Family Time

I am in Cleveland for Christmas, visiting relatives- the Koles and the Langmacks. Of course, everyone is very interesting in seeing our little Isabel.














Our Isabel, with her older cousin Isabelle!

I hope all who visit here are enjoying time with family and friends this Holiday season, inside of however you celebrate the season.

Regular postings will resume shortly.

Why Libertarian?

Because Libertarians believe that the ability to raise and spend public money does not make doing so a necessity. Because we believe that spending public money should cause an obvious and significant public gain.

What would you say about roadway projects that took an existing two-lane highway, widened the public right-of-way to accommodate a green strip in the center of the old roadway, and left a new two-lane divided highway? Would that be a worthwhile investment of thousands of dollars?
How about millions?

The City of Carmel, under the leadership of a Republican mayor and an all-Republican city council, have authorized several such projects. Go to Springmill Road, Ditch Road, Oak Ridge Road, and a host of others, and you will find scenarios that match what I described above, and what is shown in my pictures.














Springmill Rd, on a section of original two-lane highway.

Springmill Rd, on a section of improved two-lane highway. Millions of dollars. Poof!

These projects cost millions of dollars. The resulting roadways yield no additional vehicular capacity.

The drainage was re-worked, which generally means that expensive new storm sewers were installed. Expensive right-of-way was often acquired from private property owners. Utilities had to move over to accomodate, without compensation... except that the buck is passed to the customers. And yet, the best thing that can be said about the results is that the new roads look nice.

If a Libertarian were mayor, or dominating the Carmel City Council, the first order of business for roadways would be function. Crumbling roadways would be replaced, to be sure. Perfectly functional roadways would not be replaced merely for the sake of asthetics, as has happened here.

Carmel is clever, though. Raise a fuss about these projects, and you can expect the mayor and council to remind you that Carmel has the lowest tax rate of any city. That is true- today.

These projects were financed with municipal bonds, and will be repaid over a span of 30 years. These projects started popping up not long after Carmel began aggressively annexing existing communities into the corporate limits. As the annexations increased, the City's tax base- and bonding capacity- grew exponentially. The ability to spend gobs of money appeared, and the City took quick advantage of the opportunity.

Carmel has nearly completed the annexations it could hope to. Southwest Clay is the last great bonanza, as it is the wealthiest address in the state. After that, the City's ability to effortlessly pad its' population numbers, tax base, and bonding capacity through annexation will decline significantly. In a few years, the piper will have to be paid.

It looks great today, but its a mortgage on the future. Carmel has based its financing on a Ponzi Scheme. Soon enough, the population growth will fail to provide economic cover for the spending, and taxes will have to go up.

We'll see how keen today's Carmelites will be on paying tomorrow's tax bill. I predict a flight from Carmel in 20-25 years, as the tax rate hikes upward. In the meantime, the mayor and councilors will likely have moved on to other political pastures- having campaigned on the premise that they created the shining city on the hill.

This is what looms for Fishers, with its first attemp to forcibly annex the Geist neighborhoods. This is why the annexations should not merely be fought by the people of Geist, but by the people of Fishers. I want to live in Fishers for many, many years to come. My thinking is long term.

This short term grabbing is the hallmark of Hamilton County Republicans. If your thinking is long term, if you want your property to hold its' value, you need to vote Libertarian. Hamilton County is a magnet today, but on course to be the slum of tomorrow.

The Joy of Independence

I drove my car through some heavy traffic on I-69 this evening, in the Castleton and Fishers area. I had my radio on and I smiled.

I smiled because even though there was congestion, there was motion. When I had my fill of I-69, I exited the highway for some side streets.

I smiled because I was hearing reports of the mass transit strike in New York City. I was not taking delight in the misery of Manhattan workers struggling to return to the Bronx or to Queens. I was taking delight in the fact that while automobile traffic can be difficult at times, it is not subject to a crippling at the hands of a labor union. Link to AP report on NYC transit labor strife.

In previous posts, I stated opposition to the proposed regional light rail system for Central Indiana, on economic grounds. Now I'll state additional opposition on the grounds of independence.

