Tucker, and Joel Benz.

MODERATE SPENDER: Tom Harris, he periodically breaks from the LIBERAL SPENDING “Make Downtown Great Again” club to vote with Roy Buskirk.

MODERATE SPENDER: Bob Armstrong, he periodically breaks from the LIBERAL SPENDING “Make Downtown Great Again” club to vote with Roy Buskirk. I’m really hoping Bob stretches politically here and take a more aggressive leadership position than he has in the past on County Council. I see the potential in him and don’t understand what is holding him back.

UNKNOWN: This is the position totally up in the air.

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PART FOUR:

Gina Burgess

20 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 4): NOW THAT ROY IS GONE—WHO SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR? AND WHY? Before I give my endorsements, I need to first remind everyone that about 30% to 50% of you are not going to be happy no matter who I endorse. Please be respectful of me. More importantly---Please, please, p-l-e-a-s-e be respectful and kind to one another. Your votes should be for Roy Buskirk (yes, the dead man), Bob Armstrong, and David Roach.

Folks—let’s please continue to bear in mind that Roy has likely already won his race. And that is a very likely reality that has to be considered. Any votes cast for him after his death are tribute votes honoring Roy and his years of service. Interestingly, I am not advocating you vote for Roy as a matter of tribute. I’m asking you to vote for Roy to make all the votes already cast meaningful. You see, even though Roy is gone---it will be interesting to see how much an impact the change of an impact the early voting locations and new rule change will have on the ACGOP’s consistent top County Council vote getter. Even though Roy is gone, votes cast for him still serve a purpose and that purpose is to help measure the political playing field for County races. Did these changes level the playing field making the political arena more egalitarian or is the playing field still significantly tilted in favor of the GOP County Council candidates. That’s an interesting question and one that can only be answered if everyone would vote for Roy as if he’s still alive.****

With Roy likely to be replaced with a liberal spender from “Make Downtown Great Again” club, that replacement reduces the number of true fiscal conservatives, or Conservative Spenders, to zero (0).
Given the number of joint-commissions, task forces, boards, etc. shared between the City and the County and the number of seriously expensive projects facing our community--- an estimated $1.7 BILLION to an estimated $3.5 BILLLION***--and that County Council is dominated by Liberal Spenders, all of whom belong or are heavily influenced by the “Make Downtown Great Again” club, a Fiscal Conservative is desperately needed.

Our choices for this last lone spot is one of the following four candidates: Republican Eric Tippmann, Democrat Palermo Galindo, Democrat Morrison Agen, and Democrat David Roach. Eric Tippmann is financed by Chuck Surack (Mr. Let’s Build A New Arena Downtown—wait, it’s not an Arena; it’s an expansion of the Grand Wayne Center---ooops, my bad, it’s an Arena??). Democrats Palermo Galindo and Morrison Agen are heavily financed by Henry Democrats.

And all three of these candidates are backed by the local Greater Fort Wayne Business Pac and/or the Indianapolis-based Indiana Realtors PAC. The GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Pac is currently completely funded by…..(drum roll please)….Greater Fort Wayne. That’s right, the folks who are proposing the community expenditure of $650 million dollars over the course of the next 10 years. Interestingly, they had their first “town hall” style meeting on the same day that Roy Buskirk died. (How eerily creepy is that??) The Indiana Realtors PAC only funds candidates who are interested in spending money on real estate. Spending money on real estate in combination with a $650 directive from Greater Fort Wayne---yeah, what could POSSIBLY go wrong there? (sarcasm)

All three of these candidates are pro-UNIGOV. Oh, they won’t admit that in a way that is obvious. Well, Democrats Palermo Galindo and Morrison Agen weren’t obvious. But Republican Eric Tippmann hilariously tripped over himself: “….Tippmann believes there may be overlap in economic development groups partially funded by the county, such as Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and the Downtown Improvement District. He would also seek other EFFICIENCIES IN THE COUNTY’S BUDGET AND OPERATION and believes the widespread respect and success enjoyed by Sweetwater Sound shows what Allen County is capable of…..” [7]

Efficiencies in local government. Hhmmm….now where have we heard that before? That would be from the Republicans on Fort Wayne City Council---as headed up by Russ Jehl and Michael Barranda. [8][9]

Hilariously---Tippmann really, REALLY messed up here. And in fairness to Tippman, it’s pretty clear that he either didn’t study the talking points OR no one from the Democratic Henry Administration gave him the talking points OR no one from the Eric Doden-lead Republican-supported Greater Fort Wayne gave Tippmann the talking points. (Btw, I would love, LOVE, L-O-V-E to be a fly on that wall when these guys start blaming each other….ROFLMAO!!) Folks--Efficiency studies aren’t used with budgets. Audits are used with budgets. Efficiency studies are used to determine whether operational needs, specifically whether all personnel are needed or not. [8][9]

Now, I wonder why the County and the City are BOTH looking at whether personnel are needed or not? Because there are behind-the-scenes plans in play to covertly resurrect County Government Restructuring to create a UniGov style “regional city.” To do this, they are going to have to get rid of “redundant” staff who are “disposable.” (Now made significantly easier without the City being tied up with collective bargaining matters.) They are also going to have to expand additional City services out into the County to help justify the “need” for UniGov---like FWFD’s take over of the County’s EMS services?? And they are also going to have to increase the size of Fort Wayne’s population to pay for all of this? Enter the failed North IV Annexation, the proposed SW Annexation, and let us not forget Chuck Surack/Sweetwater Sound backed “Road to One Million”--- all designed to increase Fort Wayne’s geography (for property taxes, water/sewage increases, utility fees, etc) and population (for additional income taxes from CEDIT, COIT, LOIT, LOIT-Public Safety, etc as well as population-driven taxes, like Fort Wayne’s newly created Wheel Tax).

