Northwest Indiana Comical Politics

Dan Repay for County Commissioner?

Dan Repay for Lake County Commissioner?   Say it isn't so.   

This blog called the bait and switch scheme by Repay and his "boss" Baby Mac in previous blogs here, here, and here. These previous blogs argued that Repay and Baby Mac were cooking-up this scheme starting before the Hammond City Council primary.  That means, Repay knowingly and willingly lied to the voters, the citizens of Hammond, during the primary and again during the general election.  He has always known he has no intention of serving on Hammond's City Council in the new term because it is rumored that his blushing bride hates Hammond and this earns him a "get out of Hammond" card.

Their lackey Steve Fowler made all kinds of claims about his knowledge of Repay and how everything I said was not true.  Gosh, could Fowler -- nondescript Mayoral flunkie -- be peddling untruths (otherwise called lies)?  If so, maybe it is just all part of his training under Baby Mac. 

The problem Dan Repay now faces is that, as everyone but him knows, Baby Mac cannot deliver.  Baby Mac, with a $400,000 campaign war chest, could not muster a landslide against the $2,600 campaign an old man in a wheelchair.  No, if Repay is to have a chance at winning Lake County Commissioner, then Baby Mac is going to have to ensure that Repay has no opposition.  How might Baby Mac attempt to do that?  Enter stage right, Daddy Mac and his billionaire friend.  It is the only way Repay can win. 

Cantrell, Patronage, and Election Fixing

The buffoons at The Times newspaper published a story, that they made sure to "hold" until after the election so as to ensure the re-election of Baby Mac to Mayor of Hammond.  The story is of how Baby Mac's super-qualified wife (as evidenced by the number of high-profile law firms seeking to employ her) decided that she would forgo getting a job based on merit but decided that it was better to gain money and influence from the daughter of her husband's former political-consultant Robert Cantrell.  (If it's not too much to ask, maybe Judge Cantrell can make Mrs. Baby Mac's cover letter and resume -- you know -- the one she must have submitted when applying for a job -- available for all to see.  Shouldn't be too hard to produce, now should it.  And while Judge Julie is at it, maybe she can produce the job advertisement because I'm just absolutely sure there was an actual job search conducted.)  That's right, the federally indicted Cantrell -- the one who, according to previous Times news articles, illegally obtained medical insurance for both Julie and John (otherwise called, Bob Cantrell's children).  When it comes to criminal and fraudulent behavior, I think it's safe to say that the apples didn't fall far from the tree. 

There is no doubt that if the story of illegal patronage of Mrs. Baby Mac by the medical defrauding judge had come out in the newspaper before the election, Mr. and Mrs. Baby Mac could have been reduced to kicking their dog back under their house porch waiting for David Hamm to come save it.  What would have been intriguing to see is -- if Baby Mac had lost the election -- would both he and the Mrs. still have been able to keep their "patronage" jobs at Purdue Calumet, which under Cohen has turned into just another Northwest Indiana political patronage cesspool where all the Democratic Hammond politicos go to earn a little extra spending money and give themselves "academic" credentials that look good on the political resume?

Baby Mac Sent Back to the Nursery

The local elections -- the ones for mayors, city and town councils and clerk-treasurers -- are now completed in Indiana.  The results are not surprising. 

Indianapolis returned to sanity and returned the mayorship and City/County council back to the Republicans.  Greg Ballard is the new Mayor and Bart Peterson's political career is over; it actually never started.  I had always argued that his career would never "take" even as there was "chatter" he might run for Governor.  The voters spoke.  He is in retirement. 

As I have mentioned before, the Democratic Party had called on Martin Jischke, the former President of Purdue University to run against the current Governor Mitch Daniels.  With Peterson's career "officially" over, now Jischke is one of the only candidates -- if not the only -- the Democrats might have to offer.  If not for Governor, then they could run him in the next U.S. Senate race -- but the Democrats first choice is to run him for Governor.  Why do you think Jischke was spending all that public university money on advertising himself during his last two to three months as President of Purdue?  It even became more obvious, when, last week U. S. Congressman Pete Viclosky sent out a free mailing to everyone in the first Congressional District with the two of them together smiling like old Washington D.C. buddies.  Can anyone spell "retirement" -- it is looking a lot like it is spelled p-o-l-i-t-i-c-s. 

