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CNN STAKES OUT BAYH RESIDENCE: CNN’s website now has a live camera on the home of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh in Washington at the top of its homepage at www.cnn.com.
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW: HPI’s informed and reliable sources expect to know something by late this afternoon. What we’ll know then … we don’t know. .jpg)
We’ll be looking to see if Sen. Evan Bayh is still in Washington this afternoon, or whether he’ll be back here in Indiana or in Chicago this evening, where Obama is today with no public comments. Sources HPI talked with saw three windows when the much anticipated text message will go out from the Obama campaign to the millions of supporters (and eavesdroppers). Those windows are when most people will have access to their phones and blackberries without evil bosses looking over their shoulders: lunchtime today, late this afternoon (prior to network newscasts this evening), and early Saturday morning.
OBAMA CALLS VEEP CANDIDATES: Sen. Barack Obama called some people on his shortlist for the vice presidential slot Thursday night to tell them he had not selected them as a running mate, a highly placed Democratic Party source said (CNN). Sen. Barack Obama says he has decided on his running mate but is not yet ready to reveal the name. The source did not say which people got the call. Obama has told some other potential running mates over the last few weeks that he would not be choosing them.
OBAMA HUNG UP EXPERIENCE VS. CHANGE: From CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger. While making the rounds in Virginia Thursday, Sen. Obama told reporters that he’d decided on a running mate but refused to say any more. The VP choice was a difficult one for Obama, a source close to the Illinois senator tells CNN’s Gloria Borger. Specifically Obama was "very hung up on the experience versus change,” the source said, and how his message of change may conflict with a longtime Washington insider. The source doesn’t know who Obama ultimately chose, but confirms Sens. Joe Biden and Evan Bayh, along with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine are all in the running.
‘WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW’: Barack Obama has decided on his running mate. He’s just not telling who - yet. The Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting is publicly disclosing his choice on his own terms, getting ready to unleash text messages to supporters, perhaps as early as Friday, and present his No. 2 at a massive rally in Illinois on Saturday before a battleground-state tour. "I’ve made the selection, that’s all you’re gonna get," Obama told the Associated Press on a day in which he nonchalantly campaigned with one contender considered to be on his short list, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. The Illinois senator wouldn’t say whether he’d offered the job to his pick or when exactly he would tell the world. "Wouldn’t you like to know?" he told the AP, with a grin.
BAYH TWISTING, TWISTING …: In Indiana, political insiders and others spent a good deal of Thursday trying to divine whether the absence of an Indiana stop on Obama’s weekend schedule means the vice presidential pick won’t be Sen. Evan Bayh (Indianapolis Star). Others thought to be under consideration include Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. Their home states aren’t on Obama’s weekend itinerary, either. Bayh worked in his Capitol Hill office Thursday and later spent time at his home in Washington. He told reporters outside he had no news to share. "Not tonight, sorry," he said. The Democratic presidential ticket will hold its first event together Saturday at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., before going on a tour of battleground states. The pair will be going to Eau Claire, Wis., on Sunday; the Quad Cities area of Iowa on Monday; Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday; and Billings, Mont., on Wednesday.
HOLE IN OBAMA SCHEDULE: Barack Obama’s big rally at the Old Illinois State Capitol in Springfield is not scheduled to begin until 2:00 p.m. That leaves a lot of unscheduled time earlier in the day. It’s a mere 3-hour drive from Bayh’s old hometown in Shirkieville, Indiana to Springfield, Illinois (Advance Indiana).
MOVEMENTS OF VEEP CANDIDATES: Kaine and Obama met privately with the governor’s staff for 15 minutes at a Richmond hotel. Afterward, Kaine said he would let the Obama campaign speak about whether the candidate asked him to be his No. 2 (MSNBC). But two people close to Kaine said the governor was still in the dark. Kaine plans to fly Friday night directly from Virginia to Denver, site of next week’s convention, three people with knowledge of the governor’s travel plans said. The plans could be changed if Kaine is told he needs to fly to Springfield, Ill., for the Saturday rally instead. Biden had a family gathering at his home Thursday afternoon, with his wife Jill, niece Missy Owens and son Beau, Delaware’s attorney general, coming and going past reporters staked outside. Sebelius, campaigning for Obama in Iowa, said being mentioned as a potential running mate is something of "an out-of-body experience." She said she would leave the announcement to the campaign.
