OurDems File From the End of 2007
Click here for 2007 Election Pages ========== Return to ourdems.org
911 - Sometimes people in government make very good choices.
(01-09) Tina Taviano will run Fort Wayne’s emergency communication department and her experience in law enforcement, education and the understanding of others will lend to a positive set of understandings in that department. We, from our experience we would expect that from her. Tina is more than capable. She tends to get things done right.
Tina, who ran for Allen County sheriff, will run the city’s emergency communication department and likely work closely with the city and sheriff Fries. He would do well to work closely with her.
Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York said that Taviano was hired as the city’s director of communication to oversee the police call center, radio shop and records division. Tina will begin work January 22 and will work in a civilian position and is looking forward to working for the city to serve the public.
Tina is a most educated and capable person to head that system. OurDems welcomes her and will support her efforts to keep citizens safe. She cares, she works for us and she will make a positive difference. We wish her well. Tina Taviano is a professional that can work with anyone who cares about the people they protect. Tina has the capacity to do more. We should all be thankful that she will be helping protect us.
At the Jan. 12 Allen County Democratic caucus the next chairman will be elected.
Mike Bynum has applied for the chairman position, and since he is experienced and capable, he will probably become the party chairman after the vote on Saturday. Deb Morrone is expected to be the party’s vice chairwoman. The chairman and vice chairman must be one male and one female. Both are outstanding people with strong party interests and Kevin Knuth and Mayor Tom Henry support Bynum’s selection. At this point, Bynum is committed only to filling the final year of Knuth’s term. The meeting and election will be at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Democratic Headquarters, 1920 Bluffton Road.
And from Steve Shine of the Republican Party (we have known and appreciate his family for many years) (letter courtesy of Fort Wayne Observed) the following letter:
Why I Believe Bush Must Go. Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.
By George McGovernAs we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president.
Read the Washington Post letter
Tom Henry Took Office as the New Mayor of Fort Wayne
. . . .
New Officials and Some Older Ones Take Office In Fort Wayne The inauguration of elected officials in Fort Wayne took place on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at the Performing Arts Center. As the seats filled, Stanley Levine, Chief Judge of Allen Superior Court served very well as master of ceremonies and kept the ceremony to one half hour. One of the most surprising delights were the Voices of Unity Youth Choir directed by Marshall White.
First to take the oath of office was the new mayor, Thomas C. Henry. Judge Thomas Felts read the oath for Tom Henry as he became the mayor. Sandra Kennedy was sworn in by State Representative, Phil GiaQuinta and then Sandy swore in the Fort Wayne Common Council. These included Democrats Karen Goldner, Timothy Pape, Glynn Hines and John Shoaff as well as Republicans Thomas Smith, Thomas Didier, Mitchell Harper, Martin Bender and Elizabeth Brown. Rusty York was sworn in as police chief and Pete Kelly as fire chief. Tom Henry, as the new mayor, then took the opportunity to tell the large audience that his only promise was that he would do his best. Afterwards there was a reception in the upstairs gallery.
Open Government in Fort Wayne?
What is the truth regarding the environmental studies from the Omni Source site. Fort Wayne government should not hide behind legal technicalities but should release environmental data the city and taxpayers paid for.
Fort Wayne paid nearly $50,000 for a consultant to study the extent of contamination at a key near-downtown site long pegged for a major development. Why does the city conceal the results of those environmental studies?
Mayor-elect Tom Henry can show that he believes in the tenets of open government by releasing this information. He can either support open government and build goodwill with everyone in the community or he can continue hide the information and alienate a large portion of the community. This decision will likely tell open government advocates everything they need to know about the future of the Henry administration... I suspect that Tom Henry will do the right thing, but only time will tell.
Goldner vs. Schmidt Recount Took Place on Monday, Dec. 13
The process to find the winner of Fort Wayne’s 2nd District City Council race began Monday morning when ballots and voting machines were checked, recounted and challenged. The goal of the recount is to see if Karen Goldner's 13 vote lead over nine-term incumbent City Councilman Don Schmidt (R) will hold. ** Click here for our report. **
Result: Goldner wins by 12 votes. It is finished.
