Audio On Fishers Lawsuit
Monday, October 18, 2010

I was recently interviewed by Chris Spangle, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, for the party's podcast. The lawsuit against the Town of Fishers is discussed in detail.

Labels: Fishers, Fishers Town Council, lawsuit, Town of Fishers

posted by Mike Kole @ 9:32 AM, ,

Lawsuit Against Fishers
Monday, October 11, 2010

I recently joined a tri-partisan lawsuit against the Town of Fishers, regarding the ballot status of the question, "Should Fishers remain a Town, or become a City".

It is my opinion that the City Yes petitioners had followed the law in gaining an adequate number of signatures, and that the law therefore triggers a response by the Town in putting the issue on the ballot as a public question. The Town did not do this, so I joined the suit.

I believe that the form of government is something that the Town's voters should have the final word on. Right now, it appears that the Town Councilors are trying to preserve that for themselves, and to preserve political power.

My interest is in representative government, and good government.

I do disagree with the position that city government would be better, though. Yes, the people should have their say, but in my opinion, and additional layer of government will not provide checks and balances as the City Yes people hope. Certainly, that has not worked out in Carmel or Westfield, where the mayors have championed expensive pet projects, and the city councils have largely acted as rubber stamps. One party rule is one party rule, regardless of how many layers of government you have.

I believe there should be a compromise, as I stated on my September 23 post. Remain a Town, but eliminate the at-large voting, and re-draw the district map in seven concise districts.

But, one thing at a time. A petition was filed. It deserves its' place on the ballot. Once there, we can make the case for remaining a Town, eliminating the at-large vote and redrawing the map.

The tri-partisan nature of the suit speaks to the way the issue cuts across party lines. The people should have their say.

Labels: Fishers, Fishers Town Council, Town of Fishers

posted by Mike Kole @ 9:44 AM, ,

Fishers Town Council Map Woes
Thursday, September 23, 2010

For several years, the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County has decried the electoral politics of the Town of Fishers, as expressed in the District Map, and the at-large nature of electing Town Councilors.

For many years, it has been apparent that the Town Council conveniently redrew the map to accommodate the moves of the Council members within the Town, but out of their original Districts. How else does a Town get to a map that looks like this?

The issue came to light again recently, when Charlie White resigned from the Town Council, because he was unaware of where he lives. From the Indianapolis Star:

White, who also is the Hamilton County Republican chairman, said Tuesday in a news release issued by the town that he simply didn't realize his new condo in Fall Creek Township was well outside the borders of his district, which is primarily in Delaware Township.
Indiana law requires council members to forfeit their seats if they move out of their district.
"Because of my statewide campaign for secretary of state and recent marriage, I failed to realize that my new residence was outside my Council district," White said. "Once notified of the situation, I took immediate action to correct the issue."

I truly hope that White's participation in any vote while not eligible to be on the Council does not have the effect of nullifying those votes, rendering ordinances passed as invalid. That would represent a cost burden on the taxpayers of the Town- an unfair one- to cover legal review costs.

The time has come to redraw the District Map. Delaware and Fall Creek Townships are nearly fully populated such that a simple geographic drawing is both possible and overdue. We will be happy to furnish a sample map in the near future.

The other change that needs to happen is the elimination of the at-large nature of voting. Currently, a candidate challenging for a Town Council seat can win every vote in their District and still lose in a landslide. This is because every resident of Fishers can vote on each Council seat, even though that voter will only be represented by one Councilor. Fishers has a base of approximately 70%, and the Councilors know full well that when voting on a person that won't be your representative, the voter is more inclined to simply follow regular voting inclinations, and not cross party lines.

The Democrats have been pushing for city status for Fishers for this reason. The Libertarian position is halfway between the Republicans and Democrats. We do not want to add an executive layer of government, as we have seen how it has led to greater spending and pet projects in Carmel and Westfield. Remain a Town, but eliminate at-large voting, tying the votes strictly to the District.

Libertarians have been talking about these issues for nearly five years. It is sad that the issue comes to light in this manner, but it becomes a blessing in disguise if it leads to the opportunity to being about better, more representative government.

Labels: at-large voting, Charlie White, district maps, Fishers, Fishers Town Council

posted by Mike Kole @ 10:31 AM, ,