So, to recap---of the four political contenders remaining on the ballot --- Eric Tippmann, Palermo Galindo, Morrison Agen, and wild card David Roach, the only one NOT FUNDED by the “Make Downtown Great Again” club, the local political establishment, and/or anyone who might have something to gain financially from the estimated $1.7 to $3.5 BILLION dollars being spent in our community over the course of the next 10 years (i.e. real estate developers, construction trades, construction supply, bank financing, municipal bond providers, insurance companies, political party patronages, etc.) is the wild card---David Roach.

Interestingly, given all that is at stake, Roach will be a good choice for another reason too. He is going to be the wild card that is most likely to ask all the questions at County Council meetings that all the other Councilmen will try to avoid. It’s in his nature. He won’t be able to help himself. He will literally end up being the spotlight that scatters the roaches. This is poetic irony at its finest.

Another interesting thing about Roach is that he is really good at "following the money trail." Perhaps even better than me. Sadly, that skill often gets lost because Roach's writing style is significantly differe then mine--offering fewer facts and less clarity. Perhaps, should he be elected, he will work on to improve communications so as to help everyone understand where all the money is going.

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PART FIVE:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 5): SOURCES AND NOTES
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Gina Burgess

20 hrs

MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 5): SOURCES AND NOTES

SOURCES:
[1] https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210784871362703
[2] https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210803343864504
[3] https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10209161894269290
[4] http://www.allencounty.us/county-council
[5] http://www.wfyi.org/…/more-than-100-indiana-communities-wor…
[6] http://www.ibj.com/…/53937-go-behind-the-scenes-of-indys-19…
[7] http://www.news-sentinel.com/…/Eight-Republicans-seek-three…
[8] http://www.news-sentinel.com/…/City-needs-to-study-its-effi…
[9] http://www.journalgazette.net/…/Council-wants-outside-study…

NOTES:
* I’m betting that some folks in County Government and local political establishment thought I wasn’t paying attention to what is going on over there. Sincerely, with all due respect, how could I not pay attention or why would I not pay attention? I know that certain individuals are looking for back door methods to push county restructuring and local government consolidation efforts. Let this be a lesson---Don’t mistake my silence on something as me not paying attention.

;-)

**Despite reservations and my public declaration that I wouldn’t compete in the 2016 Allen County Council race, the only thing that would have caused me to reconsider entering this race would have been if Downtown Bill Brown would have decided to stay. This was due to two things:
First, Brown’s continued advocacy for downtown development project that were directly responsible for tax increases; Brown’s advocacy on behalf of companies that would come forth to County Council seeking abatements and then turn around and admit that the abatements weren’t really necessary---Brown would rally other County Council members to go ahead and give the abatement, even when some members of County Council expressed a reluctance to do so; and Brown’s continued advocacy for “investment” of taxpayer-financed subsidies for the public and allegedly “non-profit organizations” of DID/Downtown Development Trust, Greater Fort Wayne, Northeast Indiana Regional Part, as well continued support for the Capital Improvement Board.

Second, I was approached by individuals who were willing to practically run by County Council campaign for me. They had donors and volunteers lined up, a sound campaign strategy in place, and not realizing I was already keeping up on County Council—had information packets ready to go to bring me up to speed on current events. None of them, nor I, knew about all the changes that were going to take place this 2016 election season, such as early voting for County Elections taking place at the public libraries (which tend to lean Democrat) and the requirement that people now have to vote specifically for At-Large candidates (that voting straight party no longer equates to automatic straight party votes for At-Large positions). Those changes leveled the playing field and leveling of the playing field would have given me a significant advantage over the other Democratic County Council candidates, given my current political brand, pedigree and a vetting process that has been nearly continuous since 2011.

Because my campaign team had just come off of the 2015 campaign trail and because the playing field as I knew it at the time of these discussions was tilted to the advantage of Republican County Council candidates, I couldn’t in good faith enter the 2016 County Council race. My compromise to these individuals was that if Downtown Bill Brown changed his mind, then so would I. To those individuals---Thank you for the opportunity and the confidence you placed in me. As I’ve said before, but will say again, my apologies for not taking you up on the offer and yes, I regret the decision not to participate—especially in light of Roy’s passing.

*** The anticipated $1.7 BILLION to $3.5 BILLION estimated price tag comes to be spent over the next 10 years, as follows: $650 million for Greater Fort Wayne’s “Make Downtown Great Again” proposal, $130 million for RepairFWCS Phase 2 (noting that $119 million RepairFWC Phase 1 is still being paid on and that a Phase 3 is likely on the horizon for 2020 for an estimated $130 million and Phase 4 is likely to follow in 2024 for an estimated $130 million---that would be a total of $510 million dollars, as in the $500 million originally proposed and rejected in 2007 plus an additional $10 million dollars for debt service or other FWCS “investments” not discussed in 2007), $500 million to $1.9 billion EPA federally mandated sewage tunnel project (promoted as only costing $250 million, which was very likely under bid---so we have to double the bid to get a more accurate cost and then take into consideration just how much it cost Indy when they did the same project, especially since Fort Wayne is utilizing the same plans, contractors and oversight. [5][6]).

****Personally, I’ve found the early voting polling locations of Democratic public libraries an odd choice for the GOP-dominated County government structure (i.e. County Commissioners, County Council, etc) and the GOP-dominated Allen County Election Board, which is led by GOP Chair Steve Shine’s law partner, Tom Hardin. In a year when former Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who is heavily supported by the GOP establishment and the financiers who back the local GOP establishment, is running to become Vice President of the United States, why would the local GOP “level the playing field?” Isn’t that inviting more votes for the competitors of Trump-Pence? Of all years to “level the playing” field, why this year? If I’m part of ACGOP---I wouldn’t be leveling the playing field for the ACDP? Not in a year when my man Pence has a shot at US VP? Does this make sense to anyone?

