Change of scenery?

Clark County

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January 19, 2012

President upset all of Clark’s new appointments appear to be Democrats

By DAVID A. MANN David.Mann@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Thu Jan 19, 2012, 12:58 AM EST

JEFFERSONVILLE — The Clark-Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau Board could have some new faces this year, as new state legislation is going into effect.

Longtime members Jan Huff, Carlene Bottorff and Nancy Kraft are expected to be replaced with Ed Haire, Ashvin Padhya and Tony Singleton.

Legislation that changes the makeup of the bureau’s board was passed by the Indiana Legislature last session. It redistributes the number of board appointments that individual local governments have as a result of Jeffersonville being reclassified as a second-class city — a change made because of its increased population. Under the new legislation, Jeffersonville, New Albany and Clark County each have three appointments to the 13-member board. Clarksville and Floyd County have two appointments each.

According to Huff, who is the board’s president, the Clark County Commissioners are acting to redo all of their appointments since the legislation essentially creates a new board. In doing so they’re expected to replace her and Bottorff with Haire and Padhya.

Commissioner Les Young said the new appointments have been suggested but not voted on yet. He was unsure how he would vote, saying he first needed to speak with fellow commissioners Ed Meyer and John Perkins about the reasons for the change.

The Clarksville Town Council has already voted to appoint Singleton, thus replacing Kraft.

Huff expressed frustration with the proposed change because the commissioners were considering appointing all Democrats to the board when the legislation calls for representation from both political parties. Voter history records show that the three commissioners appointments — Haire, Padhya and Jim Becker, who’s already on the board — all voted in recent Democratic Party primaries. Huff is a Republican.

“It’s not actually following the letter of the law,” she said. “I think it’s kind of sad they have chosen to do that.”

Board attorney Jack Vissing said its difficult to determine political parties because voters don’t register that way.

“How do you know who’s who?” he asked rhetorically during a meeting Wednesday.

Meyer and Perkins were called for comment on this story but neither responded by press time. Tourism Bureau Executive Director Jim Keith said that while he’ll miss working with the current members if they are replaced, he didn’t mind the change.

“[The commissioners] can do whatever they choose,” he said. “It’s my job to work with them, not pick them.”

Board member Shelle England, a New Albany appointee, said she hated to see members leave but looked forward to working with the new ones. In addition to the commissioners, Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore also has appointments to make to the board.

The bureau was created to promote tourism in Southern Indiana. It operates on revenues collected through a 4 percent innkeepers tax.

Three percent of the tax collected goes to fund operations for the bureau, while the remaining 1 percent is put into a capital development fund. The board is made up of primarily of those engaged in a convention or tourism business, such as hotels.