Mayor Elect Henry Names 6 Members of his Administration
No surprises here. Henry announced the following people would be staying on with his administration:
1. Deputy Mayor Mark Becker
2. Controller Pat Roller
3. City Attorney Carol Taylor
4. Police Chief Rusty York
5. Fire Chief Pete Kelly
6. Director of Community Development John Urbahns
Kevin Knuth will step down as chairman of the Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, December 11, Kevin R. Knuth announced that he will resign the position of chairman of the Allen County Democratic Party. Kevin has held the volunteer job since 2004, helped Democrats win important seats, kept the party financially stable and built an aggressive and very effective political organization that has made an important positive difference for everyone in Fort Wayne and Allen County.
As newspaper stories have hinted, Kevin's business responsibilities have increased greatly and anyone who has seen him work with the party knows that so much work takes away from family time. He has been an effective and helpful leader and those present today expressed their appreciation.
Brenda Tremoulet, the vice chairperson, will also resign because of the need to care for extended family members. Brenda was not at the meeting because she was out of town tending to just those issues. Brenda too, has given much time and effort to the people of Allen County with her work in the Democratic Party.
At the January 12 Democratic Saturday meeting, there will be a caucus and voting for a new chair and vice chair of the party. At that point, both Kevin and Brenda will officially step down and the new officials will be elected. The only people who are allowed to vote in that election are precinct committee persons or vice committee persons.
Kevin stressed that the volunteer job of chairman will take a lot of time for the next person to hold that job. Important qualifications include the ability to work with the media, help in fund raising and have a flexible schedule.
NEW If you are interested in filling one of these two positions, you must send a letter of intent to Pat Moore, the party secretary indicating your intent to run for a particular office. The secretary must receive all statements of intent no latter than 9:00 AM on January 3, 2008. Statements should be mailed to the address that was given in the letter that was sent to precinct committee persons. If anyone plans to deliver the letter in person, be sure to check to be sure that someone is at party headquarters to accept it.
The party will miss the guidance of both Kevin and Brenda, but we know they will be close by and that is very good. . . Tom Henry, the next mayor of Fort Wayne, will miss them too.
The Democratic Kids Holiday Party will be on Saturday, December 15 from 9 to 11 at Democratic Headquarters. Bring your kids and grand kids. Refreshments will be served and Santa will be there to give out gifts to children up to 10 years of age.
It is important that you call by Saturday, December 8 to let us know the names, ages and gender of your little ones 10 years old or younger. Of course older kids are very welcome, but Santa has asked that he only give gifts to the younger children. Call Pat Moore 489-7106, Rachel McNett 749-4987 or Donna Belch 482-2714 and let them know you are coming and the information about the children. There will be lots for the kids to do so please do bring your children or grand kids. Remember, in the Christmas and Democratic spirit, please bring non-perishable food items that we can share with those who have less.
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Naomi Wolf - The End of America Senate Bill 1959 to Criminalize Thoughts, Blogs, Books and Free Speech Across America. Read More if you have the time
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Well what do you know, New Haven Mayor Terry McDonald was reelected. I voted for him because he has been a good mayor. We think he and his staff will continue to do a good job building the city of New Haven.
Tom Henry will be the new mayor of Fort Wayne. Based on what we know of him, he has the potential to continue the positive efforts of Mayor Richards and we wish him the best. Some people have the skills and some do not. Tom Henry has the skills and he has the potential to use them to make a positive difference for the citizens of Fort Wayne.
Saudi rape victim 'having affair'
Saudi women are not allowed to mingle with unrelated men. Saudi justice officials say a woman who was sentenced to prison and flogging after she was gang-raped has now confessed to an extramarital affair. Learn moreDemocrats watch TV and this watcher needs help. Almost everyone watches TV and we do as well in our home. Verizon has touted their FiOS technology and to be honest, their phone service has not been doing very well at our home ( a service person will come tomorrow to fix it). We even have trouble with the Internet connection and the WiFI they provide. It sucks. We are trying to figure how to best supply our two HDTVs with programming and we usually use over the air (not cable or satellite) for most of our programming. Dish TV is our current source of extra channels at this time and we like it. OTOH - at our home we mostly listen to the radio (NPR) and watch PBS on TV - that is local, read all sorts of things and have other options that are mostly better than TV. Please send your thoughts as to what you think. So much money for so little value. Growing up TV was all free (except for the commercials). Now, with the digital stuff we have even more local channels to watch. Please send your thoughts to rmcnett@gmail.com
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Second District Recount On Monday, the Allen County Republican Party is expected to ask for a recount of the 2nd District votes in the Fort Wayne City Council race, which was separated by 13 votes with Democrat Karen Goldner ahead of Republican incumbent Don Schmidt.