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MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL

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MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL
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GINA BURGESS- LOCAL POLITICAL ANALYST PUBLIC POLICY WONKETTE INDEPENDENT COMMENTATOR/JOURNALIST/RESEARCHER
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social media page:
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess?fref=nf
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https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814605506038
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THE SHORT VERSION
"FOLLOW THE MONEY"
WHO WILL BENEFIT AND WHO WILL PAY FOR IT?
IS IT THE "FREE-MARKET;FREE ENTERPRISE; CAPITALIST SOLUTION- PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDED AND PROFIT SHARING WITH THE PUBLIC IN TAXES REVENUES

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in parts:/chapter one-two three four five
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210814744949524&set=a.1512152488599.66075.1378001731&type=3&permPage=1
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CHAPTER ONE:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 1): NOW THAT ROY HAS DIED, WHAT HAPPENS?https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814725629041
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CHAPTER TWO:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 2): WHO SHOULD REPLACE ROY?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814708588615

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CHAPTER THREE:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 3): WHY MY ENDORSEMENTS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MAKE-UP OF COUNTY COUNCIL?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814628826621

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CHAPTER FOUR:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 4): NOW THAT ROY IS GONE—WHO SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR? AND WHY?
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814605506038

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CHAPTER FIVE:
MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL (PART 5): SOURCES AND NOTES
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210814596825821

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Gina Burgess

Follow · 19 hrs

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THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
X attribution- Gina Burgess

Efficiencies in local government. Hhmmm….now where have we heard that before? That would be from the Republicans on Fort Wayne City Council---as headed up by Russ Jehl and Michael Barranda. [8][9]

DEMOCRATS TREACHERY IN ALLEN COUNTY AGAIN

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VOTE FOR DAVID CHRISTOPHER ROACH- THE NAME YOU KNOW; AND THE BRAND YOU CAN TRUST
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LINK:
http://www.allencountydemocrats.org/Candidates.aspx
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SO MUCH FOR EQUALITY EQUAL RIGHTS FAIRNESS-
IF YOUR GAY- THE BACK DOOR IS GAPING WIDE OPEN FOR YOU- SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR YOU.
DAVID ROACH? NOT SO MUCH. FUCK OFF ROACH- IS WHAT I GET.
UNTIL JUST A FEW DAYS AGO- THE DEMOCRATS WEB PAGE- HAD THE COUNTY COUNCIL CANDIDATES - JUST THE NAMES LISTED- i HAVE A "SCREEN SHOT" OF IT-
AND NOW- IT BLLOMS LIKE A PROVERBIAL TURB BLOSSOM-
WITH EXTENSIVE DETAILED ARTICLES ABOUT THE PARTY'S TWO PREFERRED CANDIDATES AND THE ONE THEY HATE HATE HATE- UNFAIRNESS AND ILL WILL BAD TREATMENT; AND ALL AROUND DISCRIMINATION>
WELL- I WAS BORN IN CALIFORNIA- WHICH WAS PART OF MEXICO- SO IM MEXICAN AMERICAN LOL.
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IM NOT A FILTHY BUGGERER- BUT I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE LESBIANS; AND SOME GAY FIRENDS WHO ARE NOT ACTIVIST GAYS- THEY ARE ONLY 2% OF THE POPULATION OR LESS- AND ALL THIS ACTIVISM IS TO LEGITIMIZE THE DIRTY OLD MEN PEDERASTS WHO ARE OUT BUGGERING AND SODOMIZING YOUNG MEN AND BOYS-

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LESBIANS? ARE PRETTY MUCH SOCIALLY ACCEPTED BY CUSTOM AND MAINSTREAM SOCIETY- MOST STRIPPERS AND EXOTIC DANCERS AND PORN STARS ARE LESBIANS; FOR THE RECORD.
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HERES THE DOCUMENTATION:
A COPY AND PASTE AS OF 11-07-2016
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County Council At Large

David Roach

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TOMMY SCHRADER -
HOMELESS DERELICT SKID ROW BUM- GETS THE SAME TREATMENT-
WE BOTH WON FAIR AND SQUARE- FOLLOWED THE RULES OBEYED THE ELECTION LAWS- FILED BY THE LAST DAY FOR OUR RESPECTIVE PRIMARIES.
TOMMY HAS ONLY A GED- HAS NEVER WORKD ANYWHERE TO SPEAK OF ENJOYS 1000 BUCKS OF FREE GOVERNMENT CASH FOR A SUPPOSED "DISABILITY"- HE MAY BE A BIT "STUPID"- BUT HES ABLE BIDIED. IF VARIOUS AGENCIES CAN PUT THE RETARDED /DOWNS SYNDROME/ ETC- TO WORK AT JOBS- THEN SCHRADER SHOULD WORK TOO.
I HAVE MET HIM AND PERSONALLY- I DONT LIKE HIM HE DOESNT LIKE ME- BUT I WOULD AT LEAST PUT UP OR LET HIM OR HELP HIM PUT UP A DESCRIPTION /BIO- BECAUSE IF HE WINS- THE PARTY DEMOCRAT HACK LEADERS- WILL BE LOOKING PRETTY STUPID.
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HERES THE REST OF THE SECTION
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County Council At Large

Morrison Agen

Morrison Agen is running as a Democrat for an at-large seat on Allen County Council. He is a small business owner here in Fort Wayne (Neat, Neat Neat Records on South Calhoun Street.) He knows the issues that face small business owners and also sees the impact of the economy of his customers. He is well read on the topics of our day and can discuss and debate them in depth

But (as set for forth in an article written about him by Michel Summers for Fort Wayne Reader)

“there’s something else there, too…

It’s a mission to get people like him — Democrats and other “progressive-leaning folks” in the area — to realize there is much, much more going on in an election year than whoever is at the top of their respective party’s ticket. “There are 520,000 elected seats in this country, and all anyone cares about is one of them,” Agen says. “But all those ‘down ticket’ candidates, those are the ones that affect you on a day-to-day basis. That drainage ditch on your property? Donald Trump is not going to come drain that ditch. Hillary Clinton is not going to come drain that ditch. Gary Johnson is going to tell you to do it yourself…”

To put it simply, if you’re frustrated, despondent, or angry over your presidential choices this year, don’t give up — instead, take a serious look at the candidates running on the state and local level.