HOWEY ON CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO: HPI’s Brian A. Howey will discuss the veepstakes with Chicago Public Radio’s Allison Cuddy at 10:04 a.m. today (Eastern time).
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Presidential
McCAIN GAINS IN HOOSIER FUNDRAISING: Helped by a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser in Indianapolis, Republican John McCain ratcheted up his donations from Hoosiers last month, posting a larger total than Democrat Barack Obama for the first time (Smith, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette). McCain collected $181,767 from Hoosier donors during July. Obama received $148,156. But Obama still leads McCain in the total amount he has received from Indiana as well as from donors across the country. According to reports the candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission, McCain has collected $899,606 from Hoosiers in the past two years. Obama has received $1.6 million. Nationwide, McCain has received $158.6 million, less than half the $389.3 million Obama has received.
MICHELLE OBAMA STOKES VOTER REGISTRATION: In the coming weeks, volunteers for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign will be everywhere (Ronco, South Bend Tribune). Beauty shops. Barber shops. Bus stops. Churches. All for the sake of getting you to vote. At least that’s the plan, the Illinois Democrat’s wife said Thursday during a conference call with supporters gathered around the country. A group of supporters sat inside St. Joseph County Democratic Headquarters, which is doubling as Obama’s South Bend field office, listening to Michelle Obama talk especially about the black vote, and its importance to her husband’s campaign. Registering black voters, especially in Indiana and eight other battleground states, is "crucial," she said. "Almost 30 percent of African Americans living in those states who are eligible to vote are not registered," Michelle Obama said. And the campaign has a goal of increasing participation among black voters by 30 percent — a spike that would be "unprecedented," Michelle Obama said.
MORE OBAMA OFFICES OPEN IN 9 CITIES: Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change will hold grassroots organizing activities with supporters of Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates throughout Indiana. Voter registration drives and canvasses will take place in Bloomington, Carmel, Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Goshen, Greenwood, Hammond, Indianapolis, Jeffersonville, Kokomo, Lafayette, Lowell, Merrillville, Muncie, Michigan City, New Albany and Noblesville. There will also be Neighborhood Team trainings in Carmel, Fort Wayne and Merrillville, and a block party in South Bend. In addition, Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change will open local offices in Anderson, Columbus, Jasper, Jeffersonville, Marion, Plainfield, Richmond, Valparaiso and Vincennes. (Howey Politics Indiana)
Iraq War
U.S., IRAQ REACH WITHDRAWAL DEAL: U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have reached agreement on a proposal calling for a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2012, the head Iraqi negotiator said Friday (CNN). A U.S. soldier patrols a street this week on the outskirts of Baquba, Iraq. The deal still must be approved by both sides, said Mohammed al-Haj Hamoud, deputy foreign minister and head of the Iraqi negotiating team. Hamoud said Thursday’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was helpful in reaching the tentative agreement. Hamoud said the proposal also says the last date for the presence of U.S. troops in cities and towns will be June 30, 2009. There are clear caveats, however. If the Iraqi government sees the necessity of keeping the American forces in cities and towns or in Iraq past December 31, 2011, it would ask that the Americans stay. A joint Iraqi-U.S. committee would help define the duration and number of forces that would be needed and regularly assess the security situation on the ground.
