Peterson could have mitigated the pain by concentrating on quality-of-life issues and by building upon the privatization and community policing initiatives undertaken by predecessor Goldsmith. He didn't. His Indy Works plan to eliminate local government agencies was laudable, but he couldn't get either Republicans or fellow Democrats on the state and local level to fully embrace it. An effort to eliminate abandoned buildings was poorly executed. And he tapped future tax revenues and borrowed heavily—including a $100 million pension obligation bond in 2005—in order to finance existing operationsHeadline explained here.
He also enraged taxpayers with his support of corporate welfare. By 2010, residents will likely face another round of tax increases to finance the operating costs of Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts. They are already footing part of the $700 million construction tab.
Die, Bart, Die
The defeat of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, a Democrat, was one of 2007's true political earthquakes. Former Reasonoid RiShawn Biddle (a former Indianapolis Star employee) explains what went wrong, and how Gilmore blew the legacy of Steve Goldsmith. Faced with rising crime, Peterson did... not much.
Comments to "Die, Bart, Die":
robc | November 20, 2007, 10:39am | #
No one who speaks German could be a bad man.robc | November 20, 2007, 10:42am | #
a. Did that headline need explaining?b. Is my memory screwed up? Is the link right and I blew the line?
evil/bad whatever.
BakedPenguin | November 20, 2007, 10:47am | #
robc - you have the correct line. Scroll down on the quote link from imdb.It's a good thing you landed near this brothel.
robc | November 20, 2007, 10:50am | #
BakedPenguin,According to the link I screwed it up.
Link:
"No one who speaks German could be an evil man."
Me:
"No one who speaks German could be a bad man."
Im guessing I choked.
Does this mean I can start to fantasize about cities ceasing to buy stadiums for billionaire NFL owners? I'd like to not have to pay my extra "sin tax" on beer anymore.
Seitz | November 20, 2007, 11:14am | #
Indianapolis is a urine soaked hell hole, or if you prefer, a pee-pee soaked heck hole.My suspicion, and that of a great many people, was that Bart was less interested in sttreamlining government in order to make it more efficient than he was in accumulating power and control.
P Brooks | November 20, 2007, 11:21am | #
Indianapolis is a urine soaked hell holeSounds like somebody who spent some time in the Snake Pit.
BakedPenguin | November 20, 2007, 11:34am | #
Warty - Here in Orlando, there's some serious pushback on a proposal to rebuild the Magic's Arena. In a general sense, you probably will have to keep dreaming. It suits the mindset of the local politician to "improve" his city's "prestige" with that kind of crap, and damn the consequences.Your beer is way, way down on their list of priorities.
Randall M. | November 20, 2007, 11:35am | #
If you have to explain an allusion, you shouldn't use the allusion.I know Gillespie does it. The same rule applies to him too, I just don't want him rejecting my future job application because I made this comment on one of his posts.
Taktix® | November 20, 2007, 11:44am | #
BakedPenguin,I wonder how that priority will change now that Orlando is #1 in Florida for crime, #11 nationwide.
Now that I think about it, a new stadium would be a perfect distraction for the masses. They could have bread! and circuses!
P Brooks | November 20, 2007, 11:52am | #
It suits the mindset of the local politician to "improve" his city's "prestige"They always drag that Intangible Benefits nonsense out when the numbers don't add up. Particularly when they want a nice warm place to hobnob with the lobbyists.
TLB | November 20, 2007, 12:20pm | #
If Indy was semi-local, I'd move further away.And - believe it or don't - Reason's blind spot might be on display. Apparently there were other issues involved in BP's loss. See the first comment here.
GILMORE | November 20, 2007, 12:24pm | #
... what went wrong, and how Gilmore blew the legacy of Steve Goldsmith.Look, i met Goldsmith II in a bathroom, but all i did was hit his foot with mine by accident...it's all a huge misunderstanding.
The Wine Commonsewer | November 20, 2007, 12:37pm | #
RiShawn's Zip Coon remark was another of the priceless genre. :-)I've often advocated scrapping the bloated, inefficient Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system with a network of toll roads and a set of tax credits that would allow the poor to buy cars. Wait, what? Oh, wrong Bart, sorry.