Maybe it’s a message we’ve heard before, but 2016 seems a good year to make that case. True, we’re all tired of hearing about the presidential race this year, or at least we say we are. But if there’s an upside to all the attention being given to the national candidates, it’s that the controversy might spur action, driving more voters to the polls on election day and giving a boost to some down ticket candidates that otherwise might go overlooked.

“I feel part of my job as a candidate is try to make local elections sexy again,” Agen jokes. But in all seriousness… “I tell people, if you are sick of this presidential election, and I am too, know there are so many things you could vote for rather than who is at the top of the ticket.”

Morrison may have gotten into the race for more than just getting elected but you can be assured he is working hard t get elected so he can be part of the solution; and, others are noticing. Morrison has received numerous endorsements including from organizations traditionally viewed as supporting Republicans. Morrison indicates this is not due to any pandering but due to straight talk about real solutions. In reality local government is less about political party ideology and more about seeking real solutions, openly discussing and debating them and taking the best of everyone’s ideas so we do what is right for the community. Morrison is sold out on this approach and would appreciate your vote and the opportunity to serve you.

County Council At Large

Palermo (Pal) Galindo

Palermo believes in strong family values and is passionate about having the best quality of life in all communities throughout Allen County. He also pledges to look at county government department by department to eliminate duplication of services or wasteful spending as a way to streamline government and be a good public servant.

With work experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors Palermo has a unique background to serve in an At-large member on County Council. Galindo has broad-ranging connections in Fort Wayne and statewide. He has worked for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, the Indiana State Lottery, Northeastern Center and Easter Seals Arc in community and multicultural outreach and served on non-profit boards.

Most recently, Palermo has worked for the City of Fort Wayne as City-wide Community Liaison. In this position he meets with and listens to people in their neighborhoods to assess their needs and advocate for them. He regularly meets with neighborhood associations and keeps informed as to the issues facing all areas in our community. Having this experience of being connected with the entire city communities gives Palermo a great perspective on the different needs of the various communities which would help in serving in the County Council At-large position.

Palermo has also served the City of Fort Wayne as Mayor Henry’s advocate/Hispanic-immigrant liaison. In naming Palermo to this position Mayor Henry stated “Palermo brings a wealth of knowledge to the City of Fort Wayne and will strengthen our relationships to Hispanic and immigrant populations and the agencies and businesses that serve them.” The position was designed to maintain contact with Hispanic and immigrant Fort Wayne residents and ensure inclusiveness of City services and programs. In describing this position Palermo stated, “Fort Wayne has Hispanic and immigrant residents who have been here for many years or just a few months. It is my duty and commitment to build bridges between the City and these populations and those that work closely with them. I would like to give credit to Mayor Henry for his concern and dedication to action for Fort Wayne's multicultural and international community.”

Palermo is currently ending a very successful four year term as President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. During his tenure the Chamber increased membership, outreach and impact on our community.

County Council At Large

David Roach

The Allen County Democratic Party
7301 Decatur Road Fort Wayne, IN 46816
Phone: (260) 478-8239
Email: info@allencountydemocrats.org

Office Hours / Availability: 3 pm to 5 pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday or by appointmen

The Allen County Democratic Party
7301 Decatur Road Fort Wayne, IN 46816
Phone: (260) 478-8239
Email: info@allencountydemocrats.org

Office Hours / Availability: 3 pm to 5 pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday or by appointment.

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ITS EVIDENT- AGEN IS BEING HIGHLY PROMOTED- HE HAS AN ARTICLE IN THE FORT WAYNE READER
A NICE PRE-ELECTION "FLUFF ARTICLE- PERFECT FOR DISTRIBUTING AS CAMPAIGN PROPAGANDA.
ALAS- SIGH- I WILL NEVER RECEIVE ANY FAIR TREATMENT FROM OUR LOCAL MEDIA OR PARTY HACKS DESPITE BEING A NAVY VETERAN AND HIGHLY EDUCATED.
I MAY BE AN ASSHOLE BECAUSE I DONT MINCE WORDS I TELL IT LIKE IT IS AND IF WE DISAGREE- FUCK YOU- ITS HOW I AM. I DONT HAVE PATIENCE FOR BULLSHIT. I KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT; I FOLLOW POLITICA AND GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY LIKE YOU ALL FOLLOW INDY COLTS FOOTBALL( BUNCH OF FLY BY NIGHT BALTIMORE TO INDY CARPETBAGGERS GO BEARS! LOL) STADIUM WELFARE QUEENS
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http://www.fortwaynereader.com/story.php?uid=3091
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I SUPPOSE "MOE" ISNT A BAD DUDE- HES JUST ANOTHER OF THOSE GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS THAT -LOL- IS ALWAYS TRYING TO SHOVE THEIR AGENDAS AND PENIS'S DOWN OUR THROATS AND FORCING US ALL TO TAKE IT UP THE ASS WHEN THEY WANT THEIR WAY- AND EVERYTHING ELSE GRINDS TO A HALT-
LIKE LEGALIZING RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA FOR EXAMPLE.

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Home > Features > Morrison Agen: On the Record

Morrison Agen: On the Record

The Democratic at-large candidate for County Council is on a mission

By Michael Summers

michael_summers@fortwaynereader.com

Fort Wayne Reader

2016-10-09

Morrison Agen is on a mission.

He’s running as a Democrat for an at-large seat on Allen County Council, and of course he wants to be elected. But there’s something else there, too…

It’s a mission to get people like him — Democrats and other “progressive-leaning folks” in the area — to realize there is much, much more going on in an election year than whoever is at the top of their respective party’s ticket. “There are 520,000 elected seats in this country, and all anyone cares about is one of them,” Agen says. “But all those ‘down ticket’ candidates, those are the ones that affect you on a day-to-day basis. That drainage ditch on your property? Donald Trump is not going to come drain that ditch. Hilary Clinton is not going to come drain that ditch. Gary Johnson is going to tell you to do it yourself…”

To put it simply, if you’re frustrated, despondent, or angry over your presidential choices this year, don’t give up — instead, take a serious look at the candidates running on the state and local level.