New Yorkers are thoroughly dependent upon mass transit. Most New Yorkers don't even own cars. Without the trains, they are virtually immobile. Not here in Indiana. Even if I-69 were swallowed into the earth tomorrow, I would have several other ways to get where I need to be.

Let's not move towards dependence upon a commuter system. Even if everything works mechanically, the unions can still grind the system to a halt. You would think Republicans would understand that. Let's remain independent- free to move, and free from the crushing tax burden that would be a Central Indiana light rail system that Republicans support.

Why Libertarian?

Because while Libertarians are very growth oriented, they don't give away the store.

Hamilton County features some of the hottest real estate property in Indiana. Farm ground that went for about $5,000/acre 10 years ago now goes for upwards of $75,000/acre from SR 32 and south. Some farmers receive two or three offer calls per week from developers who make pitches involving this kind of money.

These developers take on all the risks. Because it is their judgment that they can re-sell the improved property at a substantial profit, they will lay out millions of dollars to build the basic infrastructure before they sell a single sublot. Developers build roads, sewers, utility mains, walking paths, detention ponds at their own cost, and then turn this infrastructure over to the municipalities as a gift, all for the privilege of being able to sell the developed results.

So, why do we have this to look at on Greenfield Avenue (fka SR 238) in Noblesville?














This is the Noblesville Corporate Campus. Today, it has zero tenants operating, and yet, there are roads to nowhere, sanitary sewers serving corn fields, and snappy-looking entrance signs. For two years, it's all been sitting unused.

Which developer built this infrastructure? No private developer. This was built with public money, spent by the all-Republican Noblesville Common Council. Of course, no private developer would have begun building without a sense of urgency for filling the available parcels.

The stated purpose for building these roads and sewers was to lure high-wage life sciences companies to fill the Corporate Campus. One biotech company, Helmer, had announced its intentions to relocate there. In the last year, news about Helmer- or any other biotech company- has been completely absent from news about the Corporate Campus. Now it's all about the retail giant Simon, and the new shopping palace they will construct here.

Don't get me wrong, Simon's shopping area will create jobs in the area. They just pale next to what the life sciences had to offer. Moreover, retail jobs weren't the stated purpose for this gamble. This is fall-back success.

There is simply no way that a Libertarian official would have voted to approve this kind of development, where the city provides the infrastructure as a gift to anyone who will finally come along, the reverse of how it should be done. Yet, this is what the Republicans did in Noblesville.

They gave away the store. They now are reduced to hoping that sufficient development comes in and quickly, so it can generate the tax revenue needed to repay the bonds floated to build the roads and sewers a developer would have given to the city for free.

Election Night Photos

Dan Drexler was kind enough to email some photos from the Libertarian Party's "Election Night 2005" party at Bearno's, in downtown Indianapolis. While we didn't have a statewide election, we still got together to watch national returns and to talk local politics. I had a delightful conversation with a couple that came in from Pulaski County for the event.
















Here I am giving my stump speech. I used a dining room chair in lieu of an actual tree stump.
















My ubiquitous envelope box is in hand. It contains donation and volunteer sign-up cards. I joke that the box clears the room faster than a stump speech.

Dan Drexler is the Executive Diretor of the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

Why Libertarian?

Libertarians believe in the best possible use for public resources. Libertarians believe that transportation is a private matter, to be paid for in full by the person using the transportation. Libertarians are unwilling to fund expensive pie-in-the-sky marginal solutions to large problems.

This stands in contrast with Hamilton County Republicans, who take the opposite position of Libertarians on light rail and mass transit. Of course, they would never say that they are for the worst use of resources, or for pie-in-the sky, but actions matter. Republicans are acting to make the least of the Nickel Plate route, and launch a painfully expensive boondoggle.

The Nickel Plate line is being eyed as a starter route for a light rail mass transit network. The cost would be conservatively $850, and more likely better than a billion dollars. This network has been touted to take a maximum of 4% of cars off of I-69. Four percent!!!

Republican Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman has repeatedly spoken on record in favor of spending around a billion dollars for this starter system. The latest quotes can be found in a December 16 article in the Noblesville Ledger, under the headline, "Official wants mass transit sooner than later":

The three proposed routes for mass transit's initial route in the region are along the old Nickel Plate Road rail line in Fishers and near Allisonville Road and Interstate 69. The possible forms of mass transit are high-tech express buses, trolley-style light rail or an elevated electric train.

