Mayoral Backing: Dem City Leaders Pick Sides In May Guv's Race

Indiana mayors are lining up to support the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates:

Democratic mayors across Indiana picked sides Tuesday in the state's gubernatorial primary.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and previous mayor Graham Richard endorsed architect Jim Schellinger, a Democrat from Indianapolis, during an event in downtown Fort Wayne.

Just minutes before the event started, former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson announced the endorsements of 21 mayors across the state. The mayors were from smaller cities and included several northeast Indiana communities: Angola, Berne, Bluffton, Columbia City and Decatur.

Schellinger said he was pleased to have the support of Henry and Richard, as they are two men he admires. He dismissed concerns about the support for his primary opponent.

"Wait until you see mine," he said after looking at the list of mayors supporting Long Thompson.

Henry said he wouldn't usually endorse a candidate in a contested primary, but after meeting Schellinger last year, he realized the architect gave Democrats the best chance of retaking the governor's mansion.

"Jill Long Thompson is a very good personal friend," Henry said. "This is nothing personal at all."

Here's Thompson's list of endorsements:

Angola Mayor Dick Hickman
Batesville Mayor Richard Fledderman
Berne Mayor John Minch
Bicknell Mayor John Flickinger
Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan
Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis
Boonville Mayor Pam Hendrickson
Brazil Mayor A. Ann Bradshaw
Cannelton Mayor Morris Graves
Clinton Mayor Jerry Hawkins
Columbia City Mayor Jim Fleck
Decatur Mayor John Schultz
Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser
Greendale Mayor Doug Hedrick
Hartford City Mayor Dennis Whitesell
Huntingburg Mayor Marvin Belcher
Jasonville Mayor Roy Terrell
Logansport Mayor Mike Fincher
Lawrenceburg Mayor Bill Cunningham
Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie
Sullivan Mayor Scott Biddle

Comments

[david c roach]

I guess "it wont be long now" again?
Jills Pearls:
"lobbyists get a bad rap"
"reading bills before voting on them is 'silly'"
"but there was so much good in it"- her logic on voting for the unconstitutional ( 2nd amendment) so-called assault weapons ban", and brady bill.
so she literaly shot herself in the foot.
I admit she would be the more liberal candidate, and the most voacl for the "common man", however.
not to mention the 1st woman governor in Indiana His/Herstory.
Schellinger is Mitch-Lite.
and what is Jimmy-boys views on gun rights?

[Elle]

I want everyone to be aware that being a 'late comer' to politics does not preclude your ability to participate in meaningful dialogue in our Dem Party in NE IN. I am not in Allen Co, but I think I can speak for their Co as well as my own.
I see that you are clearly a Jill supporter, Gary, but yours is not the only opinion out there. I would assume that you consider yourself a political insider as I read your posts, but if that were the case you would certainly know that your own County party did a poll late last summer that showed your mayor Richar's huge popularity. Shame on you for saying people have forgotten him--with that attitude no wonder you have trouble finding candidates in your county! Even highly regarded elected officials are dissed weeks after leaving office. Former mayor Ricahard is well regarded all over the state and even the country--he was a keynote speaker at a conference I attended in DC recently. I hope there are others in your party interacting with the public and with potential candidates--people who understand the value of elected offiicals to our party.
I HAVE done my homework on both candidates. And BOTH are active in poltics and their communities-my point is that northern IN should not be so blind to the value of candidates from other areas. I do not know who I will vote for, but again I am troubled by her fundraising and by the fact that she has lost so many political races: 1986, 1988, 1994 and 2002--her last bid for office. Her track record indicates she has laced the support/votes (She Lost in TWO Congressional Districts in those races) in the past to win her home areas. This is troubling to me since the main objective is to put a qualified DEM in the statehouse. I think both candidates are qualified-but she may not be as electable if you go by her track record.

[Gary]

Elle: My post was in response to Character Witnesses post suggesting that just because Pape and Hines are Ft Wayne City Council members they should automatically be supporting Jill. They weren't involved in any meaningful political relationship when she was our U.S. Representative. Hines and Pape were just barely on the horizon when Jill was in office. And both were not regular attendees at party functions where the would had had contact with Jill. Pape and Hines are the only city council members in the whole state of Indiana to endorse Schellinger. Ft Wayne is not the only city in Indiana. By the way "late-comer" in the context is that they were not in office at the time she was.