Indiana Governor
OXLEY WOULD HEAD PRIVATIZATION PANEL: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson promises a review of every state privatization contract her Republican opponent, Gov. Mitch Daniels, has signed with private businesses during his term in office (Corbin, Evansville Courier & Press). While Long Thompson contends the Major Moves lease of the northern Indiana toll road was a bad deal for taxpayers and would lead to "pure profit" for a foreign consortium, she acknowledged that renegotiating the lease probably would not be an option for her. An Australian-Spanish consortium paid the state $3.8 billion in 2006 for the rights to lease the toll road for 75 years, and the state is using that money to fund 10 years’ worth of highway construction, including the Interstate 69 extension through Southwestern Indiana. Long Thompson said under her review, funding for the I-69 project would not be jeopardized. If elected governor, Long Thompson said she would assign her running mate, Dennie Oxley II, to chair a bipartisan panel that would review all state government privatization contracts.
BRINEGAR OPPOSES PERMANENT UNEQUAL CAPS: Gov. Mitch Daniels faces an unlikely foe in his re-election drive to make permanent state property tax caps that are expected to soothe homeowners this election season (Guinane, Times of Northwest Indiana). The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, typically a reliable ally of the Republican governor, sent the gubernatorial contenders a letter this week, warning that it would be "extre`mely unwise" to add the homeowner-slanted caps to the Indiana Constitution. "We’re fine with caps, but we think they ought to be the same for all types of property owners," chamber President Kevin Brinegar said in an interview. "We were supportive when the caps were at 2 percent for all types of property owners." Instead, legislators this spring heeded Daniels’ call to limit property tax bills to 1 percent of assessed value for homeowners, 2 percent for landlords and 3 percent for businesses. When fully implemented in 2010, the law will ensure the owner of a $100,000 home pays no more than $1,000 in annual taxes while a business property of the same value could be billed up to $3,000. But the uneven caps appear to clash with the state charter, which calls for a "uniform and equal rate of property assessment." Daniels has led the charge to let voters replace that clause of the constitution with an amendment authorizing the caps. "I’m going to be traveling Indiana these next three months … urging Hoosiers to ask their legislators, ‘Please, let us vote,’" Daniels said earlier this month.
Congressional
CD ENVIRONMENT DIFFERS FROM 2006: The 2006 congressional elections in Indiana produced one of the biggest gains for the Democratic Party as it surged to a majority in the U.S. House. Democratic challengers defeated three incumbents in a usually GOP-leaning state, shifting the nine-member delegation from a seemingly formidable 7-2 Republican advantage to a 5-4 Democratic edge (Congressional Quarterly). Republican officials, not surprisingly, stated they were going to go right after those Democratic winners: Baron P. Hill , who reclaimed the southeastern 9th District seat he lost two years earlier to Republican Mike Sodrel; Joe Donnelly , who unseated two-term Republican Chris Chocola in the north-central 2nd; and Brad Ellsworth , who bumped Republican John Hostettler from the seat he had held for six terms in the southwestern 8th District. All of their districts have rural, conservative-leaning constituencies that often favor Republicans. All went strongly in 2004 for President Bush, who took 56 percent of the vote in the 2nd, 59 percent in the 9th and 62 percent in the 8th. But the Republican strategists’ reach in Indiana appears to have exceeded their grasp this year. Hill is the only one of the three 2006 Democratic takeover winners who is currently rated by CQ Politics as facing a highly competitive challenge, and he is the only one facing a rematch — a re-re-rematch, actually, as this is the fourth consecutive House election in the 9th District matching Hill against Sodrel. Hill rebuffed a challenge from Sodrel in 2002, lost to him in 2004, then won the seat back in 2006. CQ Politics rates this race as Leans Democratic. Republicans touted businessman Luke Puckett as a potential top-tier recruit for the 2nd District race, but he first entered and then withdrew from the race before finally committing to run earlier this year. Donnelly, who defeated Chocola last time by a solid 8 percentage-point margin, was strengthened by those developments in a contest rated as Democrat Favored. But Obama, with his Illinois base, is widely considered more competitive in Indiana than either Gore or Kerry, who both lost the state to Bush by double-digit margins, and the Democratic candidate has signaled his intention to compete in the Hoosier State by running ads and opening campaign offices there. Hill spokeswoman Katie Moreau says that she expects the presidential race to help rather than hurt her candidate. “This race is more like 2006 than 2004,” Moreau said. “People want change, and getting a new president is part of that.” Brian Howey, publisher of the Howey Political Report, says he considers it “definitely plausible” that Obama will run strongly, even in the more conservative corners of the state. “I think people have changed their tune a little since the primary,” says Howey, citing strong field work by the Obama campaign for the May 6 Indiana primary that enabled him to hold rival New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to a narrow victory. “I don’t see any coattails from the presidential for Sodrel this time . . . The Republican brand is severely damaged in Indiana, and just being a Republican is not going to be an asset this time around.”