Estimates have placed design and construction costs at $850 million.

"We are strongly exploring ways to bring this out more rapidly," Altman said, noting that one way would be to use all local funding instead of asking the federal government for help. She wants to talk with the Indiana General Assembly about the importance of regional transportation, in the hopes they will approve a regional tax.

Carmel's Republican Mayor Jim Brainard recently addressed Hamilton County Democrats to show affinity between the two parties on this issue. It is worth noting that neither I-69 nor the Nickel Plate line run through Carmel. It is also worth noting that the Monon Trail, a former Monon Railroad line that does run through Carmel, has not been offered for a conversion to light rail. Likewise, Altman represents Clay Township, which is to say, Carmel.

Best Management of Resources. The Monon, like the Nickel Plate, was a former freight railroad. The passenger traffic dried up by the late 1950s on the Monon, and by World War 2 on the Nickel Plate. That should tell you a lot about the viability of rail on these routes. As the freight traffic withered in the 1960s, the lines became run down, and adjacent property values suffered. In Carmel and Indianapolis, the Monon was converted to a trail and greenway. Property values skyrocketed, as the adjacent areas went from undesirable to hot property.

You won't find anyone near the Monon willing to reconvert it back to rail. It would crush their property values. So, why not convert the Nickel Plate into a greenway and trail, and let it do for Fishers and Indianapolis in the areas parallel to Binford Blvd. what Monon did for Carmel? Does this make too much sense?

Unfortunately, Republican officials are trying to solve one problem, congestion on I-69, by squandering a precious resource. The best use for the Nickel Plate corridor is obviously a greenway and trail, but their judgment is clouded by the desire to use it to solve a problem.

Only the Libertarian Party has made the policy proposal to convert the Nickel Plate into a trail and greenway. I hope to help cause this issue to gain traction shortly.

Transportation is a Private Matter. You would expect Republican officials to agree with this statement, and yet, they seem bent on backing the expansion of public transportation. Some argue that the person riding the train pays a fare, and therefore pays his way. If IndyGo is any model for comparison, and I think it is, then riders get a virtual free ride. From page 9 of IndyGo financial statements for 2002, here's where the revenue came from:

16% Passenger Fares
30% Property & Excise Taxes
26% Federal Assistance
26% Municipalities
1% Charters and Special Services
1% Other Revenue

In other words, 82% of IndyGo's 2002 operating revenues came from taxes. It's virtually a free ride for the passengers. There's more.

In 2000, IndyGo lost $5.2 million.
In 2001, IndyGo lost $3.4 million.
In 2002, IndyGo lost $4.0 million.
In 2003, IndyGo showed a profit of $2.8 million.

So, people really started riding the bus, right? No. According the 2003 IndyGo financial statement, fares only increased by $400,000. So how was there a swing of $6.8 million? In a word, taxes.

In 2003, Federal assistance increased by $1.8 million, and local assistance increased by $2.2 million. You will recall that property tax re-assessments were made, with assessed values rising dramatically. As these values soared, the taxes received by IndyGo did likewise.

It's startling to consider how significant the tax support is for IndyGo when you consider just this one line item, found on page 26 of the 2003 statement:

Prior to the collection of taxes, IndyGo had an operating loss of $37.4 million. Fares only provided $6.3 million in income.

That's a lot of tax money to cover. And yet, it happened. This is what Hamilton County Republicans are fixing to bring to us- the reinvention of Marion County. Why on earth would we want this? Answer: we don't.

To date, I have not heard a single Republican official speak out against a mass transit boondoggle such as the proposed Nickel Plate light rail starter system. I have heard Commissioner Altman, Mayor Brainard, Noblesville Mayor Ditslear, and State Senator Luke Kenley -all Republicans- speak in favor of it.

Big Difference. This issue is one of many that illustrates the difference between Republicans and Libertarians. Republicans give lip services to smaller government and lower taxes, but act in an opposite fashion. Elect Libertarians, and you will see officials who will call this what it is- bad public policy. Elect Libertarians, and we would make sure it would not come to pass.

