Holcomb Logic on COVID Hard to Follow

Eric Holcomb
Photo courtesy State of Indiana

There was a time early on in the 2020 campaign where I actually considered voting for Eric Holcomb.

I know, it's hard to believe, but I was impressed with how Governor Holcomb handled the early days of the pandemic. His steady and principled leadership carried Hoosiers through the early part of this nightmare, and he stuck to his guns early when challenged by those to his far right on pandemic policy.

As the days and months went on, other factors proved that my early feelings of support for the Governor were misplaced. The Governor opened the state too quickly last summer, and we saw an even bigger surge start in the fall that reached its peak in December and January.

Governor Holcomb danced on a line last year. He had a strong Libertarian challenge to his right on COVID policy and a Democratic opponent who was an actual medical doctor. Still, he had plenty of loyal Republican support to coast to an easy victory in 2020. 

Now, he's seen the Indiana General Assembly take swipes at his powers as Governor because of the perceived job he's done managing COVID-19. The far right believes the Governor has been too stringent with his mask mandate and his public health measures against businesses, churches and public events. So, there's now a controversial effort to change the Governor's ability to put in public health measures with the emergency powers granted by the Indiana Constitution. It's an effort that's likely going to end up in court because even if Holcomb vetoes legislation limiting the powers of the Governor, the Indiana General Assembly only needs a majority to override the veto. 

So, that brings us to last week. Governor Holcomb, under attack from the far right, ended Indiana's mask mandate effective on April 6. This comes with less than 20 percent of Hoosiers completely vaccinated against the virus. While the number of vaccinated and completely vaccinated Hoosiers climbs daily, so are COVID-19 cases.

Just today, Indiana went back into the thousands in new cases. It's nosing upward again, and Holcomb is sticking to his decision to put the local governments in charge of masking regulations and public health policies to prevent the spread of the virus. The GOP-led General Assembly now is trying to amend bills to take that ability away from local officials like Marion County Health Commissioner Dr. Virginia Caine and Mayor Joe Hogsett.

So, let's get down to it. What Governor Holcomb is doing makes zero sense. President Joe Biden is begging state governors to not end mask mandates. Neighboring states like Kentucky are making the same plea. Holcomb isn't budging. 

Makes you wonder why. I mean, I suppose he's possibly going on principle as he sees it that the numbers and positivity rates are down, but he was slow to react to the rising cases in the fall. It appears he's content to do the same thing again. Apparently his ever-present "road map" to beating the virus doesn't learn from previous wrong turns. 

Holcomb doesn't have another election for Governor to run. He has a General Assembly that's out of control with a weak first-year Speaker that's hellbent on undercutting his authority. That's not going to change with any concessions he makes. He has every reason to come down on the side of science and health policy, but he's not doing it. He's content to watch a fourth surge race against the rate of vaccinations. Is he angling for his next move politically? As Governor, what he's doing makes no sense.

I'm fully vaccinated, and I'm glad because I have no idea why Governor Holcomb is doing what he's doing. I fear it's going to lead to more Hoosiers becoming victims of this nasty virus.

Ruckelshaus Runs Smear Campaign on Qaddoura

John Ruckelshaus and Fady Qaddoura

There are a lot of negative and misleading ads running this campaign cycle. 

One candidate's ad, however, is particularly cruel and misleading in its claim.

WTHR's Verify team took a look at an ad that John Ruckelshaus is running against his opponent Fady Qaddoura. Ruckelshaus has made a career of being a state senator that truly has resisted some of the crazy his caucus often peddles and is widely respected by people of all political spectrums. That's why many were shocked by the ad Ruckelshaus continues to run against Qaddoura.

The ad has all the markings of a negative political ad complete with the grainy photos, empty swingsets, etc. Ruckelshaus makes the claim that Qaddoura, as Indianapolis City Comptroller cut preschool out of the budget for at-risk three-year-olds. 