The Democrats lost because they had no reasonable and competent plan to deal with the property tax problem in Indiana and the spiraling government costs that drives it.  The increased costs of government at the local level is at the feet of the Democrats.  This is a constant.  Just look at NWI.  Governor Mitch Daniels at least came up with a plan that is problematic but competent.  Something that the Democrats keep on avoiding like the plague.  The consequence is the election that one sees. 

Now it is fair to say that Indianapolis was a reasonable race; it was competitive.  Although the incumbent lost, at least the challenger had a campaign and money and support from the Republican State Committee.  Although Bart Peterson's political career is over, he at least was not a buffoon and a thief.

Now that cannot be said for NWI.  It is still one of the mysteries of life why anyone votes for a Democrat in Lake County -- existence here is, politically, in the stone-age.  But a great miracle did occur.  The best funded campaign of an incumbent young energetic Mayor was thrown into a stupor by a handicapped, wheelchair bound, broke campaign of a retired Republican banker.  Baby Mac, commonly referred to as Tom McDermott, Jr. won by only four hundred votes out of ten thousand even though he had one of the best funded campaigns in the State.  The voters recognized that he was truly an incompetent buffoon as has been pointed out consistently in these blogs.  The only people who did not see it are the blind buffoons at The Times Newspaper.

Munster Needs to Stay Independent; No Democrats Allowed

I just received the usual campaign literature from the Democratic Party of Munster trying to make a case for why a citizen of Munster, Indiana should vote for a Democrat.  Since the campaign literature lumped all the Democratic candidates together as a group and gave their platform as one united front that is how they will be treated. 

One essentially votes for all Democrats in Munster; or for none.

My first question is why would anyone vote for a Democrat in Lake County, Indiana?  The question arises because it is universally recognized that the Democratic Party in Lake County is a verifiable criminal enterprise.  It currently has over forty members heading for jail and an unknown number who have pilfered, stolen, abused their power, or are just plain incompetent.  It is nearly impossible to find a Democrat who has not destroyed whatever he or she has touched (of course, Michael Griffin is one of the lone exceptions, which proves the rule).

Every political entity that has Democrats in political control is in the dregs of the world.  Here are just a few examples: Gary, East Chicago, Hammond, Lake County Government, etc.  I challenge anyone to name an exception in NWI. 

The one exception to the Democratic disaster that is occurring is Munster, Indiana.  It is the one place in NWI with great schools, great homes, low crime, improving real estate, parks, adult education, -- essentially a town that everyone wants to move to.  Even the people living in the gated community of Briar Ridge are only willing to pay that kind of money because they are next door to Munster.  All the doctors, lawyers, and indian chiefs live in Munster.  You can sell and rent housing in Munster generally without problems.

How do you get such an exception in Lake County?  Oh, I know, there are no Democrats in office.

Any Democrat in Munster is tied at the hip to the Democratic Party of Lake County.  For those who do not know, the head of this political party is Rudy Clay, the current Mayor of Gary.  Over forty felons are or have gone to jail for crimes against the public trust, i.e. politicians, and all of them are Democrats.  A convicted Democrat, Will Smith, waiting to go to jail, currently continues to serve on the Lake County Council with the support of the Democratic Party of Lake County.

The problem that Munster faces in the future is singularly focused: to keep the Democratic charlatans and thieves out of the town.  I am not going to address Gary and East Chicago and their negative impact on the region.  With the Democratic Party in charge there, I have come to the conclusion that nothing short of a Lake Michigan hurricane will make any difference.  What Munster has to do is to not build bridges to Hammond, which is its biggest threat.  You know what they say, "good fences make good neighbors."