Here are links to some of my previous posts on this issue: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Why Libertarian?

With my recent heavy focus on the Geist annexation, I have increasingly been getting questions inquiring on the difference between Republicans and Libertarians.

It was pointed out that as regards local government, because most matters are fiscal matters and not social, Libertarians and Republicans sound very similar.

It's true. On fiscal issues, we do sound very similar. We share talking points on smaller government and lower taxes, on a belief in free markets rather than government, in private property over public control.

As we know, talk is cheap. Action is what matters. Because virtually all of Hamilton County's elected officials are Republicans, you have a good means for testing how the actions of these officials stacks up against the rhetoric.

You already see how it fails in the case of the Geist annexations. The all-Republican Fishers Town Council is eager to grow government by adding to its corporate limits. It is eager to raise taxes on a targeted group of citizens. It is willing to run roughshod over the right to self-determination. Libertarians oppose these actions.

In the next few days, I will show other places Republicans' actions run contrary to their rhetoric, at the local level. For fiscal conservatives who are increasingly disillusioned with local Republicans, the Libertarian Party is a viable option, unlike the Democratic Party, because unlike the Dems, Libertarians believe in smaller government and lower taxes. The difference is, we mean it.

Astroturf Alert

In the biz, the term "astroturf" refers to letters blasted out chain-like to many media sources on a given topic. It's easy enough to do. Write your spiel, and then cut & paste into the newspaper's web form, and hit 'submit'.

I try to avoid pure astroturf, even though I do send many very similar letters to the regions newspapers. I go out of my way to write each letter from scratch so that they offer something different in each paper. The editors appreciate that, because they don't want to run a letter on Thursday that is identical to one that was printed by a competitor on Wednesday.

Enter one Jason Smith, of Carmel. He has had two letters printed on the topic of the Geist annexations. They are identical. Astroturf. The first question that comes to my mind is, "Why does a guy from Carmel have opinions strong enough on an annexation from the other side of the County that he is compelled the send astroturf to the local papers"?

Thursday's letter by Jason Smith, in the Noblesville Daily Times:

Kudos to Fishers for its snow-removal efforts in the wake of last Thursday's storm. Driving through the southern Hamilton County town Friday morning, you hardly would have known that seven-plus inches of snow had fallen.

Which leads me to believe that all the folks in Geist should quit complaining about becoming part of the Town of Fishers and start looking forward to the kind of services they'll be getting when they do.

Jason Smith, Carmel

Wednesday's letter by Jason Smith, in the Indianapolis Star:

Kudos to Fishers for its snow removal efforts in the wake of the Dec. 5 storm. Driving through the southern Hamilton County town Friday morning, you hardly would have known that seven-plus inches of snow had fallen.

Which leads me to believe that all the folks in Geist should quit complaining about becoming part of the Town of Fishers and start looking forward to the kind of services they'll get when they do.

Jason Smith
Carmel

Anyone care to hazard a guess on Mr. Smith? Is he a party loyalist, coming to the defense of Fishers Town Councilor/GOP County Chair Charlie White? Hmmm... I'm doubting that Mr. Smith was living in an area forcibly annexed by his home city of Carmel, a fiscal conservative opposed to growing government, or one who defends the right to self-determination.

Libertarian Party Meeting Thursday

The Hamilton County monthly meeting has been shifted from its usual day in order to accommodate those traveling and generally busy surrounding the holidays. So, the December meeting will be held Thursday, December 15, at 7pm, at Barley Island, in downtown Noblesville.
My personal invitation goes out to the residents and business owners in the Geist area. Chairman Rob Place has asked me to brief the Libertarian leaders on the status of the forced annexations and the remonstrance efforts. We will discuss the political pressure that can be brought to bear on those who initiated the forced annexation, and on those elected officials who should have stood in defense of the Fall Creek residents of Geist, but who have remained conspicuously silent.

I would be remiss if I did not tout the beverages at Barley Island. Their brews are very good, but this time, I will focus on their root beer. I've noticed that Michael Jarrell always orders a root beer at Barley Island. I had initially assumed that he just wasn't drinking alcohol. Alas- he is quite the connoisseur of all things root beer. Check out Michael's blog. I will be sampling Barley Island's own root beer Thursday evening.