We will not know the number of absentee ballots in the 2nd district until the final vote tallies are computed. The last we heard was that of the valid provisional ballots counted at this point, there were two for each Goldner and Schmidt.
Progress is American - The Center for American Progress
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If you like sex ads and violence, watch FOX, If you really want the news, watch something else.
http://foxattacks.com/decency
Now to improtant issues.
Mayor-elect Democrat Tom Henry is about to put his care for the future of Fort Wayne into action. Tom turned 56 on Friday and had no "birthday cake". He has been busy meeting with TV folks, radio interviews and Mayor Gram Richard and the city attorney. Henry, who served for 20 years on council between 1984 and 2004, will certainly be able to work with them to guide Fort Wayne to a successful future.
Today, Henry announced Ben Eisbart as the leader of his transition team and announce where people can send their resumes if they're interested in working for the city. The next three to four weeks will be spent interviewing current and potential staff.
Republican Councilman Don Schmidt who has apparently lost to Karen Goldner may call for a recount.
As it was Tuesday night, the mood at Republican Party headquarters on Main Street was somber as candidates spoke of their sadness at losing Schmidt — if the vote stands — and John Crawford, R-at-large, who finished fourth for three spots.
Republican Party Chairman Steve Shine, who has been fair and understanding or the diversity in Fort Wayne, said he thinks the party retains its core strength, citing the majority on council as evidence. His party needs mending so that they can more effectively help the citizens of Fort Wayne.
A question we have is why five precincts have not yet had their votes counted.
Tom Henry's vision for Fort Wayne:
♦For the public to decide how the city's Light Lease Fund, also known as the Community Trust Fund with it's expected value to reach its $40 million maturation in 2009
♦Pledges to deliver “cost-effective, high-quality services and get the most out of every tax dollar” in response to increasing property taxes
♦Formulation of “Celebrate Our Rivers” program to examine the opportunities of the rivers and riverfronts and work with the public to determine their future direction
♦Citywide Safe House Program to provide children with short-term shelter when they are feeling frightened
♦The formation of an Economic Development Coordinating Council to oversee groups that deal with economic development in the city and region
♦A collaborative purchasing network for the city and other area municipalities to buy in bulk to provide savings to taxpayers
♦The establishment of new Resident Advocate position to give recently annexed residents a one-stop connection to the city
♦A “Strengthen the Heart” strategy to assist small businesses and neighborhood commercial corridors, such as the one found on Wells Street
♦The creation of a Community Learning Network to facilitate communication between educators and businesses to utilize the city's broadband structure
♦An education summit of employers and educators to address efforts to prepare new graduates for employment by local businesses; the summit will be followed up with regular discussions.
♦A Sidewalk Strategy and Alley Improvement Initiative to improve the city's infrastructure.
OVERHEARD: Some attorneys and their wives were very concerned that Fort Wayne attorneys would be fired and unable to help Fort Wayne because Matt Kelty had said that the city of Fort Wayne did not NEED attorneys. Once again Kelty showed really poor judgment. Attorneys who work for the city - ACTUALLY DO WORK FOR THE CITY. They know the city, the law and the people. They know how things work for the citizens, and care about Fort Wayne's progress, then I think we should keep them. Kelty and those of his ilk want to privatize everything. That really means they want us to pay more so that a few can get rich. Well, that is how it usually works out. Geeeze. . .
At our house we just had a phone call from the woman Rachel took to get her voter ID. She thanked her again for helping and just wanted to talk a bit. It is good to help.
New Haven has elected Roger Clayton and Mickey Hill to the city council.
Both of these candidates worked hard and their involvement and concern in the life of New Haven made the difference. Jay Metzger also ran and cares equally about New Haven, but his area (at large) was much larger and his challenge was more difficult. None-the-less, all three are vital and important members of our community. We thank them for caring enough to run for public office. Roger and Mickey will help make an important difference in New Haven.Tom Henry will be the next mayor of Fort Wayne
With 233 out of 240 precincts reporting, Matthew Kelty got 21155 votes and Tom C. Henry got 31721 votes - a VERY big difference and positive indication that Fort Wayne wants to move ahead in an intelligent way. John H. Shoaff (at large) won with 26623 votes and Karen Goldner (2nd district) is still in a tight race with 4562 votes against Donald Schmidt's 4549 votes. Tim Pape in the fifth district and Glynn Hines in the sixth, easily won reelection. In the fourth district, we were very disappointed that Mitch Harper won over Chris Stewart. Chris is an outstanding person and would have made an important difference for the city and his district. Kevin Boyd, a truly compassionate citizen of the First District lost as did the delightful Debra McBride in the third district. Again, we thank all candidates who ran. They care and they are respected for their dedication to the people of Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne is so fortunate to have these Democrats elected to help govern the city. We have heard of harassment of Henry supporters by large threatening groups of Kelty followers and calls to the police about the incidents. This is not how democracy is supposed to work.