The Munster Democratic Party DID NOT disown -- putting a fence between Hammond and Munster -- Hammond Democrats.  That they did not do so is a serious problem.  Some of the biggest Democratic thieves reside there.  If you want to see what Munster will look like if the Hammond Democratic thieves cross into Munster then all you have to do is take a quick look at its single-family real estate stock.  Using www.gniarmls.com -- and searching for all of Hammond (North, South, and Hessville), there are only 3 houses for sale in Hammond over $300,000 in a city of over 80,000 people.  Between $200-300,000 there are only five homes for sale; between $150-200,000 there are only 28 for sale.  All the rest are in the dumps, following the Gary/East Chicago pricing model -- junk/garbage housing to go with the junk/garbage City government, to go with a junk/garbage school system. 

The City Government of Hammond is Tom McDermott, Jr. That is who the Democratic Party of Munster needs to publicly disown before they can be taken seriously.  Otherwise, they are the bridge to the charlatans of Hammond. 

Tom McDermott, Jr. represents all that is wrong with the Democratic Party of Lake County.  It has never been reported, legal or not, the money that his family is making from deals in the City.  He calls himself a Democrat and yet destroys (only) the City Health Department and the Legal Clinic.  The very services that help the people of lower means.  Then he LIES about reducing City services by transferring the garbage service, people and all, to the Hammond Sanitary District, which increases the cost to the tax payers.  Finally, as all Democratic Party members believe, he transfers the cost of everything he mis-manages to all the Lake County residents.  Read my lips -- here comes the local county income tax -- all to feed the Democratic Party of Lake County in Hammond, Gary, and East Chicago.  What did the rest of us do to deserve this?

By the way, I would sincerely argue that if there is going to be a County Income Tax then the gambling boat revenues in Lake County must be proportionally divided among ALL the towns and cities of Lake County in accordance with their population.  Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago no longer qualify for this unique revenue source.  Just like the income tax, it belongs to everyone.

The Munster Democrats talk about independence -- but independence from what or from whom?  Disown McDermott first, and then Munster Democrats might -- and I mean might -- be worthy of a hearing.  Otherwise, without disowning the criminal bridge from Munster to Hammond (McDermott Jr. and his band of criminal cronies) we will all go down together. 

The Munster Democrats talk about fiscal responsibility and accountability, but show me where Democrats have ever achieved that in Lake County?  Then they mention "business growth."  Under the Democratic Party of Lake County, there never has been any.  Lake County is a net loss. 

The reality is that the Munster Democratic Party is a wolf is sheep's clothing.  That is the true threat to the stability and future of Munster, Indiana.  If any of them get in; it is the beginning of an infection that is incurable and the northern part of Lake County is the verifiable and known result. 

Do not confuse Lake County Democrats with the national Democratic Party.  The Democratic Party here is a primitive tribal system of over 100 years ago.  I must admit it is as fascinating a fossil as it is a dangerous virus in NWI.

Chris Morrow Reminds the Tribalists Why We are a Failure

The following letter to the editor was in today's Post-Tribune Newspaper. 

Answer to Tax Mess is Less Government

Well, Lake County, here we go again. Since people really don't care that their taxes are high, you're going to get hit again.

Now that we have tapped out on property taxes, we are going to allow an income tax.

Just when fairness was becoming reality, the wealthier communities will be pitching in to support the neglected northern communities. Our taxes aren't out of control. Our spending is in the Twilight Zone.

We keep adding layers of government, but the citizens see fewer services. We blame industry for paying less, but we never ask the politicians to spend less.

Apathy increases with the electorate and, in return, our taxes increase. We will continue to be a community of haves and have-nots because the have-nots continue to elect the same folks who aren't helping the situation.

The local media also is to blame as they continue to endorse the same people who created this mess.

People claim I'm a blowhard, but this blowhard debated the issues that needed to be discussed: less school spending, more government consolidation and more qualified individuals running for office.

I'd like to see an article on the number of college graduates who happen to be politicians, so we can see if we have intelligent enough people to find solutions for our serious problems.

Real leaders make difficult decisions; they don't just watch our communities crumble.