Recommended Reading

Fred McCarthy sends regular updates to me and a very interesting list of recipients- Mitch Daniels, Bart Peterson, and City-County Council members.

Let's hope they read his blog, Indy Tax Dollars. Fred has focused on the Colts stadium project, but lately has been discussing the size of the state budget.

Good stuff. Check it out.

Letter In Sunday Star

My third published letter on the topic of Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex the Geist area north of 96th Street was featured in today's Indy Star. Link to letter.

I recommend that Geist area property owners should send in their own letters in order to turn up the heat on the Fishers Town Council. Don't worry about writing elegant prose- it's going to be edited anyway. Make your point in 100 words or so, and your letter will be printed. Use the tried and true formula of who, what, when, where, and why, and you'll do great.

Go Colts!!!

Watching the game on the tube is fun, especially when your team is making a run at history. It's even more fun when you can gather with a fun group of people .

Join me this afternoon at the 106th Street Grill for the big game between the Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars. I will speak briefly at halftime about my campaign and the Libertarian Party.

Game time is 1pm. The 106th Street Grill is located in the southwest corner of the intersection of 106th & Michigan Ave. (US 421), and is near to Indianapolis, Carmel, and Zionsville.

Update: Colts win to become only the 4th NFL team to go 13-0! Nice turnout with an interesting group of people, including a man who was once stationed in Rota, Spain- near where my sone Alex lives. Fun to talk with him about the places Alex & I have been, in the Sherry Triangle, and Gibraltar. Thanks to Renee and Dan for setting up a fun afternoon!

Vive Le Resistance!

The deeper into the remonstrance process, the more I impressed with the resolve of the property owners of the Geist area who are subjected to this nonsense.

I was among 150 volunteers who received an email from Rachel Quade on Friday afternoon. We were asked to help distribute flyers to the 2,200 residences in the annexation area. Rachel advised me that she had more than 70 people respond, offering to carry the flyers through 6" of fresh snow.

Color me impressed. 70 responses in less than 24 hours, just two weekends before Christmas, a day after a very heavy snow. That's remarkable! That's resolve.

To think, Fishers Town Council president Scott Faultless predicted that the annexation would be welcomed with open arms. Talk about being out of touch!

Clarification on Waivers From Remonstrance

I personally find waivers that would prevent a property owner from making a remonstrance un-American. It is always your right to speak against a government that works to oppress you. Period. It disturbs me that a government would work to insert such language into a sewer agreement and then try to apply it as a blanket over any issue, such as the Town of Fishers is doing in its attempt to forcibly annex the Geist area in Hamilton County.

The main article in today's Noblesville Daily Times addresses this issue. Reporter William Fouts leads the article thusly:

Those opposed to Fishers' plan to annex communities along Geist Reservoir may have a legal right to remonstrate against the proposal even if their properties are subject to sewer waivers.

According Steve Griesemer, a Geist resident and attorney acting as legal liaison for the Masthead community, certain conditions must be met for a waiver to be valid.

“The sewer waivers have to be registered or recorded with the county recorders office and appear in the chain of title for the respective home or structure,” Griesemer said. “And they also have to be recorded prior to the builders connecting to the sewer system, and a developer cannot execute a sewer waiver after he has already passed off title. In other words, after he has sold the house to the first purchaser.”

These conditions would make the vast majority of properties in Geist waiver-proof. And yet, Fishers was counting on these waivers to preclude more than 40% of properties, rendering the remonstrance process impossible.

Just another of the all-Republican Town Council's many miscalculations. I can't wait to have at these clowns in the 2007 elections.

Colts & Politics

Dan Drexler and Renee Atwood are hosting a fun afternoon at the 106th Street Grill for Sunday afternoon's game between the Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Come cheer the Colts on to their 13th straight victory! I will speak briefly at halftime about my campaign and the Libertarian Party.

Game time is 1pm. The 106th Street Grill is located in the southwest corner of the intersection of 106th & Michigan Ave. (US 421), and is near to Indianapolis, Carmel, and Zionsville.

Glad I Don't Smoke!