Maybe it’s a message we’ve heard before, but 2016 seems a good year to make that case. True, we’re all tired of hearing about the presidential race this year, or at least we say we are. But if there’s an upside to all the attention being given to the national candidates, it’s that the controversy might spur action, driving more voters to the polls on election day and giving a boost to some down ticket candidates that otherwise might go overlooked.

“I feel part of my job as a candidate is try to make local elections sexy again,” Agen jokes. But in all seriousness… “I tell people, if you are sick of this presidential election, and I am too, know there are so many things you could vote for rather than who is at the top of the ticket.”

Agen’s campaign for county council began long before Trump vs. Clinton was a certainty, but the desire to run started with a similar frustration at the lack of candidates in our area. The owner of Neat Neat Neat Records and a resident of Allen County for nearly two decades, Agen has been a “political junkie” for about as long as he can remember. He uses the word “progressive” a handful of times to describe his politics, but when he talks about issues and ideas he comes across more as an old-school Democrat, albeit one who is barely in his 40s. He grew up in Porter County — Chesterton, to be exact — and remembers at nine years old going out with his father to canvas for then candidate Pete Viscolsky. “I swear we knocked on every door in Portage,” he laughs.

He continues: “Everybody I knew had parents that worked in one of the mills there. My own father was an auctioneer; he did a lot of bankruptcy auctions at the time (mid 80s). But those experiences planted an idea in my head of how important politics could be.”

Agen stayed active in politics to some degree, usually as a supporter, championing Democratic candidates. What spurred Agen to finally put himself in the ring were a couple of Facebook posts last January from people he corresponds with regularly.

The first was from Phyllis Bush, part of the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education’s Executive Committee. In the post, she listed all the political races coming up in 2016 that were running unopposed. “It was an insanely long list,” Agen says. “There were something like 20 unopposed races.”

And while a bewildered Agen was asking why no Democrats were stepping up to the plate, Jack Morris, the Chairman of the Allen County Democratic Party, wrote in response to a post — “If there’s something that you think is missing from the ballot, maybe that something is you.”

So Agen gave him a call, set up a meeting, and made the decision. “With Bill Brown deciding not to run for election again this year, I think we have a shot to make something happen,” Agen says.

Agen is enthusiastic and chatty, with a clear, pragmatic view of the duties — and limitations — of the office he’s running for. There’s also a refreshing lack of (1) smarm; and (2) the sort of polarizing, firebrand “us vs. them” rhetoric that dooms most political novices.

But for someone who says he wants to make local elections sexy again, Agen, by his own admission, has probably chosen one of the least sexy offices to run for. “When I’m out talking to people, they don’t want to talk about the ‘social issues’ that consume so much of the big elections,” he says. “Those aren’t things they care about in their daily lives. They’re talking about drainage issues, roads, infrastructure stuff. It’s things that are personal and literally in their own backyards. On county council, you have the ability to make those things happen. You have a say over how dollars are spent and what gets priority.”

A refresher course on local government might be in order here, and we’ll make this quick… Allen County is governed by a separate body than the city of Fort Wayne. The city has the mayor and the city council. Allen County has the county council, made up of seven members, and three commissioners. The commissioners are essentially the legislative and executive body of county government. The council itself is basically the fiscal body. They make decisions on expenditures, etc.

All three commissioners and six of the council members are Republicans, with Sharon Tucker as the lone Democrat. An unbalanced situation like that, Agen contends, doesn’t lend itself to the kind of careful oversight and accountability government should practice. “Is there anything off about the way county council works? Probably not,” he says. “But anytime I’ve talked to someone, that’s been news to them. That kind of super-majority doesn’t lend itself to good government.”

As a “for instance,” Agen points to the recent Blue Kingfisher case, a company setting up a big milk processing plant in Allen County. Blue Kingfisher asked the county for a sizeable tax abatement, saying they were planning to hire 150 people. Agen watched the meeting, and while he didn’t have access to the paperwork council members had in front of them, he had about a dozen questions he wanted asked of Blue Kingfisher. “Blue Kingfisher supplies 600 Wal-Marts,” he says. “That’s all the company does. Are they a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart? Considering they’re based out of Bensonville, Arkansas, I have a feeling they are. So, it took 12 minutes, and this company got a $10 million tax abatement.”

And maybe that’s okay, Agen concedes. But is the company actually hiring 150 people? What’s the average wage? How many of those people are labor and how many are management? “If they decide to unionize, is Blue Kingfisher going to fire everyone, or just pack up and move somewhere else? Because Wal-Mart has done that before.” Agen continues. “Those were some of the questions I would have asked in that 12-minute meeting, but those questions never got broached. Do we need jobs? Of course we do. But I’d like to make sure it’s on the up and up and everyone is doing what they say they’re going to do.”

He’d also like to see county government do a better job “selling” the region’s various development efforts to the area in general. Agen says that the farther away he gets from the city limits, the less people seem to understand or see much benefit to things like the Regional Cities Initiative or revitalization efforts in Fort Wayne. “I talk about it as a quality of life issue,” he says. “The more people we attract to the region — the more people we have buying houses, raising families, putting down roots here — the better off Allen County is going to be. Bigger, better, more. But I’ve talked to a lot of people who don’t see it like that. I love living here, I love the quality of life we have here, and we need to make sure we keep these efforts happening.”

Another regional improvement he’d like to see is more funding towards drug courts and other programs directed towards rehabilitating non-violent offenders in the area. “We know it’s a problem in our area, and it’s a problem no one seems to be talking about,” he says. “For example, take someone with three DWIs. If you’ve got three DWIs… that’s a problem. So what can we do to actually make those non-violent offenders functional members of our community? It costs much less to rehabilitate someone than to incarcerate them, and you’re not paying taxes when you’re in jail. Are we doing all we can to provide for their family, pay taxes, and help our community to grow?”

