Unofficial Returns

Unfortunately, I did not win in my bid for County Council. That's okay- I'll take stock in the positives:

I enjoyed going door-to-door to talk issues with my neighbors. I know that more people have an understanding of what a Libertarian would do in office if elected, and dispelled some misnomers.

We found where some of our supporters are. I am hopeful this will result in more people active with the Libertarian Party.

The support of friends was tremendous! Many, many thanks to friends who braved the cold to pass out palm cards on election day, including Jim Hurst, Mark Kolovrat, Craig Witt, Lars & Pami Noldan, and Matt Mulder.

The unofficial returns have me getting 6.9% of the votes, with the Democrat getting 24.8%, and the Republican 68.3%. This was the first time this Council seat had a three-way race. It was unchallenged in 2006 with the Republican unopposed, and in 2002 Libertarian Gregg Puls got 11%, but there wasn't a Democrat in the race. Now we know where the baselines are for this area.

The best Libertarian showing in a three-way County Council race was in 2002, when Terry Baker got 8% in the district that includes Noblesville.

The turnout was really low. Just 44% of registered voters appeared at the polls. That's disappointing.

Ready To Vote!

I'm up early and ready to vote. I hope you will be voting too! The votes we cast are crucial in getting policies that will grow our economies, or our governments. In my Fishers precinct I will be voting for:

Rebecca Sink-Burris, US Senate

Chard Reid, US House of Representatives, District 5

Mike Wherry, Indiana Secretary of State

Eric Knipe, Indiana Auditor

Mike Kole, Hamilton County Council, District 2

The rest will largely be a lot of blanks. Why? I won't vote for a candidate who doesn't represent my views in a high percentage. I don't expect 100% agreement. I know that isn't possible. But nor will I vote for someone I agree with less than half of the time, just because they are 'the lesser of two evils'. The lesser of two evils? Now that's a wasted vote!

Profile Article on Candidates for County Council

The Noblesville Times has a very lengthy, comprehensive article that profiles the three candidates for Hamilton County Council, in District 2, myself included:

Kole's concerns lie in the current council's tenure saying it is time to bring in someone new.

"I believe that the current Council has stagnated, with the same members entrenched so long. They appear to be vastly more sensitive to the desire to preserve bureaucracy than to the need to scale back so government within the county's means," he said. "Cutting budgets is not a 'hard decision' when the money isn't there. I can help by being a presence that is unafraid to cut when cutting is the right thing to do."

Link to the full article here.

Congratulations, Chard Reid!

Chard Reid is the Libertarian candidate for US House of Representatives in District 5. Reid is seeking to replace Republican Dan Burton, and his chances just got a healthy boost as the Indianapolis Star has endorsed him! From the Star endorsement article:

Reid, a young economics teacher at Plainfield High School, has taken the fight to Burton on taxes and the deficit. He maintains that the 14-termer has not worked for systemic change despite his conservative persona. Reid also offers thoughtful ideas for cutting spending, simplifying the tax code and reforming entitlements.

Reid represents the best of Libertarian small-government ideals. He would be a refreshing departure from the incumbent's complacency and cavalier attitude toward ethics.

I couldn't be more proud of Chard! Every Hamilton County voter will be able to vote for Chard, as the 5th District covers our county entirely. I'm very proud to be on the ballot with Chard in my County Council District!

Audio On Fishers Lawsuit

I was recently interviewed by Chris Spangle, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, for the party's podcast. The lawsuit against the Town of Fishers is discussed in detail.

Canvassers Needed!

I have printed materials available, for myself and for other Libertarian candidates, for volunteers doing door-to-door canvassing in the Fishers area, including the unincorporated areas of Delaware & Fall Creek Townships.

If you need materials, please contact me and I will set you up.

Besides myself, we have materials for Mike Wherry, Rebecca Sink-Burris, and Chard Reid. They are all on the ballot in the same area, so you can canvass for some or all. Also, we have a great door hanger from the national Libertarian Party that includes the "World's Smallest Political Quiz".