I am also glad that I don't own a bar or restaurant, for the same reasons. The smoking ban craze has now hit Chicago. From the State Journal-Register report:

The Chicago City Council approved a ban on smoking in nearly all public places Wednesday but gave taverns and bars located inside restaurants until the middle of 2008 to comply.

The ban, which takes effect Jan. 16, also applies to places such as stadiums, nursing homes, shopping malls, city vehicles, taxicabs, convention halls and schools.

I figure whichever Midwestern city is left allowing smoking in 2007 is going to gobble up the lion's share of this region's convention business. Too bad that won't be Indy.

Credit where credit is due: I learned of Chicago's ban via Jacob Sullum's entry on Reason Hit & Run. It's a great group blog. If you haven't checked it out, I recommend it. Snappy wit throughout.

Opposition To Geist Annexation Well Established

I am very encouraged by the level of sophistication shown by the organizers of the opposition to Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex Geist.

Despite the Town's numerous calculations- divide & conquer by making four quadrants of the Geist neighborhoods; launch the effort during the Holidays; make the petitioners struggle against the cold; count on sunbirds being in Florida when the notices go out; bank on Hamilton Southeastern Utilities completing their deals with developers that included 'thou shalt not remonstrate' clauses in the Covenants- the residents and business owners are well on their way to a successful opposition. From the Fishers Topics' report:

After the Say No to Fishers group met to organize itself Nov. 29, Moran said, more than 600 residents joined the opposition movement in the first 24 hours.

"We picked up momentum as a result of it (the meeting)," Spear said. "The resistance is more than we thought."

Among the group's key concerns is that Geist residents already receive the services they need without paying additional taxes to Fishers.

Antoinette Alexander, who moved to Geist in June, joined the opposition group after speaking with other opponents. She said she was out of town when the annexation announcement was made.

"We pay enough taxes right now," said Alexander, who, like many other Geist residents, claims she has every service she needs. "We don't need any more taxes."

and

The Say No group also has consulted with Matt Milam and Jeff Woloshin, organizers of the Concerned Citizens of Home Place, which was successful in stopping a controversial annexation proposed by Carmel. Milam and Woloshin offered advice on how to properly organize, raise funds and get signatures to oppose the annexation.

My letter on the subject appeared in the same issue of the Topics. Link to letter.

The "Say No To Fishers" website is up and running. Geist residents and business owners, along with those who oppose forced annexation on principle and support these folks, can get regularly updated info on the site, and sign up to volunteer.

The next step will be to ratchet up the political pressure. While Fishers Town Council President Scott Faultless seems to be the early lightning rod, my hunches are that several others will shortly be feeling the pressure they richly deserve. Stay tuned!

Excellent Lake County Visit

Monday Night Football and a political roundtable with pizza and drinks. What could be better? Well, the football game wasn't very good, but we hardly noticed anyhow.

Big thanks to Jim O'Gallagher and Bert Bell for putting the event together. Also to the Lake County Libertarians, who invited curious friends who have voted for other parties in the past. I think we may have a few converts. The manager at Zuni's took our "Overtaxed Small Business Owner" bumper sticker and small business pamphlet before I left.

The most important things to come out of the conversations:

1. The Woody Allen Rule. It states, "90% of success is merely showing up". This is so true, especially as our state has become so dominated by one party in most counties. Lake is certainly no exception. Because the #2 party is such a distant second in most places, there is effective one-party rule in the vast majority of our counties. By simply showing up, Libertarian candidates make a big difference. When we are on the ballot in Lake and other such counties, the elections are no longer over at the May primary. Candidates keep talking issues until November's general election. In a Democratic-dominated county like Lake, it may seem pointless to talk about smaller government and lower taxes. If the Republicans aren't showing up, Libertarians get all the votes Republicans might have gotten, plus the independents, plus their base. That's enough to make incumbent Democrats nervous.

2. Comfort Zones. While it may be perceived that because Lake is so dominated by Democrats that it is pointless to talk limited government, the flip side to that is that maybe with the absense of active Republicans, there is a significant portion of the population that does believe in limited government, but they stay home on election day because nobody speaks their language. Be undaunted in speaking limited government! Many people will support you and vote for you if you champion them where it matters most. Being a candidate can be uncomfortable business. People want to poke holes in your positions, say you have no chance, etc. That goes with the territory. But it is when we stray beyond our comfort zones that we begin to reap the greatest rewards.