State
CRITICS VENT ABOUT FSSA: The state agency that administers food stamps, Medicaid and other government aid sent officials to New Albany yesterday to help Hoosiers who’ve encountered problems navigating the new privatized eligibility system (Louisville Courier-Journal). They were met with evidence of extensive frustration as the heads of several local nonprofit organizations seized the opportunity of what was billed as an open house to vent about long phone waits with the automated system, delays in getting benefits or even having benefits cut off. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also sent a representative from Washington to the open house at Indiana University Southeast to document concerns over eligibility applications for the federal food-stamp program. A second open house is today in Clarksville. State officials defended their efforts and said they’re trying to make the new system more user-friendly. "The system is not perfect," Zach Main, director of the state Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Family Resources, said during a sometimes heated two-hour meeting with social service directors from four counties. "We are every day improving the system." But Carolyn King, director of the Scott County Partnership that works with low-income people, said the new system has eliminated crucial face-to-face case management in rural communities. "We’ve worked hard to provide a whole safety net of services for people in our communities — job training, food, everything," said King. The new system, she said. "is just blowing that out of the water. It’s just adding more crisis to people’s lives." Low-income and disabled Hoosiers must use the automated system to apply for Medicaid, food stamps, health insurance and other programs online or by calling a toll-free phone number. Previously, people were assigned to caseworkers in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. Those caseworkers kept birth certificates, income statements and other required documents on file.
STATE SEEKING MEDICAID CHANGES: The state human services agency has reversed course and will seek federal approval for presumptive Medicaid eligibility for low-income pregnant women that would help them get prenatal care, its chief has told lawmakers (Kusmer, Associated Press). The Family and Social Services Administration also might seek to expand enrollment in its State Children’s Health Insurance Program to youngsters in households earning up to three times the federal poverty level, Secretary Mitch Roob told the legislature’s Medicaid Oversight Commission this week. Both expansions of the state’s Medicaid program were included in the 2007 law that authorized Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Healthy Indiana Plan, which provides medical savings accounts for low-income adults. But the state has been slow to adopt them. In April, a manager in Family and Social Services’ Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning issued a memo saying the office had decided not to adopt presumptive eligibility for women in households earning up to two times the federal poverty level, as the law called for, because available data didn’t show benefits. Roob told lawmakers Wednesday, however, that his Medicaid office would request federal approval for presumptive eligibility by the end of this month. Rep. Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville and a member of the commission, said Roob told her the state hopes to have the approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the end of the year. She was among several lawmakers who objected to the earlier decision not to seek the Medicaid expansion. "Certainly I’m satisfied with their deciding this is a priority and taking steps to address it," Crouch said yesterday.
DNR OKs TIMBER SALES: Three lumber companies have bid a total of more than $360,000 for the right to harvest timber from the Morgan-Monroe State Forest in southern Indiana (Associated Press). Forest manager Jim Allen says the sale Thursday gives the companies the right to cut down trees in nearly 700 acres of forest. The companies can only take trees that have been marked for removal by state foresters. Members of the activist group Indiana Forest Alliance attended the timber sale and said the trees would have more benefits to the economy if they were not cut down. Department of Natural Resources spokesman Phil Bloom says the proceeds of the timber sale go back to the state forestry budget and is used in part to purchase more land.
