Marion County Democrats

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MCDP Updates

May 22, 2013

“Membership has its privileges.” That is truly the case with the Marion County Democratic Party’s Chairman’s Club. This is the best local political and professional networking opportunity in Indianapolis.

With over 300 members, you are offered casual networking opportunities with Democratic elected officials, local professionals and Democratic Party activists. You’ll have the opportunity to attend monthly breakfast meetings with featured speakers such as Congressman André Carson, Senator Joe Donnelly, and interesting professionals from diverse fields. As a member, you’ll also receive discounts on other Party events, such as our annual golf outing.

Our speaker this month is Erin Rosenberg, an International Criminal Law Attorney from Indianapolis. Erin has been very involved in Indiana and Marion County politics, working on numerous campaigns for the Marion County Democratic Party, the Indiana State Senate Democratic Caucus, and served as Campaign Treasurer for Congressman André Carson in the 2008 Special Election. She currently works in the Appeals Division of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Erin works on interlocutory and final appeals, including on the ICC’s first conviction in the case of Prosecutor V. Thomas Lubanga, in which Mr. Lubanga was convicted of conscripting and enlisting child soldiers in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She also managed the pre-trial stage of proceedings in the case of Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladic.

Chairman’s Club membership fees are $360 for one year, $180 if you are a student or retiree. For your convenience, we offer a monthly automatic debit option with your membership. If you wish to enroll, your account will be debited $30 on the 15^th of each month ($15 each month for student or retiree). It is easy to enroll by clicking here.

Just follow the prompts under the “Join Chairman’s Club” tab.

As always, thank you for your continued friendship and support. If you have any questions about Chairman’s Club or our other clubs, please contact me at 317-637-3366, or amills@marioncountydemocrats.org.

Sincerely,

Alexis K. Mills

Finance Director

Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Joel Miller Statement on Pence Signature of Ballard Power Grab Bill

May 13, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS—Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Joel Miller today released the following statement on Governor Pence’s signature of SEA 621, the Ballard Power Grab bill:

I’m not surprised that Governor Pence today rubber stamped Mayor Ballard’s Power Grab bill. Governor Pence spent a career in Washington as a shill for tea party Republicans. That’s why a majority of Hoosiers voted for someone else to be Governor. Mayor Ballard today exposed himself to be the harsh partisan tea party Republican that I’ve known him to be. This bill proves his priorities are out of line. With over 40 homicides in Marion County this year, double last year’s rate, Ballard is more interested in grabbing power and building a cricket field then he is facing the real issues confronting the city.

Message from Marion County Clerk Beth White

May 7, 2013

Dear Friends,

We’ve been talking a lot about Senate Bill 621, the Ballard Power Grab bill. I testified at every opportunity against the bill, but it’s currently sitting on the Governor’s Desk waiting for his signature or veto. Governor Pence has expressed concerns about the bill and is considering a veto. I need a favor from you, will you please call Governor Pence at (317) 232-4567 and ask him to VETO Senate Bill 621?

A few things to remember, you probably know that the bill eliminates the At-Large City County Councillors and gives the Mayor unprecedented control over the budgets of Democratic office holders, like the Prosecutor, Sheriff and my office.

You may not know that the bill effectively eliminates local control of elections. In the bill, Marion County—and only Marion County—is mandated to centrally count their absentee ballots. This is bad public policy. It’s expensive and time consuming. The only time Marion County has previously centrally counted absentee ballots was in 2003 and it took the previous Clerk over two days to count 8,800 absentee ballots. In 2008, Marion County had over 93,000 absentee ballots to count. It could take weeks before the results of a close election are known.

Please take just a minute of your day and call Governor Pence at (317) 232-4567 and ask him to VETO Senate Bill 621.

Democratically Yours,
Beth White
Clerk, Marion County

Pence Doesn't Rule Out Veto

May 2, 2013

We need your help. SB621 is on Governor Pence’s desk waiting for a signature. On Tuesday, your Democrat elected officials stood in front of the Governor’s office and asked Mike Pence to veto Greg Ballard’s power grab. You can see some of the press coverage here.

Now more than ever, we need to stand up as Democrats to defend good government, common sense, and Hoosier values.

Governor Pence knows that this is bad law. Let him know that we are watching and that we expect our elected officials to do the right thing regardless of their political party.

Call Governor Pence today and ask him to VETO SENATE BILL 621! Please don’t hesitate. The call will only take you a couple of minutes.

You can reach the Governor’s office by calling: 317-232-4567.

