taking down words

Big Headlines: It's Been Quite A Year For Political Hacks And Junkies

The Louisville Courier-Journal's Lesley Stedman Weidenbener runs through her picks for top political stories of the year. Boiled down to bullet points, they are:

• Property taxes
• The anti-incumbent electoral mood
• Property tax plans
• Baron Hill's return to Congress
• David Long's ascension to the top job in the Indiana Senate
• The cigarette tax hike
• Slots at the tracks
• Julia Carson's death

There's still a week left before we officially ring in the new year, but what stories make your 2007 list?

The Fallen Mighty: Allen County GOP Short On Cash After Election

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports on trouble in paradise for the GOP operation in Allen County:

"Indiana's 'premier political organization' might not have enough money to keep the lights on this Christmas thanks in part to some lingering resentment over the past election.

"Allen County Republican Party Chairman Steve Shine sent a letter Thursday to party supporters asking for donations as the party faces a financial crunch. He said a 'perfect storm' of events has forced the party to seek $20,000 by Jan. 31 to pay its bills.

"'The ability to maintain our current headquarters location, to have a fulltime operations manager and to keep and maintain a computer system with up-to-date software are all threatened by our current situation,' he wrote.

"The letter several times stresses the urgency of the situation, but Shine said seeking money to pay bills at the end of the year is common for the party.

"He said the party previously borrowed $19,000 from former county Commissioner Ed Rousseau and still owes $15,000 to state Sen. Tom Wyss.

"Instead of seeking money from a lone donor, Shine said it was more appropriate this time to ask everyone to chip in.

"Shine acknowledged 2007 was a turbulent year for the party, noting that the party's annual golf fundraiser didn’t bring in as much cash as normal.

"Much of the discord in the party centered on its failed mayoral nominee, Matt Kelty, who was indicted on campaign finance and perjury charges during the campaign. The situation got so contentious that Shine disbanded the executive committee, which included some of the party’s most influential advisers and donors."

Count 'Em Up: With All Votes In, Mansfield Wins Indy's Second District

Congratulations to Indianapolis City-County Council member Angela Mansfield, who actually won her re-election bid on Tuesday but didn't find out the final results until today:

"Republican Bruce Schumacher actually lost to Democrat Angela Mansfield in Tuesday's Indianapolis City-County election, according to the latest tally of votes released today.

"Manfield got 3,900 votes in the District 2 race, while her rival received 3,591 votes, according to the Marion County Clerk's Office.

"The reversal of fortune for Schumacher would leave the GOP with 16 seats and give the Democrats 13.

"The results were based on votes that had gone uncounted Election Day after voting machine memory cards were inadvertently left untabulated."

Four Years To Come: The Good, The Bad And The Mayoral Majority

Though it's a bit delayed, here's a rundown of numbers -- with a bit of commentary -- from yesterday's mayoral races across Indiana.

As far as raw data, Democrats experienced a net gain of three seats statewide, bringing their mayoral total to 69. Republicans now hold 48 offices, and there were two victorious independents. (Two cities -- Austin and Westfield -- elected mayors for the first time, bringing the grand total from 117 to 119.)

In South Bend, incumbent Mayor Steve Luecke trounced Republican challenger Juan Manigault, and Fort Wayne Democrat Tom Henry prevailed over indicted Republican Matt Kelty. Anderson Republican Kevin Smith succumbed to a challenge from Democrat Kris Ockomon in a hard-fought race. Other key Democratic victories took place in Kokomo, Madison, Muncie (by a pending nine-vote margin), Vincennes, Washington Crown Point and LaPorte.

On the Republican side of things, obviously the big news came out of Indianapolis, where little-known Republican Greg Ballard upset two-term incumbent Bart Peterson. Voter discontent in Marion County further translated into Republican control of the City-County Council and a mayoral victory for Paul Ricketts out in Larryville. The GOP also will take over in Terre Haute, New Castle and West Lafayette, to name some of the bigger ones.