You need only look as far Highland and Griffith to see we are taxed too much. They are asking the hard questions.

Chris Morrow, Dyer

Mayor McDermott Supports Electioneering on City Time

The Mayor of Hammond, Tom McDermott, Jr., seems to be in full support of using city time and resources for electioneering by incumbents as long as those incumbents support him and his foolhardy policy.

Councilman Salinas used a Hammond City truck on City, i.e. taxpayer, time to go to Crown Point to file as a candidate for the Second District Council seat in Hammond.  This was so public that it has to be supported by the Mayor.  Certainly Salinas did not think there would be any problem or consequences from this and there weren't any.  Where is the archaic press in covering this flagrant misuse of the taxpayer's resources?

Maybe this can explain it: Mayor McDermott, Judge Harkin, Salinas, Salinas' father (Salinas' speaker) threw a pizza party for the senior citizens in the Second District a  week ago.  All this happened on Hammond City time.  McDermott must have not heard that it is illegal to use tax payer resources for political purposes.  But Judge Harkin certainly should know.

But what a bad example are these grown-ups setting for their "protege" Salinas.  Another criminal in the making; but he does need to learn how to show up in court when his case comes up.  It also explains how Salinas can physically beat up a co-worker and still remain on a City job without any penalty.  He just has to make sure that McDermott does not suddenly stop.

Black Community to Challenge McDermott

Not surprisingly minority communities are a strange and unfamiliar territory for the Mayor of Hammond, Tom McDermott, Jr.  The reason for this is that most of his support and comfort level is predominantly from the white community, in so far as real support exists.

In spite of all the promises and programs that were presented when he was a candidate and during his early years as mayor, none have trickled down to the minority communities of Hammond.  Maybe McDermott thought that the RDA was going to impress the minority community of Hammond when they take the train to Valparaiso.  Maybe it was the "College Bound" program, which is specifically targeted against Hispanics and Blacks because it excludes renters most of whom are minority citizens of Hammond, would make minorities think well of Hammond's Mayor.

Or maybe it is the much vaunted Cabellas that is going to help the minority community.  There are a lot of the urban Blacks and Hispanics who are into bow hunting.  These are the ones who are going to rush out there and improve themselves with the new Cabellas' minimum wage jobs thanks to McDermott, Jr. and his father.

The African-American community in Hammond may finally be arriving at a smart decision.  Rumors currently floating around knowledgeable circles are predicting that the African-American community will put up someone against the Mayor in the primary.

Their thinking is that first, anyone running will be more acceptable as a Democrat than Republican McDermott.  Second, a Black candidate only has to get the Black vote and a decent percentage of the Hispanic vote resulting in the Republican Junior having real trouble. 

Does it guarantee a win against McDermott?  The Black community recognizes no; but they feel there is little to lose since Junior has been less than valuable to either the Black or Hispanic community.  And given the change in demographics it also is an approach that could win for the minority community.  Then the Hispanic and Black community will really be able to control their own future in Hammond.

NWI Elections Afterthoughts

For those of you who remember, my recommendations for voters in yesterday's election were Griffin, Dominguez, and Morrow.  Obviously my recommendations were not followed by everyone, no surprise there. 

I have mixed feeling in a way about Michael Griffin's loss.  On one side it is a gain for NWI because he gets to come back here and be the singular voice of normalcy and thoughtfullness in a sea of dead wood incompetents.  Maybe God was really watching over us in NWI and did us a favor.  But our salvation is a great loss to the State of Indiana.  Michael Griffin would have been great as treasurer.  We need to encourage him to run for a State wide office again.

The Sheriff won a well deserved race.  It is not a stretch to judge someone by how he treats those who are less fortunate, especially God's "dumb" creatures.  The Sheriff during his first tenure changed a decades old killing machine of pets, the animal shelter, to a pet rescue and new life giving center.  It is these small things that tell you about a person's personality and morality.  The next four years will be good for Lake County with the incumbent Sheriff.

