The Indianapolis Star's Jon Murray got the opportunity to sit down with Mayor Greg Ballard to get answers to questions on the minds of some Star readers as he prepares to head out of the country on yet another 12-day junket overseas to Europe later this month, right in the middle of the toughest budget debate of his two terms in office. True to form, Ballard became very testy and defensive in answering most of the questions put to him--questions the media have failed to ask him for the most part. Reading his responses, you have to wonder how this guy ever got elected to office once, let alone re-elected. It certainly doesn't reflect well on the Indianapolis electorate.
The first reader wondered why the city was spending $6 million on a new park for cricket when it can't afford to pay police and firemen. Ballard: "Oh really. Are we still there? It’s one-time infrastructure money that hopefully will produce revenue for the city, and the other is an ongoing expense that has to come from revenue for the city. It’s apples and oranges completely. Tell me again, why is it wrong to put playing fields on a park? That’s what we’re doing, and out of one-time money." Maybe the reader is concerned that we're not taking care of the parks we already have, or that you complain that the city has other pressing storm water fixes that you propose to be paid from higher fees instead of using proceeds from the sale of the water and sewer utilities.
Another reader says the expenditure on the new cricket park raises a question about his priorities. Ballard: "No, it’s not a valid (question). Do you want me to shut down the park system? I mean, that’s kind of what they’re saying here, right? “We don’t want parks. Everything has to go to this other thing.” Of course we want parks, and we will continue to develop parks. But when we have one-time money from this (RebuildIndy) fund, we have to use it for capital projects." So where does Ballard come up with the idea that anyone is saying to shut down the park system? This is the game that he plays on every issue on which he is opposed. He always sets up a false choice as a bogey man.
A reader asks why Ballard is cutting city services and raising taxes while supporting tens of millions more in subsidies to the Pacers. Ballard: "It’s different money. Nobody wants to admit this, but the fact is that the Colts don’t run Lucas Oil Stadium. The Pacers do run Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and the Pacers paid for the running of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, on their dime, for 10 years. Show me another city in the nation where that was true." Umm, I hate to burst your bubble, Greg, but every objective observer agrees that Indianapolis has been more generous in its deals with its sports teams than any other city in the country. Lucas Oil Stadium ranks as the most one-sided stadium deal in NFL history. Check your facts, Greg, before discussing things you know nothing about.
Another reader wants to know when Ballard plans to stop traveling the world with his wife and start paying attention to the problems here. Ballard: "Oh, you mean the over half a billion dollars of RebuildIndy money that we’ve put into the city of Indianapolis? Or the murder rate being below 100 for the last three years? The crime rate being down again this year? I mean, all the building, all the economic development that’s been going on in the city — it’s been very strong. This is a global economy. You’re going to live by it or you’re going to die by it — take your pick." There he goes with those false choices again. It's a global economy and we're going to die if he doesn't take his ninth overseas junkets, none of which have produced any tangible results. Our murder rate is down? Our crime rate is down? Really?
Murray presses Ballard to explain the tangible benefits of his overseas junkets. Ballard: "This is about talent attraction. I just heard second-hand that one of the largest companies in town here no longer has any problems attracting people to Indianapolis. They haven’t been able to say that in a long time. That’s a big statement in and of itself." I see. Because you and Winnie make such an impression on your overseas junkets, local companies don't have a problem finding good talent in the worst economic times since the Great Depression. Yep, that makes a lot of sense to me. Murray is still struggling to see the connection and presses Ballard further. Ballard: "It’s all part of a package. We have the best sister city program in the nation, as delineated by Sister City International. Getting the name of Indianapolis out around the world is so important because we have to say that we are the kind of city that welcomes everybody from around the world. It’s not one thing in particular. But do you think that Bolloré, the electric car-sharing program (in France), would have come here if I wasn’t doing what I was doing? Absolutely not, they wouldn’t have been here at all. The larger companies in our city are very thankful that I’m trying to spread the world, especially in the larger countries where, frankly, we had no presence (including Brazil, India and China)." Wow. This guy is more delusional than I thought.
One reader complains about the lack of sidewalks in many neighborhoods. Ballard: "I know it's dangerous. That's why I'm trying to get more sidewalks. Talk to the council." Ballard's plan to build more sidewalks is to borrow against future transportation dollars from the state that may or may not continue. Yet another bright idea. Any source
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