Now, on to the fun part:

Biggest Winner In A Race That Started Out Hotly Contested Before All The Indictments, Yanked Endorsements And Birthday Cake Tomfoolery: Fort Wayne Democrat Tom Henry

Biggest Winner In Terms Of Absolutely Clobbering The Opponent: Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel

Biggest Upset/Lowest Bar Set For An Incoming Mayor Because No One Has Any Idea What He Stands For: Indianapolis Republican Greg Ballard

Biggest Loser: Every would-be Republican mayoral candidate who considered running in Indianapolis

Best Campaign Expenditure: Tom Henry's "Family" spot

Worst Campaign Expenditure (tie): Matt Kelty/American Family Association's radio WedgeWhack! or Juan Manigault/Indiana Republican Party's direct mail proclamation that South Bend is dead

Cockiest Quote From An Incumbent: "'Stomp them in the ground and keep stomping them, and never let up." (Shelbyville Mayor Scott Ferguson)

Most Likely To Be Back On The Public Payroll Within A Week Of The Swearing-In: Anyone related to Paul Ricketts

Elected Official Who Ought To Be Most Afraid Of Voter Anger After This Cycle: Mitch Daniels

You can see how it's done. Go nuts.

Translation, Please? Rokita May Or May Not Have Foot In Mouth Again

A few more apologies from the blogmistress for the dearth of updates today. She'll have a lengthy mayoral overview posted a little later -- along with other assorted political goodies.

But for now, a prize to the reader who can figure out what, exactly, Secretary of State Todd Rokita was trying to say in this statement about yesterday's election. (Hat tip, kind reader.)

"But what every election has to be is fair and accurate, and if a polling place opens a couple minutes late, well, you know what? It's fair if it just didn't open late for black people. It's fair if it just didn't open late for women. And the point is that everyone had an equal opportunity to vote across the board and there was no discrimination and I don’t see any of that here in Tippecanoe County."

For as long as it's available, you can watch the live interview here.

Cycling Through: Just In Case You Thought The Hard Part Was Over

The human body is not built to endure 22-hour days. The pregnant human body? Far less so.

Apologies for the slow start this morning.

TDW is working on a complete list of the outcomes in yesterday's 119 mayoral races. Until she has that finished, congratulations to those who won, and for those who did not, here's to your best effort.

Putting your name on that ballot is no easy task, and you -- and those who worked to help elect you -- deserve recognition for all your hard work.

Finally, for those who see politics in cycles, today is the first day of the 2008 campaign. Here we go again.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: It's Time To Find Out What The People Have Willed

Clean thread, move down.

This one's for results.

Wherever you are, share what you've got. And no matter which side of the aisle you're on, try not to gloat. Tonight's winners have to work twice as hard in the morning.

No Day But Today: It All Comes Down To Hard Work And Twelve Hours

This is the day.

This is the thread.

The blogmistress will do her best to keep you updated as often as she can. You can keep the blogmistress updated here.

Good luck to the candidates. Everyone else, get out there and vote.

Place Your Bets: Who Comes Out On Top Once The Polls Are Closed?

WISH-TV's Jim Shella offers election predictions on his blog:

"We made predictions on Indiana Week in Review over the weekend. Here are mine:

"Mayor: Democrat Bart Peterson

"City County Council: leans Republican

"Fort Wayne: Democrat Tom Henry

"South Bend: Democrat Steve Luecke

"Evansville: Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel

"Big Surprise: low turnout"

Now it's your turn.

(P.S. Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, please make sure to cast your ballot tomorrow. Voting is your most basic right as a citizen, and you really ought to exercise it. Especially if you ever plan on running for office in the future. Ahem.)

T-Minus One Day And Counting: It All Comes Down To Getting Out The Vote

Not that you needed someone to tell you this, but voter turnout tomorrow is going to be key in the Indy mayoral race -- and municipal contests across the state.

Meanwhile, TDW is hearing that there are GOP tracker calls going out all over the city. Mom TDW got one for City-County Council member Ryan Vaughn yesterday, and others have reported getting last-minute Greg Ballard calls.