Lawsuit Against Fishers

I recently joined a tri-partisan lawsuit against the Town of Fishers, regarding the ballot status of the question, "Should Fishers remain a Town, or become a City".

It is my opinion that the City Yes petitioners had followed the law in gaining an adequate number of signatures, and that the law therefore triggers a response by the Town in putting the issue on the ballot as a public question. The Town did not do this, so I joined the suit.

I believe that the form of government is something that the Town's voters should have the final word on. Right now, it appears that the Town Councilors are trying to preserve that for themselves, and to preserve political power.

My interest is in representative government, and good government.

I do disagree with the position that city government would be better, though. Yes, the people should have their say, but in my opinion, and additional layer of government will not provide checks and balances as the City Yes people hope. Certainly, that has not worked out in Carmel or Westfield, where the mayors have championed expensive pet projects, and the city councils have largely acted as rubber stamps. One party rule is one party rule, regardless of how many layers of government you have.

I believe there should be a compromise, as I stated on my September 23 post to the Hamilton County Libertarian website. Remain a Town, but eliminate the at-large voting, and re-draw the district map in seven concise districts.

But, one thing at a time. A petition was filed. It deserves its' place on the ballot. Once there, we can make the case for remaining a Town, eliminating the at-large vote and redrawing the map.

The tri-partisan nature of the suit speaks to the way the issue cuts across party lines. The people should have their say.

On WXNT Wednesday Morning

Be sure to tune in to 1430-am Wednesday morning at 7am to hear me on the Abdul In The Morning show. I will be Abdul's guest to discuss my lawsuit against the Town of Fishers regarding failure to put the 'City or Town' question on the November ballot.

Where: 1430-am in Central Indiana
Online: http://www.newstalk1430.com/
When: Wednesday, 7-7:30am

Deadline To Register To Vote Approaching

October 4 is the deadline to register to vote in this year's elections.

If you need to register to vote, you can follow this link for forms to download. Or, if you would prefer to receive the forms by mail, contact me and I will send one to you.

Register now to be sure your registration is accepted and valid! You don't want to miss the opportunity to vote this year!

Scheduling Meetings With Department Chiefs

I'm working to schedule meetings with the Directors of various Departments within our county in the interest of discussing budgetary issues and the scope of their offices.

There is a great need to cut budgets, and certainly that is my direction, but it is important to know which items are in these budgets because of mandates or the Indiana Constitution even.

Some things can be put on the table today, and other things would need a much lengthier process, such as a Constitutional Amendment. Either of these things can be worthy of putting on the table, but it will pay to know which items could be cut or scaled back immediately.

We think about our sprawling Federal government, but one look at the list of departments in the county shows that we have a lot of government, some more genuinely necessary- such as courts- than others.

Indy Star Reports on Kole Campaign

Indianapolis Star reporter Carrie Ritchie interviewed me recently about the campaign and about Hamilton County politics. Here's a link to the report.

Though Republicans have a strong grip on county offices, Kole thinks he can take some votes from Levine on Nov. 2.

"I think I'm a little more aggressively fiscally conservative and I can step to the right on economic issues," Kole said.

Kole worries the county spends too much money and believes it could make deeper cuts, especially now that it's struggling to balance its budget.

The budget and number of county employees has always been too high. Now that the county cannot afford to keep a bloated payroll, it should be obvious to anyone that the time to cut deeply is now.

Been To My Facebook Page?

You're on Facebook, the Campaign is on Facebook.

Please check out my Facebook page and click 'Like' if you support my Campaign!

Campaign Logo Unveiled

My new campaign logo is ready. Ready for use on literature and yard signs!

(h/t Chuck Grienert)

Oh! Politically Connected!

I was thinking about the Hoosier Tradewinds tax abatement when it finally hit me: Hoosier Tradewinds is run by Andy Cook and his brother!

