> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Former resident urges vote for Curran



I enjoyed living in Jeffersonville for nearly 19 years, but the politics of the city disgusted me, as did most of the politicians. I despaired of ever seeing meaningful changes in Jeffersonville and Clark County politics.

For many years, Jeffersonville has been an excellent example of how bad politics can get.

Sometimes things must get very bad before they can improve, and I hope Jeffersonville has bottomed out. Citizens who rarely pay attention to what politicians do have now noticed the ruination of Vissing Park, a poorly run animal shelter whose director rarely shows up for work, rising sewer bills and plans for an expensive, open sewer ditch through downtown. That ditch has already been particularly harmful to me, since my home at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Mulberry streets was taken from me to make way for it.

I am heartened to see new blood running for office. After years of more-of-the-same, the people of Jeffersonville have a choice. Finally!

Jeffersonville has a chance to elect people who won’t be political puppets — people who will think for themselves and do what they believe is best for their constituents, and who do not have a tax-to-the-limit mentality.

I urge those of you in District 1 to vote for Kelley Curran for city council.

— Teresa Fisher, New Albany



Reader: Oakley is what New Albany needs



Matt Oakley is exactly what New Albany needs. He is young, energetic and smart enough to make decisions that are best for the city.

Matt’s business sense already has him established as a great business leader. He is involved in numerous civic groups and already has a good pulse on the heart of New Albany. Matt will aggressively work for local businesses and draw new business in to produce jobs.

He will help fix the budgetary messes that current leadership seems unable to address and work hard to improve our streets and sewer systems.

In an environment where personal promotion seems the norm, Matt will bring a new sense of responsible, honest leadership that we have needed for a long time. Join me and elect Matt Oakley to the New Albany City Council on Nov. 8.

— Wendy Stepro, New Albany



Candidate’s wife writes of Moore’s qualities



Mike Moore and I have been married for almost 19 years. When we met, he owned and worked full time at The Wheel Family Restaurant in Louisville. Running a successful restaurant requires long hours, but Mike always had time for our family. Mike’s love for family was one of the first qualities that attracted me to him.

That same love shapes and inspires our three amazing children. Shelby, a sophomore at Jeffersonville High School, has relied on her dad for many things, including learning to drive.  When I was too worried, Mike had her on the open road instilling advice and confidence.

Soon it will be time to do the same for Ally, who is in eighth grade at Parkview. Ally is already counting the days. Both of our girls being avid volleyball players inspired Mike to build a volleyball court for them in our backyard. Gerrin, a sixth-grader at Parkview, is very athletic. Mike spends countless hours playing ball with him outside. Having a husband who gives so much time and energy to our family is a true blessing.

Although Mike gives freely of his time, he realizes that giving freely of our money is not always best. Operating our family budget is essential in order to prepare for the future, send our children to college and save for our retirement. When it comes to money, “no” is hard to hear, but we believe it instills the right values in our children. Things in life are not handed to you. You must work hard, earn what you have and save for the future. Mike’s good money sense and conservative values will help Jeffersonville weather these difficult times.

I was fortunate to be a stay at home mom for many years. As our children grew older, we realized another income would be beneficial. Mike supported me as I pursued my master’s degree in special education. When I went back to work, Mike picked up the slack to keep our home running smoothly. As your mayor, I know that Mike will be there to be sure that our city is running smoothly as well.

On Nov. 8, you have an important decision to make. Mike’s honesty, integrity, family values and love for Jeffersonville qualify him to be your next mayor. I provided this glimpse into our family in hopes that you will come to the same conclusion.

— Vicki Moore, wife of Mike Moore, Jeffersonville



Reader calls out Messer, supports Gahan



Randy Smith’s willfully disingenuous Oct. 25 News and Tribune letter feebly attempts to turn Jeff Gahan’s most enduring strengths — his compassion for the devotion to the people of New Albany — into weaknesses, while crucially ignoring the hypocrisy that makes Jack Messer’s candidacy such a danger to the city.

Smith bafflingly criticizes Jeff’s dedication of more than $200,000 in aid to help flood victims. Perhaps that money should have gone toward one of the many New Albany Police Department pay raises Messer voted to give himself during his council tenure? Local media have been inexplicably slow to the point out this blatant conflict of interest, echoing their similar silence on Messer’s history of indefensible racist remarks.

Messer has predicated much of his independence campaign on his purported lack of fealty to either party, apparently counting on voters forgetting his eight-year stint as a Democratic councilman At-large. Messer by all rights could have run in the Democratic mayoral primary; instead he chose to burn bridges with the party, not only by challenging its nominee, but by previously mulling a GOP campaign and even taking a Republican ballot in the May 3 primary. These are not the actions of a man “beholden to neither party” — they are the actions of a craven political opportunist whose only loyalty is to his own ambiguousness.  

 As you recall, Republican candidate D.M. Bagshaw wasn’t chosen by his party’s voters either. Instead, he was selected by Floyd County GOP chairman Dave Matthews, whose frequent News and Tribune letters reveal a withering contempt for both New Albany’s traditional Democratic base and, by extension, the city itself. Messer and Bagshaw each had ample opportunity to win their respective nominations honorably; both tellingly declined.

Gahan is the only mayoral candidate who actually won the nomination for his party and he did so through hard work, dedication and a proven record of service to the community. Furthermore, in his principled stand on the controversial 911 merger, Jeff has aligned himself with labor and with New Albany taxpayers, who would have been forced to pay significantly more than the county residents would have under the plan as proposed.

Jeff Gahan is an outstanding public servant for whom I’ll be proud to cast my vote Nov. 8, and I urge all of you to join me in doing so.

— Eric Condon, New Albany