This is just plain misleading. A five-year agreement to provide preschool finished, so it was taken out of the budget. The budget then went through the public process all budgets go through and was approved by not only a majority of the City-County Council, but a unanimous vote of both Republicans and Democrats. The Comptroller only prepares the budget. This individual has no power to make the final decisions.

After WTHR pointed out the misleading nature of the ad, didn't even have the decency to pull it. It's continuing to run in heavy rotation smearing the reputation of Qaddoura. Now, Ruckelshaus is closing with an ad from the late Richard Lugar talking about Ruckelshaus's bipartisan reputation and the respect he has from both sides of the aisle. 

Dare I say that Lugar would be absolutely horrified by the ad being run by Ruckelshaus's campaign against Qaddoura. This is not the first misleading tactic Ruckelshaus has used against Qaddoura this cycle, either. Sheila Kennedy says it even better in her post on this ad than I can.

As many on both sides of the aisle have said, Qaddoura doesn't deserve this dastardly ad from a man who has made a career of being above it. 

I guess we misjudged John Ruckelshaus. Lump him in with all the others that will knowingly mislead to stay in power.

Bray Threatens School Funding Over School Safety Decisions

Rod Bray
Official State Photo

To say being a school teacher or administrator right now is a tough job is an understatement…let alone being a student, parent or guardian.

As the school year begins, schools find themselves trying to weave their ways through scores of potential landmines that could have devastating effects on a community and Hoosier families. 

In general, a lack of guidance from state officials and a lack of anyone wishing to make a decision has created a vacuum where local schools have to cobble together the best information they can and make decisions based on those facts as the COVID-19 pandemic slogs on.

In short, these critical decisions rely on consistent and clear communication from the state. It's no time for amateur hour.

Some counties like Marion County have had an involved local health department. While Dr. Virginia Caine and Mayor Joe Hogsett have made some moves that have not been well-communicated ahead of time, they have been pretty rock solid in their guidance that when it becomes unsafe to keep schools open that they won’t hesitate to close them. They did it in March, and they have clear guidance for Marion County Schools that's based on science and data. This is the kind of guidance that local school boards and superintendents need to make good decisions. 

Most of all, they need to know that decision makers in government have their backs in no uncertain terms. The last thing they need are mixed messages or unclear guidance.

School leaders were shuddering to think what might happen to funding this summer as the state announced major budget cuts to deal with the budget shortfall. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb alleviated concerns by saying that schools would receive 100 percent funding as planned for the 2020/2021 school year. With that guidance, schools have moved forward in good faith. 

Late last night, the Governor's guidance was muddied as a powerful General Assembly voice decided to weigh in.

Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray announced in a letter that public schools not beginning the school year with an in person option would see a funding cut of 15 percent per student. With schools already rolling in many communities and some deciding to go 100 percent virtual, Bray's letter drew broad criticism. The ISTA, AFT, Senate Democrats, State School Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, Woody Myers and others were quick to criticize the move. 

One person has been silent: Governor Holcomb.

This is not the kind of guidance our schools need right now. Bray wants to punish schools who make decisions based on health and safety. When approached by the Indy Star on what all this meant for schools, Bray could not provide any details.

Senator Bray clearly did not think out this position, and he clearly does not understand how his proposed funding cuts will affect districts that are already in session or may be closed by health orders. 

I bet he doesn’t care, either. 

Bray's letter is essentially that “OPEN THE SCHOOLS” tweet President Trump mindlessly tweets in the form of a poorly thought out policy, and Governor Holcomb seems good with it.

That's a sad state of affairs, folks.

UPDATE: Per the Fort Wayne Journal Courier's Niki Kelly, the Governor has finally commented reiterating his support for 100 percent funding for schools.

Larrison's Past Blog Posts Provide District 12 Caucus Eve Surprise

When Blake Johnson was elected to fill out the unexpired term of Dan Forestal, who resigned from his District 100 post in the Indiana House, it set off a race to replace him on the City-County Council

Many community leaders and several City-County Councillors have come out in support of Karla Lopez-Owens to replace Johnson. Mayor Joe Hogsett has backed former employee Jason Larrison for the spot. So, as you might imagine, the caucus has taken a turn and has become a bit of a proxy battle between the Council and the Mayor. Francine Lee, who has supporters of her own, is also in the race to become a Councillor as well.