Those are “big picture” issues, the kind of things that really don’t come up regularly when he’s out on the campaign trail “door knocking.” And they’ll take a lot of work to accomplish. That said, Agen doesn’t seem like the kind of person easily intimidated by what he calls “the tweaky stuff.” He’s doing his homework, and… “I am a really good ‘on the job’ learner. I may not know all the ins and outs, but I’m willing to learn and to listen.”

Of course, the big elephant in the room is… well, it’s not literally a big elephant, but it’s a big elephant. Allen County leans very Republican, and while Agen hears from a lot of “progressive leaning folks,” they’re often discouraged by a lack of representation, or see their own cause as hopeless. There are Democrats out there in Allen County, but it’s hard to get behind the party on a local level when clowns like David Roach and Tommy Schrader pop up on the ballot. “How do I get those people to vote? It’s tough,” Agen says. “I know a lot of people, particularly young people, who were disappointed by the way the primaries turned out. But there are a lot of candidates who are running on progressive issues in our area. I would implore people to reach out to those folks, have real conversations with them. Locally and across the state, the Democrats have a super-solid team this year, and a real chance to get our voices heard.”

For more information of Morrison Agen County Council Campaign, visit…

Facebook.com/MorrisonForCountyCouncil

Gowithmo2016.com

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Sunday, November 6, 2016

ROY BUSKIRK & GINA BURGESS ANECDOTES

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RIP ROY BUSKIRK
US ARMY SGT- 1966- 1967 VIET NAM
ALLEN COUNTY INDIANA COUNTY COUNCILMAN AT-LARGE
FARMER BUSINESS MAN FAMILY MAN
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VIDEO CLIPS:
https://www.google.com/search?q=roy+buskirk&num=40&newwindow=1&biw=1024&bih=546&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCuMnEp5PQAhXIRSYKHQHIC2EQ_AUICygE
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https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210803343864504
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Gina Burgess added 4 new photos.

2 hrs

IN MEMORIUM, REMEMBERING ROY BUSKIRK – THE MAN: As many of you already know, Roy Buskirk passed away yesterday afternoon. [1][2][3] And since Roy’s passing, which has been just about 30 hours ago----I’ve found myself struggling to put into words all the thoughts going through my head. Local media is touting how Roy was a beloved public servant, sentiments that were begun by a press release sent forthwith by the Allen County Commissioners. And that is true---Roy was and IS a beloved public servant and to those that knew him (family, friends, those he represented and those he mentored), he will remain just that. Beloved.

Politically, Roy’s passing has set off a wave of panic among the GOP---who were already nervous about this particular County Council At-Large race. This panic is due to the new requirement this year that voters had to actually cast a specific ballot for At-Large positions. Gone were the days when voting straight ticket Republican meant automatically voting for 3 Republicans for 3 At-Large spots.

As I sit here typing this, I can’t help but grin a little at the irony. For years, the Allen County GOP really didn’t give much to Roy in terms of financial contributions and support. Now, don’t get me wrong, the GOP was kinder to Roy than some other parties are to candidates who don’t tow the party line---and by kind, I mean the GOP didn’t purposefully put up obstacles against one of their own. But in terms of actually spending money on Roy’s campaign---the local GOP really didn’t do that. Until this year. When the ACGOP ran ads in support of all 3 of their At-Large candidates to remind voters to cast ballots for these guys. And the reason I am chuckling (and I’m sure Roy is too) is that nothing says poetic irony like a political party not spending money on a candidate and then the year they do, that candidate literally rolls over and dies. LOL!!

;-) (Sorry, ACGOP, but it’s funny and again, I’m sure Roy’s chuckling a bit about that too.)

Politically, Roy’s passing has set off a wave of renewed hope and optimism among the Dems---will Roy’s death combined with the new voting requirements combined with early voting taking place at libraries, which tend to lean more Dem than GOP---will all these factors give the Dems a historical At-Large win? Historical because it would literally be the first time in recorded history that a Democrat has won an Allen County Council At-Large race. (And to those who find that hard to believe, please reach out to Andy Downs of the Downs Political Center. For once, he’ll back me up here.)

With that renewed hope and optimism comes a renewed energy and with that renewed energy came ill-timed calls to action. Some Dems were very brazen in public calls to action, ranging from how the Election Board or the GOP should remove Roy from the ballot so votes cast for him don’t count …to …how I should endorse a Democrat or at least withdraw my endorsement of “a dead man.”

And then there were a few misguided folks---who were so misguided that I am not going to disclose their political affiliation as an act of mercy to that political party---but these misguided individuals were very quick and very aggressive at pointing out how “…Roy should of never have run for office this year if he was that sick…” or “…see what happens when a sick person runs for office and dies, now they’re taking up a spot…” or “….this was probably the GOP’s plan all along….” I can’t help but shake my head in sadness at such messages. Clearly, people will see what they want to see.

Politically, Roy’s passing has set off a wave of questions within the greater Allen County community. Some really good questions, like “…what happens now…” or “…what happens if Roy gets elected….”? To which the media has already begun to put out answers: “…If voters re-elect Buskirk on Tuesday, Republican precinct committee members will select his replacement to serve out his term. If he is not re-elected, committee members will choose someone to fill out his term for the rest of the year.” [2]

Politically, Roy’s passing set off a wave of phone calls and text messages to me, many I failed to return. I haven’t had the heart to look into my email. And my fb inbox overflowed with messages from all sides of the political spectrum. I have Democrats asking, demanding, and even begging for me to endorse a Dem in the County Council race. I have Republicans expressing frustrations about the inappropriateness of the Dem’s renewed aggressive energy. I have Republicans and Independents asking questions about the Dem At-Large candidates because “…it just doesn’t feel right not voting for 3 At-Large candidates….” to “…voting for only 1 person when you can vote for 3 seems like you’re throwing away votes.” (And to everyone who has asked about the Dem At-Large candidates, I will do my best to answer your questions as I can. And to everyone who has asked me about endorsement---I will have a formal public response to that tomorrow--Sunday.)