Graham Richard popular? Where? The city? The state? If you mean the city I would bet money that many of the local citizens have nearly forgotten him by now.

On your Indy connection for Schellinger I wonder why he doesn't have the endorsement of any City-County Council member in Indy. What about South Bend his home town? Nada!

As for where Jill has been... you apparently haven't checked the elected and appointed positions she has held.

[Elle]

Gary,
I do not get your point about Hines and Pape not being in office when JLT was the Rep. What does that matter? They are banking on the best candidate NOW, and JLT has lost more races than she has won. I think you do councilmen Pape and Hines a disservice when you say they are late comers--Hines has been in office nine years and Pape eight. Hines was involved in policlinics before that. They both deserve credit from our party--not a divisive label.
Graham Richard is very popular and is known for his astute judgement..I assume that is why his endorsement is important.
None of the endorsements will win either candidate the election.but raising money and being a credible candidate will. I have not made up my own mind, but I find it offensive that people in Fort Wayne short change Schellinger because he is from Indy and say 'where has he been'...take a look at history folks--where had JLK been before she wanted to seek office? Let's talk merit and ability to serve as Gov here and pick the best candidate based on that. I am impressed with Mr. Schellingers success and his ability--it reminds me of Graham Richard and I think his administration was immensely successful.

[John]

The real divide is not between big and small city mayors per se, but rather between the Indy-centric IDP with its financial backers and the rest of Indiana's Democratic Party voters.

Spend any time at all outside the "beltway" and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone (other then a IDP big donor/insider) that has a single positive thing to say about our party's leadership.

The Bayh/Parker team is on the wrong side of the Presidential race and they're wrong on the governor's race.

While it's not nearly to the level of the national mood regarding the Clintons, I sense the beginning of an undercurrent of disenchanted Indiana Democrats. Relying on the same old big money players won't save the party's leadership forever. I'd suggest the IDP start doing some party building (at a grassroots level) beyond 465 for a change.

[Charlotte A. Weybright]

In case you didn't catch it, the newspaper reporter listed contributions to Henry's campaign.

Schellinger gave a total of $5,000 to Henry while JLT gave only $250. I think any positive effect Schellinger hopes to get from Henry's endorsement is lost by the publishing of this fact. That is a pretty big disparity in money contributions.

[Region Geezer Rocker]

I don't see any endorsements from the Region Mayors???? Wonder why???

[Gary]

Just checked Schellinger's endorsements by mayors. There are 8. And 2 former mayors.

[Gary]

How much impact does ex-Mayor Graham Richard have in the endorsement process? I say little to none. To me Schellinger is reaching when he is digging for ex-mayors to endorse him. Who's next? Marion County Library Director?

The comment about the 2 Ft Wayne council members not endorsing Jill when she has such strong ties with the city. That might had been true if Hines and Pape were council members when she had been our Representative at the time. Hines and Pape are late-comers.

And the Hines and Pape are the only City Council members to endorse Schellinger in the whole state of Indiana. Not one council member in Marion County, Gary, Evansville, or even South Bend his own backyard.

[Character Witnesses?]

To give credit where it is due, JLT did compile a long list of mayors, but how badly does it hurt her that two Ft. Wayne mayors (one past, one present) as well as two Ft. Wayne council members have backed Schellinger? Ft. Wayne should be one of her strong areas given her ties to the city as a past representative.

[Petty Cash]

So THIS is what Jill has een doing with her time--talking to Mayors?

Not a bad idea. Smalltown mayors influence a lot of votes.

I listened to Schellinger at the Democratc slating. An overly enthusiastic supporter sitting next to me turned and said: "Isn't this GREAT? Jim's on fire today!"

If that was "on fire," I'd hate to see boring.

This is shaping up to be a realtively dull primary campaign. That might paly into Jill's hands--who knows? But getting this many mayors is a huge boost.