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INDIANAPOLIS – Hey look! It’s Hank Paulson … er … Mitch Daniels!
Turns out even the governor was confused by the National Review magazine cover illustration of him last week.
The creepy caricature gave Daniels piercing blue eyes, Spock-like ears and an unnaturally large head. He is also wearing a black trench coat and wielding two swords.
Daniels said this week he’s been having trouble killing off talks of presidential politics – until now.
“This should do it,” he said of the cover, which the governor originally thought was Paulson, former secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Then his staff showed him the big “Mitch Daniels” headline.
For the record, the governor said he thought the article was nice.
Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered the weekly national GOP address on Saturday – an energy speech written by him, not the Republican National Committee or congressional Republicans.
Daniels said he tried to limit the red meat in his speech and even started by talking about things on which he agrees with President Obama. He also said he tried to propose alternatives to a cap-and-trade carbon plan rather than just attack it.
But he said he did accept some “minor” suggestions for improvement from his GOP colleagues.
The Fort Wayne City Council made sure those who enjoyed a brief meeting two weeks ago felt the contrasting pain of a marathon session last week.
To put things in perspective, the council debated an amendment to a deal on bridge maintenance for three times as long as the previous week’s entire meeting lasted.
In all, the bridge discussion dominated the time – despite coinciding with a discussion on raising sewer rates – with numerous amendment motions proposed and defeated.
The debate even broke into a parliamentary battle when Councilman John Shoaff, D-at large, suggested indefinitely holding an amendment to the deal – before being told that only a full bill can be held, not amendments.
As with any long meeting, tempers ran short. When Council President Tom Smith, R-1st, questioned the merits of an amendment proposed by Councilman Mitch Harper, R-4th, Harper responded with a rare outburst.
“We’re the fiscal body of the city, and we ought to begin to act like it,” he said.
Harper’s statement drew a rebuke from Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, and the amendment was soundly defeated soon after, 7-2.
Noble County Democrats will have their annual picnic at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Avilla Town Park. The event will be held rain or shine, and attendees are asked to bring a dish to share and spare lawn chairs.
People have the opportunity to win a ticket to the Indiana Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson Day Dinner, featuring former President Clinton.
The event is open to the public.
It couldn’t have come as a surprise last week when a new study showed that local elected officials object to structural government overhaul – i.e., changes that might cost them their jobs.
The Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations surveyed more than 800 mayors, town council members, county commissioners, school board officials, township trustees and more between July and September 2008.
Most of them supported the least-controversial local recommendations, such as pursuing joint purchasing efforts and adopting best-management practices.
But when it came to things like reorganizing library systems and switching to an appointed county assessor and a single-county-executive system, the support dropped considerably, to only 30 percent on some items.
“These new results allow us to take the pulse of Indiana’s communities to see how they’re coping with tough economic times and meeting people’s needs,” said Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, chairman of the commission. “This data will help state leaders identify priorities and lay the groundwork for effective local government in Indiana.”