As I pause for a moment and review the four paragraphs I just wrote---stopping more to figure out how to go forward in what I’m trying to write and need to express, straining to put my thoughts into words----a wave of profound sorrow just washes over me as tears become tempered with anger, frustration and remorse. I’ve just written four paragraphs about the political impact of Roy’s death and it makes me want to scream: “ROY BUSKIRK WAS MORE THAN AN ELECTED LEADER!!”

And folks---Roy was more than an elected leader. It really breaks my heart to think this is how he is being remembered. The only way he is being remembered.

Please don’t get me wrong---I know there’s a lot of well-intended people out there. As an example, I am thankful that the Allen County Commissioner have ordered all flags on all county-owned buildings to be lowered to half -mast in honor of Roy. (And I would hope that the City of Fort Wayne, the Allen County Republican Party, and the Allen County Democratic Party follow the example as a show of unity and support for a fallen community leader. But I would also hope that all flags return to full-mast on midnight November 10th so that they are flying high and in all their glory for Veterans Day, November 11th. Please remember that Veterans Day is a day to honor LIVING veterans; Memorial Day honors deceased veterans. Having flags lowered on Veterans Day is disrespectful to our living veterans and disrespectful to Roy too. He wouldn’t want that.)

So much of the discussion is about Roy’s political service, that we are forgetting Roy---the man.

Roy was and is more than a County Councilman.

He was more and is more than a public servant.

He was more and is more than a community leader.

He was a loving and devoted husband, a proud father, a grandfather, brother/brother-in-law and an uncle. He was a Vietnam-era Army veteran---a retired sergeant. He was a successful and savvy businessman and a realtor. He was a political historian and a lover of history in general. His knowledge and understanding of how things came to be in state and local politics---processes, procedures, structure, history, etc.--- was absolutely phenomenal. He was a living, breathing walking encyclopedia of how Indiana government functioned and dysfunctioned.

He liked people but really didn’t like social media, tolerating it because he felt he had to----although he did find temporary respite in playing Farmville, which he actually rocked at. (And yes to those who remember and are wondering---Roy was the inspiration behind my 2012 “Some candidates play Farmville while other candidates actually grew up on a farm” campaign. After he won re-election in 2012, he let me know that he had gotten a chuckle out of that particular reference.)

Roy wasn’t a big fan of cooked carrots. Unless they were in a carrot cake. Made by his wife. Covered with plenty of cream cheese frosting. Then cooked carrots were acceptable….LOL! And please don’t ask me how I know that because I don’t really remember---other than it was something I learned while phone banking beside him in 2014.

Roy had an incredibly competitive streak in him, especially for his age. And I say that with sincere respect and admiration. In 2012, when I was campaigning against him---no matter where I went, he always seemed to juuuust beat me there. And everywhere he went, he’d pass out those red, white and blue “Re-Elect Roy Buskirk for Allen County Council At-Large” nail files. Oh how I looooooathed those darn nail files. They were like little tiny harbingers cutely (and annoyingly) announcing that Roy was here, there and everywhere I wanted to be. And I swear he didn’t juuuuust pass those things out. Those nail files covered the entire county like confetti. It was as if Roy had gotten help from Oprah---“And you get a nail file, and you get a nail file, everybody gets a nail file.” ROFLMAO!!

:-D

Roy also had a wicked sense of humor. When he realized that his nail files were getting to me, he did what only Roy would do. He started handing them out.

Directly.

To me.

At each.

And every.

Campaign.

Event.

Dammit….LOL!

:-D

And folks-- I literally mean each and every, single event. OMG! He was suuuuuch an @sshole….LOL! And folks, please understand that I mean that in a very sincere, kind and caring way. But make no mistake---he was really an @sshole. And he knew….he KNEEEEEW….he was being an @sshole. And he enjoyed playing the part of “the @sshole.” Why? Because he knew that I KNEW that he was being an @sshole, that he was enjoying playing the part of the @sshole, and because of the method he utilized to give me the nail file---he knew that there wasn’t a darn thing I could do about it. Matter of fact, Roy was so good at this game, that had I not accepted his darn nail file at each and every event….then I would have looked like “the @sshole.” Well played Roy, well played….LOL!!

:-D

:-DNow, in fairness to Roy, I might have, kinda, sorta had this coming to me. Afterall, I did sort of start things with my “Farmville” campaign. I guess all really is fair in love, war and political campaigns.

;-)

As I reflect on the memories created with and shared by Roy—I have to admit that he was always fair and egalitarian. ALWAYS.

The very first day I met Roy in person was the Friday afternoon at the 2012 New Haven Canal Days merchant tent. I was volunteering at the Dem booth and Roy came over to introduce himself to me, pick up my literature and sort of “assess the competition.” It was a strange and awkward introduction---not because of anything Roy did or anything I did---but rather the other Dems working the booth made it clear that Roy wasn’t welcome there….and neither was I. Roy’s response to the artificially-created tension was to play the role of “senior citizen” and take his time “getting to know me.” Because I didn’t know Roy and didn’t understand what was going on, I just went with the flow the best I could. I couldn’t tell if he was just fishing for information (which of course he was---I was new and he was competitive…duh?!) or if there was something else going on.

As traffic inside the merchants tent picked up, Roy excused himself and went back to the GOP booth. When traffic inside the tent slowed down to near non-existent, I went down to the GOP booth so I could make my own “assessments” and picked up some of Roy’s literature. While down at the GOP booth, Roy took me aside and warned me not to leave my literature with the Dems---that it wasn’t likely the Dems would pass out my materials and that my stuff would more likely end up in the trash.