You can also e-mail your concern to the Governor by clicking here.

Your pressure and the watchful eye of the local media is forcing the Governor to reconsider this bill. Keep it up! Make the call today.

Democratically,

Joel Miller

Chairman, Marion County Democratic Party

Cricket?

April 24, 2013

I spent nearly six hours in Conference Committee on SB 621 (The Ballard Power Grab Bill) last week. And there were serious issues discussed, but Mayor Ballard, who is pushing the bill, was absent. Why? Because as WTHR reported he was on his 8th foreign junket.

While he was there, he announced he was spending $6 million of our money on a cricket stadium! Even Republican Councillors were surprised by the announcement. He also failed to bring a single job commitment back from this trip, bringing the sum total of jobs resulting from his overseas travels to zero.

Matt Tully observed the Mayor has an “increasing disconnect” with Indianapolis, and that his absence from the statehouse showed “he has no interest in the big debates at the Statehouse, or no sway with his fellow Republicans who run it.”

The Mayor’s wanderlust and his ridiculous obsession of spending precious public dollars on frivolous projects such as his multi-million dollar cricket stadium has stirred very strong feelings in our community. One supporter pointed out that Ballard just “took another trip” like the old song, the Battle of New Orleans. Well, one thing led to another and some creative young Democrats came up with this little ditty. It’s certainly not hard-hitting politics, but it does draw attention to some very serious issues in a less-than-serious manner.

Share the song with your friends and family. Finally, contact your legislators and the Mayor and tell them that we don’t support their out-of-touch, power-hungry tactics.

Democratically Yours,
Joel Miller
Chairman, Marion County Democratic Party

April's Chairman's Club Speaker Mayor Dennis Buckley

April 17, 2013

Please join this month’s Chairman’s Club speaker Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley on Thursday, April 25th as he discusses recent events in the city of Beech Grove.

**Not an MCDP Chairman’s Club member? Join today!**

For $360 a year (or $30 a month with our automatic debit option), you’ll have the opportunity to attend monthly breakfast meetings hosted by Chairman Joel Miller. Each meeting features a distinguished guest speaker and provides a great networking opportunity.

For more information, please call Alexis Mills at 637-3366 or click here.

Emperor Ballard

April 9, 2013

BREAKING: Bosma to Advance Ballard’s Bully Bill

March 25, 2013

BREAKING: Bosma to Advance Ballard’s Bully Bill

Last week I emailed you about the lessons my mom taught me about fair play—lessons Mayor Ballard must not have learned. I told you he was behaving like a bully and we needed your help. Well, since that e-mail, some things have happened. First, the Indianapolis Star rightly called the bill “the most egregious example of legislative overreach this year” in an Editorial titled “Kill the Bill that Would Cut Indy Council Seats.” Also, former Senator (and the Mayor that created Unigov) Richard Lugar came out against the bill. Finally, the Star reported Speaker Brian Bosma is going to let the bill go forward.

I’m going to be straight with you, if Republicans think they can pass this without people noticing, they will. But, we’ve been standing up to the bullies and they are starting to feel the heat. They don’t want the public to notice, and they don’t want checks and balances. Of course, since they brought us Lincoln Plowman, Tim Durham, Charlie White and Carl Brizzi, you almost can’t blame them. Of course, these are expensive fights, and I’d like to thank those who donated in response to our last e-mail. Fully two-thirds of the donations were from people who had never given to the Marion County Democratic Party. We really need your help. Please donate $5 or $10 dollars today and forward this on to your friends and family. Tell them we need to stand up to the bullies.

Play Fair

March 25, 2013

Dear Democrat,

My mom always taught me to be a good sport, play hard and play fair. Apparently Mayor Ballard’s mother taught him a different set of lessons. There is a bill moving in the legislature pushed by Mayor Ballard designed to change the rules of Indianapolis government. His party has lost election after election and now he wants to change the rules.

March's Chairman's Club Speaker - Elizabeth Ramsey

March 22, 2013

Please join us on Thursday, March 28th for our monthly Chairman’s Club Breakfast downtown as we welcome Elizabeth Ramsey, Assistant Director of Enforcement for the NCAA. Elizabeth has worked at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Indiana for seven years and currently is in her fifth year with the enforcement staff. Ramsey was first introduced to the Democratic party by her parents. Her father, Ben Ramsey, served for nearly twenty years as the Executive Director of the Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council.

**Not an MCDP Chairman’s Club member? Join today!**

For more information, please call Alexis Mills at 637-3366 or click "Chairman's Club" above.