From: Ken Fudge
Columbus
Jim Lienhoop ran for mayor on a platform of transparency, limited government, and fiscal conservatism. It was a total con job. Here’s Lienhoop’s record.
Transparency
Lienhoop’s administration has been cited by the Indiana public access counselor for multiple violations of the public access laws.
Lienhoop’s hired Indianapolis attorneys for $595 an hour to fight public information requests.
Lienhoop doles out our tax money to several private nonprofits and then refuses to disclose how they spend our money. He gives one $150,000 a year and, in return, they pay for Lienhoop’s travel and entertainment expenses. As a result, we can’t see his expenses funded with our money.
Lienhoop’s severely limited public comment at city council meetings and outright refuses to answer many questions from the public.
Limited government
Lienhoop has grown city government by 16 new positions. But he fought the previous mayor when she wanted to add just three positions – all police officers– and publicly attacked her for “growing government.”
With our tax money, Lienhoop gave $1 million to his alma mater IU, $300,000 to a venture capitalist to invest in start-up companies and now he’s buying a dying shopping mall and redeveloping it. City government will then compete with private enterprise with our money.
Fiscal conservatism
Lienhoop raised our property taxes to the maximum allowed by state law.
Lienhoop supported the 40-percent increase in our income taxes.
Lienhoop still can’t spend within a budget. Every year he irresponsibly needs many additional appropriations totaling millions of dollars.
Lienhoop increased the maximum salaries for all city employees by an average of 38 percent. It looks like he is buying their votes with our money.
Lienhoop’s projects reward his political supporters by creating lucrative government contracts for them.
The wealthy who are too cheap to donate to their causes now don’t have to. Lienhoop funds their causes on the backs of the working-class and middle-class by donating our tax dollars instead.
Lienhoop is spending $10 million of our money on an in-water recreation park in a lethally dangerous river and he’s about to spend tens of millions more redeveloping a dead shopping mall into a sports complex for sports tourism.
There’s no reward for those of us paying the cost.
The Indian-owned hotels and the chain restaurants will make more money. Walmart and the Cork will make more money.
But the restaurants and retailers are already short-staffed.
Traffic will increase when we are already struggling with congestion from trains and growing pains.
The working person will bear the burden of the cost of more sports tourism and get no benefit.
Columbus, isn’t it time for a change? Lienhoop made promises and immediately broke them.
How have the tax increases benefited you? How many of you will kayak or tube in the polluted and dangerous river? How many of you will watch a regional softball tourney?
Consider how you’ve been lied to. Consider how your money is being wasted on Lienhoop’s campaign supporters. And consider the ridiculous cost of Lienhoop’s sports tourism projects.