Hammond run by deadwoods made sure to re-elect the total deadwood, Mrvan, to the Senate.  The man did nothing in 24 years, and he won't in the next 4.  Hammond is becoming the new arm pit of NWI.  Within five years, the boarded up buildings will surpass the lived in ones.  As one of my students reported to me, during his drive through Hammond he was taken aback by the number of abandoned and borded up houses.  He found out that many additional houses are for sale.  These problems of Hammond are now effecting the surrounding communities.  It is ironic that not only is Hammond hurting the communities south and east of it; it is also dragging down East Chicago and Gary. 

Hammond's problems have not changed.  Its downfall is the government of deadwood incompetents that overwhelm its ability to flourish.  I am certain at this point that there is no going back from its downfall.  One will have to wait until all the rusty nails are removed and a new beginning is possible when the charlatans have left the house. 

The election of Mrvan with the support of the Democratic and Republican McDermotts is the ultimate proof that Hammond cannot get itself out of the 1970's.  Good luck to Hammond when it tries to disco.

Michael Griffin, Dominguez, and Morrow are the Only Serious Candidates

Election Day is five days away, and Northwest Indiana -- especially Lake County -- is facing some consequential decisions.

Its residents are presented with a Democratic Party that is in control, but appears as little more than a criminal enterprise.

To date, there have been 30 convictions and there are nine indictments awaiting trial. All are Democrats. If the complete truth were known, there probably are very few people in the Lake County Democratic Party who have not committed crimes. The problem in any such investigation is time and all the corroborating evidence required at trial. For Lake County Democratic politicians the reality is that if you have not been indicted it does not mean you are innocent; it only means that you are lucky. The difficulty is finding individuals in Lake County Democratic Party politics that do not have something to hide. T

he goal of all ethical voters in Lake County should be to vote no to this criminal enterprise.

To all universal truths, there are exceptions and no less in this case. Consequently, there are two Lake County Democrats who I am encouraging all citizens to support.

The first is Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin, who is running for state treasurer. There are not enough superlatives I can write about Griffin. As a public servant, he is a "treasure" for Indiana, and my only regret is that he will be a loss to NWI.

The second Democrat I believe should be retained is Sheriff Roy Dominguez. He has done the most apolitical job as county sheriff in carrying out the duties that cross all political jurisdictions. His opponent has lost any credibility of having discretion in decision-making. This occurred when he went after a woman employee for "ghost-payrolling" for working on the American Heart Association fund-raiser. This lack of discretionary decision-making should disqualify him from even wearing a badge.

The voters of the First Senate District have a chance to turn NWI around and to show that they really have a concept about competence. This is the race between incumbent Sen. Frank Mrvan and Chris Morrow. Mrvan has shown through his years of service that he cannot achieve anything for NWI.

In the debate, seen by many, Mrvan said everything is fine, with only a little "tweaking" needed. I hope he tells that to all the people who faced losing their homes in the Lake County tax sale this week.

Mrvan inappropriately said he got the president of Purdue University to take sides and brief him for the debate, but even that he could not get right.

He has no clue what his legislative votes mean.  For example, Mrvan took credit for the dormitories at Purdue University Calumet. In reality, he did nothing to get them. In addition, those, by law, have to be from private funds. The same is true for the parking garage. The rebuilding of the science building comes from internal funds, not from Indiana tax dollars.

Mrvan argued that PUC and Indiana University Northwest get less funding than Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis because they do not have law or medical schools. Wrong again. On the other hand, maybe it is just another lie with which he thinks he can get away. Mrvan did know that PUC and IUN receive about $3,500 for each new Hoosier student, while West Lafayette and Bloomington are already getting more than $14,500 for each Hoosier student.

When will Mrvan be voted out of office to show that NWI citizens can respond and think?   

