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Flottsom: April 2008
Primary elections cap a busy Spring
 This
month, instead of my usual column, I have relinquished the space to Mr.
John R. Bischoff, a Democrat Candidate for District 3 Commissioner in
Vigo County.
Before anyone cries foul, I have always had a policy of offering space
for other points of view, should they present themselves. I welcome
ideas and inputs from other sources.
Besides, it's been a busy month for us at
Flottsom Communications. We have essentially created four publications
this month:
- The April Journal of Business.
- The May Senior Life.
- A Special Primary Election Edition.
I have asked a lot from my associates, and I believe I have received even more.
Jonathan Moore and Timothy Brown have
delivered a collection of outstanding biographies from the candidates
in all contested races in Vigo County. These two dedicated reporters
hunted down the 42 candidates, and managed to interview all but four.
That's a pretty impressive effort for two
part-time reporters, trying to work jobs, AND interview a collection of
candidates also working full-time jobs, PLUS dealing with Spring Break.
What they produced is easy to read and provides a nice overview of each of the candidates.
In addition, I want to congratulate my sales
staff, Regional Sales Manager, Barbara Zajac and Sales Associate Garri
Knezevich.
They too had to hunt down a group of politicians, and then convince them to spend money.
Overall, this project is the result of excellent teamwork and hard work. I am proud of my team.
There certainly have been enough things to distract folks this month.
- Hillary Clinton visited.
- Barack Obama opened an office.
- Hillary Clinton opened an office.
- Chelsea Clinton visited Terre Haute.
- Barack Obama visited Terre Haute.
- Hillary's Terre Haute headquarters burned to the ground.
- Bill Clinton came to Terre Haute and South Vermillion High School.
- We had a series of earthquakes.
The last time we had this much attention, we were recognizing our own Saint.
Despite being a leading news item for several
straight days ahead of Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears, I think many of
us are ready for the peace of racing at the Action Track.
It probably will be quieter.
And if after all this, you still want more,
and then please visit the Journal's online discussion forum, located at
www.thjournal.com/forum.
I also invite anyone wishing to share a letter
to the editor or a guest editorial to send them to me care of the
Journal of Business.
Robert L.
Flott is the president & CEO of Flottsom Communications Inc., and
editor and publisher of the Wabash Valley Journal of Business. He can
be reached at robertf@thjournal.com.
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Flottsom: March 2008
Think locally
The White House is important,
but so is the county courthouse
"There is nothing which
I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties,
each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition
to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the
greatest political evil under our Constitution."
--John Adams
I am in the middle of reading David
McCullough's thought provoking biography of John Adams, and was
fascinated when I stumbled across this particular quote.
Adams
was a remarkable man. He was perhaps more instrumental in bringing
about the Declaration of Independence than any other individual,
including Thomas Jefferson. Adams was the first man ever to be
recognized as a U.S. Ambassador to a foreign government, when he was
received as such by the government of the Netherlands.
He started at Harvard at 15, and
graduated at 19. He successfully defended the British soldiers accused
in the Boston Massacre (the losing prosecuting attorney moved TO
England during the war).
As a political philosopher, he wrote In
Defense of the Constitutions, which summarized the basics of our
government.
Adams hated the mere thought of political
parties, and although he accepted the party nomination for the
Federalists, Adams clearly felt political parties would do more harm
than good.
How accurate do you think he was? What would
he think of Terre Haute, and its current political makeup? Folks
discuss the factions within one party, while another political party
struggles to assert itself. A third attempts recognition.
This column is not meant as an endorsement, but merely a bit of education.
The Barak Obama/Hillary Clinton contest for
the Democrat presidential nomination, certainly has done much to draw
attention to the May 6 Indiana primaries.
Indeed, Hillary will be visiting Terre Haute
(at the time of this writing). Quite a milestone. I think the last
presidential candidate in Terre Haute was probably Eugene V. Debs.
No doubt, someone will correct me on this one.
Unfortunately, this may have some negative
impact on local Republicans, who are fielding one of their strongest
slates of candidates in years.
Four races on the Republican ballot--Superior
Court 5 Judge, District 2 County Commissioner, Recorder, and County
Council-at-large--are all contested, the first time in perhaps decades
with that many contested Republican races. Greg Goode is gathering
support for the Eighth District Congressional Race, and Ryan Cummins
and Bob Heaton are certainly giving their Democrat opponents pause at
the state level.
During the 2008 St. Patrick's Day Parade,
Christopher Dailey and Dan Kelley, both vying for the GOP nod for
Superior Court 5 judge, were joined by large numbers of supporters.
Cummins and Goode also were quite visible.
So how does national politics come into play?
Because the Obama/Clinton campaign has yet to be resolved, many
Hoosiers--especially Hoosier Republicans--are looking to participate in
the Democrat primary, suggesting a poor turn out for the GOP Primary.
Before we go on--and for the record--yes, I am
a Republican, a former GOP candidate for public office, and member of
the Vigo County Pachyderm Club. As I said in the beginning, however,
this is not an endorsement. I would not want to suggest that my
political views also are the views of those who work for me.
Instead, I want to remind everyone that local
elections are also taking place. During last year's city elections, we
heard more about the Democrat and Republican candidates that we
did about local candidates.
While local candidates statewide and
nationwide struggled to get their various platforms out to the voters,
the cameras seemed more focused on a seemingly endless series of
presidential debates.
One year later, we are still seeing Hillary
and Barack debate, and campaign. Once again, local candidates may get
pushed aside.
Let us hope not. Whether we want to admit it
or not, the outcome of the county commissioners' race will have a far
bigger impact on our daily lives than who occupies the White House,
regardless of who wins.
Disagree? It is the local officials who affect
your streets, trash, sidewalks, crime prevention, fire control,
streetlights, potholes, 911 service, property taxes, and area parks.
Still not convinced? Local officials have
passed laws that tell us where we can and cannot smoke, whether
or not we can burn leaves, how we chain up our dogs, whether streets
are closed or open.
If you get married, divorced, adopt a child,
register a business name, complain about your taxes, pay your taxes,
rezone property, and more, you must visit the courthouse, its annex or
city hall.
Consider this: who has a greater impact on your household--the White House, or the county assessor?
Before declaring political party affiliation
just to vote on a presidential race, please consider those local races
first. If you ARE declaring Democrat, then do so on the basis of local
races, not the White House.
If you ARE declaring Republican, then do so knowing you have some good people from which to choose.
Either way, please make your choice based on the offices on Third Street, not 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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