5,000 POT PLANTS AT DUNES LAKESHORE: Police found about 5,000 marijuana plants growing wild on property owned by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Portage (Associated Press). Officers from several northwest Indiana police agencies spent Thursday in the thick brush, pulling up the plants and carting them away to be burned.
Cities
FORMER FORT WAYNE MAYOR ARMSTRONG DIES: Former Fort Wayne Mayor Robert E. Armstrong has died at the age of 82 (Associated Press). Daniel Armstrong says his father died Thursday at Parkview Hospital after suffering a massive stroke about a week ago. Armstrong was elected mayor in 1975 over Democratic incumbent Ivan Lebamoff after defeating four Republicans in the spring primary. He lost a bid for re-election in 1979 to Win Moses, now a Democratic State Representative. Moses said Armstrong focused on making the downtown successful and expanding the city’s boundaries through annexations. Armstrong later served on the Allen County Council. He was also the first athletic director for Snider High School. Daniel Armstrong said funeral arrangements are pending.
JUDGE WARNS MAYOR CLAY: Lake County Superior Court Judge John Pera warned Gary Mayor Rudy Clay on Thursday that reducing manpower on city fire engines is a violation of an order he issued in January (Post-Tribune). "This court expects those orders to be followed," Pera said. Clay started staffing his city’s fire engines Monday with three firefighters instead of four to save money because the city is facing a $13 million shortfall. Employees working under the mayor also took a 20 percent pay cut. After the hearing, Clay said he has no choice but to abide by Pera’s order until Sept. 2, when attorneys for the city and the firefighters’ union are expected to return to Pera’s courtroom. "We’re going to follow the court order," Clay said.
NEW ALBANY PASSES SMOKE ORDINANCE: New Albany Mayor Doug England said he is embarrassed by what transpired at Thursday’s City Council meeting, but he will reserve his decision on a possible veto of the 5-4 vote to ban smoking in public venues in the city until Monday (News & Tribune). In a phone interview with The Tribune following the meeting, England said he needs the weekend to “mull over” the smoking ordinance before rendering his opinion. The mayor was not present for the vote, as he was out of town attending another meeting.
BALLARD FINDS CROWD ANGRY ABOUT PARKS: Ballard administration officials found themselves on the defensive Thursday at an Indy Parks budget hearing packed with parks and arts supporters who questioned proposed cuts in cherished programs (Indianapolis Star). New Indy Parks Director Stuart Lowry and City Controller David Reynolds repeatedly sought to assure the nearly 200 people at the council committee meeting that the city intended to find alternative sources of funding for everything from small-park maintenance to mural-painting projects for at-risk kids. Mayor Greg Ballard earlier this month released a proposed $1.1 billion budget for 2009 that called for $4 million in cuts in the parks department’s $33 million budget. The spending reduction would be achieved partly by cutting full-time positions in the department from 439 to 391, though about 23 of those jobs are park rangers whose salaries would be shifted to the city’s public safety budget. The rest of Ballard’s proposed cuts would affect various parks department programs. Yet, Lowry and Republican City-County Council members vowed to seek more grants and community partnerships to continue any programs that relied on the lost funding. "We’re applying for grants and actually trying to expand," Lowry said of a program to provide free meals to disadvantaged children in summer camps. "We’ll continue those programs as part of our core mission and rebalance our spending if we don’t get a grant." He did not say how spending would be adjusted to avoid cutting programs. The assurances failed to satisfy several people in the Public Assembly Room, who cheered repeatedly during passionate speeches by advocates opposed to cuts. Those people also criticized what they called vague administration promises to pursue other funding options. "These are slippery answers to fair questions," said Pat Andrews, a parks supporter. "It’s only 3 percent of the total (city-county) budget, and if you make these cuts, you’ll do irreparable harm to city parks, and that will be your legacy."