Voting for Morrow is the litmus test of NWI citizens. Do they care enough about competency and Democratic Party corruption to vote outside their comfort zone? Or will they react in their usual knee-jerk fashion and vote for any’

The "Chief" Tribal Excuses of NWI Politics

Some people have objected to “tribal” as a characterization of Northwest Indiana politics. The assumption they make is that somehow this term is pregnant with racial meaning.  Why that is, I am not sure?  The term is utilized to describe all NWI politics of whatever racial or ethnic background and the term has a history in the social sciences to describe a particular type of social/political relationships based on tribal hierarchy, i.e. who you know not what you know.  It is a symbolic way of saying that political rewards are delivered in terms of loyalty not performance. Well so be it. Not liking a term does not change the nature of the bad politics in NWI.

Therefore, instead of “tribal” politics, I will now try to explain NWI in terms of “excuse” politics. “Excuse” politics is the other side of “tribal” politics.  Rewards continue to be given for whom you know or are loyal to not how you perform or what you contribute. It is called “excuse” politics because lack of achievement or performance is always answered with an excuse rather than taking responsibility.  It is always someone else’s fault, or it is the fault of some circumstances beyond my or my parties’ control. It is never, never my fault or my mistake.

The reality is that most of the individuals who have complained about my "outing" them as part of the ongoing "tribal" politics of NWI have characterized it as "racist" as an excuse for their abysmal behavior in public life.

The most enlightening events to exemplify “excuse” politics is the NWI Democratic Party’s response to the mired of corruption that was uncovered in the past five years so as to literally define the political climate, certainly of Lake County, if not all of NWI.  The fact is everyone else had it right. We are the most politically corrupt area in the United States.  However, you did not hear that from any public official or their cronies (especially Dan Lowery). They all had the usual list of suspects (or “excuses). 

The list is tiresome if not endless. First, was the obvious, all political entities are corrupt and therefore we are just like everywhere else. Factually, that is not true. In addition, it is still an excuse because you are still corrupt. Then there is that this is neither Democratic nor Republican, it can be any individual. This is saying nothing but the obvious and ignores the fact that only Democrats are in control and only Democrats were guilty. The most ingenious and most common “excuse” is that “they are out to get us.” This excuse argues nothing bad was done but the Republicans down State only want to harm the Democrats in Lake County. This was the standard excuse from the head of the Lake County Democratic Party to the members of the Quality of Life Council. In many ways, this was the worst excuse because it was bought by the voters when they re-elected every single incumbent Democrat into office, thieves and all. This last explanation is truly a classic example of refusal to take responsibility.

There is the largest corruption in the history of local government in the United States, all run by Democrats, all of which are found guilty; but, the real cause of this problem is the political goals of the Republicans in Indianapolis. Such stupidity would be cause enough to drive all the Democratic politicians out of office but not in NWI.

Even the problem of education in NWI is answer politically with “excuses.” NWI has the worst record in the State.  So does anyone take responsibility?  No!!  Gary’s teachers are on strike because money will solve the problem, which we all know is the biggest lie in the world.

Then there is Hammond where after two decades of blaming the students for their failure the political leadership has found a new “excuse”: “if we could only build another school, a magnet school.” Another stupid excuse because if you cannot solve your original problems a new school, magnet or otherwise, (as Gary has found out) will not solve your problems.

The height of excuses was initiated in the early 19990s. NWI was an economic disaster; but it was no one’s fault (the same officials are still with us).  It is Indianapolis’s fault for not letting us have more funds for development because we have suffered so much: unemployment, urban decay, corrupt politicians, etc.  Indianapolis please give us some development funds through gambling. $1.5 billion later NWI is still an economic disaster and the fault now lies in lack of regionalism.

To solve the new excuse of lack of "regionalism", the result is that we ask and are given the Regional Development Authority. The RDA as everyone is aware is an over-pompous 1930s public works project only the morons on the board could love it.  Now though, the RDA’s new excuse is that they don’t have enough money from the “Major Moves” program.  Although they did not know anything about it before the creation of the RDA.  The reality is that the RDA knows it will be a failure and is just preparing for the inevitable "excuses."

So the merry-go-round of “excuse” politics continues. The only way to get off is if the citizens become smart enough to vote the "excusers" out, permanently -- and that my friends is no excuse.