In Allen County, two out of every three people who could vote, did not vote. I worked in a polling place where 400 people in the district turned out to vote. The polling place is where you see the people who care enough about their city and their future to vote. Just think what a difference would be made if those who did not vote would do a little study and vote for the people who could help make their lives and their city better. What a shame they do not care enough to read, study and vote.
The celebration at the Grand Wayne Center.
By Robert Rouse"It looks like cooler heads are prevailing."
- Dan Carmody, Outgoing President of the Downtown Improvement DistrictTom Henry is an advocate for the downtown development project and like the revitalization of the Allen County Public Libraries, we will not know if it will successful until it is done. We suspect it will make a positive difference for the future of Fort Wayne, but only time and hard work will tell. The most important influence in his victory is that Tom Henry won because voters found him the most qualified.
Kelty’s position – that he opposed the project but would do everything he could to make it work – most likely only deepened the credibility problems he faced. Kelty has criminal charges against him, he lost the endorsement by Rep. Mark Souder, had a terrible campaign and appeared just strange to many voters destroyed any chances for his election.
The North River development and the purchase of Aqua Indiana will be important, but the city needs to do what is best for the citizens. Tom Henry has the experience and skills to work with a Republican-controlled City Council. As many voters are angry and believe they lack a voice in government, Tom Henry will be challenged to give them that voice as he works to help reach consensus on key issues with city council.
NEW: On election day, at Democratic HQ, a phone call came in from a Republican needing a ride to vote. She stated that she had called the Republicans for a ride and they asked if she was voting for Kelty or Henry. She refused to answer and they refused the ride. The important thing was that she WAS going to vote for Kelty, but changed her vote to Henry. The Democrats drove her to her voting place and we assume she voted for Henry. Kelty supporters tend to be (fill in your own description).
* * We have other reports of problems with Republican poll workers - if you had a problem at your polling place, call the election board. 449-7329 If you do not report it, it will happen again to others.
There were other such "terrorist" activities by Kelty supporters. I will not share because the election is over and it will not change the vote, but I will remember them. Tom Henry won because the majority of people in Fort Wayne had the wisdom to make the right choice.
About Voting & Election Day - Tuesday, November 6 - Polls open from 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Pro-Life Democrats
Once in a while you will hear someone who is "pro-life" say they will not vote for a Democrat because they are "pro-choice." So they go ahead and vote for Republicans they think promise to protect the unborn. Then those elected Republicans give huge corporations and the very wealthy a tax break and a pretty much free hand to do what they want. They do little for the rest of Americans, those already born, the environment, health care, small business and a lot of other things that most voters think are important. The next time you meet someone with that single focus on one issue, remind them about "Democrats for Life of America", a national organization for pro-life members of the Democratic party. They exist to foster respect for life, from the beginning of life to natural death. This includes, but is not limited to, opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. You can see their web site at http://democratsforlife.orgIt is time for all to understand that the Democratic party is open to everyone who really cares about a broad variety of issues - all of them are important for Americans and our planet. I don't know, but I suspect that about as many Republicans get abortions as Democrats. Frankly, most people do not get abortions. Choice means the right to choose not to have an abortion too. Choice can also mean voting for the candidate who will make the best and most important decisions for all of us - not just a few.
After all, isn't President Bush a big "pro-life" fellow? How many lives has he actually saved? How many Americans as well as others have his actions as president actually killed? We need to look more deeply into the candidates the next time we vote. If we do not look beyond single-issues, our nearsightedness will continue to hurt this nation, the people in it and a lot of other things that matter. And we each, individually, can make other personal and difficult choices in our own lives. After all, almost everyone really is Pro Life - in the broadest appreciation of our fellow humans and the other life on this great planet. It is time to make changes based on a bigger picture - while keeping our concerns and working to protect the unborn if that is what we choose to do.
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