Posts Tagged “Mitch Harper”

By Jim Sack

Elissa McGauley was not happy. The economic development specialist for the Department of Economic Development, slumped in her chair, her face was not its normally bright, smiling self. In front of her, to the right, at the city council table, sat Tom Lewandowski and Cheryl Hitzemann, both of the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council, representing, as they said, “unemployed and anxiously employed” area workers.

They were systematically highlighting inconsistencies in the tax abatement program that Mrs. McGauley runs for the city. Read the rest of this entry »

Karen Goldner and Tim Pape are whining like school yard children over City Council President Mitch Harper and County Council President Darren Vogt’s decision to hold a joint meeting of city and county councils  to review an ordinance that will cost the city/county $1.4 million before it goes to their respective councils for a vote.

It should be noted, (and Pape and Goldner never mention this), the ordinance only appropriates $700K. There is nothing in there that spells out when they have to do anything, or what they have to accomplish. Just give Tom Henry and Beth Malloy $700K to buy more software and contract some of Beth’s friends to provide retraining programs for employees who aren’t very nice to applicants. There are no deadlines, no benchmarks, no nothing. Just cash.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Beans.

The Republicans at city council last night were anxious to get through the short agenda and onward to their bean dinner in the suburbs. The coming primary is foremost in their minds and judging by the recent haircuts and sartorial dress at council last night more than a few are girding for the last hectic week before the fates decide. The agenda was to a necessary distraction. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The star of last night’s council meeting was a citizen, Phil Marx. It was a dose of reality after an evening of mud-wrestling.

What Mr. Marx vividly and dramatically detailed to council was a litany, a long-long litany, of the abuse he and his neighbors had long endured and against which they had fought and defeated in order to take back neighborhood from thugs. Mr. Marx read police statistics for just one street, his, that were simply amazing -knifings, screw-driver to the head, shootings, assaults, false 911 calls, battery, vandalism…jeez, Louise. The list went on and on and on to the discomfort of all members of council and everyone in the audience. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

It just came out of the blue. One punch after another. Mitch Harper stunned the council and its audience with a a series of angry questions that put an unsuspecting witness on the back of his seat and and an equally surprised audience looking at the floor in embarrassed silence. Because the attack was so un-Mitch-like it was all that more an abrupt reversal to a pleasant council start.

The matter was a janitorial contract for the new city hall, the ill-named Citizen’s Square, itself the subject of more than a few barbs as the night went on. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

One of the reasons I so enjoy observing city council in person is the high drama, even on an evening of low energy as was last night.

Again, as usual, Councilwoman Liz Brown, representative at-large and a candidate for the Republican nomination for mayor, played one of the lead dramatic roles, but the other was offered by a duo from the community, Central Labor Council President Tom Lewandowski, and labor researcher Cheryl Hitzemann. They were there to put council, the administration and businesses on notice, in a gentle, low-energy sort of way, concerning tax abatements. Read the rest of this entry »

…again, in the 4th district.

By Jim Sack

Geoff Paddock will have filed for council in the Democrat Party nomination in the 5th district by the time you read this. At this point, with very little time passed, 32 hours or so, since Tim Pape, the 12-year incumbent, announced he would not run, there are no candidates filed to oppose Mr. Paddock and no rumor of a candidate of stature who may file before the deadline in one week, next Friday at noon.

Mr. Paddock, who runs Headwaters Park and has a long, successful history in the city, as well as having been a member of the school board and a veteran of two bruising campaigns, will be the favorite in November against Jim McCoy, the only candidate to date of the Republican Party. A simply preponderance of Democrat registrations in the 5th suggest Mr. Paddock’s will join his friend and mentor, John Shoaff, on council in January. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The drowsy end of the two-hour meeting might have been the most interesting. Charles Eberhart from somewhere in Waynedale lumbered to the open mic. A few weeks back he had affably pushed Pickle Ball, a downsized version of tennis for geezers like me…and foggies like him. Last night he called into question, in an equally affable manner, that the city and the county had both hired the same guy to represent them in matters concerning co-location in the old and new city halls. Eberhart wondered how either entity could trust the negotiator to have their interests foremost. He noted that Ken Neumeister was that man and then quipped that Neumeister had boasted about how he had already saved the county more in the deal than the substantial amount they are paying him. Hmmm? At whose expense. Eberhart, a retired union man, added that such an arrangement would have been unthinkable in management-labor negotiations of his era. You could see eyes on council narrow as they considered the implications. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

We understand there is a political poll underway in Fort Wayne. Judging by the questions it is to determine if a fourth candidate would stand a chance in the current field and whether he would have a shot at beating the mayor come November.

The questions are relatively straight-forward: Do you plan to vote in the Fall, what is your opinion of Mayor Tom Henry, what is your opinion of city council? Hmmm. That question prompts consideration of who is paying for and who is behind this poll.

The poll taker droned on, we are told. with a nearly flat, perfectly unobtrusive cadence. In your opinion is the city going in the right direction or the wrong direction? What are the issues that effect the city of Fort Wayne? A list was presented, including other. The bland questioner ticked four or five. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The Mitch Harper era has begun.

Last night’s council meeting was blandly civil, exasperatingly cordial, and smoothly managed, front to back. Hardly a hair was out of place, matters came up, matters were politely discussed, hands where reservedly raised to vote with little pinkies extended.

Mitch was fully and completely in control last night and it was a bore.

Even Councilwoman Liz Brown was generally polite, except for one little snarky moment, but generally, every vote was unanimous. And, be it known that large amounts of money and large projects were read, discussed and voted. Perhaps Councilman Pape’s absence contributed in some way to the rather un-Fort Wayne-like evening.

The single highlight of the evening was when Councilman Tom Smith put everybody in the economic development community on notice: he held a copy of the Journal Gazette up, to the delight of Ben Lanka, and explained to everyone the circumstances surrounding a failed deal between Trine University in Angola and Steuben County government. He had highlight paragraphs in green. A $28 million dollar deal to create high-tech, high-quality investment had fallen through because the county government up north could not come up with their match. Here is a link to the JG story…

Smith called loudly on the local job hustlers to get to Trine by sun-up, if not sooner (if they hadn’t already been circling around the carcass) and pitch that the project be brought down here. As the deal has fallen through in Steuben it would not be poaching, Smith noted, but rather a matter of saving a valuable project for the area and for Mother Indiana. (Certainly, there are ec dev types in Toledo who can also read…and they would be poachers.)

So, Smith put the local quasi-governmental “job-creators” on notice that they better pitch this one immediately, will be under pressure to win it, and better have a report on the table by noon, perhaps the Mayor could include the successful deal during today’s State of the City address. One could imagine that Smith and others at the table were thinking I&M money as seed to build new industries, not just jobs, but lines of businesses, in Fort Wayne. Ring the bell, document the salivation. Perhaps a convoy formed this morning for the trek up with walkie-talkies to report back from the front.

That was it. Smith rang the bell. The rest of the meeting was rather staid, which is, I believe, how Mitch prefers it. Taking the House of Commons and transforming it to the House of Lords. Here, here. Pip pip.

There was a light moment last night, Charles Eberhard humored the group during “public mic time” with a call for more Pickleball Courts in Fort Wayne. A matter of some general concern, certainly. Pickleball is tennis for foggies and geezers like myself. He explained it is played on half of a tennis court and involves much less stress and strain. He called on John Shoaff to be his doubles partner in Over 70s competition. I think someone suggested the two might rise to represent Fort Wayne at the World Cup or Olympic levels.

So ended the meeting. Pip pip.