It was a regrettable situation. The other Dems volunteering that year at the New Haven Canal Days booth had treated me so wretchedly, so disrespectfully, and were so openly hostile---that others outside of and including Roy couldn’t help but witness it. Part of the problem was that I had miscalculated the situation with the Dems. Naively, I thought they had gotten all the anger, hate, rancor, bitterness and hostilities out of their system by way of the 2012 May Primary. My thinking was that after the Primary, everyone would pull together, get along, form a unified team and be all like “Go Team Go.” Aaaannnd, I was wrong. Really, REALLY, R-E-A-L-L-Y catastrophically wrong.

Fortunately, after I left the GOP booth to go back to the Dem booth—another vendor motioned me over, expressed similar concerns about my materials that Roy had expressed, and offered to pass out my materials the rest of Canal Days. I was grateful for the help from that vendor and others in our community that day. And I was even more grateful for Roy’s sense of honor and fair play.

Roy didn’t have to be fair in his dealings with me. And folks, he REALLY didn’t. We were competitors, afterall. But the thing about Roy was that he CHOSE to be the kind of man who would act with honor, integrity and fairness with everyone he dealt with, friend or foe.

He also chose to be the kind of man who would tell you things like it was---and it didn’t matter who you were. For Roy, that was a matter of respect. He would respect you enough to be honest with you and he expected you to respect him enough to be honest with him. Roy and I—both coming from military families---were kindred spirits in that philosophy. In 2014, I watched him go toe-to-toe with members of his own party regarding the County Government Restructuring proposal. He was polite, respectful but firm in his discourse in public. Behind-the-scenes, he could be fierce and ferocious on the topic. Some people thought Roy was just trying to protect his job, but that wasn’t really what Roy was about. He knew the history of how and why the State legislature had originally removed financial oversight from the County Commissioners and gave that responsibility to County Council. He also knew that the majority of his constituents didn’t like the idea of Unigov. Some were fearful of the idea. Roy wasn’t trying to protect or “keep” his job; Roy was doing the job his constituents wanted him to do.

Some of the reasons Roy is and will remain loved by his constituents was his knack for common sense, that he was down-to-earth and really approachable and he kept the lines of communication open with everyone. In a world where common sense and person-to-person communication is a rarity, Roy was like a beacon of light shining bright against darkness. Another reason his constituents love him--if Roy promised you that he would look into something, he kept his promise. He was really good about getting back to people. Honestly, Roy was probably the most responsive political leader in all of Allen County, even more responsive than Democrat Geoff Paddock whose also right up there.

Roy also seemed to believe that he had a duty or a sense of responsibility to help teach, guide and mentor the next generation of likely political leaders in our community—be it over the phone, over coffee and donuts, or a beer and brat, or over the course of a road trip to Indy. His mentoring and guidance weren’t along political lines---although admittedly he mentored more up-and-coming Republican leaders than non-Republican ones. His mentoring was more along the practical lines of teaching how government functioned, the relationship between State and Local government, and how to “read between the lines” of reading between the lines. While many people in Roy’s position were more interested in “developing the economy,” Roy was more interested in developing a sense of responsible stewardship in the next generation of political leadership.

Roy also had the uncanny knack for finding positives in situations that at first glance didn’t seem so positive. There was an incident in 2013 that led to one of the first telephone calls between Roy and I that wasn’t really politically-oriented. Roy, myself and other local leaders (political, business and community) attended a meeting held by union leader Tom Lewindowski, who was going to share information he and others had gathered to make a determination on how effective tax abatements were, if they were creating the job opportunities being promoted or not. The meeting had a Q & A session at the end and I was one of the folks with questions. There was one question that I asked which caused everyone in the room to pause. The room fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Apparently, one of my unknown and undeveloped talents back then was “poaching the elephant” in the room.

The next day, local media coverage of the event attributed my question as a quote coming from someone else. Roy reached out to me to see how I was doing and to gauge my reaction to the situation. I was, understandably, annoyed. Roy told me that instead of being annoyed, I should see it as a compliment. And I was like “WHAT? How on earth is THAT a compliment?” To which Roy laughed and then rather gently explained that I had asked the one question that lots of people were thinking and no one else had the courage or fortitude to ask and local media’s inclusion of that quote (and attributing it to someone else) was confirmation of just how big a deal that really was. And that the last thing they (local media) wanted to do was give the one person in the room (who shouldn’t have had to ask the question to begin with) credit for asking a question that others (elected officials) should have raised. He encouraged me to start changing my frame of reference and to start taking notice of these small, untold victories.

Over the few short years that I had the pleasure and honor of knowing Roy, I have learned a lot. There have been times when he and I didn't see eye-to-eye, but during those times Roy always...ALWAYS...kept the lines of communication opened. And I have always been grateful for that.

In many ways, Roy has helped me to become a better community leader….and a better person. I am indebted to Roy for the lessons he taught me (and others), grateful for the time he spent getting to know and understand me, and appreciative of his ability to look past political affiliations and my many personal shortcomings……. and see me as an individual just wanting to help make our community a better place.

I share my memories with everyone today because while Roy was a remarkable County Councilman, a notable community leader, and a humble but distinguished public servant---and he sincerely was---he was also so very much than that. He was an amazing mentor, an extremely kind and generous man and a blessing to all who knew him.
________
SOURCES:
[1] http://wane.com/…/allen-co-councilman-roy-buskirk-passes-a…/
[2] http://news-sentinel.com/…/Allen-County-Council-President-R…
[3] http://www.journalgazette.net/…/Councilman-Buskirk--72--die…
[4] http://www.21alive.com/…/Allen-County-Council-president-say…
[5] https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10210047170600645

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Monday, November 7, 2016

ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL AT LARGE 2016 ELECTION- NOW WHAT?

Gina Burgess

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MODIFIED 2016 ENDORSEMENTS FOR ALLEN COUNTY COUNCIL

DEMOCRATS TREACHERY IN ALLEN COUNTY AGAIN

Sunday, November 6, 2016

ROY BUSKIRK & GINA BURGESS ANECDOTES

Gina Burgess added 4 new photos.

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