3. Small Business. Even in a heavily unionized area like Lake County, there are still entrepreneurs, and the major parites do not speak for them. This is the Libertarian Party's natural constituency, but like the tree falling in the deep forest, the message isn't heard if it isn't broadcast. It isn't necessary to do expensive advertising. Rather, letters of invitation can be sent to business owners to attend a Small Business Forum. Ask entrepreneurs to tell you where government makes their lives more difficult and more expensive. They sure will tell you, but more importantly, they will understand that you were interested. When was the last time a government agency, or a Republican or Democrat actually asked about how their policy proposals affect them?

Visiting Lake County Monday

While I work hard in my home county, I do frequently hit the road on the campaign trail. On Monday night, I will be visiting Lake County in a fundraiser thrown for me by the good people in the Libertarian Party of Lake County.

The event will be held at Zuni's in Lowell. Event starts at 7:30pm. $10 donation is requested, with pizza and two drinks offered in exchange. We'll be taking in the Monday Night Football game, but most certainly talking about the important issues affecting people in northwest Indiana and around the state.

Zuni's is located at 149 West Commercial Ave (SR 2) in downtown Lowell. Zuni's is 6.5 miles westOf I-65 and 2 miles east of US Rt 41.

Folks from Porter, Jasper, and Newton Counties, and even Illionois are encouraged to drop by for a fun evening.

Lake will the 17th Indiana county I have visited. I am energized when I travel throughout the state to speak with my fellow Hoosiers. If you would like me to visit your county, please contact campaign scheduler Jenn Bradshaw by email at jennbshaw@hotmail.com.

Huge thanks to District 1 Rep. Jim O'Gallagher for his persistence in putting this event together, to Bert Bell for picking up the tab for the pizza and drinks, and to anyone else who assisted. It is deeply appreciated.

Fishers Dog & Pony Show Tonight

The Town of Fishers, obviously wracked with an imminent sense of failure in its attempt to annex the Geist neighborhoods, is hosting an open house tonight at the Town Hall from 6:30-8:00pm.

The Noblesville Daily Times printed my letter in today's edition, expanding on the embarrassment that is this Council effort. It is as follows:

The Town of Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex the Geist-area neighborhoods is frustrating, both as a Fishers resident and as someone who believes in the right to self-determination, smaller government and lower taxes.

It is frustrating because the residents of Geist were not asking to be annexed and are actively forming resistance to the forced annexation. It concerns me that my town councilors would initiate force upon those it wants as its citizens. This isn't exactly the best way to roll out the “welcome” mat.

It is frustrating because the town is quite obviously seeking to inflate its population numbers, its tax base, and its bonding capacity. You don't do these things in municipal government unless a spending spree is in mind. As a fiscal conservative, I want my town councilors to always be looking for ways to reduce the per capita budget and the overall scope of government, not ways to best mask growing it.

It is very embarrassing that the Town Council is reduced to hosting a dog and pony show designed to show Geist residents that being swallowed into the town won't be so bad. Sales jobs aren't required when the customer wants to buy and when the approach is halfway friendlier than a hostile takeover. It wouldn't happen if the council was strictly focused on the core functions of government in the area within the current town limits. If we had Libertarians on the council, we would have a more fiscally conservative and sensitive approach.

Alas.

The town council is very fond of patting itself on the back for the high rating issued to Fishers by Money magazine. What they should come to terms with is the fact that the town has that ranking despite the council, not because of it. Quality of life isn't only determined by household incomes and assessed value. It is often judged by whether local government makes residents' lives easier or harder. The council is making all of our lives less productive by wasting the resources of the existing tax base in this vain pursuit, and in particular, is wasting the time, energy, and money of the Geist residents who are left to fight this unwanted action. A council that unnecessarily creates hard feelings doesn't deserve the accolades.

The all-Republican council should drop this initiative immediately, issue apologies to the residents and business owners of Geist and look into more productive enterprises that would make our lives easier, such as reducing permit fees or shrinking government such that an addition to the Town Hall would be unnecessary.

Mike Kole, Fishers

Mike Kole is the former chair of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County.