Big deal? Andy Cook is the mayor of Westfield.

Shame on the County Council for granting this tax abatement. My position is that tax abatements are wrong regardless of political connection. But to grant to a political figure, of the same party of all of the Council members? That's ridiculous in the audacity.

Thanks to Councilors Rick McKinney and Steven Schwartz for voting against this tax abatement.

More Information Needed

I was thinking about the tax abatements given by the County Council, and kept going back to the only one that had any opposition- the one for Hoosier Tradewinds.

It struck me as interesting that Councilor Rick McKinney was one of the two in opposition. Going back a few years, McKinney was the only County Councilor who opposed the 1% food & beverage taxes to support Lucas Oil Stadium in Marion County. He earned my respect with that vote.

So, when McKinney opposes and the majority passes, it starts to not pass the smell test. I want to look into this more, to see what it's all about.

Tax Abatements?

The minutes of the most recent County Council meeting show two things happened made me wonder how each could happen in the same meeting.

1. Auditor Dawn Coverdale discussed a forecast of tax receipts being down 8.9% over one year.
2. Tax Abatements were approved for four business properties.

I've never been a fan of tax abatements. Government shouldn't pick a select group of favorites to get a discounted rate or even have their taxes eliminated, while others pay the full load. Offer a competitive, low rate, and business will want to come to you. Abate their taxes, and they may want to leave you when the abatement period ends.

But, this when tax receipts are down? It's as if the Councilors who voted for the abatements were sleeping through Coverdale's earlier presentation.

Budget Struggles

It has been interesting to see the County Council and County Commissioners struggle to get the budget beast under control. In my opinion, they are doing many of the things that need to be done, looking for costs to cut, and beginning to require that spending be justified. Link: Minutes of May 18 joint meeting of Hamilton County Council & County Commissioners.

That's all well and good, but Libertarian candidates for County offices had been saying that these bodies should be doing this when they ran in 2002. How much better off in terms of fiscal health would our County be if some of them were elected then, and the belt tightening had begun when tax receipts were up? A great deal better.

While I see provisions to reduce overtime, and even consideration to reduce the work week, I did not see any evidence that staff sizes have been reduced. Especially as the County has seen a curtailment in growth, it cannot be possible that as many regulators and inspectors are needed now as when growth was astronomical. More staff cutting can, and should, be done.

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Allow me to introduce myself...

I am Mike Kole, a 6-year resident of Fishers, in the Sublest Farms neighborhood. I live here with my wife of seven years, Ame, and my children Isabel, 5, and Ethan, who will be two in November.

My work is as a Right-of-Way Agent. In this capacity, I acquire land rights for utilitiy companies. For the past several years, the bulk of my work has been for AT&T, some of it in Fishers and Central Indiana, much of it in the outer reaches of the state, like Evansville, Mishawaka, or Hammond. I've also acquired land for AT&T in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.

One thing I really like about the work is the voluntary nature of the proposals I make to property owners. I do not take work that employs eminent domain power. If a property owner agrees to the deal, it is on the strength of my presentation and what is offered. When I complete a deal, I walk away with several satisfied parties, not with winners and losers. The property owner is happy to make some money; the utility is happy to gain rights to the land; and, the neighbors see improvements or upgrades to their services.

In personal life, I enjoy gardening, playing ice hockey, and of course, politics.

This is my second run for office. In 2006, I was the Libertarian Party's candidate for Indiana Secretary of State. I did not win election, but my campaign was important to my party. My vote percentage was high enough to ensure continued ballot access through this year for every Libertarian candidate across Indiana.

Although I enjoyed running an active campaign in 2006, and travelled across the state- 30,000 miles on the car to prove it- I'm even happier running a local campaign, where I can knock on doors and actually talk with the voters personally. So, don't be surprised if I knock on your door to ask for your vote this Summer or Fall!