Well, this race took a turn this evening. Call it a "Caucus Eve Surprise" if you will.

Tonight, the Indianapolis Star published an article by Amelia Pak-Harvey detailing blog posts written in 2006 and 2007 where Larrison had made insensitive remarks about undocumented immigrants, women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

For his part, Larrison apologized without any confusion. After explaining to the Pak-Harvey that he was unsuccessfully attempting to be a blogger and a comedian at the time he penned the posts, he said, "I made bad jokes that were completely unacceptable and I am not the sort of person to make excuses when I screw up."

That's a definitive apology, and I credit him for taking responsibility. He didn't go the wishy washy way of saying that he was apologizing if he offended someone. He said he was clearly wrong. 

The apology, though, in my opinion is not enough. The posts were unacceptable, as he stated, and they were disqualifying. Larrison should drop out of this race before the caucus on Tuesday. I believe that no matter his contrition, the posts were written and that will damage his ability to effectively serve his constituents. District 12 has, according to the Star, the highest percentage of Hispanic and Latinx individuals in our city.

That's not all, though. I'm also disappointed in Mayor Hogsett, who, according to the Star piece, condemned Larrison's past posts but continues to support his candidacy. I think that's incredibly unfortunate, and it has the potential to strain the relationships between the Mayor and the Latinx community in Indianapolis.

I agree with the Councillors and community leaders backing Karla Lopez-Owens. She should be given the opportunity to lead the 12th District on the Council. She appears qualified and ready to lead the district forward.

UPDATE: After having read some of the posts in question (found them on a Facebook post of a friend), I think Joe Hogsett needs to answer as to why he is continuing to support Larrison's campaign at all. The posts are definitely disqualifying.

Merritt, Indy GOP All Hat and No Cattle on Potholes and Tort Claims

We are one month away from the Primary Election, and we still have no idea what Jim Merritt wants to do if he's elected Mayor of Indianapolis.

He certainly can hold a press conference. We know that! So far, he's held several on potholes and tort claims, but, when pressed for solutions, he comes up empty. Most embarrassingly, the media asked Merritt if he would change the tort claim procedures for Indianapolis (which are largely dictated by state law and not city ordinance), and Merritt became the guy that couldn't find his wallet when it came time to pay the check.

Don't bother to look online for his ideas, either. His website provides no more guidance beyond a promise to roll out his policies during the campaign. Inspiring.

Here's the truth. Jim Merritt, as a state Senator, has been a member of a Indiana General Assembly that has Kathy Bates-in-Misery-style hobbled local governments. Time after time, they've pushed the funding of city governments back to the cities and towns and then cut off the ability for those entities to raise funds. Constitutional tax caps slapped a big governor on the engine of city and local governments.

Years of mismanagement of Republican City-County Councils and Mayors of Indianapolis has also placed us in this situation. Roads were not updated and repaired, and, when they were, they were done so in such a shoddy fashion that many of the improvements have simply fallen apart. Can Joe Hogsett do more? Sure! He has to have the ability to do so, though. In the current funding structure, it's just not feasible.

Indiana has run up is surplus on the backs of local governments, cities, and schools. Jim Merritt won't tell you that at his next press conference. He'll tell you that the General Assembly threw some chump change at the problem when in reality it's going to take a concerted effort and much more political capital to truly fix our problems.

Are the attacks on Joe Hogsett fair? I don't think so unless you're going to do something different than what he's done. Indy's Department of Public Works is doing what it can, and I think Hogsett is, too.

Merritt is all hat and no cattle at this point. His party likes to throw up memes on social media and tag Hogsett as "Pothole Joe", but they ignore their role in getting us here. As for Merritt, he wants your vote without any plan to fix anything in this city, so I've got a nickname for Jim Merritt since he has no plan: "Meritless Merritt".

I think it fits.