LOWRY HAS POLITICAL TIES TO LUGAR: Stuart Lowry brings experience in creating arts programming and securing community grants to his new job as the director of Indy Parks, but he also comes from a politically connected family (Indianapolis Star). His wife, Gail Lowry, has worked for the campaign and staff of Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., for 18 years. She is currently directing Lugar’s Downtown Indianapolis office. Lugar also named Stuart’s father, Murrill Lowry, as his public safety director in 1974, when Lugar was mayor of Indianapolis. Murrill Lowry served for seven years before resigning during the term of then-Mayor William Hudnut over disputes about the budget for the Police Department. Stuart Lowry said Thursday he considers himself "politically astute" because of his wife’s work but has not been active politically. He said he attends political functions, such as Gov. Mitch Daniels’ campaign party, where he was photographed in 2004, as a spouse. "I can unequivocally say that political connections had nothing to do with getting the job," Lowry said. "I think it was a combination of the creative side and the budget side of my experience."
Counties
ST. JOE TAX BILLS LATE: Property tax bills could be even later this year than they were last year, according to Cindy Bodle, chief deputy auditor for St. Joseph County (South Bend Tribune). She said she hopes the county will be able to send out the bills in early or mid-October. Last year most of the bills went out in September. By law, property tax bills are supposed to be sent out in the spring. Taxpayers can pay the entire bill by May 10, or split it into two payments, with the second one due Nov. 10. However, bills have been late for the past couple of years, ever since the state mandated annual reassessments based on trending. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance approved the county’s ratio study Aug. 12, enabling the county to take the next steps toward setting tax rates. County Assessor David Wesolowski said he has some additional work to do before the next steps are taken. Bodle said South Bend, Mishawaka and the county also have work to do related to the neutralization effects of tax increment financing. The two cities are expected to hire consultants to do the work, Bodle said.
VIGO TAX BILLS SENT: While some glitches delayed printing tax bills in Vigo County, the bills were delivered for mailing on Monday, with many property taxpayers receiving them Thursday or today.
VERMILLION OWES IRS: The Vermillion County Auditor’s Office is negotiating with the Internal Revenue Service to deal with penalties imposed after the auditor’s office failed to make tax payments on time (Terre Haute Tribune-Star). The taxes in question were those taken out of county employees’ paychecks. Vermillion County Auditor Sherrie Koma said the only money the office currently owes the IRS is penalties for paying taxes late. “All the tax money owed was paid to the IRS, but it was sent late,” Koma said. A special meeting was convened Wednesday to discuss penalties that were owed to the IRS because of the late payments. The penalties totaled a little more than $26,000, Koma said, but the county attorney had been negotiating with the IRS. “So far the IRS has reduced the total due to $11,854,” Koma said.
Corruption
JUDGE FELTS PLEADS GUILTY TO DUI: Allen Circuit Court Judge Thomas Felts admitted driving drunk in Indianapolis last month during a guilty plea hearing Thursday in Marion Superior Court (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette). “You won’t see me on this side of the bench again,” Felts told Marion Superior Court Judge William J. Nelson during the hearing. Felts, 54, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and received a one-year suspended sentence. A misdemeanor count of public intoxication was dismissed. Hours later, Felts issued a public statement that apologized profusely for the “dishonor I have brought upon myself and my family” and said, “I offer no excuse for what I did.” Felts has been handling the lion’s share of the Circuit Court’s domestic relations and civil cases since his arrest. And he said Thursday he would continue not to preside over criminal cases until he consults with others on the issue.
ALLEN HIRES SCOTT KING: Dozier Allen Jr. has hired as a defense attorney the man who once appointed him mayor of Gary in 2006 (Times of Northwest Indiana). Scott King has been retained to defend Allen against federal charges that Allen illegally took money from a welfare-to-work grant while serving in his eighth and final term as Calumet Township trustee in 2002. King was not Allen’s first choice for defense attorney. Allen, 77, originally hired his longtime friend Fred Work to defend him, but prosecutors have listed Work as a witness in the case, which means the defense attorney could have a conflict of interest — or even insider information — in the case.
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