WLM | November 20, 2007, 12:59pm | #
Given how the Colts turned the Super Bowl Trophy award ceremony into a full-fledged tent revival meeting, couldn't government funding of the Colts' new stadium be squashed on Establishment Clause grounds?ed | November 20, 2007, 1:20pm | #
I wonder how that priority will change now that Orlando is #1 in Florida for crime, #11 nationwide.I believe the area hotels are also #1--in bed bugs.
Do NOT go there.
BakedPenguin | November 20, 2007, 1:59pm | #
Taktix® - Bread & Circuses? Well, the arena is close to the Merita factory.You'd think a murder rate that has doubled over the last three years would refocus some priorities, but there may be reasons why a mayor would choose to see things differently.
P Brooks - the sad thing is, even when the numbers "add up", they don't. When people can't even make fudged numbers "pay", that's a pretty good indicator you're looking at a nasty piece of work.
Lamar | November 20, 2007, 2:36pm | #
Joe:Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer will probably get creamed next November based largely on the same riffs as Peterson: he spent too much time playing grabass with local sports owners (Rich DeVos) pushing publicly funded stadiums and other vanity projects, and let crime get way out of control.
It might not be an earthquake, there may be a trend starting. When did the Democratic Party become the party of kissing the asses of billionaires?
joe | November 20, 2007, 3:23pm | #
Lamar,Ass-kissing billionaire team owner is a bipartisan phemomenon.
The only two examples I can think of where a city/state told a team owner who wanted a stadium to go pound sand involve the Democratic mayor and city council of Seattle, and the Democratic legislature in Massachusetts.
Isaac Bartram | November 20, 2007, 3:52pm | #
joeYou forgot Jesse Ventura. He told the artsy-fartsy crowd at the Guthrie to pound sand too. And since he asked, "Should we subsidize stock-car racing too?", I'm betting he would have told Nascar (who get mucho handouts where ever they operate) where to go as well.
Naturally, the subsidy-suckers didn't have long to wait to get a more sympatico administration.
Francisco Torres | November 20, 2007, 3:56pm | #
"What went wrong"...Besides him acting like just another overspending, overtaxing, big-government bureaucrat? Gee, beats me.
joe | November 20, 2007, 4:07pm | #
Isaac,Turning down opera lovers is lot easier than turning down the team whose jersey half the people on the sidewalk are wearing.
Isaac Bartram | November 20, 2007, 4:56pm | #
joeSorry, I meant to say that Jesse had first turned down the Twins for a new stadium and then vetoed the Guthrie deal. Oh, and the Guthrie isn't opera, it's legitimate theatuh, dahling.
ZW | November 20, 2007, 5:11pm | #
This story does have national implications, especially regarding suburban flight, urban education, rising crime within big cities, tax revolt, and corporate welfare.Bart Peterson had one major redeeming quality. He was fantastic on charter schools, resisting efforts within his own party to curtail Indy's experiment with them. If school choice is advance, we need more Democratic mayors backing it.
Greg Ballard also has an interesting story. He ran without the support of his party or local business interests. After his election, he was perceived as being unbeholden to special interests and lobbyists. It will be interesting to see if this remains so -- and what kind of administration this would make for.
3W | November 20, 2007, 9:25pm | #
That's two Simpsons references in one day (see the first comment for the War on Fat article for the other). I think we're on a roll here, gentlemen.But seriously, it's good that Peterson got thrown out. Of all the problems facing his city, he chose to make violent video games a big issue? Did it ever occur to him that his mismanagement might have caused the rising crime in Indianapolis, not "our violent culture"?
Then again, it's always easier to blame it on video games/heavy metal/D&D/rock & roll/whatever cultural scapegoat came before that.
I could be wrong on this, only going from memory, but when the new Redskin's stadium was being planned in the 90's, their were three main proposed locations: in town DC (I think near or at where I the baseball stadium is going up now), Potomac yards in Virginia, and the Landover Md location where it was actually built. From my recollection the Democratic-controlled localities for all three locations wanted it, but it was the Republican controlled state govt (either the Gov or one of houses of the legislature) that put the kibash on any deal for the Va location.