MARCUS: Input could keep legislators from building their own webs

Related Photos

Discussion

September 23, 2009

By MORTON MARCUS The News and Tribune Wed Sep 23, 2009, 12:50 AM EDT

The good news is that I will not become Spider Man and then need to conquer my fear of heights. The bad news is that I will not become Spider Man and be able to compel the foolish, thoughtless and greedy to behave differently.

But I get ahead of the story.

All last week, I felt good that Todd Rokita, Indiana’s secretary of state, is pushing for less partisan redistricting of political offices after the 2010 Census. The fact that some in his own Republican party told him to keep his nose out of their affairs only reinforced my good feelings.

This is a clear split between an appropriately ambitious politician — Rokita — and the indolent, selfish, anti-Republican forces in the GOP. That’s the makings of a great political pudding.

Of the Democrats, incumbents with districts to defend are silent. David Orentlicher, former holder of a House seat, now a candidate for Marion County prosecutor, has endorsed liberating redistricting from the grasp of the parties’ machinery. But what does that endorsement mean in the other 91 counties where David O. is unknown? Does his voice carry weight even in Marion County where political savagery normally dominates redistricting?

Who else will step forward to endorse the righteous cause of redistricting seats in Congress, in the General Assembly and in local elections according to population only? State Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, has been effective in getting the Census Data Adversary Committee, or CDAC, to consider the issue. In the past, Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, introduced constitutional amendments to create a redistricting commission that would reduce the highly partisan nature of the present system where each house draws its own lines by its own rules.

When the CDAC meets Tuesday — and its agenda has not been announced as of this writing — it may choose to examine Indiana’s voting history and how other states draw their district lines.

My own research shows that in 2008, the last time we elected representatives to the House, only 11 of 100 seats were competitively contested, with the winner getting less than 55 percent of the vote.

Conversely, 26 of the 100 seats were uncontested; the winners got 100 percent of the vote. Does that mean that voters in more than one-quarter of Hoosier districts were so satisfied with their representatives that no challenger could be found? Or does it mean that the game is so rigged to favor one party or the other that it doesn’t encourage competition?

Without genuine support from BB&D; — Bauer, Bosma and Daniels — little will happen. Little, that is, unless citizens fed up with legislative inertia and ineptitude rise up to demand that candidates in the May primaries and November 2010 general elections endorse changes in how we draw the lines in 2011.

However, all this was forgotten when I was bitten six times by one or more spiders. The results were startling. I began to feel more weird than usual. I became especially irritated by inconsistencies initiated by the Indiana Department of Transportation

For example, why does southbound traffic on U.S. 31 in Indianapolis — Meridian Street — have unencumbered access to eastbound Interstate 465 while northbound traffic is halted by a stop light before entering westbound Interstate 465?

Also, I wanted to leap across the state using the network of mobile phone towers and to weave complex patterns among the newly installed windmills in White County.

Fortunately, I have comprehensive health insurance and could use the Urgent Care facilities of the Hammond Clinic, where an ointment was prescribed and my sanity saved. Otherwise, I would be confined now to downtown Indianapolis, because there are not enough tall structures elsewhere in the state to satisfy a novice spider man.

Marcus is an independent economist, speaker and writer formerly with IU’s Kelley School of Business. Reach him at mortonjmarcus@yahoo.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Business/Money

A checkup for the community: Assessment tells health story of Floyd, surrounding counties
This report is a compilation of health and quality of life indicators for Floyd County. The report indicates that in Floyd County cancers, heart disease, obesity and smoking are growing problems.

May 21, 2012
Rebuild Marysville event raises money for town hit by tornado
Kirsty Travelstead of Marysville explained that as of Saturday morning, more than 300 T-shirts had been sold. For the event they had hopes of raising at least $5,000 from the T-shirts, food sales and the grill raffle.

May 21, 2012 2 Photos
New Albany City Council defeats bridges resolution
But Gonder said residents, especially those from Southern Indiana, will be struck the hardest by an inflated project cost of $2.6 billion that relies on tolling.
“We wouldn’t be in this fix if we were only going to build the east-end bridge,” he said.

May 18, 2012 1 Photo
Local officials react to proposed TARC cuts
The fare increases will raise a one-way adult fare from $1.50 to $1.75 and a monthly pass would increase from $42 to $50. TARC has not raised its base fare since 2008. The proposed rates are in line with public transportation fares charged in Indianapolis and Cincinnati, where one-way adult fare is already $1.75.

May 18, 2012
Jeffersonville’s Victorian Chautauqua set for weekend
Part of the event’s success is due to the fact that it hasn’t become overgrown during the last two decades, she said. Further, exhibitors and entertainment are always well received.

May 18, 2012
A night of thanks: Lady Antebellum event raises $285,000 for Henryville
May 17, 2012 6 Photos
Accent shows off new facility in Jeffersonville
Wednesday’s event was a formality in most aspects, as the building has actually been open since late March. However, it did mark a significant milestone for the Jeffersonville Town Center — a proposed shopping development that has struggled to attract commercial growth in the many years it’s been planned on Jeffersonville’s Veterans Parkway.

May 17, 2012 1 Photo
Economy not out of the woods yet, economists say
“Last November, I thought I was very optimistic, we were seeing some positive growths,” Dufrene said. “But right now, I think the outlook is more uncertain.”

May 17, 2012 1 Photo
Floyd County preparing for busy road season
Recently, a void on the side of the payment was spotted at the top of Spickert Knob Road. The road was repaired and reopened last December.

May 16, 2012
Treasure hunt: Attorney General explains how to find unclaimed property
Unclaimed property includes investment earnings, insurance proceeds and benefits, wages and money from bank accounts. It does not include real estate, abandoned vehicles or other such items.

May 16, 2012
More Business/Money Headlines

Business/Money

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

MARCUS: Input could keep legislators from building their own webs

Site Map

Contact Us